Search - places

 
 
COMMENTARY
Jul 8, 2009

Bolstering Japan-U.S. ties

The Obama administration has shown great good will toward Japan. This was evidenced by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's testimony at her Senate confirmation hearing, her choice of Japan as the first country she visited after taking office and the fact that Prime Minister Taro Aso was the first foreign...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jul 5, 2009

Flashing the cash while the majority suffer

There haven't been many silver linings to the dark cloud of the recession that descended more than a year ago. One is the media's general loss of interest in ostentatious displays of stuff that most of us could never afford anyway. Nowadays, it's easier to boost TV ratings with features about places...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Jul 5, 2009

Motoko Inagawa: Japan's foreign-talent guru shares her worldly wisdoms

In need of a couple of Portuguese missionaries? How about a boatload of Dutch traders — or a platoon of World War II U.S. grunts?
LIFE / Travel
Jul 5, 2009

Taking an Izu Islands tonic

Through half-closed eyelids, the sea sparkles. A bamboo screen dapples the sunlight, and the world is reduced to contrast, to flashes of light and shade. The air is a hot, distilled essence of summer. Each time the salt dries on my skin, I make the small commute from towel to waves and dive in. The water...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Jul 5, 2009

Taking an Izu Islands tonic

Through half-closed eyelids, the sea sparkles. A bamboo screen dapples the sunlight, and the world is reduced to contrast, to flashes of light and shade. The air is a hot, distilled essence of summer. Each time the salt dries on my skin, I make the small commute from towel to waves and dive in. The water...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 30, 2009

Sample-product cafe targets young women

A cafe with a new concept will open Wednesday in Tokyo's Shibuya district, offering women product-marketing samples — and a place to hang out if they've missed the last train.
CULTURE / Books
Jun 28, 2009

When in war, why bomb the innocent?

How one feels about what one is reading can differ depending on where and when. Reading these essays while boarding a flight from Tokyo, transiting Hanoi and then arriving in Laos — all places that have been subjected to extensive U.S. bombing — is to feel the long arm of history tug at one's conscience....
CULTURE / Books
Jun 28, 2009

Making cycling trips cultural experiences

Among the thin crop of books on cycling in Japan are Josie Dew's hilarious account in "A Ride in the Neon Sun," of her trip from Tokyo to the edges of Okinawa and the extraordinary people and hospitality met. Then there is Leigh Norrie's more recent "Japan: 6,000 Miles on a Bicycle," an engaging account...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 28, 2009

Jackson enjoyed loyal following in Japan

Despite years of child molestation accusations and deep financial difficulties, Michael Jackson could always count on one nation for unquestioning fan loyalty and lucrative advertising deals — Japan.
Japan Times
LIFE
Jun 28, 2009

Succor for the soul

Yes, you do deserve some pampering and spiritual rejuvenation — and the sooner the better.
Japan Times
LIFE
Jun 28, 2009

Chiang Mai: Thailand's beguiling Rose of the North

It is a great time to visit Thailand. The political crisis has abated, the airport is open, everything is a bargain and tourists are few and far between. What more could a traveler ask for?
EDITORIALS
Jun 27, 2009

Reformatory violence

Four teachers at the Hiroshima Juvenile Training School were arrested June 9 on suspicion of using violence against residents. If the allegations prove true, their actions are extremely deplorable. The purpose of the school is to reform minors who have committed crimes so that they can become productive...
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
Jun 24, 2009

A new camera that packs portable power

Phone book: Toshiba's new mobile phone, the Biblio, aims to capitalize on the e-book boom. The Biblio, which is a KDDI handset under its au brand, looks at first glance like an iPhone clone with its 3.5-inch touchscreen. However, the phone sports unusually good e-book reading credentials. In particular,...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jun 23, 2009

My nursery nightmares

One thing that sets the Japanese labor force apart from practically all others in the developed world is the lack of women in permanent salaried positions. Unlike their Western counterparts, Japanese women seem resistant to the "you can have it all" mantra that has prevailed since the 1980s, and often...
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Jun 21, 2009

Tokyo spurned in the 'ultra miracle' of new film's linguistic embrace

On June 8, the evening edition of the Asahi Shimbun newspaper reported on a fascinating phenomenon — one that may be a harbinger of a broad cultural and social movement in Japan.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Jun 21, 2009

'Spotted snakes, with double tongue'

In ages past we humans relied on natural phenomena and omens from nature to guide us in our understanding of seasonal events and our attempts to make predictions about the uncertain future.
EDITORIALS
Jun 19, 2009

Justifying a new airport

Shizuoka airport opened June 4 as the nation's 98th airport. The immediate future of the airport is not so bright because it started its operation amid a severe economic downturn and the new H1N1 influenza. The Shizuoka prefectural government faces the challenge of increasing the number of air travelers...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / GLOBAL ECONOMY SYMPOSIUM
Jun 17, 2009

Shareholders, workers and the community all profit from good management

The latest financial crisis, as well as the 2001-2002 Enron and Worldcom accounting scandals, are both linked to the narrowly focused criteria prevalent in the United States for judging the success of corporate management and governance, said Shyam Sunder, a professor of accounting, economics and finance...
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Jun 16, 2009

Bug-killers, jet lag and rent down payments

Tackling jet lag Newly arrived in Tokyo, Neil is going to have to fly often in his new job, and wonders how best to handle jet lag. He knows about cutting down on food and alcohol, drinking a lot of water and exercising, but wonders if there is any magic trick.
SOCCER / SOCCER SCENE
Jun 16, 2009

Endo's absence highlights value of Japan's passing game

National team manager Takeshi Okada was hoping to use Japan's final two World Cup qualifiers to learn more about the fringe members of his squad. But the first of those games, last Wednesday's 1-1 draw with Qatar, will have told him more about a player who will not take part in either.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Jun 16, 2009

What do you like most about life in Japan?

Hiroaki Daikai Airline staff, 22The food in Japan is healthy and safe to eat. There is a good variety to choose from. When I travel to developing countries, I often get sick from the food.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Jun 14, 2009

Oranges and felons

The 19th-century Scottish novelist and poet Robert Louis Stevenson got it spot on about traveling when he noted that to do so hopefully was a better thing than arriving.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Jun 14, 2009

What lit the fuse of culture?

In this month's column, we solve the mystery of the emergence of modern human culture. As a bonus, there's a bit of good news for Tokyoites — and for those of us who may worry that success is solely down to brainpower.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jun 12, 2009

Nomura fuses science, mysticism in artworks

If Pythagoras, Aristotle or any of the other axial luminaries of the Classical World were alive today, they might just be working as conceptual artists in the mold of Hitoshi Nomura, rather than philosophers and scientists. This is because the science and philosophy that these intellectual giants practiced...
Reader Mail
Jun 7, 2009

The way to attract foreign tourists

Regarding the May 30 article "Tourism looks for a boost": My wife and I have a long association with Japan, having hosted home-stay students and teachers in our home for many years. Our son has attended high school and university in Japan, but we had never been there. In 2008 we decided that our time...
Reader Mail
Jun 7, 2009

Basic problems of today's Japan

I always enjoy reading Japan Lite by Amy Chavez, and her May 30 column, "Islands of and for the old," was particularly impressive. I am afraid there are many places in Japan's countryside without medical clinics and homes for the elderly.

Longform

A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.
If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami