Search - 2013

 
 
CULTURE / Film
Jun 3, 2015

Director Kawase disregards criticism of her sentimental leprosy drama 'An'

When I first interviewed Naomi Kawase in 1998, after she won the Cannes Film Festival's Camera d'Or award for her first feature, "Moe no Suzaku" ("Suzaku"), I remarked on her "quietly stubborn determination" to persist in the face of various detractors. If anything, criticism has increased in the intervening...
Japan Times
WORLD
Jun 3, 2015

Kin press Congress to gain release of Americans held by Iran

Relatives of four Americans missing or detained in Iran told Congress on Tuesday of milestones missed — weddings, graduations, birth of grandchildren — and asked U.S. officials to push for their release in negotiations with Tehran on a nuclear deal.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 2, 2015

An alliance of hope must include Okinawans

The disproportionate presence of American forces on Okinawa is at least in part the continuation of Tokyo's low regard for the island and its people.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 2, 2015

China shows how to crack down on soccer

China's experience with its soccer federation shows that eliminating corruption from a sporting organization requires more than knocking off that organization's leadership.
BUSINESS
Jun 2, 2015

Japan tops China as world's biggest lender for coal, study says

Japan and China lent more than $35 billion to finance coal power in the eight years through the end of 2014, according to environmental groups in a study that urged countries to stop supporting the fuel.
BUSINESS
Jun 2, 2015

Dine with Warren Buffett charity lunch auction gets bid topping $1 million

An online auction for the right to dine with billionaire investor Warren Buffett and raise money for a San Francisco charity has started strongly, with the top bid surpassing $1 million in less than a day.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 1, 2015

Hedge fund activists are Japan's best friend

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe should leverage the uptick in foreign investment to reignite his economic reform program.
JAPAN
Jun 1, 2015

METI considers 'kimono day' to revive industry, cash in on tourism

Sometime next year, expect to see colorful kimono-clad commuters winding their way through the morning rush hour in Tokyo's Kasumigaseki Station, the main hub for government workers.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Jun 1, 2015

Home for aging guide dogs, owners in works

The Chubu Guide Dog for the Blind Association based in Nagoya is working to build the nation's first intensive care nursing home where elderly people and retired guide dogs can live together.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Jun 1, 2015

NSA surveillance powers lapse after no deal in Senate

Three U.S. spy programs aimed at stopping terrorists expired early Monday amid a standoff among Senate Republicans over legislation to renew them.
JAPAN / Politics
May 31, 2015

U.S. to take Japan under cyberdefense umbrella as hacker threats grow

The United States will extend its cyberdefense umbrella over Japan, helping its ally cope with the growing threat of online attacks against military bases and infrastructure such as power grids, the two nations said in a joint statement Saturday.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
May 31, 2015

Lions' Seratelli hopes to make mark in Japan

Before a game at Tokyo Dome last week, the Seibu Lions' Anthony Seratelli took a quick glance around to see where his father, Russell, might have sat.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues
May 31, 2015

U.S. greenlights Japan's march back to militarism

As I've often written, I'm a big proponent of the historical record — if for no other reason, so we can look back at the past and learn from our mistakes.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
May 31, 2015

Foreign volunteers in Tokyo and Tottori bring cheer to Fukushima children's homes

Lifelines introduces two groups working to make life better for kids in children's homes in Tokyo and Fukushima Prefecture.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
May 30, 2015

A media circus surrounds Japan's animal acts

The Japanese Association of Zoos and Aquariums has voted to stop buying dolphins captured during drive hunts conducted by fishermen in Taiji, Wakayama Prefecture. For the past decade, the town has received a great deal of negative publicity because of its dolphin slaughter, and the World Association...
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
May 29, 2015

Poll surge raises election win prospect for Canada's leftist NDP

A surge in support for Canada's left-leaning New Democrats is forcing strategists and investors to consider a once unthinkable prospect — the party which has never governed federally might now win the October election.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 29, 2015

Coal revival ducks scrutiny with small plants, critics say

As the nation burns more coal to replace lost nuclear capacity, power producers are able to duck pollution standards by building coal-fired projects small enough to avoid national regulator scrutiny, critics say.
BASKETBALL
May 28, 2015

Star guard Oga joins WJBL's Toyota Antelopes

Yuko Oga is returning to the WBJL to play for the Toyota Antelopes, according to published reports this week.
COMMENTARY / Japan / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
May 28, 2015

President Park Geun-hye's Japan stance in perspective

Where does South Korean President Geun-hye Park's open antipathy toward Japan come from?
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
May 28, 2015

Shoko reclaims her spot on the stage

Shoko Nakamura embarked on a challenging journey when she began retraining for ballet performances just one month after giving birth to her son, Joel, in 2011. The dancer, who goes by just her first name when performing, says the physical pain involved in getting back into shape often reduced her to...
JAPAN / Politics
May 27, 2015

Onaga leaves on U.S. trip to lobby against Futenma base relocation

Okinawa Gov. Takeshi Onaga departed Wednesday for a 10-day trip to Hawaii and Washington, where he hopes to take his case against relocating U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma to skeptical lawmakers, policy experts and the American public.

Longform

After pandemic-era border regulations eased, Indian migrants began returning to Japan. Their population now stands at more than 50,000 across the country.
How remote work is rewriting the migrant experience in Japan