Search - works

 
 
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Jul 12, 2013

Okinawan musician, club owner keeps folk traditions going strong

The back streets of Naha were dark, making it more difficult to find Shima-Umui, a music club run by Okinawan folk singer Misako Oshiro. The torpid air and smell of papaya rinds from a nearby bin spoke of the subtropics. A small sign, barely visible from the street, directed customers to the basement...
Japan Times
WORLD
Jul 12, 2013

The Cockney hardman who is Britain's most bankable star in Hollywood

Clipped vowels, a suggestion of impeccable breeding: when it comes to Hollywood's appetite for British and Irish actors it is easy to see why producers keep shopping on these islands. It does not matter whether the stars really went to Eton, the public school sheen on Hugh Grant, Colin Firth, Orlando...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jul 11, 2013

Experiments in the wild

Ten years ago, when a new cultural facility opened in the western Japan city of Yamaguchi, its founders sought to fulfill a role quite different from those museums in the countryside.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jul 11, 2013

Nishio takes apparel approach to art

Yoshinari Nishio is one of the winners of the "Life by Media" competition at Yamaguchi Center for Arts and Media (YCAM) and is currently displaying his project, "Pubrobe," there until Sept. 1. It's an atypical piece, a station where people lend and borrow clothes for free.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Jul 11, 2013

Accused in Boston terrorist bombing pleads not guilty

The teenager who allegedly helped detonate two bombs at the finish line of this year's Boston Marathon pleads not guilty to terrorism charges.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jul 10, 2013

The human kindness of a foxy woman

"Ashiya Doman Ouchi Kagami" ("Mirror of the Imperial Court during the time of Ashiya Doman") depicts the rivalry between two Heian Period characters Abe no Yasuna and Ashiya Doman. It was created as a bunraku by Takeda Izumo in Osaka in October 1734, but it was staged as a kabuki play in Kyoto in February...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jul 10, 2013

Gregor Schneider: temporary structures that resist conformity

Seemingly out of nowhere, German artist Gregor Schneider exhibits major work at the recently opened TOLOT/heuristic Shinonome complex. His solo show brings together "It's All Rheydt" (Kolkata, 2011) and photography from his largest undertaking, "Haus u r," a house in his hometown of Rheydt that, since...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jul 10, 2013

'The Beauty of Japanese-style Calligraphy'

The Tokyo National Museum's Heiseikan's latest exhibition explores the history of calligraphy in Japan. First imported with the Chinese writing system, calligraphy developed a distinct Japanese style in the mid-Heian period (796-1185). This exhibition documents the changes in Japanese writing styles...
Japan Times
CULTURE / CULTURE SMASH
Jul 9, 2013

Can METI's ¥50 billion fund unfreeze 'Cool Japan'?

Naysaying is almost always risk-free, especially if you do it online. If you're a cynic, you're usually right, and if you're wrong, you can just delete those errant tweets and posts and join the party.
EDITORIALS
Jul 9, 2013

'Abenomics' too narrow in focus

The Abe administration's policy of monetary easing must end sometime. Voters in this month's Upper House polls should weigh the policy's effect on jobs and wages.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / Japan Pulse
Jul 9, 2013

A Tale of Two Limited-Edition Burgers: Lotteria’s Twin and McD’s Gold Ring

We rebuild Lotteria's Twin Burger into a double and then go after McDonald's Gold Ring.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Jul 8, 2013

Driven by regret over neighbor's death, first-time filmmaker declares war on suicide

Rene Duignan is passionate about life — so much so that he made an award-winning film about it. Yet Duignan, 42, is not a professional filmmaker; he's an Irish economist working for the European Union delegation to Japan. The documentary, titled "Saving 10,000 — Winning a War on Suicide in Japan,"...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
Jul 8, 2013

Lobbyists keep SEC's executive-pay ratio rule in limbo

Soon after Congress approved the largest overhaul of financial regulation in generations, the Securities and Exchange Commission moved to enforce what it considered one of the simpler parts of a mammoth and complicated law.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / HIT AND RUN
Jul 8, 2013

Tanaka hitting his stride as season progresses

The next time Masahiro Tanaka takes the mound for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles he'll be trying to win his 12th consecutive decision since opening day.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 7, 2013

Egypt needs help for democracy and economy

The U.S. should have two priorities in dealing with Egypt: helping to restore democratic government and strengthening the country's battered economy.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / DARK SIDE OF THE RISING SUN
Jul 6, 2013

Equal-opportunity infidelity comes to Japan

As a Japanese saying puts it: Suezen kuwanu wa otoko no haji (It is shame for a man not to eat a feast placed before him).
Reader Mail
Jul 6, 2013

Dumbing down 'The Road'

Regarding the June 25 article "Finally, 'The Last of Us' [video game] is here": How could anyone compare a simple-minded video game to the literary genius of Cormac McCarthy and his Pulitzer Prize winning novel "The Road"?
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Jul 5, 2013

Hate pornography, sure, but be wary of banning it

Prosecutions for the possession of the filthiest pornography confirm foreigners' suspicions that the British care more for animals than people. Between 2008 and 2011, the English and Welsh authorities charged 1,922 men for having images of bestiality about their person. By contrast, they brought only...
JAPAN / Politics / GAME OF NUMBERS
Jul 4, 2013

Abe camp faces little true opposition, also little mandate

As one expert has it, the July 21 Upper House poll looks to be a cakewalk for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ruling bloc.
JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse
Jul 4, 2013

Marketing that enters your brain through your nose

The nose knows what it wants, and cutting-edge marketing experts want a piece of the olfactory action.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jul 3, 2013

Matthew Bourne's 'Dorian Gray' will never grow old, says its lead dancer, Richard Winsor

"Matthew and I are very excited to see how Japanese audiences react — but I think everyone is absolutely going to love this show," English dancer Richard Winsor said at a Tokyo press conference held in May to preview next week's season of Matthew Bourne's "Dorian Gray," in which he plays the title...

Longform

A sinkhole in Yashio, which emerged in January, was triggered by a ruptured, aging sewer pipe. Authorities worry that similar sections of infrastructure across the country are also at risk of corrosion.
That sinking feeling: Japan’s aging sewers are an infrastructure time bomb