Search - 2013

 
 
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jun 30, 2013

Charting U.S. decline, without anger

One of the odd things about American news programs is how little American news they feature. Typhoons and hurricanes, crazies and lone gunmen, Barack Obama staging a press conference, 10 seconds about the Middle East, a famous actor doing something scandalous, back to the weather: All this giddy fragmentation...
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 29, 2013

Time caught up with the 1965 Voting Rights Act

Progressives resent progress — such as the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling on voting rights — that renders anachronistic once-valid reasons for government control.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Jun 28, 2013

Fourth-inning offensive outburst lifts BayStars over Swallows

Nyjer Morgan danced. Then he posed for pictures, and just before disappearing into the tunnel that would lead him out of Jingu Stadium, he stopped, formed a T with his hands, and led the Yokohama BayStars ouendan (cheering section) cheers for a few moments.
EDITORIALS
Jun 27, 2013

Sorry state of expressways

The sorry state of expressway sections and bridges will demand a sizable repair and reconstruction budget for the indefinite future. Whence will funding come
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jun 27, 2013

July Live

Though you might be dreading July, with its sweltering heat and seasonal rain, the month makes up for it with a slew of exciting concerts. It's time to let loose — and pray the venues have air conditioning. Here's a selection of what July has in store.
Reader Mail
Jun 27, 2013

Responsibilities toward the state

The June 23 Bloomberg article by Peter Gumbel, "French high school curriculum includes pitfalls U.S. should try to avoid with its Common Core," talks about the relatively high standard of the French baccalaureat secondary school graduation exams, and a corresponding dropout rate.
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Jun 26, 2013

Move by Rivers once unimaginable

Duck, duck your head! Pigs are flying!
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 25, 2013

Taksim Square and the new ways of mobilizing

Turkey's democratic opposition can address flaws of the system only if it recognizes the need for very different forms of mobilization from those of the past.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Jun 24, 2013

Lions' Kikuchi emerging as one of NPB's top pitchers

Yusei Kikuchi might be in the major leagues right now if he'd chosen differently.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 24, 2013

Every interventionist step spoils best-laid plans

Every interventionist step the U.S. has taken in the Middle East for 10 years has strengthened the Iranians and fomented Shiite-Sunni conflict.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 24, 2013

Rowhani victory buys time for Iran

Hassan Rowhani's presidential election win has exposed a rift among Iran's democratic forces, yet has bought Tehran time on the nuclear issue.
BUSINESS
Jun 24, 2013

Economy-crippling derivatives becoming popular with banks again

The exotic financial products that nearly crippled the economy in 2008 are roaring back at the nation's biggest banks, according to data released Friday that reform advocates worry come just as regulations to rein in risky trading are being weakened in Washington.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jun 23, 2013

North Korea occupies Fukuoka in Murakami's alternate world

Not to be confused with another famous Japanese novelist who has the same surname, Ryu Murakami is known for being an overtly political, even subversive, writer. "From the Fatherland, With Love," his latest novel to be translated into English, cements that reputation. Taking place in an alternate world...
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 23, 2013

French high school curriculum includes pitfalls U.S. should try to avoid with its Common Core

The rigorous French high school curriculum comes with pitfalls that the U.S. should try to avoid as it introduces a Common Core of national standards.
Reader Mail
Jun 23, 2013

Right to express religious views

When I noticed Drusilla de Lanor's June 13 letter, "No offense taken to 'that guy' " (which was a reaction to Brian Redmond's June 9 letter, "An offensive religious reference"), I thought of how enlightened De Lanor must be.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Jun 23, 2013

Happiness: Abenomics falls short

What makes people happy? The global trend toward quantifying happiness certainly got a big boost from Bhutan, the tiny Himalayan kingdom that has championed and made a cottage industry out of the concept of Gross National Happiness (GNH).
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jun 23, 2013

Living in the material world

In 1961, Oxford archaeologists uncovered a pit at the site of Gen. Gnaeus Julius Agricola's headquarters at Inchtuthil, the site of a Roman legionary fortress, in Scotland. Unsavory Caledonians had made his troops' position untenable.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 22, 2013

Partition looms for Afghanistan

The U.S. effort to cut a deal with the Pashtun-based, Pakistan-backed Taliban is stirring deep unease among the non-Pashtun groups in Afghanistan.
EDITORIALS
Jun 22, 2013

Kudos and caution for Mr. Abe

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has been praised by G-8 leaders for his monetary policy as well as warned not to forget about a medium-term fiscal plan.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 21, 2013

New censors of Web media

The Internet has proved to be a powerful tool for overcoming media restrictions and censorship worldwide. But new restrictions on Web-based news media, such as those in Jordan, threaten to reverse the progress that the Internet has enabled.
Events / Events In Tokyo
Jun 21, 2013

Irish poet to be focus of Yeats Day at Waseda

One of the first attempts to combine the literary traditions of the English and Japanese languages occurred in 1916, when Irish poet William Butler Yeats tried his hand at a noh play. The result, "At the Hawk's Well," tells the story of a mythological hero Cuchulain, but it's best known for its masked...
Japan Times
Events / Events In Tokyo
Jun 21, 2013

Turn the lights out for a piece of 'me' time

"Turn off the lights, and take it slow tonight": If this reads like advice on how to pamper yourself at the end of a long work week, that isn't entirely off the mark.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jun 20, 2013

For a nonverbal theater group, The Original Tempo has a lot to say

"The Yellow Raincoat Squad' is charming and engaging. This is another one of those productions that defies description but is a must-see for all ages," wrote Catherine Lamm in The British Theatre Guide in August, 2009. Lamm was reviewing one of Japan's best-kept theatrical secrets: The Original Tempo...
EDITORIALS
Jun 20, 2013

Global warming danger zone

The Japanese general public's interest in the global warming issue has been sagging of late, and few LDP government leaders appear ready to try to prop it up.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 20, 2013

Loeb Sony drive based on faith in Abe

Corporate activist Daniel Loeb took his team to Japan in April 2012 to determine if the world's third-largest economy was ready for investment. The Bank of Japan had set a new 1 percent inflation goal, an encouraging step in a country where growth had stagnated for two decades.
Japan Times
SOCCER / SOCCER SCENE
Jun 20, 2013

Japan looking for Italian tonic after poor display against Brazil

Japan's humbling defeat to Brazil in the opening game of the Confederations Cup last weekend was a bitter pill to swallow, but that does not mean Alberto Zaccheroni's side cannot get its campaign back on track against Italy on Wednesday.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji