Search - japan

 
 
COMMENTARY / World
May 5, 2010

Economic meet can't hide world's growing divisions

WASHINGTON — What a difference a year makes. Spring was in the air in Washington — both physically and in the economic metaphors — at the meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank late last month. The fog of crisis that pervaded a year ago has largely been blown away. IMF predictions...
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE MONTH
May 4, 2010

White, Washington, Sparks pick up April honors

Since scoring 32 points in his bj-league debut, Wendell White has been a tone-setter for the Eastern Conference's top team.
JAPAN
May 4, 2010

Constitution Day marked with rallies and protests

On the occasion of the 63rd Constitution Day, and with the national referendum law to take effect May 18, a group of conservative intellectuals on Monday stressed the need to kick-start debate on the Constitution, which they argued has been on the back burner for too long.
Japan Times
Events / WHERE IT'S AT
May 4, 2010

Cyclists pedaling to Osaka for hearing-impaired pupils

Last Friday, 15 bicycle riders lined up on the campus of Meisei Gakuen School for the Deaf in Shinagawa Ward, Tokyo, to kick off their second fundraising charity ride to help the school purchase playground equipment.
COMMENTARY
May 3, 2010

Plans for 'small' reactors nudge waste-disposal concerns to fore

Imagine a world in which midsize cities, factories and towns in many countries have their own small nuclear reactors to generate electricity and heat. Some would be in remote locations unconnected to the national grid but others would be in densely populated zones that need local sources of constant...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
May 2, 2010

Schedule packed for Golden Week; interleague next

Ah, Golden Week, when the weather is warm and windy, the koi nobori carp streamers are flying and Japan's ballparks are full with spectators from Showa Day on Thursday through Children's Day on May 5. I have said it before; if every week was Golden Week, Japanese pro baseball would never have an attendance...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
May 2, 2010

'Zen-Nihon Kaso Taisho,' the trouble with herbivores; CM of the week: Sumisho Fruits

Several weeks ago, NHK profiled Yusei Uesugi, a matte painter who works for George Lucas's Industrial Light and Magic. Uesugi is a major talent in Hollywood special effects, and he got his start as a contestant on "Zen-Nihon Kaso Taisho" ("All-Japan Disguise Awards"), which takes place two or three times...
SOCCER / World cup
May 1, 2010

Hirayama philosophical about World Cup chances

If Cameroon, the Netherlands and Denmark think they know what to expect from Japan at this summer's World Cup, one glance at Sota Hirayama should be enough to change their minds.
EDITORIALS
May 1, 2010

China's summer showcase

Expo 2010 — a six-month event starting May 1 in Shanghai, the largest city in China — will showcase the recent economic development and internationalization of the world's most populous country, once a revolutionary nation that directly challenged the Western political and economic order. The event's...
EDITORIALS
May 1, 2010

Monju reactor set to restart

The test run of the prototype fast-breeder reactor (FBR) Monju in Tsuruga, Fukui Prefecture, is now expected to start after Golden Week, after prefecture Gov. Issei Nishikawa on April 28 gave the go-ahead for test runs to be conducted. The 280,000 kW reactor — an important part of Japan's planned nuclear...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
May 1, 2010

An artist's love affair with ceramics

Ceramic artist Swanica Ligtenberg returned from her native Holland in early January with a new sense of purpose. She no longer felt an outsider in a family of goldsmiths and silversmiths, because in speaking with her uncle — still creatively active at age 91 — she realized that the roots of his and...
COMMENTARY
Apr 30, 2010

America's star is rising in world opinion

Despite widespread talk of a rising China and an America in decline, the latest BBC World Service poll shows not just strong residual American soft power but actually an increase. At the same time, the data depict a China whose influence is viewed as more negative than positive in an increasing number...
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Apr 29, 2010

Why cook food when it is better for you raw?

Sixteen years ago, the Boutenkos were a family in crisis. Mother Victoria was overweight and depressed. Her husband, Sergei, had arthritis. Their teenage son was battling diabetes, while their daughter suffered from asthma.
EDITORIALS
Apr 27, 2010

More than a popularity contest

Former health, welfare and labor minister Yoichi Masuzoe on Friday launched a new party, Shinto Kaikaku (literally "new party for reform"). In opinions polls, the former Liberal Democratic Party member was most preferred option for prime minister from among a list of politicians. The six-member party...
BUSINESS
Apr 27, 2010

Japanese carmakers increase output

Toyota Motor Corp., Honda Motor Co. and Nissan Motor Co. increased global auto production in March as demand rose in Asia and the U.S.

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past