Search - 2012

 
 
BASKETBALL / HOOP SCOOP
Dec 18, 2011

Don't expect Japanese basketball to embrace a real, workable plan

Every few months a false sense of hope surfaces on the blogosphere and in the mainstream media, where optimists peddle the message that Japan's basketball "leaders" finally have their act together, that a new men's pro league will, ahem, finally replace the outdated, increasingly irrelevant JBL and the...
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Dec 17, 2011

Redknapp wants two refs per match

It has been another bad week for referees. Chris Foy (Stoke vs. Tottenham) and Mark Clattenburg (Chelsea vs. Manchester City) became the latest to be blamed for the defeats of Spurs and City by, unsurprisingly, the losing managers.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / HOTELS & RESTAURANTS
Dec 16, 2011

Christmas in Osaka for couples

The Hotel Granvia Osaka is offering a special Christmas season accommodation plan for couples called Memorial Stay, through Dec. 25.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Dec 16, 2011

"Communication: Visualizing the Human Connection in the Age of Vermeer"

During the 17th-century, Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer became renowned for his outstanding compositional and lighting skills. Under the theme of "letters," this exhibition features the work of Vermeer alongside that of other contemporaneous painters.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Dec 16, 2011

Tokyo Ballet's top principal readies a final dance

On his second-ever professional tour in Europe, dancer Naoki Takagishi fought through injuries as he worked with modern-dance choreographer Maurice Bejart for the first time.
Japan Times
MULTIMEDIA
Dec 15, 2011

Having a laugh at the witch doctors of art

It's one of the most enigmatic questions of all time: What is art? Any gallery that holds an exhibition using that as its theme is either taking things very seriously indeed, or it's having a laugh.
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Dec 14, 2011

Stern right to stop original CP3 deal

Only once during four decades of covering pro basketball do I recall a team that became almost whole in a forced trade by its franchise player . . . and that took two seasons after Milwaukee agreed to relocate Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (and Walt Wesley) for Junior Bridgeman, Brian Winters, David Meyers and...
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 14, 2011

Five myths about presidential contender Ron Paul

Ron Paul is the Rodney Dangerfield of Republican presidential candidates. The 12-term Texas congressman ran for president on the Libertarian Party ticket in 1988 and was widely seen as a sideshow in 2008, despite finishing third in the GOP field behind John McCain and Mike Huckabee. Why, despite a small...
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / STYLE WISE
Dec 13, 2011

Stepping in the right fashion-forward directions

Opening ceremony for Kenzo Kenzo is one of Japan's most long-standing fashion houses, so it is understandable that it has undergone quite a few changes in its 41-year history — especially since Kenzo Takada himself retired in 1999.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Dec 11, 2011

Free agency likely to make negative impact on Hawks

They call the baseball off-season the "Hot Stove League" but, this winter, it might be called the "Overheated Stove" or the "Microwave League." As predicted in this column a few weeks ago, the flurry of activity in December would be fast and furious, especially because of the delayed end to the Japan...
COMMENTARY
Dec 10, 2011

Civil reawakening in Russia?

It came as no surprise to Russian citizens that parliamentary elections held Dec. 4 were neither free nor fair. Elections in Russia have become increasingly managed since Vladimir Putin's first stint as prime minister in 1999.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Dec 10, 2011

Every print a poem, artist's self-portrait

Woodblock prints, or moku hanga, may seem to be the quintessential Japanese art, but they have been embraced by artists around the world.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Dec 10, 2011

CL exit exposes Man United's flaws

Three weeks ago, Sir Alex Ferguson walked out of a UEFA news conference when he was asked a question by a reporter that began: "With the two best teams in the Premier League struggling in Europe. . . "
BUSINESS
Dec 10, 2011

Toyota profit forecast stung by Thai floods

Toyota Motor Corp., poised to lose its crown as the world's largest carmaker this year, has cut its profit forecast 54 percent after Thailand's worst floods in almost 70 years disrupted production.
COMMENTARY
Dec 9, 2011

Russia's cooperation options for design of a trade scheme

Nowadays the trend toward trade and investment liberalization is developing under restraints of the opposite — protectionist — tendency strengthened by the shaky and unpredictable world situation, which in turn was created by the global financial and economic crisis.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / HOTELS & RESTAURANTS
Dec 9, 2011

Fugu dinner course at Hakone hotel

Through Feb. 29, 2012, the Odakyu Hotel de Yama in the resort area of Hakone, Kanagawa Prefecture, is offering a special winter accommodation plan that comes with a special Japanese kaiseki dinner featuring fugu, a seasonal fish for winter in Japan.
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Dec 9, 2011

Karate, judo tournaments open to public

Ask people what images come to mind when they think of Japanese sports, and they may say martial arts such as karate or judo. Ask them if they've ever been to a championship, and many will say they haven't. There are two great chances to change that this weekend in Tokyo.
EDITORIALS
Dec 9, 2011

A test for Mr. Putin

Real men in Russia never get nervous. Or if they do, they do not show it. And if there is anything that he wants his public to believe, it is that Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is a real man. Still, the results of Sunday's parliamentary election must worry him.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / Japan Pulse
Dec 8, 2011

New era for New Year's cards

It'll be nengajo time soon, and clever entrepreneurs have got you covered.

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’