Search - japan

 
 
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Mar 24, 2013

Abashiri astounds with its ice and convict connections

In April 1890, the Japanese government shipped more than 1,200 political prisoners from all over the country, including samurai insurgents from the 1877 Satsuma Rebellion against the government of Emperor Meiji. Nine years before, more than 250 years of rule by the Tokugawa shoguns had finally ended....
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT
Mar 24, 2013

Trafficking wildlife pays as well as drugs or guns

Wildlife trafficking is a murky, lucrative, violent trade; ongoing, increasingly organized and sophisticated, but one that still remains largely unnoticed. And it is out of control.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 24, 2013

Shizuoka boy, 12, bags spelling bee

Daichi Hayakawa, 12, wins the 4th Japan Times Spelling Bee, booking a place at the National Spelling Bee to be held in Washington this spring.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Mar 24, 2013

Abortion controlled by the state

TV personalities, or tarento in the vernacular parlance, wage a never-ending battle against encroaching irrelevance. They impose on our consciousness, and one of the easiest ways to do that without offering a compelling skills set is to exploit personal circumstances that are none of our business. Last...
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 23, 2013

Foreign visitors surge to record high

Foreign visitors to Japan rose 33 percent last month to their highest on record for a February as a weakening yen boosted travelers' buying power, the Japan National Tourism Organization said in a report Friday.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Mar 23, 2013

Biiiiig baby! — Japanese get taller and skinnier, but not bigger

"How old do you think those kids are?" Asked my father, admiring the cute little American tots standing in line at the ski lift. They were dressed in the puffy ski outfits of the latest fashionable shade of kindergarten pastel, making them look like they were wrapped in cotton candy. Snuggly fit around...
EDITORIALS
Mar 23, 2013

Ceremony insults Okinawans

On April 28 the Abe Cabinet will commemorate the day in 1952 that Japan got its sovereignty back. Don't look for many Okinawans at the ceremony.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 22, 2013

Kids with guns on film, blasting at the culture gap

Contemporary Japanese films are often extremely violent; the lives of ordinary Japanese, much less so. According to a multinational study by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Japan's homicide rate in 2009 was 0.4 per 100,000 population, for a total of 506 deaths. Similar figures for...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / EVERYMAN EATS
Mar 22, 2013

Running with the ramen hunters

Ramen is to Japanese food as school-girl uniforms are to porn — the animating fetish that sustains an entire industry. Helping to scratch the noodle itch is an army of bloggers whose dispatches are consumed with voyeuristic glee. The numbers are against them — with a ramen shop on nearly every street...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / JAPANESE KITCHEN
Mar 22, 2013

Why not just add a dollop of mayonnaise?

Newcomers to Japan are often a little taken aback by the many decidedly non-Japanese condiments, such as ketchup and Worcestershire sauce, that are used in everyday cooking. And in particular mayonnaise: Usually reserved for sandwiches, salad dressing and dipping sauces for chilled seafood in the West,...
EDITORIALS
Mar 21, 2013

China completes its transition

With the transition to the so-called fifth generation of leaders complete, China faces formidable environmental, economic and diplomatic problems.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Mar 21, 2013

Enjoy an art night out in Roppongi

Spring finally returns and with the change of weather comes a flurry of activity in and around Tokyo, as this year's Roppongi Art Night is welcomed back. Running from 10 a.m. on March 23 until 6 p.m. the next day, the festival hosts a diverse collection of new and established artists, some showing for...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 20, 2013

Flush ANA looking to make deals in South Asia

All Nippon Airways Co., Japan's largest airline by sales, is looking for acquisitions and partnerships abroad, with an eye particularly on India and Thailand, after raising $1.8 billion in a share sale last year to expand.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Mar 19, 2013

Top chefs explore international accents to sushi

On March 6, in a banquet room of the Hotel The Manhattan in Chiba a group of television camera crews surrounded American chef Jeff Ramsey as he carefully spooned a layer of black rice onto a slice of omelet.
Reference / SO WHAT THE HECK IS THAT
Mar 19, 2013

White gloves

Dear Alice,
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LABOR PAINS
Mar 19, 2013

Labor law reform raises rather than relieves workers' worries

A new specter hangs over Japan: the specter of insecure employment. The source of this insecurity is the August 2012 reform of the Labor Contract Act related to fixed-term employment.
Japan Times
BASEBALL / WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC
Mar 18, 2013

Scouts gather for precious look at global talent at WBC

With the World Baseball Classic acting as a showcase in front of major league scouts, Team Japan has obviously been one of the countries attracting attention from the men with stop watches and speed guns in the stands.
EDITORIALS
Mar 18, 2013

Time for base wage increases

For the first time since the 2008 failure of Lehman Brothers triggered the financial crisis, the wage situation for Japanese workers has brightened.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 17, 2013

Keep eye on July poll, Abe tells LDP faithful

The LDP kicks off its annual convention with a reminder from President Abe to stay vigilant ahead of the Upper House election and a vow to protect farmers during the TPP talks.
JAPAN / History / JAPAN TIMES GONE BY
Mar 17, 2013

Yokohama conflagration, National Mobilization Bill debated, mines removed, five-day working week achieved

100 YEARS AGOSaturday, March 8, 1913
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Mar 17, 2013

The rising of a nation

This superb book charts the improbable rise of South Korea from the devastation of war and impoverishment to rapid development and prosperity, and from brutal dictatorship to the most vibrant democracy in Asia. It is 'impossible' in terms of its economic and political achievements, 'the most unlikely and impressive story of national building of the last century,' Daniel Tudor writes.

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