Search - question

 
 
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 6, 2009

'Synecdoche, New York'

Sreenwriter Charlie Kaufman, who spun American cinema on its head with striking scripts for "Being John Malkovich" and "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," goes for fiendishly obsessional, intellectual acrobatics in his directorial debut.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Japan Pulse
Nov 5, 2009

New faces down on the farm

Whether it's in a country field or on a high-rise rooftop, the self-sufficiency benefits of farming are inspiring more Japanese to till the soil.
Japan Times
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Nov 5, 2009

Ogasawara busts out but keeps poker face

Watching Game 3 of the Japan Series must have been a bitter pill to swallow for Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters fans.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 5, 2009

Is Russia really so weak?

MOSCOW — Western leaders and observers persistently repeat, like a mantra, that Russia is "weak." This judgment is based on a flawed comparison between Russia and the Soviet Union — though one that is also popular in Russia itself.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL: KEYES' POINT
Nov 4, 2009

Gokai: The more I know Japan, the thicker the fog

What a strange dream! The city was engulfed in a wave of random murders (musabetsu satsujin, 無差別殺人), and when my doorbell rang it was not the murderer (satsujinhan, 殺人犯), as I'd feared, but a high police official come to coax me out of retirement (taishoku, 退職) and put my detective...
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Nov 4, 2009

Could be a long season for D'Antoni, Knicks

NEW YORK — The best feature about the end of Daylight Savings Time is it gave me an extra hour to overreact to the first few days of the season.
COMMUNITY / Issues / JUST BE CAUSE
Nov 3, 2009

Demography vs. demagoguery: when politics, science collide

Last June, I attended a symposium sponsored by the German Institute of Japanese Studies. Themed "Imploding Populations: Global and Local Challenges of Demographic Change," I took in presentations about health care, international and domestic migration, and life in a geriatric society.
EDITORIALS
Nov 3, 2009

Freeing up local government

The government panel on devolution has submitted its third set of recommendations to Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, calling for the relaxation or abolition of 892 items, most of them related to administrative service standards for local residents. These standards are imposed by the central government...
COMMUNITY / Issues / JUST BE CAUSE
Nov 3, 2009

Demography vs. demagoguery: when politics, science collide

Last June, I attended a symposium sponsored by the German Institute of Japanese Studies. Themed "Imploding Populations: Global and Local Challenges of Demographic Change," I took in presentations about health care, international and domestic migration, and life in a geriatric society.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Nov 3, 2009

The fatally flawed math of risking it all in Japan

Whenever Richard Cory went down town, We people on the pavement looked at him: He was a gentleman from sole to crown, Clean favored, and imperially slim.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Nov 2, 2009

Nashida keeps crowd guessing over starter

SAPPORO — Thanks to a Central League rule, Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters manager Masataka Nashida was able to play coy until the very end.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Nov 1, 2009

Japan's sea change should signal a new course for the media, too

The relationship between the government and the press in Japan has, during the past 50 years, been a volatile one of give and take: The government gives the press what it wants it to know, and the press gladly takes it. But this has not always been the case.
Japan Times
LIFE
Nov 1, 2009

Ministry insider speaks out

Health ministry bureaucrat Moriyo Kimura made headlines in late May just after the H1N1 flu outbreak sparked a massive mask-buying spree across the nation. Appearing before a Diet committee as an expert witness, the 44-year-old quarantine officer sharply criticized her own ministry — and especially...
EDITORIALS
Oct 31, 2009

More doubts about Copenhagen

The prospects for success at the United Nations meeting in December in Copenhagen to devise a global accord to fight global warming appear to be receding. Ironically, one reason for the growing pessimism is the bilateral agreement struck by China and India, two of the world's leading producers of greenhouse...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Oct 31, 2009

Putting a little bug in your ear

Sometimes beauty resides not to the eye of the beholder. Instead, it lives in the ear of the listener.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Oct 31, 2009

Keane facing uphill battle with Ipswich Town

LONDON — Last April Ipswich Town sacked manager Jim Magilton and brought in Roy Keane for the last two games of the season. Ipswich's new owner Marcus Evans, who likes publicity as much as Superman enjoys kryptonite, wanted a big name. Instead, Ipswich is in a big mess.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 31, 2009

Nissan bet on raking in profits with Leaf name

After Nissan Motor Co. tackled technical restrictions on its first electric car involving range, battery life and temperature fluctuations, it still had to come up with a name. Choosing Leaf wasn't easy.
JAPAN
Oct 30, 2009

Japan-U.S. ties need revamp: Hatoyama

In light of next year marking the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty, Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama said Thursday it's time the overall defense alliance is reviewed.
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Oct 30, 2009

Grouses get off to fast start after years of frustration

Triple overtime wins give a team a healthy dose of confidence — and plenty of exhaustion, too.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 30, 2009

Is Indian 'soft power' in Afghanistan working?

LONDON — In the second such strike in as many years, a suicide car-bombing outside the Indian Embassy in the Afghan capital Kabul recently left at least 17 dead (none of them embassy staff) and scores of others wounded. India has long been developing its "soft power" strategy in Afghanistan, sticking...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 30, 2009

'Watashi Dasuwa'

"A fool and his money are soon parted" and all its many variations is a common theme in films, from the heist-of-a-lifetime that ruins so many lives in "Goodfellas" to Gary Cooper handing out his inherited fortune to total strangers in "Mr. Deeds Goes to Town" and then coming to regret it.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Oct 30, 2009

Rockers turn it up to 11

Metallica. Slayer. Anthrax. The Scorpions. Even a casual fan of rock music knows that these names make up the pantheon of modern heavy metal, the bands that rose to the top and never looked back when metal swept away all before it in the 1980s.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 29, 2009

Reports of the dollar's death are exaggerated

BERKELEY, Calif. — The blogosphere is abuzz with reports of the dollar's looming demise. The greenback has fallen against the euro by nearly 15 percent since the beginning of the summer. Central banks have reportedly slowed their accumulation of dollars in favor of other currencies. One sensational...
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: DESIGN
Oct 29, 2009

Now's the time to celebrate design

Don't miss Design Week This year, Tokyo Designers Week conveniently kicks off on a Friday — previous years have always seen a Wednesday start — ensuring visitors can make the most of the weekend and the national holiday on Tuesday.

Longform

Dangami House is a 180-year-old former samurai residence of the Kato clan, who ruled over Ozu, Ehime Prefecture, until the Meiji Restoration.
A house, a legacy and the quiet work of restoration in rural Japan