Search - japan

 
 
Reader Mail
Jan 23, 2013

Men to decide the demographics

Regarding the Jan. 19 editorial "Revitalizing rural Japan": The depopulation of Japan is a cultural/social problem caused by the Japanese male. Let's face it, Japanese women don't want to marry a man who looks down on them, treats them with disrespect and tells them they should do only as they're told....
Reader Mail
Jan 23, 2013

'Flyjin' demonstrated a reality

There is an old rule about judging people by their actions: Don't generalize. Generalizing may allow you to sound funny at first, but on second take, you may appear completely off the mark. Consider Emmanuelle Bodin (subject of the Jan. 16 article "Frenchwoman fired for leaving Japan during 3/11 nuclear...
Japan Times
BASKETBALL
Jan 23, 2013

New Osaka coach Cartwright brings major credibility

"I remember when I was in college, people told me I couldn't play in the NBA. There's always somebody saying you can't do it, and those people have to be ignored."
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jan 22, 2013

The blunt, blue-blooded Aso is back

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe may be the face of the new government led by Liberal Democratic Party, but Finance Minister Taro Aso is also a force in the LDP to be reckoned with.
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Jan 22, 2013

Fixing the much-admired, reviled Constitution — by breaking it

With Shinzo Abe having called Japan's current Constitution "pathetic" (mittomonai) just a few days before taking charge of a government established under it, constitutional amendment seems likely to be on the agenda of his second go as prime minister. This should not surprise anyone, since "fixing" the...
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 21, 2013

A nagging Japanese riddle: Who's 'left' and who's 'right'?

In the Dec. 16 Lower House election, the Liberal Democratic Party won a resounding victory while the Democratic Party of Japan suffered a crushing defeat, bringing about a change of government after three years and three months of DPJ rule.
JAPAN / Media
Jan 19, 2013

Oshima was in a realm of his own

Film director Nagisa Oshima passed away Tuesday. He was 80.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Jan 19, 2013

Impossible forests where tides ebb and flow

A ripple flows gently inland across an expanse of dark-gray mud. It washes in, then drains back, dampening the surface; it briefly fills, then empties from, tiny holes made by innumerable small crabs. The ebb is over, and the flow tide has begun.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CABINET INTERVIEW
Jan 19, 2013

Hague treaty not priority, past bill needs study: Tanigaki

Although the Liberal Democratic Party-led government is moving toward signing the Hague Convention on cross-border parental child abductions, the issue may not be a priority in the next ordinary Diet session, Justice Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki said.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 19, 2013

Hamada hits DPJ deflation inaction

Koichi Hamada, one of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's special advisers, on Friday condemned past governments led by the Democratic Party of Japan for not pressing the Bank of Japan to conduct enough monetary easing steps to fight the country's prolonged deflation.
Japan Times
CULTURE
Jan 17, 2013

Fujiwara chases a scoop in news-themed thriller

There aren't many celebrities who would make good journalists, but something tells me Norika Fujiwara is one. She's well-traveled, socially active and not constrained by the mechanisms of public-relations strategies.
Reader Mail
Jan 17, 2013

Ridiculous hypothetical question

In his Jan. 10 letter, "Jet scramble all huff and puff," Robert Thornton asks what Japan would have had its scrambled F-15s do if the Chinese aircraft that approached the Senkaku Islands recently had entered Japanese airspace completely and then done dives and other provocative maneuvers?
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jan 16, 2013

Somali pair admit trying to hijack ship

In the first case prosecuted under Japan's 2009 antipiracy law, two Somali men pleaded guilty Tuesday in Tokyo District Court to charges of boarding and attempting to hijack a Bahamas-registered tanker operated by a Japanese shipping company.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 16, 2013

White paper chronicles rise of ramen worldwide

Ramen's rise to global prominence has taken many forms: Japanese noodle shops debuting to great acclaim overseas, from Sydney to Honolulu to London; the proliferation of English-language ramen blogs; international chefs incorporating elements of the dish into their cuisine.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 16, 2013

METI taps foreign students as content envoys

Foreign students studying in Japan can be a great help in promoting the nation's strong points overseas.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jan 15, 2013

Tokyo hopes this Olympics bid wins

Tokyo's quest to host the 2020 Olympics entered a new stage last week when it presented its candidature file to the International Olympic Committee in Switzerland.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHO'S WHO
Jan 14, 2013

Canadian has English-language rakugo dream

Katsura Sunshine wants to spread the world of rakugo (traditional comic storytelling) to people all over the world, including his home country Canada, by delivering English-translated versions.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jan 14, 2013

Hit product lists laud the year's marketing successes

Toward the end of every year, Japan's print media and many business organizations look back on "hit products" whose successes helped define consumer spending over the previous 12 months.
COMMENTARY / Japan / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Jan 14, 2013

Our menacing infrastructure

"Expressway tunnels as well as other infrastructure throughout Japan are nearing the crisis stage," warns a university professor who is a member of an advisory body for the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.

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’