Search - question

 
 
EDITORIALS
Sep 5, 2009

Justice in Scotland

Justice should be tempered by mercy. That was the thinking of the government of Scotland when it decided to release Abdel Basset al-Megrahi, who is suffering from terminal cancer, from prison, eight years into a 27-year minimum sentence for blowing up an airliner over Lockerbie, Scotland, and killing...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 4, 2009

Dälek and DJ Baku

To promote their "DJ Baku Vs Dälek" CD, Tokyo turntablist DJ Baku and American hip-hop group Dälek (pronounced Die-a-leck) are teaming up for some shows.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 3, 2009

Crime, punishment and the quality of mercy

PRINCETON, N.J. — The recent release of Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi, convicted of blowing up Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988, sparked outrage.
JAPAN
Sep 3, 2009

Citizens find their place on the bench

As far as civic duties go, most Japanese would probably say voting is the most serious. But last month, a contender emerged with the first trial under the lay judge system.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Japan Pulse
Sep 3, 2009

Has Tokyo's art-fair scene got the goods?

Credit crunch be damned. Tokyo art fairs are going strong, with more coming to the roster. And now Tokyo Photo is coming into focus.
JAPAN
Sep 2, 2009

'Distorted' in translation?

An opinion piece by Democratic Party of Japan President Yukio Hatoyama published in The New York Times has drawn flak in America over its apparent antiglobalization bent, prompting the presumptive prime minister to argue portions of his essay were "distorted" in translation.
Reader Mail
Aug 30, 2009

Aso's all-time greatest blooper

Regarding the Aug. 25 article "Poor men too lowly to wed: Aso": Prime Minister Taro Aso's comments that people with little money would be better off not getting married and that it is difficult for him to understand how someone without pay can be seen as worthy of a partner's respect are, to say the...
Reader Mail
Aug 30, 2009

Responsibility of foreign guests

What inspired me to write was once again the possibly false assumptions pertaining to the reported recent arrest and nearly 10-day detention of a 74-year-old American man for carrying a pocketknife, including the implication that the knife in question had been carried on the plane by the tourist. The...
Reader Mail
Aug 30, 2009

'Trainees' a burden in these times

In response to the Aug. 25 Views From the Street question ("What would you do if you were prime minister of Japan?"): If I were the prime minister, I would stop trainees from coming to Japan. Because of these trainees, no more jobs are available. Actually they are not "training" but are a source of...
Reader Mail
Aug 30, 2009

Police gauntlet in the parking lot

Regarding the Aug. 26 article "Tourist's 10-day detention rapped": The Metro Police are asking the same question of foreigners who intend to use the Tokyo Immigration Bureau's parking lot. Police will ask if you have a knife and search your vehicle for knives and other dangerous weapons perhaps known...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / BACKSTREET STORIES
Aug 30, 2009

A textiles tour to dye for

A landlocked train stop named Hikifune (Tugboat) begs a question. Two such stations in Tokyo's downtown Sumida Ward — the other is nearby Keisei Hikifune — suggest there should be some answers.
EDITORIALS
Aug 30, 2009

U.S. Senate loses a lion

Edward Kennedy, the senior U.S. senator from the state of Massachusetts, died Tuesday night after a yearlong struggle with cancer. Mr. Kennedy's death deprives the United States of one of its most powerful and eloquent voices, a man who demanded justice and equal opportunities for the country's weakest...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Aug 29, 2009

Corporate exec puts the planet's needs on par with the bottom line

The church that Bill Werlin attended as a child had no walls. "I grew up in the mountains. People would ask me where my church was and I would point out the window and say, 'right there,' " he says.
JAPAN / ELECTION 2009
Aug 28, 2009

LDP heavyweight Koga running for his life

OMUTA, Fukuoka Pref. — For decades, voters in the Fukuoka No. 7 district, which encompasses the southern part of the prefecture, have always said, "Makoto ni arigato gozaimasu" come election time.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Aug 28, 2009

Dipping into modern art at Naoshima's bathhouse

At 2 p.m. on July 26, operations commenced at the first public bathhouse on the island of Naoshima in the Seto Inland Sea between the mainland of Honshu and Shikoku. Titled Naoshima Bathhouse "I Love Yu" (the "Love" represented by a heart symbol and "Yu" in kanji form) and designed by artist Shinro Ohtake...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 28, 2009

'Martyrs'

What exactly is the definition of a horror film these days? The genre seems to have moved from its traditional goal of scaring the viewer to a more decadent phase in which extreme depictions of brutality and degradation seem to be its raison d'etre. Suspense and fright have been replaced by torture and...
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 28, 2009

ASEAN rights panel offers scant defense of victims

PENANG, Malaysia — Last month the Term of Reference (TOR) for the establishment of a regional human rights body received the approval of the ASEAN foreign ministers' meeting in Phuket, Thailand.
Reader Mail
Aug 27, 2009

Who represents the Western spirit?

Who represents the Western spirit?
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 27, 2009

Time to reject tyranny and health insecurity

NEW YORK — Since 2001, under the guise of "reforms," the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has adopted Bush's undemocratic dogma of market fundamentalism — dysfunctional deregulation, privatization and corporate money games. Such dogma destroyed America's financial systems, social safety net and manufacturing,...
BUSINESS
Aug 27, 2009

Exports drop for 10th month

Exports fell for a 10th consecutive month in July as demand from all of the nation's major markets deteriorated.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 25, 2009

Opening a regulated market for kidney sales

PRINCETON, N.J. — The arrest in New York last month of Levy-Izhak Rosenbaum, a Brooklyn businessman whom police allege tried to broker a deal to buy a kidney for $160,000, coincided with the passage of a law in Singapore that some say will open the way for organ trading there.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Aug 25, 2009

Pop 'idol' phenomenon fades into dispersion

The arrest of singer-actress Noriko Sakai, 38, this month in connection with illegal drugs shattered the image of a star who in the 1980s parlayed being cute and innocent into idol status.
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Aug 24, 2009

Party shakeouts unlikely if the DPJ wins big-time

The latest major opinion polls seem to indicate that the general election on Aug. 30 will bring about a change of government in Japan, with the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) unseating the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) of Prime Minister Taro Aso as the predominant force in the Lower House. One is left...
BASEBALL / SPORTS SCOPE
Aug 23, 2009

Several NPB managers in danger of losing jobs

As the NPB season begins to head into the stretch run, an unusually high number of mangers find themselves on the hot seat — or at least very warm ones — as the Climax Series races begin in earnest.
JAPAN
Aug 23, 2009

Export link eyed

Yukio Hatoyama, leader of the Democratic Party of Japan, said Saturday that he'll focus on economic policies to reinvigorate domestic demand should his party win the Aug. 30 Lower House election.
CULTURE / Books
Aug 23, 2009

Making the time to find mono no aware

Detached and contemplative,"Oh!" draws the reader into a mesmerizing journey of discovery while also exploring contemporary Japanese pathologies along the way. This philosophical mystery gives us leads on understanding sadness, loss, family ties, identity and suicide. It is also a search for clues about...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Aug 23, 2009

TV celeb wannabes, origins of noodle-making and mysteries of Azuchi Castle

Show business likes family dynasties even more than politics does, though you may wonder how new "stars" are introduced when they have nothing more to offer than their surnames. Eight "talked-about teen candidates" for show biz stardom are the guests on this week's installment of the variety show "The...

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