Search - japan

 
 
Reader Mail
Nov 13, 2008

U.S. demonstrated forbearance

Regarding Roger Pulvers' Nov. 9 article, "What a world of difference that one momentous day could make": The derogatory comments regarding America's use of force is humorous given Japan's history of "shock and awe" to begin the Pacific War. What other country, having been attacked as the United States...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 13, 2008

Tokyo's Rokku laughs it up again at film festival

The objectives of the First Old Town Taito International Comedy Film Festival, which runs Nov. 21 to 24 in the Tokyo districts of Asakusa and Ueno, sound ambitious. Noting on the festival's English-language Web site that "there are innumerable film festivals held throughout the world," the executive...
JAPAN
Nov 13, 2008

New territorial row brewing

In the latest territorial flap between South Korea and Japan, a bipartisan group of lawmakers voiced concern Wednesday over growing South Korean capital investment in Nagasaki Prefecture's Tsushima, an island city only 50 km from the Korean Peninsula.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / ASEAN JOURNALIST SYMPOSIUM
Nov 13, 2008

Asia must act as one to ride out global crisis

East Asia needs to work more closely together as the region tries to cope with the global financial crisis, journalists from Southeast Asian countries told a recent symposium in Tokyo.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 12, 2008

End of WWI remembered, 90 years on

KOBE — A small ceremony was held Tuesday morning at the Kobe Municipal Foreign Cemetery to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the end of the World War I.
COMMENTARY
Nov 11, 2008

Laissez faire has taken a powder

In the wee hours of Oct. 11 Tokyo time, finance ministers and central bank governors of the Group of Seven industrialized countries met in Washington to discuss how to resolve the global financial crisis and agreed to protect all depositors and inject public funds to rescue financial institutions.
Reader Mail
Nov 9, 2008

U.S. encourages rightwingers

Tamogami must be condemned for his distorted view of history, but he represents only the tip of an iceberg in the reactionary trend of political and military thinking in Japan that favors the revision of the war-renouncing Constitution so that Japan can exercise the right to collective self-defense with...
Reader Mail
Nov 9, 2008

More of the same talking points

Regarding the Nov. 4 article "Axed ASDF chief hawk till the end; no apology": For those who have yet to read the entire essay written by former Air Self-Defense Force chief Gen. Toshio Tamogami, I wouldn't bother. With one exception, there are no new revelations. It seems Tamogami merely took the overused...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Nov 8, 2008

Translating in the spirit of samurai

Iehiro Tokugawa arrives at the publishing house Kobunsha, for which he works on occasion as a translator, accompanied by his Vietnamese wife. He is all in black; she is in blue jeans with a waterfall of shining hair down her back, and very lovely too. Speaking in fluent English, he extends his hand to...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Nov 7, 2008

Canadian music execs schmooze up to Tokyo

The relatively small 33 million population of Canada, the world's second-largest country in terms of land mass, makes it nearly impossible for its musicians to maintain careers based on domestic support alone.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Nov 7, 2008

Frosty reception greets Giants at Seibu Dome

TOKOROZAWA, Saitama Pref. — At this time of year, particularly after sunset when the games are played, it feels almost like winter rather than fall at the area around the wood-surrounded Seibu Dome.
JAPAN
Nov 7, 2008

Bilateral ties will remain strong in all aspects: Schieffer

The alliance between Japan and the United States will remain strong regardless of the imminent change in U.S. administrations, U.S. Ambassador to Japan Thomas Schieffer said Thursday in Tokyo.
BUSINESS
Nov 7, 2008

BOJ may be unable to halt yen's rising tide: traders

The Bank of Japan may be powerless to prevent the yen from rising to a 13-year high, according to the world's biggest foreign-exchange traders.
Reader Mail
Nov 6, 2008

Teacher can't swim in a pool

I studied at Oita University as an exchange student. One thing that was very disappointing about my stay was that I visited many onsens only to be turned away. I couldn't even swim in the local pool. Why? Because I have tattoos. After getting a grant from Japan's government to study in Japan, I was still...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Nov 6, 2008

The key to Joseon times

Known as pungsu in Korean, feng shui was transmitted from China into Korean culture during the Unified Silla Dynasty (668-935). The system of aesthetics taught that proper placement of the home in relation to natural elements would facilitate a flow of positive energy through space and ensure well-being...
Reader Mail
Nov 6, 2008

Pro-whaling case self-serving

I read with interest Dan Goodman's Nov. 2 letter, "Bogus arguments about whaling." The Institute of Cetacean Research, with which Goodman is affiliated, is a "unique organization in Japan specializing in the biological and social sciences related to whales . . . whose legal status is authorized by the...
JAPAN
Nov 6, 2008

Aso lauds win, vows better ties

Prime Minister Taro Aso welcomed Democratic President-elect Barack Obama's victory and vowed Wednesday to work with him to strengthen Japanese-U.S. relations, stressing in a statement that the two nations will cooperate to find solutions to various problems related to the global economy, terrorism and...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 6, 2008

Mock vote lets youths speak out

U.S. President-elect Barack Obama won big Wednesday, and a mock poll held at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo indicates the senator is popular with young Japanese, too.
EDITORIALS
Nov 5, 2008

Dangerous ideas from on high

Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada on Oct. 31 dismissed Air Self-Defense Force Chief of Staff Gen. Toshio Tamogami over his essay, which stated it is "false" to accuse Japan of having been an aggressor nation before and during World War II. The essay also implied that the Self-Defense Forces should be...
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Nov 5, 2008

Nakajima, Sakamoto possess similar skills

TOKOROZAWA, Saitama Pref. — While the Yomiuri Giants and Seibu Lions were tied at one apiece entering Tuesday's game, and playing merciless, hard-nosed baseball in the ongoing Japan Series, there are two young men who appear to be enjoying this prestigious stage.
JAPAN
Nov 5, 2008

Citizenship for kids still tall order

Many observers of the Nationality Law have welcomed the government's proposed revision approved Tuesday by the Cabinet that will soon allow hundreds of children born out of wedlock to Japanese men and foreign women to obtain Japanese nationality if the father recognizes paternity even after birth.
JAPAN
Nov 4, 2008

Axed ASDF chief hawk till the end; no apology

Sacked Air Self-Defense Force chief Gen. Toshio Tamogami defended his nationalist essay Monday, claiming his justification of the war Japan waged in the last century was intended to instill the country and its people with a sense of confidence.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / NPB NOTEBOOK
Nov 4, 2008

Giants' unsung heroes revel in spotlight

As Game 2 starter Hisanori Takahashi left the mound in the middle of the sixth inning of a 2-2 contest on Sunday, things were looking bleak for the Yomiuri Giants.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Nov 4, 2008

Nikkyoso: A 'cancer' of teachers?

Nariaki Nakayama of the Liberal Democratic Party resigned because of gaffes he made in front of the press only five days after being appointed transport minister in the Cabinet Prime Minister Taro Aso formed in late September.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Nov 2, 2008

Wakui tosses gem for Lions in opener

If the Japan Series was supposed to be an offensive showcase, Seibu Lions pitcher Hideaki Wakui sure didn't get the memo.

Longform

Bear attacks have dominated Japanese news headlines in recent months, with 13 people so far having been killed by the animals.
Japan’s bears have been on their killing spree for more than 100 years