Search - japan

 
 
BUSINESS
Aug 29, 2008

Bankruptcies to rise: Daiwa chief

The list of real estate companies filing for bankruptcy will grow this year as banks cut lending, said Takeo Higuchi, chairman of Daiwa House Industry Co., Japan's second-biggest home builder by market value.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Aug 28, 2008

Indecisive moments

Henri Cartier-Bresson's legacy of the "decisive moment" had a profound impact on photography. As a cofounder of the photographic cooperative Magnum Photos in 1947, his philosophy influenced a whole generation of photojournalists, and, for decades, Magnum photographers were instrumental in constructing...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Aug 28, 2008

Ainu musician Oki brings the world to Hokkaido

With a Japanese mother and Ainu father, the appearance of Oki on "The Rough Guide to the Music of Japan" with his Oki Dub Ainu Band presents a rare glimpse of the multiracial underbelly that Japan seems reluctant to own up to. Despite being indigenous to Hokkaido, or Ezo as it is known to them, the Ainu...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Aug 27, 2008

Exploring Antarctica for key climate clues

The steamy hot days of summer make it very tempting to imagine an escape to the snow and ice of Antarctica, though few of us will ever have that chance. Shin Sugiyama, 39, a glaciologist at Hokkaido University, is one of the exceptions.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Aug 26, 2008

Tattoos come out of hiding

'There are tattoos that you can show and ones that you should hide," says Shura, an Osaka tattoo artist. "Traditional tattoos are only OK to show at festivals, certain public baths and during fights.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / NPB NOTEBOOK
Aug 26, 2008

Beijing exit must spur bout of soul-searching

The fall was as stunning as it was quick.
BUSINESS
Aug 26, 2008

Daihatsu unveils fuel-efficient Move Conte minicar

Daihatsu Motor Co., Japan's biggest minicar maker, unveiled on Monday its new Move Conte as rising gasoline prices boost demand for fuel-efficient cars.
BUSINESS
Aug 22, 2008

Exports rebound as China outbuys U.S.

Japan's exports rebounded in July as China replaced the United States as the nation's largest customer but couldn't prevent the trade surplus plunging 87 percent to ¥91.10 billion on surging imports due to higher oil prices.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / LIQUID CULTURE
Aug 22, 2008

The perfect gin and tonic

"A gin and tonic is an entry-level drink," said the ladyfriend recently. It's easy to understand, she said, easy to drink. Like Kahlua milks and Moscow mules. A drink for people who haven't graduated to whiskeys or rickeys.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Aug 21, 2008

A linguistic boxing match from a true classic

Internationally acclaimed English theater director David Leveaux first visited Japan 20 years ago as the substitute director of "Dangerous Liaisons" after an English colleague had to pull out. Now Leveaux, 50, is back in his second home after a bewildering series of trips from his London base to Vienna,...
BUSINESS
Aug 20, 2008

Trial drilling for frozen gas to start in '12

The government plans to start trial drilling in 2012 to extract frozen methane hydrate buried under the seabed to test if the natural gas is a viable next-generation fuel.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 20, 2008

Kawasaki's Filipinos form support base

KAWASAKI — When Rosemarie Salvio began taking care of children at the Fureai-kan public welfare facility in Kawasaki in 1997, Filipino mothers started showing up to talk with her.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 19, 2008

Rice flour on rise as substitute for wheat in sweets

The Swiss roll looks no different from any other at a cafe or patisserie. But take a bite and something in the texture — finer and chewier — proves looks can be deceiving. The difference? The roll is made from rice flour, not wheat.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Aug 19, 2008

Readers respond: Once a 'gaijin,' always a 'gaijin'?

The Community Page received a large number of responses to Debito Arudou's last Just Be Cause column on the use of the word "gaijin." Following is a selection of readers' views.
OLYMPICS / ODDS AND EVENS
Aug 18, 2008

Phelps' achievement leaves nothing to the imagination

BEIJING — There was little time to ponder the significance of Michael Phelps' record-tying seventh gold medal in a single Olympiad on Saturday. There were other stories to write before heading out to National Stadium to see the evening's track and field competition. And, oh yeah, lunch was on the agenda,...
CULTURE / Books
Aug 17, 2008

Avoiding flat tires

JAPAN: 6,000 Miles on a Bicycle, by Leigh Norrie. Printed Matter Press, 2008, 229 pp., ¥2,000 (paper) The worst account of a bicycle trip ever written about must surely be Bernard Magnouloux's "Travels with Rosinante," a five-year, 199-puncture journey around the world, in which the author struggled...
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Aug 17, 2008

There's a lot to learn from the life and times of Beate Sirota Gordon

"This film is a requiem to people who have been persecuted and died in war."
JAPAN
Aug 16, 2008

Helping hand for immigrants

There is a simple reason why Taba Solange, a Brazilian living in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, never helps her 12-year-old son or 7-year-old daughter with their homework: She can't read Japanese very well.
JAPAN
Aug 16, 2008

Cabinet trio visit Yasukuni

Cabinet ministers and at least 53 Diet members visited Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo on surrender day Friday while Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda and two key ministers opted to keep their distance from the contentious landmark, which served as Japan's spiritual pillar during the war.

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