Search - events

 
 
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jan 11, 2003

Get ready for Japanese inside and out

People often ask me what they should expect before coming to Japan. It's hard to say, but if you don't speak Japanese, at first you'll be limited to communicating with Japanese people who can speak English. Be ready to meet these people:
JAPAN
Jan 11, 2003

Domestic, overseas travelers to fall 0.3% in 2003, JTB predicts

The number of Japanese traveling to domestic and overseas destinations this year will fall 0.3 percent to 335.82 million, according to an estimate by travel agency JTB Corp.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 8, 2003

Debate suffers as ruling parties dominate

LONDON -- The shape of politics is changing in the world's main democracies in a manner that Japan may find familiar. But the implications are only starting to seep through.
JAPAN
Jan 8, 2003

Chinatown to be more tourist-friendly

Yokohama Chinatown, proud of its 140-year history as a symbol of the city since the early days of the port's opening, is gearing up for a makeover that it hopes will draw tourists back to its streets.
JAPAN
Jan 7, 2003

Obituary: Friedrich Greil

Friedrich Greil, a former longtime German-language announcer for NHK, died of old age at a hospital in Chiba Prefecture on Friday, according to his family. He was 100.
MORE SPORTS
Jan 6, 2003

Kimura to captain Japanese squad

Veteran Alpine skier Kiminobu Kimura will replace ski-jumper Kazuyoshi Funaki and head the Japanese delegation as captain at the upcoming Winter Asian Games in Aomori Prefecture, organizers said late Saturday.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jan 5, 2003

All aboard: a nation in motion

Monday is the first business day of the new year, so on Sunday the nation's airports, highways and rail lines will be crammed to overcapacity by a mass migration known as the "U-turn."
JAPAN
Jan 4, 2003

EU challenge drags exclusivity of press clubs into spotlight

The European Union may have challenged one of Japan's toughest barriers to free trade when it called for the abolition of the nation's "kisha" press club system.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Jan 4, 2003

Junko Okura

Last month the Junior Group of the Japan-British Society held a traditionally British Christmas party. In the revelry of a Tokyo British pub, participants enjoyed roast turkey and stuffing, and mince pies with cream and brandy sauce.
COMMENTARY
Jan 1, 2003

Pols are but small cogs in the machine

LONDON -- My God, the shame of it. Prime Minister Tony Blair is a poodle, yapping obediently when U.S. President George W. Bush snaps his fingers. This bitter vein of comedy runs through the thin political culture we have at the moment. But perhaps, muse the bitter critics, this British subservience...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 1, 2003

Okuda offers economic solution: substantially raise sales tax

Hiroshi Okuda, chairman of the Japan Business Federation (Nippon Keidanren), thinks he has a cure for the sick economy, but consumers aren't likely to enjoy his bitter medicine.
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Dec 24, 2002

Not much cheer for new year

Not long after arriving in Japan, I managed to make it to Nara for New Year's Eve. "Man," I thought, "this'll be the mother of all parties."
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Dec 24, 2002

Clothing homeless volunteering and kids' art classes

Donating old clothes Being the season of good cheer and giving rather than receiving, here are some ways to help those less fortunate than ourselves.
COMMENTARY
Dec 23, 2002

Fundamentalism twists ethics of religions

LONDON -- Because of the events of 9/11 and al-Qaeda terrorism, we have all become deeply concerned about the malevolent aspects of Islamic fundamentalism. It is not always easy to remember that most followers of Islam are moderate and tolerant.
EDITORIALS
Dec 19, 2002

A belated but welcome apology

The USS Greeneville, a massive nuclear submarine, accidently rammed and sank the Ehime Maru, a Japanese fisheries training vessel, off Hawaii on Feb. 9, 2001, killing nine. This week, nearly two years later, the Greeneville's former captain, retired Cmdr. Scott Waddle, traveled to Japan to apologize...
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital
Dec 19, 2002

'Machiya' morphs into IT incubator

KYOTO -- What do traditional Kyoto and broadband Internet access have in common? Not much, which is the problem. The solution is the Kyoto Nishijin Machiya Studio.
EDITORIALS
Dec 16, 2002

It's still the economy, stupid

U.S. President George W. Bush has shaken up his economic team. The moves had been long expected. Despite the U.S. administration's claim that the economic downturn was the product of events beyond its control -- an assertion that is largely true -- the president's top officials were not doing him much...
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 15, 2002

Capturing today's relevant aspirations

On Oct. 8 I wrote about the second report by United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan, published Sept. 23, on reforming the U.N. An important innovation in this report (Chapter Two entitled "Doing What Matters") is that it actually tackles the substantive agenda of the organization's work program....
COMMUNITY
Dec 15, 2002

Covering their tracks on the way to war

To obfuscate the waging of war on several fronts simultaneously may seem an unlikely and incredible ambition. However, as more and more information surrounding Japan's attacks on Pearl Harbor and elsewhere in the Pacific on Dec. 7, 1941, comes to light, it becomes ever more clear that its military rulers...
CULTURE / Books
Dec 15, 2002

Bookbites

MITFORD'S JAPAN: Memories & Recollections 1866-1906, edited and introduced by Hugh Cortazzi. Japan Library, 2002 (revised edition), 307 pp., paper ($33) "I jumped out of my palanquin more quickly than I ever in my life jumped out of anything, and rushed forward. There were pools of blood in the street,...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / BEST BAR NONE
Dec 15, 2002

Close encounter with a UFO navigator

By the time you read this, Raphael Sebbag will be celebrating the 20th anniversary of his arrival in Japan. He will not only be able to reflect on how much he's seen change in that time, but he will also be able to take responsibility for having engineered some of those changes as a DJ in Tokyo's club...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Dec 14, 2002

Ducky tale of a high-flying family

To paraphrase F. Scott Fitzgerald, "The very rich are different from you and me."
MORE SPORTS
Dec 12, 2002

JGTO tournament bites the dust

The deflation-racked Japanese economy has forced organizers of the men's pro golf tour to drop one event off its calendar, making it the smallest since its inauguration in 1973.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 8, 2002

Myanmar's generals allergic to dialogue

United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan and many world leaders have welcomed the recent release of 115 political prisoners from various prisons in Myanmar. At the same time, many leaders have voiced concerns about the more than 1,000 remaining political prisoners, human rights abuses and the lack...
COMMUNITY
Dec 8, 2002

Mothers under pressure

Recently much media attention has been paid to the rise in depression and suicide among middle-aged men threatened by layoffs. The Yomiuri Weekly, however, reports that stress-related illness is actually more prevalent among housewives (Nov. 24).
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Dec 8, 2002

Expat writers shoot from the lip

FACES IN THE CROWDS: A Tokyo International Anthology, edited by Hillel Wright. Printed Matter Press: Tokyo, 2002, 254 pp., 2 yen,500/$25 (cloth) "Faces in the Crowds" is a hyperkinetic grab bag that brings work by a cross section of Tokyo's expat writers, and Japanese writers working in English, together...
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / JET STREAM
Dec 2, 2002

Single mom, sons taste the expat life

In August this year, Nhora Prieto, a native of Colombia, and her two sons arrived in the tiny town of Shichinohe, Aomori Prefecture -- with a population little over 10,000 -- where she now works as an assistant language teacher of English.
COMMUNITY
Dec 1, 2002

Essential dangling modifiers

Yuko, 38, an office worker, has keitai straps appropriate for each season -- furry ones for winter and beaded ones for summer. When the temperature changes, she adds another to her collection.
JAPAN
Nov 30, 2002

Funeral of prince held at Tokyo cemetery

A funeral service for Prince Takamado, who died on Nov. 21, was held Friday at Toshimagaoka Cemetery in Tokyo's Bunkyo Ward with members of the Imperial family and the political world, including Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, in attendance.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji