Search - japan

 
 
Reader Mail
Mar 27, 2008

Not just a matter of discrimination

Patrick Hattman, in his March 20 letter, "Basis for discriminatory legislation," raises some important questions about nationality settlements after World War II and "race" in Japan's postwar Constitution and Nationality Law.
Reader Mail
Mar 27, 2008

No merit to legalized prostitution

The Los Angeles Times article "Enough already: decriminalize prostitution," which The Japan Times printed March 20, prompted me to write. My mother was born during the Meiji Era in a poor fishing village near Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture. I remember what she said: In those days the only work for women...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 27, 2008

Music's greatest theme park

In mid-March, as spring began uncoiling anew, the world's music industry once again turned its eyes to Austin, Texas, the self-styled "live-music capital of the world," for the annual South by Southwest industry conference and festival. Planes disgorged thousands of band members, record-label bigwigs,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 27, 2008

Detroit 7: Playing at SXSW is killer!

Detroit 7 are one of Tokyo's most explosive bands, a tight trio blasting out raw, Iggy Pop-inspired garage punk and dripping with showmanship. At their performance at South by Southwest's Japan Nite on March 14, singer Tomomi Nabana drawled her lyrics in a deep husk, thrashing her left-handed guitar...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 25, 2008

Writer blogs her way to top literary prize

Mieko Kawakami, a former bar hostess and bookstore clerk, was just another obscure singer until she started a blog.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Mar 25, 2008

Pioneering women's center in Osaka slated for closure

Last month, the new governor of Osaka, Toru Hashimoto, announced his plan to shut down and sell or privatize 25 public facilities in a bid to tackle the prefecture's financial crisis. Except for two libraries, no prefectural facilities merit further public funding, argues Hashimoto. Included among the...
COMMENTARY
Mar 24, 2008

Reliance on aerial bombings

A just-released film and a special program was televised this month on the occasion of the 63rd anniversary of the hellish bombing of Tokyo by the United States, which killed 100,000 residents.
SOCCER / SOCCER SCENE
Mar 23, 2008

JFA gives cold shoulder to Premier League proposal to play games overseas

From a soccer perspective, the upcoming Major League Baseball season-opening series between the Boston Red Sox and the Oakland Athletics at Tokyo Dome feels like a glimpse into a parallel universe.
Japan Times
LIFE
Mar 23, 2008

Tokyo's thrilling new fashion feast

With an improved turnout and more labels on the runways, last week's Japan Fashion Week '08-'09 Autumn / Winter Collection was, on paper, a near- soaraway success.
Japan Times
BASEBALL / MLB
Mar 22, 2008

Red Sox, Athletics arrive for MLB season opener

After a few tense hours on Thursday, the Boston Red Sox and Oakland A's finally arrived in Japan. More importantly for the Japanese fans, Daisuke Matsuzaka was present and accounted for.
COMMUNITY
Mar 22, 2008

Gallery brings Vietnamese art to Tokyo

Karen Thomas' Thai housekeeper is apologetic. "Karen" is down in the garage basement, unpacking a shipment. So down we go from the Bird-Thomas household on the sixth floor and find a tiny dynamic powerhouse, power tool in hand, tackling large flat wooden crates of art, flown in by Fedex from Vietnam....
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Q&A
Mar 20, 2008

Counting the cost of a weak dollar on the economy

This week saw the dollar slip to its lowest level against the yen in over 12 1/2 years.
JAPAN
Mar 20, 2008

Fukuda's coalition finds itself trapped

Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda is stuck.
CULTURE / Art / INSIDE ART
Mar 20, 2008

Curating shows in a foreign language

"It was like being put in a boxing ring and bashed from all sides," says curator Mami Kataoka with a burst of laughter.
BUSINESS
Mar 20, 2008

Private equity deals still flow amid credit crisis

Japan's private equity market will see a "steady flow" of transactions even as rising funding costs cripple deals elsewhere, said the cofounder of the nation's largest buyout fund.
BUSINESS
Mar 19, 2008

Eli Lilly sees 11% sales jump in '08

Eli Lilly & Co., the world's biggest maker of psychiatric medicines, said Tuesday it expects revenue in Japan to increase 11 percent this year, spurred by sales of its antipsychotic drug, Zyprexa.
EDITORIALS
Mar 18, 2008

Time to boost domestic demand

The dollar plunged last week to the ¥95 level for the first time in 12 years and six months. The U.S. currency at one point moved to record lows against the euro. Its weakness results from a fear among market players that the U.S. economy is heading toward a recession. The subprime mortgage crisis in...
EDITORIALS
Mar 17, 2008

Deadlock in 'gyoza' probe

The investigation into food-poisoning incidents caused by insecticide-tainted "gyoza" dumplings imported from China is deadlocked because Japan and China have completely different views as to where the insecticide contaminated the gyoza. China opposes Japan's view that the possibility of the contamination...
Reader Mail
Mar 16, 2008

Realities of caring for pets

Regarding Philip Brasor's March 9 article, "Crown Prince could lead the way in effort for mutt emancipation": Thank you for this fantastic article. I was very pleased to see this oft-neglected issue receive good coverage. Japan is very behind in education regarding pets, and it does not help that we...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Mar 16, 2008

Car industry hitting the bumps as wheels lose their cachet of cool

Anew TV commercial for insurance company Tokyo Kaijo Nichido features two newborns lying next to each other in a hospital maternity ward, telepathically discussing the "pleasures" that await them in life.
Reader Mail
Mar 16, 2008

Leave immigration to Darwin

Roger Pulvers, in his March 9 Counterpoint column, "Surely it's time for Japanese to stop being so parochial," continues to distort facts while racializing people in stereotypical "ethnic" categories. Taiwanese and Koreans did not become "citizens" of the Empire of Japan. Japanese law did not then, and...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 15, 2008

Pinpointing 'sakura' arrival serious business, fine science

When spring comes, millions of Japanese happily turn their thoughts to one thing: When will the cherry blossoms start blooming?

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