search

 
 
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Oct 2, 2008

Explosive new anime packed with surprises

'I was looking to do something different, but at the same time if it was too unique, it could fail," says Masayuki Miyaji, director of PlayStation Network's new anime series "Xam'd: Lost Memories." "But then if it fails, that might even be more fun."
JAPAN / CABINET INTERVIEW
Oct 2, 2008

MSDF mission above Diet politics: Hamada

Japan's involvement in antiterrorism efforts in the Indian Ocean must continue regardless of which party holds power in the Diet, new Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada said in an interview.
JAPAN
Oct 2, 2008

Merger creates ODA behemoth

The merger Wednesday of the Japan International Cooperation Agency with a part of the Japan Bank for International Cooperation is a significant development in the country's contribution to world stability and peace, Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone said.
JAPAN
Oct 2, 2008

Ozawa reveals DPJ policy pledges, admonishes Aso

Democratic Party of Japan President Ichiro Ozawa kicked off the Diet debate Wednesday by concentrating on his party's policy pledges and lambasted Prime Minister Taro Aso for directing questions to the DPJ in his policy speech earlier in the week.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Oct 2, 2008

Seeking photographic destinies

His figures cut through the sky, crisply suspended, on their way into the water. Sometimes they are immersed, or watching from a shore, but most often they hang in the air, about to split the drink in two. For Lithuanian photographer Vidas Biveinis, water represents a changing emotion, expressive of...
Reader Mail
Oct 2, 2008

Don't sacrifice culture to please

Regarding the Sept. 27 article "Tourism minister apologizes for gaffes" -- about Nariaki Nakayama's remarks on the lack of self-sacrifice by Japanese in "opening the country to foreign tourists": I wish to state that I have not found another country whose people are as tolerant as the average Japanese...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Oct 2, 2008

Sound and vision — the eclectic end of anime theme tunes

Despite a prevalence of cute, otaku-friendly theme songs, with many recent ones providing dance routines for budding cosplayers to learn (look up "Hare Hare Yukai" on YouTube to experience the true horror), "Xam'd: Lost Memories" isn't the first time that an anime has drawn musical inspiration from rock...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Oct 2, 2008

'Diorama of the City: Between Site and Space'

Tokyo Wonder Site, Shibuya
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Oct 2, 2008

The gritty truths behind the image

A rising full moon against a twilight sky and a shimmer of pink on the surface of the sea. So far, so postcard. But this is no regular Japanese beauty spot. Just visible in the distance is a clutch of white chimneys jutting into the sky, offering a sinister clue to the location of the seemingly serene...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 2, 2008

Web society opts to stay anonymous

Like a lot of 20-year-olds, Kae Takahashi has a page on U.S.-based MySpace, and there is no mistaking it for anyone else's.
BUSINESS
Oct 2, 2008

First-half car sales sink to 34-year low

Domestic auto sales in the first half of this business year slumped to their lowest level in 34 years as rising unemployment and decade-high inflation sapped demand for new vehicles, an industry association said Wednesday.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 1, 2008

U.S. Treasury Secretary Paulson is wrong

CHICAGO — When a profitable company is hit by a very large liability, the solution is not to have the government buy its assets at inflated prices. The solution, instead, is protection under bankruptcy law, which in the United States means Chapter 11.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 1, 2008

Sarah Palin doesn't deserve women's votes

NEW YORK — The selection of Sarah Palin as John McCain's running mate hit the United States like an electric storm. To her legions of lipstick-waving fans on the right, Palin is a down-to-earth, God-fearing "hockey mom" whose moose hunting, evangelical faith and even chaotic family life are all evidence...
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 1, 2008

The Dragon and the Bear

SOUTH BEND, Indiana — Second honeymoons rarely, if ever, recapture the zest of lost love. Yet ever since the Soviet Union's collapse in 1991, Russia and China have sought to rekindle the close relations that once supposedly existed between the Soviet Union and Mao's China before Nikita Khrushchev's...
Rugby
Oct 1, 2008

Japan applies to host 2015 RWC

Japan has formally applied to host the 2015 Rugby World Cup.
TENNIS
Oct 1, 2008

Nishikori prevails in tough opening match

Japanese teenager Kei Nishikori beat American Robert Kendrick in three sets Tuesday to advance to the second round of the Japan Open.
COMMENTARY
Oct 1, 2008

The Middle East quartet's failing mission

The creation in 2002 of the Quartet on the Middle East, comprising the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations, raised hopes for its critical contribution to the peace process in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. A report released on Sept. 25, "The Middle East Quartet: A Progress...
BUSINESS
Oct 1, 2008

Matsushita gives way to Panasonic

A famous corporate brand name will disappear Wednesday when Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. abandons the name of its founder in an attempt to evolve into a truly global corporation.
EDITORIALS
Oct 1, 2008

Mr. Aso throws down the gauntlet

Prime Minister Taro Aso's first policy speech to the Diet on Monday was unusual. Aiming to win in the next Lower House election, Mr. Aso turned a considerable part of his speech into a challenge to the Democratic Party of Japan, the No. 1 opposition party. Mr. Aso's target was DPJ leader Ichiro Ozawa....
COMMENTARY
Oct 1, 2008

Time for geoengineering?

Scientists have their own way of putting things. This is how Dr. Oerjan Gustafsson of Stockholm University announced the approach of a climate apocalypse in an e-mail sent recently from the Russian research ship "Jakob Smirnitskyi" in the Arctic Ocean.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Oct 1, 2008

Ishikawa tosses seven-hitter, puts dent in Carp's postseason plans

Tokyo Yakult Swallows pitcher Masanori Ishikawa probably won't be playing in the postseason this year.
EDITORIALS
Oct 1, 2008

Unprepared for the post

The verbal gaffes by transport minister Nariaki Nakayama, which led to his resignation after only five days in the post, show that he lacked qualifications both as a politician and Cabinet minister. Prime Minister Taro Aso admitted that he was responsible for Mr. Nakayama's appointment. His responsibility...
Japan Times
JAPAN / CABINET INTERVIEW
Oct 1, 2008

North policy unchanged: Nakasone

Japan's policy on North Korea under Prime Minister Taro Aso will remain focused on resolving the abduction issue, new Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone said Tuesday.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OLD NIC'S NOTEBOOK
Oct 1, 2008

Helping a healthy river flow

My eldest daughter, Miwako, gave birth to twin girls in March of this year, raising the number of my grandchildren to five. So, when my busy schedule finally permitted, I recently nipped over to Vancouver to see them all and to help out Miwako and her partner, Don McCubbing, by being houseboy and chief...

Longform

Koichi Tagawa’s diary entry from Aug. 9, 1945, describes the day of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki.
The horrors of Nagasaki, in first person