Search - information

 
 
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Sep 5, 2015

TV sexism comes from a problematic place

At the World Assembly for Women held in Tokyo last week, the Nobel Peace Prize-winning president of Liberia, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, lauded the social achievements of women worldwide but added that "we are not there yet." Sirleaf didn't say where exactly "there" is, but during the same week, two media-related...
CULTURE / Music
Sep 5, 2015

Open Reel Ensemble gives mechanical sounds more warmth on 'Vocal Code'

With four giant reel-to-reel audio tape recorders behind it on stage, Open Reel Ensemble could almost be mistaken for a Japanese version of Kraftwerk.
EDITORIALS
Sep 5, 2015

The need for a high-level bio-lab

It's a positive move that Japan is authorizing its first facility to handle the deadliest pathogens, but the needs and concerns of the surrounding community must always be kept uppermost in mind.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 4, 2015

Opposition leaders pledge last-ditch efforts to block security bills

The leaders of six opposition parties Friday agreed to form a united front in trying to prevent the ruling camp bulldozing two contentious security bills into law.
Japan Times
JAPAN / TELLING LIVES
Sep 4, 2015

Patrick Harlan, an American who can make the Japanese giggle

Japan's entertainment business is a come and go affair. Hundreds of local and foreign talents have entered the spotlight with a joke or two, only to vanish a year or two later when their gags ran out of chuckle.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Sep 4, 2015

Lawyer says ex-Clinton aide will invoke Fifth Amendment, won't testify in Republiican-led House probe

A former U.S. State Department information technology staffer who worked for Hillary Rodham Clinton is refusing to testify before U.S. lawmakers probing the former top diplomat and the 2012 attacks on U.S. installations in Benghazi, Libya, according to a letter sent by his lawyer to congressional investigators....
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 3, 2015

Defense Ministry leak shows SDF chief talking politics in Washington; JCP cries foul

A Japanese Communist Party lawmaker unveiled what he said were confidential records of meetings between U.S. and Japanese military officials in Washington last year.
EDITORIALS
Sep 3, 2015

Nuclear disarmament needs a push

Momentum for nuclear disarmament as been on the wane, and all nations — Japan especially — should renew their efforts to end the dire threat posed by nuclear weapons.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 3, 2015

Jazz pioneer Bob James' Japan-inspired concerto to premiere at the Tokyo Jazz Festival

Smooth jazz pioneer and inadvertent godfather of hip-hop break-beats, Bob James is about to add another accolade to his list of accomplishments. At this weekend's 14th Tokyo Jazz Festival, the keyboardist will debut his first piano concerto.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 3, 2015

Tokyo Jazz Festival to provide a glimpse into Esperanza Spalding's alter ego

One of the few younger non-Japanese acts gracing the stage at this weekend's Tokyo Jazz Festival is singer and bassist Esperanza Spalding. Though appearing at the city's main jazz event, the multifaceted 30-year-old musician could just as easily be performing at Fuji Rock Festival or Summer Sonic. Truly...
Japan Times
WORLD / Society
Sep 3, 2015

Selfie madness: too many dying to get the picture

The rise of selfie photography in some of the world's most beautiful — and dangerous — places is sparking a range of interventions aimed at combating risk-taking that has resulted in a string of gruesome deaths worldwide.
EDITORIALS
Sep 2, 2015

Proper preparation for disasters

While natural disasters can't be prevented, their destructive impact can be lessened through adequate preparation.
ASIA PACIFIC
Sep 2, 2015

Australia's secretive refugee camps hampered by ethical investors

Investors in the company that runs Australia's secretive refugee camps are starting to flex their muscles in a way that may achieve what refugee advocates and politicians have failed to for years — greater transparency and oversight.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Sep 2, 2015

If Clinton stumbles, Democrats would bank on Biden: Reuters/Ipsos poll

U.S. Democratic voters would choose Vice President Joe Biden as their preferred candidate for president in 2016 if current front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton shows signs of faltering, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Tuesday.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Sep 1, 2015

Anti-Muslim Buddhist group moves toward Myanmar's mainstream

Swathed in crimson robes, 77-year-old Ashin Tilawkar Biwonsa shuffles through a crowded conference room with the help of an aide, his supporters standing in respect as he takes a seat at the head of a table under a portrait of his own image.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 31, 2015

China's political interventions

Recent events should compell China's leaders to reconsider the extent to which they control the country's economy.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Aug 31, 2015

Iowa poll puts Clinton support rate under 50% for first time; rival Sanders closing gap

U.S. presidential candidate Bernie Sanders narrowed the gap with leading Democratic rival Hillary Rodham Clinton in a recent opinion poll in the political bellwether state of Iowa as support for the front-runner fell below 50 percent for the first time this year.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / ADOPT ME!
Aug 30, 2015

Timeless: a shiba inu named Lychin

Lychin, described as an 'amazingly sweet, happy dog,' was taken in from one of the rare 'good breeders' in Japan when he went bankrupt. His animals were healthy, well-loved and exercised, and it shows.
CULTURE / Books
Aug 29, 2015

Mishima, Murakami and the elusive Nobel Prize

Will he or won't he? It's about the time of year when the Japanese media descends into a frenzy of speculation about whether Haruki Murakami will land the Nobel Prize in literature, becoming the first Japanese literary laureate since Kenzaburo Oe in 1994.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Aug 29, 2015

Composer Shiro Sagisu scores songs to be devoured to on 'Attack on Titan' soundtrack

During one scene in Shinji Higuchi's recent film "Attack on Titan," soldiers leap from building to building battling a carnivorous giant with nothing but swords. The horror is heightened by the music: razor sharp synthesizers accentuate a foreboding orchestral melody. It's hard to imagine the action...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Aug 29, 2015

Koji Hirata finds the 'soul of tango' through his bandoneon

Koji Hirata encountered the bandoneon, a type of concertina, at the young age of 13. While it's common for a teenager to take up a musical instrument, Hirata showed an unusually high level of commitment when, at 16, he took a solo trip to Argentina to learn it.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Aug 29, 2015

Ashley Madison courted buyers before attack

The owner of the adultery website Ashley Madison was already struggling to sell itself or raise funds for at least three years before the publication of details about its members, according to internal documents and emails that were released by hackers as part of their assault on the company in recent...

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