search

 
 
COMMENTARY
May 31, 2007

Handling a truculent Russia

LONDON — Alexander Litvinenko, a former KGB officer who had denounced corruption in the FSB, the successor to the KGB, is thought to have been murdered in London last November. His death was particularly horrific as he died after prolonged suffering as a result of ingesting liquid polonium, a dangerous...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
May 31, 2007

Yukiko Motoya takes a satirical look at the 'Super No-Flat'

There's a new buzz in Japan's theaters these days — and she's called Yukiko Motoya. Hailing from Ishikawa Prefecture on the Sea of Japan, the 27-year-old founder of an eponymous Tokyo-based theater company has quickly become a new source of freshness both in the drama world and other cultural fields....
EDITORIALS
May 31, 2007

Guarding against measles

A recent temporary closure of schools due to an outbreak of measles shows that Japan is lagging in its efforts to contain the infectious disease. In the 1950s, thousands of people died of measles. Although the number of annual deaths is said to have come down to single or double figures since the 1990s,...
CULTURE / Film
May 31, 2007

Doing it her own way — Kawase's determined path to success

Naomi Kawase has been tagged as "Japan's leading woman director" since her first feature film, "Moe no Suzaku (Suzaku)," won the Camera d'Or prize at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival.
EDITORIALS
May 31, 2007

Dreams of peace back on track?

North and South Korea restored rail links — temporarily — for the first time in over half a century this month. Optimists see the two test runs as symbols of hope for a reunified Peninsula. Skeptics consider them a long-delayed sop to Seoul, and an attempt to keep aid and assistance flowing north....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 31, 2007

A rare reunion of Jakuchus in a Kyoto temple

For the first time in 120 years, the 30 scroll paintings by Ito Jakuchu (1716-1800) known as "The Colorful Realm of Living Beings" are being shown together with the "Sakyamuni Triad" — three hanging scroll paintings of a central Buddha and two attendant bodhisattvas — at the Shokokuji Temple in Kyoto....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 31, 2007

'Mourning' turns into celebration

"Mogari No Mori (The Mourning Forest)," the Japanese film that crept up from behind bigger-name productions to win the Grand Prix at this year's Cannes Film Festival, revolves around an old man's unswerving desire to find his wife's grave.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 31, 2007

Photography now

The borderline between photojournalism and travel photography is hard to define.
BUSINESS
May 31, 2007

Revenues tumble at major life insurers

Premium revenues for the nation's major life insurers dropped in business 2006, reflecting fallout from revelations of an industrywide failure to properly pay out benefits, according to their earnings reports released Wednesday.
MORE SPORTS
May 30, 2007

Bettman: Predators will stay in Nashville

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said Monday that even if the sale of the Nashville Predators goes through, the franchise "is not going anywhere."
SOCCER
May 30, 2007

Andean nations protest FIFA ruling on altitude

LA PAZ (AP) Bolivia President Evo Morales says FIFA's decision to ban all international soccer matches above 2,500 meters discriminates against Latin America's high-altitude nations.
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
May 30, 2007

Lottery bedevils teams most in need

NEW YORK — How quirky was it that rookie of the year Brandon Roy represented the Trail Blazers in their Secaucus lottery conquest while the Celtics executive Danny Ainge (No. 5) blended into the background and softly sang dirges in the dark last week?
Reader Mail
May 30, 2007

Overcoming the fear factor

Regarding the editorial "Don't be shy about study abroad": I feel student hesitation to study abroad may be due to fear -- fear of crime (especially in the United States), communication, medical treatment and food.
Reader Mail
May 30, 2007

Best part of student exchange

Regarding the May 20 editorial, "Don't be shy about study abroad": I am a Norwegian with the good fortune to have made friends with many Japanese foreign students while studying at the Grieg Academy in Bergen, Norway. We have had many students from Tokyo and Sapporo as one-year exchange students....

Longform

Once smoky, male-dominated spaces, today's net cafes, like Kaikatsu Club, are working to make their operations more attractive to women customers.
The second life of Japan's net cafes