Search - information

 
 
Japan Times
CULTURE
Jun 5, 2014

Cheer on the Samurai Blue at events across the country

It may be nicknamed the "beautiful game," but these days it can sometimes be hard to see soccer as anything but ugly.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 5, 2014

Forget self-driving cars, make me a cyborg

A finance professor and sci-fi fan thinks that the next big technology is 'cyborg technology' but that the press is ignoring it. It will include a number of health care technologies involving the integration of living tissue with engineered machinery.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Jun 5, 2014

Getting crafty in Yokohama

These days, stores and even markets are filled with cheap, manufactured and mass-produced products. It's no wonder that there appears to be a bit of a rebellious demand for original handcrafted goods. This weekend, Yokohama hosts one of the biggest craft fairs in Japan, offering a wide range of handmade...
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Jun 5, 2014

Light up the night with a firefly festival

Fireflies, known as hotaru in Japan, have inspired numerous artists and writers, including Haruki Murakami, whose short story "Firefly" was later adapted into the first part of his best-seller "Norwegian Wood." In the real world, however, fireflies are sadly in decline, as their natural habitats —...
Japan Times
Events / Events In Tokyo
Jun 5, 2014

Tokyo's bleep on the synthesizer fan's radar

Making electronic music can be incredibly intimidating for beginners: What's the best hardware to buy? How do you use it? And all those cables!
Japan Times
Events / Events In Tokyo
Jun 5, 2014

Take time out to learn about the environment

Last weekend's heatwave was likely to have had some people concerned about climate change and other environmental issues, and just in time for World Environment Day, which took place on June 5.
Reader Mail
Jun 4, 2014

A coup from a different view

Regarding the May 29 AP article "Thai troops detain Cabinet minister who blasted coup": Over the past week I found myself in the midst of the second coup since I came to Thailand, and the news, as reported by the Western media, has appeared fundamentally flawed. I am hoping that the lack of understanding...
Japan Times
WORLD
Jun 3, 2014

Ladykillers: Hurricanes with feminine names 'most deadly'

Would more residents of New Orleans have evacuated ahead of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 if it had been named Kurt?
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jun 3, 2014

Especia takes a road less traveled by idol acts

The eldest member of six-member idol unit Especia was born in 1989, so when I ask them about life during Japan's early '90s bubble era they can only imagine what it was like.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jun 2, 2014

China case suggests hackers punch the clock at routine day jobs

Five Chinese men indicted for stealing thousands of emails and documents from U.S. companies had classic hacker nicknames. Yet one thing made them different: their clock-punching day jobs.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 1, 2014

Hanoi due to receive Japan Coast Guard ships next year

Vietnam expects to get its first new coast guard ships from Japan early next year as Tokyo vows to provide its “utmost support” to Southeast Asia.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 1, 2014

Managers in China stoking labor activism

Behind China's biggest strike in decades last month was a new player in Chinese labor activism: management.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / ADOPT ME!
Jun 1, 2014

Feeling fit and fantastic with rehomed Punkie pair

Dogs Punkie Anna and her brother, Punkie Too, have found a home with the Yamamotos of Osaka.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
May 31, 2014

Walking on water: the seven bridges over the Seto Inland Sea

Through the clouds of steam rising from the hotel's hot spring, I can make out Jupiter — a tiny pinprick of light beaming over the twinkling black waters of the Seto Inland Sea. It's easy to see why this hotel is called Bella Vista. Tucked into the hills outside the historic town of Onomichi, in Hiroshima...
EDITORIALS
May 31, 2014

Tourists rate Tokyo top city

Tokyo has been voted the world's most satisfying of 37 major world cities for 2013, but the tourist industry needs to work on increasing accessibility to Japan's cultural attractions.
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
May 30, 2014

Yokohama celebrates 155 years as a trade port

It might surprise you to know that Yokohama was once a tiny village with less than 100 households living off farming and fishing. It wasn't until the port opened to foreign trade in 1859 that it began to expand to become Japan's second most populated city. Now it is one of the most popular tourist destinations...
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
May 30, 2014

Let the kids jump around in Osaka

Jumping around on an outdoor bouncy castle is a summer rite of passage that no kid should be denied, but with Japan's rainy season kicking in, it's not something that can be planned so easily. Fuwa Fuwa kids adventure 2014 in Osaka, though, offers inflatable entertainment indoors, so you can still get...
Events / Events In Tokyo
May 30, 2014

EU Film Days unfreezes movie options

Though it might not seem like it right now, films and animation other than "Frozen" do exist, and the EU Film Days 2014 festival could be a good way to explore some alternatives. This weekend, 30 films reflecting different cultural preferences in film aesthetics of 23 EU member countries are being shown...
Events / Events In Tokyo
May 30, 2014

FIFA World Cup 2014 brings the fun to Tokyo

When you're on the other side of the world finding a place to watch World Cup matches usually requires meticulous planning — from persuading friends with giant TV screens to let you join them, to preparing for an assault on your body clock. Flying to Brazil is an option, but for those of us with a...
JAPAN
May 29, 2014

Tokyo, Canberra test sub fleet export waters

Japan will get the chance to pursue an unprecedented military export deal when its defense and foreign ministers meet their Australian counterparts in Tokyo next month.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / FOCUS
May 29, 2014

China upbeat on gas prospects off Vietnam, despite regional frictions

A Chinese oil rig whose deployment to waters claimed by Vietnam early this month triggered a rupture in ties has a good chance of finding enough gas to put the area into production, Chinese industry experts said.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 29, 2014

Short-film festival offers flicks for free

Short films are today both everywhere but nowhere, even for many who consider themselves film fans.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 29, 2014

Tropfest gives Japan a peek at Australia

The homegrown Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia will have competition for eyeballs this year as Australia's Tropfest descends on Japan. The event claims — perhaps a bit tongue-in-cheek — to be the "world's largest short-film festival."
WORLD
May 27, 2014

Canada eases in-flight mobile rules

Canada, following the lead of the United States and the European Union, on Monday relaxed official restrictions on using mobile devices in flight while maintaining a ban on transmitting information.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
May 27, 2014

SKST 4seasons aren't posing when it comes to rock

Tomo Nakamura had already decided before walking through the door that this audition would be his last. He'd already been in a half dozen bands that had never taken off. He was prepared to give up on dreams of being a musician, but fortunately for him he had found a group of young men who felt precisely...

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’