Search - things-to-do

 
 
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jul 31, 2009

'Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian'

What to say about "Night At The Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian" (opening locally as "Night Museum 2"), the latest outbreak of Hollywood sequelitis? Well, I can tell you with all confidence that leading man Ben Stiller is just as funny here as he was in "Meet The Parents 2" or "Madagascar 2." Or that...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jul 31, 2009

Escape from propaganda

Artist, architect, designer, photographer, curator, writer, editor, activist — Ai Weiwei is many things. This multiplicity of means all serve a united end that centers on the existential question: What does human freedom mean in China today?
Reader Mail
Jul 30, 2009

Glib reference to 'Eastern spirit'

I am not sure what point Hideo Kaito is trying to make in his July 19 letter, "The real battle of civilizations," but his true motivation — by no means unfamiliar in Japan — seems to be the frantic search for something, anything, to feel superior about. Ah, yes, that triumph of the Eastern spirit...
JAPAN
Jul 30, 2009

The new face of home caregivers

Kazuo Yamazaki was in the prime of his career as an engineer at a Japanese music company doing business across borders. His decades-long profession came to an abrupt end six years ago, however, when at age 55 he became his mother's primary caregiver.
Reader Mail
Jul 30, 2009

Good, bad, ugly of Japan's war

Regarding Edan Corkill's July 26 article, "China vets shock activist with 'horrible things they did' ": Born in 1950 in Osaka, I did not get any education in high school or at university about what happened exactly during World War II. I have read a lot since my graduation, but I would like to learn...
Reader Mail
Jul 30, 2009

Advice about the Google accord

Regarding the July 22 article Google Books leaves Japan in legal limbo": I'm glad that Japanese authors and publishers are benefiting from the delay in the Google settlement. I was one of seven authors and their representatives who challenged the May 5 deadline. Google wanted to grant only a one-month...
Japan Times
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
Jul 30, 2009

No hurry for Kitajima to return to spotlight

With four Olympic gold medals on his sterling resume, breaststroker Kosuke Kitajima has already attained a level of success that millions of athletes can only dream of.
Japan Times
JAPAN / ELECTION 2009
Jul 29, 2009

Politicians tap Twitter to tweak profiles

At 6:44 p.m. on July 15, Democratic Party of Japan lawmaker Seiji Osaka posed a question on his Twitter profile: "I think bringing the voting age down to 18 years old is OK. What do you think about it?"
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jul 29, 2009

Web-based flash cards will dazzle language learners

Remember the days when it took markers, index cards and three hours to assemble a set of 100 flash cards? Remember all that time wasted that could have been better spent studying? It's amazing how much has changed in a few short years thanks to computers and the Internet.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Jul 29, 2009

Red-hot Dragons keep heat on rival Giants

The Chunichi Dragons didn't just beat the Yomiuri Giants in their first game back after the All-Star break.
COMMENTARY
Jul 29, 2009

Don't waste good intentions

When I read former Vice Foreign Minister Ryohei Murata's remarks in the newspaper, disclosing a secret agreement on port visits by U.S. ships carrying nuclear weapons, I was excited and hopeful that there would be new developments on this issue.
JAPAN
Jul 29, 2009

Scientists laud DPJ emissions vow

OSAKA — The Democratic Party of Japan's promise to pursue a 25 percent cut in greenhouse-gas emissions by 2020 compared with 1990 levels is what scientific experts recommend.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jul 28, 2009

New law: no dues, no visa

In your wallet or somewhere at home, do you have a blue or pink card showing that you are enrolled in one of Japan's national health and pension programs? If not, and if you are thinking of extending your stay here, you may want to think about a recent revision to visa requirements for foreign residents....
COMMUNITY / Voices / HAVE YOUR SAY
Jul 28, 2009

My nursery nightmares: responses

Following are some readers' views on Jenny Holt's June 23 Zeit Gist article "My nursery nightmares":
COMMUNITY / Voices / HOTLINE TO NAGATACHO
Jul 28, 2009

Pocket knife lands tourist, 74, in lockup

To the Japanese government and law enforcement authorities,
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHO'S WHO
Jul 28, 2009

Ability to bridge the gap a banker's boon

For Sanjeev Gupta, senior managing executive officer and head of the Individual Group at Shinsei Bank, his 25-year career in Japan started out with a resume he dropped off at an accounting firm in Tokyo while visiting Japan on a tourist visa.
Japan Times
Events / WHERE IT'S AT
Jul 28, 2009

English speakers gather for human rights

Amnesty International Tokyo English Network offers English speakers, both native and otherwise, an opportunity to participate in the activities of the worldwide human rights organization Amnesty International while in Japan.
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Jul 27, 2009

Mettle of 'thoroughbreds'

What does Prime Minister Taro Aso have in common with his immediate predecessors — Junichiro Koizumi, Shinzo Abe and Yasuo Fukuda? Each is either a son or a grandson of a well-known politician of the past.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 26, 2009

40 years of dialogue with Poland's Socrates

NEW YORK — One of the most important men you probably never heard of died July 17. Immersed in a bustle of events that no one will remember tomorrow, we tend to pay less attention to people who take on the issues of eternity — philosophers, moralists, sages who try to turn our minds to higher things....
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Jul 26, 2009

Return of a baseball pro, Beat Takeshi on the state of TV, a man's feminine side

It's no longer a novelty for Japanese baseball stars to play in the major leagues, but few who return to Japan to play have proved as successful as Tadahito Iguchi, who is profiled on "Sports Tairiku" (Sports Continent; NHK-G, Mon., 10:45 p.m.).
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Jul 26, 2009

Super rushing game carries Notre Dame past Japan

Sure, they've lost the speed, agility and stamina they once had. But the Notre Dame alumni team played a soulful game while wearing its famous gold helmets at Tokyo Dome.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jul 25, 2009

Welcome to the caldron

"Atsui desu, ne?" (It's hot, isn't it?) This is the universal summer greeting in Japan. You can be in a crowd of complete strangers when someone will sidle up to you and, as an "ice-breaker," say, "It's hot today, isn't it?" And you agree with, "So desu ne." (Yes, it is).
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Jul 24, 2009

Alums happy to suit up once again for Fighting Irish

The Notre Dame Legends team offense had just botched a play when someone kicked a football across the field.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jul 24, 2009

Japan gets a taste of bracing 'in-yer-face theater'

The auditorium at Setagaya Public Theatre in Tokyo's Sangengaya district was filled with the mostly female fans of actor Masaaki Uchino, patiently waiting for the play "Blackbird" by David Harrower to begin. The taunt and provocative drama that subsequently unfolded no doubt caught some of them by surprise....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 24, 2009

Franz Ferdinand ready for Fuji to rock

Barely a minute into our conversation, and without prompt Franz Ferdinand drummer Paul Thomson begins talking up the virtues of Japan
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jul 24, 2009

'Bolt'

Brave, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed Bolt is the canine equivalent of Truman Burbank (Jim Carrey) of "The Truman Show" fame — he lives his whole life in a TV show but doesn't know it. And because he's a dog, the Kafka-esque/metaphysical angst that assailed Truman (once he discovered that his life is...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WORDS TO LIVE BY
Jul 23, 2009

Translator Kiyoko Zaborszky

Kiyoko Zaborszky, 83, is a translator with a reputation for picking winners. She's worked on books with positive messages that help readers deal with difficult and often controversial issues such as adoption, organ donation, disease and dying. In a career spanning four decades, Zaborszky translated 31...
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 22, 2009

Are the finance sector's halcyon days over?

LONDON — For at least a quarter-century, the financial sector has grown far more rapidly than the economy as a whole, both in developed and in most developing countries. The ratio of total financial assets (stocks, bonds, and bank deposits) to gross domestic product (GDP) in the United Kingdom was...
Japan Times
LIFE / WEEK 3
Jul 19, 2009

A different kind of hardball

It's as English as dancing round a Maypole on the village green. But, wedged between a rugby pitch and fields full of practicing Little Leaguers, the University of Tokyo Cricket Club and their counterparts across town from Chuo are doing their best to put this most civilized of pastimes on Japan's sporting...

Longform

Ichiro Suzuki, one of the most iconic players in NPB and MLB history, was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame with 99.7% of the vote.
With Hall of Fame induction, Ichiro makes himself heard loud and clear