Search - things-to-do

 
 
BASKETBALL / HOOP SCOOP
Jan 30, 2009

MVP St. Preux never gave up hoop dreams

BEPPU, Oita Pref. — Contrasting images fill my head as I sit down to write this. Bouncing basketballs heard after endless hours in the gym and the pleasant silence of the local onsen (hot springs) clash for control. No problem. I'm relaxed.
Reader Mail
Jan 29, 2009

Raise amount of English input

The Jan. 12 editorial "English taught in English" has identified the problem but proposes the wrong solution. The traditional grammar-based approach is wrong, but simply insisting on the exclusive use of English in class could make things worse. Language acquisition research over the last three decades...
Japan Times
MULTIMEDIA / ON: DESIGN
Jan 29, 2009

Design for DIYers, globetrotters, timekeepers, flower-lovers and garbage collectors

Spot the bag
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 28, 2009

China's clout grows as U.S. economy weakens

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — After 9/11 when China sided with the United States in the war on terrorism, Chinese leaders expected a quid pro quo: Perhaps Washington might make some concessions on the "Taiwan issue." But then U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell emphatically dismissed this idea.
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Jan 28, 2009

Can Japan afford the DPJ?

With the Aso administration's approval rating continuing to plunge, there appears to be a growing likelihood that the No. 1 opposition party, the Democratic Party of Japan, will defeat the ruling Liberal Democratic Party in the next general election and take the reins of government under the leadership...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jan 27, 2009

Half, bi or double? One family's trouble

It may not matter for inanimate objects, incapable of altering their own sweet smell, but for humans a name becomes part of our identity. My voice rises slightly as I warm to my argument: It may not be a tangible part of a person, like a hand or foot, but what others call us — and how we name ourselves...
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Jan 25, 2009

Soft power beckons as time comes for academia to act sustainably

As I am for the most part an optimist, it seems only right to kick off 2009 with an upbeat column and, as an educator, one area I believe offers great promise is education.
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Jan 25, 2009

Phoenix roll into All-Star break

The streak began on Dec. 20, and so much has changed since then — their season and, possibly, the foundation of the world's geopolitical order.
ENVIRONMENT / BACKSTREET STORIES
Jan 25, 2009

A west side love story

With Valentine's Day approaching, Tokyo's lovers dust off chocolate-tempering pots, scope out sweet shops and reserve bouquets of roses. Of course, savvy romantics know a midwinter stroll along a back street, with requisite snuggling for warmth, works nearly as well to stoke affection as edible or olfactory...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / BACKSTREET STORIES
Jan 25, 2009

A west side love story

With Valentine's Day approaching, Tokyo's lovers dust off chocolate-tempering pots, scope out sweet shops and reserve bouquets of roses. Of course, savvy romantics know a midwinter stroll along a back street, with requisite snuggling for warmth, works nearly as well to stoke affection as edible or olfactory...
Japan Times
JAPAN / MIXED MATCHES
Jan 24, 2009

Couple share California dream, can't wait to get back in the States

Ever since Haruki Imaoka watched the popular American TV series "Beverly Hills, 90210," he had dreamed of marrying a good-looking Western girl. When he went to Los Angeles for college, he met local resident Laura Beltz in May 2004, and they hit it off right away.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 24, 2009

2channel founder ponders next step after forum's sale

A short message recently posted on Hiroyuki Nishimura's personal blog sent shock waves across the online community. In a single sentence dated Jan. 2, he announced that he had sold 2channel, his wildly popular Internet forum.
BASKETBALL / HOOP SCOOP
Jan 24, 2009

Neumann analyzes Curry, recalls Pistol Pete

Every dozen years or so, a young athlete arrives on the scene — Cristiano Ronaldo, Usain Bolt or LeBron James, for instance — with the demeanor, athleticism and poise beyond their years to be the next standard-bearer of excellence in that sport.
CULTURE / Music
Jan 23, 2009

Vienna's Arming strikes the right note

"During these five years, we have often tackled contemporary works," says Austrian conductor Christian Arming, music director of the New Japan Philharmonic (NJP) since 2003. "I believe that broadened our horizon."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 23, 2009

Vienna's Arming strikes the right note

"During these five years, we have often tackled contemporary works," says Austrian conductor Christian Arming, music director of the New Japan Philharmonic (NJP) since 2003. "I believe that broadened our horizon."
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 22, 2009

America's exits also produce positive change

LOS ANGELES — As Barack Obama's administration debates the pace and consequences of withdrawal from Iraq, it would do well to examine the strategic impact of other American exits in the final decades of the 20th century. Although American commitments to Lebanon, Somalia, Vietnam and Cambodia differed...
JAPAN
Jan 22, 2009

Obama inspires high hopes

Japanese and foreign residents of Tokyo and Osaka voiced hope Wednesday that new U.S. President Barack Obama will abandon the unilateral approach of his predecessor, George W. Bush, while some Japanese expressed concern that bilateral relations will be overshadowed by economic and military snags.
Reader Mail
Jan 22, 2009

Missing a business opportunity

I want to thank Gregory Clark for expressing an opinion that needs to be expressed, particularly when everyone else seems to be striving to be politically correct. I live in Japan and many things about Japan utterly annoy me, but I feel that they have more to do with me and my relationship with Japan. ...
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 21, 2009

U.S. chance to make fresh start in the Muslim world

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — President Barack Obama was the world's favored candidate in what was America's first global election. The key question is how the Obama administration will tap this rare good will to re-establish U.S. credibility and repair its reputation. How Obama manages issues in the Muslim world...
JAPAN
Jan 20, 2009

Diet gets biggest budget ever

The government on Monday submitted to the Diet an ¥88 trillion budget for fiscal 2009 — the biggest initial budget in history — to stimulate the sagging economy.
Reader Mail
Jan 18, 2009

A 'right' that should be abhorred

I am very positive about my life in Japan, and came here to leave Britain behind, which is less comfortable both economically and socially. Every country has something minor that one can gripe about endlessly, be it the political system, bureaucracy or public transport. Griping about these things helps...
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 18, 2009

Obama among the Lilliputians

HONG KONG — Tuesday will be an historic day when Barack Obama is sworn in as the 44th U.S. president. He is not only the first African-American president to hold the highest office, but his swearing in is also a triumph of the Great American Dream.
CULTURE / Books
Jan 18, 2009

In love with China: from forbidden fruits to futile fantasies

CHINA DREAMS by Sid Smith. London: Picador, 2008, 183 pp., £7.99 (paper)
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Jan 18, 2009

Finding the fabled Snow Country

"The special delights of the hot spring are for the unaccompanied gentleman," states the introduction to Yasunari Kawabata's "Snow Country," instantly seizing the attention.
JAPAN
Jan 17, 2009

U.S. business envoy warns against protectionism amid economic woes

Japan should steer clear of protectionism and use its extraordinary wealth to stimulate its economy and become a much larger player in the global trading system, the head of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce said Friday in Tokyo.
JAPAN
Jan 16, 2009

Aso's days said numbered

Now that Prime Minister Taro Aso managed Tuesday to force the second extra budget for fiscal 2008 through the Lower House, his next hurdle is the fiscal 2009 budget and related bills.

Longform

Japan's growing ranks of centenarians are redefining what it means to live in a super-aging society.
What comes after 100?