Search - member

 
 
JAPAN
Dec 8, 2006

Ishihara tells Tokyo he wants third term

Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara officially announced his decision Thursday to run for a third term in next April's gubernatorial election.
EDITORIALS
Dec 7, 2006

Syria in the middle

It has become increasingly clear that Syria plays a pivotal role in Middle East politics. It has influence over -- some say control of -- Lebanese politics, and its support for insurgents -- "freedom fighters" is Damascus' preferred term -- elsewhere in the region makes it a key interlocutor when trying...
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Dec 5, 2006

There's no need to grit your teeth

It has all the elements of a nightmare. A masked person stands over you wielding a small mirror in one gloved hand and a needle-sharp probe in the other. A drill powerful enough to cut through bone in seconds sits idle on a table beside other implements of torture. You cannot see the masked face clearly...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Dec 3, 2006

A trip down memory-dori on 1956 tour by Dodgers

Our good friend John Gilmore of Baseball International tipped us off through Bob Bavasi's JapanBall.com about an Internet home page highlighting former Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers owner -- and international baseball devotee -- Walter O'Malley.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Dec 3, 2006

Ryuichi Sakamoto: Japan's expat rebel with many causes blends music and a wider world view

Former Japanese pop heart-throb and musical pioneer Ryuichi Sakamoto talks about music, the state of the planet — and why he still reluctantly lives in New York City.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 2, 2006

China filmmaker finds wartime sex slaves

In 1995, Chinese filmmaker Ban Zhongyi set out to meet a woman in a remote part of central China to record her story of sexual enslavement by the Imperial Japanese Army.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / JAZZNICITY
Dec 1, 2006

Ub-X freely tinkers with the engine of jazz

Piano, bass and drums form the engine of jazz. Most jazz bands build on this foundation by adding other instruments, while a select few work from within to upend the conventions of the piano trio and fashion a completely new sound. Ub-X, one of the latter, is a group that sounds like no other.
JAPAN
Nov 30, 2006

DPJ might back collective defense

," the proposal says. "Under no other circumstances shall force be used," it says. In disclosing the policy draft, Hirotaka Akamatsu, chairman of the nine-member panel that compiled the proposal, and DPJ policy chief Takeaki Matsumoto did not provide further clarification of the party's definition...
JAPAN
Nov 29, 2006

11 postal reform foes get nod to rejoin LDP and justify flip-flop

The 11 postal reform rebels Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is welcoming back into the ruling Liberal Democratic Party spoke Tuesday about why they voted against the legislation and then reversed themselves.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Nov 29, 2006

Tokyo, Jakarta fix framework of FTA

Tokyo and Jakarta announced Tuesday they have agreed on an overall framework for liberalizing bilateral trade, including Japanese autos and Indonesian natural gas and human resources.
COMMENTARY
Nov 27, 2006

Abe, Bush to strengthen ties

In his first summit with President George W. Bush held in Hanoi on Nov. 18, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe agreed to strengthen the "Japan-U.S. alliance for Asia and the world" in security and economic relations.

Longform

The byzantine process for converting a foreign driver’s license into a Japanese one entails mountains of paperwork and significant stamina — unless you're a lucky license holder from a country or region where these requirements are waived.
Driving in Japan isn’t hard. Getting the license is.