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COMMENTARY / World
Jul 12, 2006

Look deeply into Putin's eyes

LONDON — As the leaders of the G7 countries meet in St. Petersburg this week I hope they will have another look into the eyes of Russian President Vladimir Putin. It is five years since U.S. President George W. Bush looked into those eyes and claimed to be able to see Putin's soul, which he found to...
EDITORIALS
Jun 21, 2006

Medical reforms need work

The laws passed last week by the Diet to curb the growth in the nation's medical spending testify to the government's determination to solve the problem. While the laws include positive elements, they are not problem-free. The government needs to continuously review the nation's medical system. Rationalizing...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jun 13, 2006

Fuss over fingerprinting

No consistency The new law requiring foreigners to be fingerprinted and photographed at Japan's airports is unfair.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 8, 2006

Planting seeds of hope in Japan's youth

The bright laughter of children is the true measure of a society's health. Ten years ago, I was in San Jose, Costa Rica, for the opening of an exhibition on the reality and threat of nuclear weapons. Even as participants began a dignified rendition of the national anthem, through the wall that separated...
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 5, 2006

The revolution will not be memorialized

PRAGUE -- Forty years ago, Mao Zedong launched the Cultural Revolution. The Propaganda Department of China's ruling Communists have now issued an order banning any kind of reviews or commemoration of this disaster as part of the party's bid to make the Chinese forget about that lost decade.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Jun 4, 2006

How shall we dance?

This summer, the movie that shot Johnny Depp to Hollywood stardom, Tim Burton's 1990 fantasy "Edward Scissorhands," comes to Japan as a live dance stage created and directed by Matthew Bourne.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jun 1, 2006

Addressing social issues with drama

The Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen (1828-1906) is often dubbed "the father of modern drama" for being one of the first to place ordinary people squarely center stage. Forty-four-year-old Yoji Sakate, founder of the Rinkogun theater company, has now created not just an homage to this Scandinavian icon,...
EDITORIALS
May 31, 2006

'Benevolent act' undermines pension

An illegal practice by the Social Insurance Agency came to light last week. Social insurance offices in Osaka, Nagasaki and 24 other prefectures have waived premium payments into the national pension (kokumin nenkin) program by more than 110,000 low-income people without their application.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
May 19, 2006

It's all music for Warp label

Warp, home to sonic pioneers such as Aphex Twin, and Boards of Canada is arguably the most influential electronica label in the world. But don't tell Warp founder Steve Beckett. For Beckett, who began the label with now deceased partner Rob Mitchell in a Sheffield record store in 1989, genre, and in...
Japan Times
LIFE / WEEK 3
May 14, 2006

Home and away

AUSTRALIA Respect brings harmony without being workaholic
COMMENTARY / World
May 11, 2006

A power to resist the currents of history

One cold morning in December 1941, I was running through the frozen streets of Tokyo during the predawn hours, delivering newspapers. I saw this as my way to contribute to the family finances. I was 13 at the time, my father was bedridden with rheumatism, and my four elder brothers had been sent off...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
May 7, 2006

May Shigenobu: A life less ordinary

In November 2000, May Shigenobu stood speechless in front of her TV set in Beirut, staring at crackly satellite images of her mother, Fusako Shigenobu, giving the thumbs-up and smiling as she was led away by police in Osaka, half a world away.
EDITORIALS
May 4, 2006

Minamata's legacy after 50 years

Fifty years have passed since the first official recognition of Minamata disease, a major symbol of Japan's postwar industrial pollution. Yet relief for those who suffered massive organic mercury poisoning, dating back to the 1950s and '60s, has not been fully delivered. More than 3,700 people have filed...
EDITORIALS
Apr 21, 2006

Reforms for nursing-care insurance

Under a revision of the nursing-care insurance law, the nation's care system for the elderly (people aged 65 or older) entered a new stage on April 1, the first day of fiscal 2006. This stage boosts efforts to prevent the health of senior citizens from deteriorating to the point that they need expensive...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Mar 23, 2006

A grand splash

Just before Japan's economy took a downturn, the Tokyu railroad conglomerate celebrated good times with the construction of the splendidly designed Bunkamura arts complex just behind its flagship department store in Tokyo's Shibuya district.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Mar 21, 2006

The doomsday doctor

Japan is officially shrinking. Last October's census found 19,000 fewer Japanese than the previous year; the first time, barring the catastrophic year of 1945 that the population has dropped since censuses began in 1920.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 12, 2006

A yen to help a dictatorship

LONDON -- So Google, Yahoo and Microsoft are now working to help support the dictatorship of the people in China -- as managed on their behalf by the Chinese Communist Party. So are most of the world's multinational companies -- as well as you (and me).
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Feb 12, 2006

Building scandals expose society's uncaring foundation

Japan is in the throes of two scandals that highlight a stunning flaw in the social order. For all its much-trumpeted national cohesion and the lip service paid in Japan to the people's sense of nasake (compassion, sympathy, mercy), these scandals are stark reminders that public welfare and the common...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 10, 2006

The man who couldn't quit

With "Hoop Dreams" having just been inducted into The National Film Registry (of the Library of Congress), Steve James is clearly one of America's most respected documentarians. And with good reason: The 43-year-old, Virginia-born filmmaker brings a sensitivity and sustained focus to his films that few...
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Feb 10, 2006

Shaping 'neo-classic' cuisine

It is a measure of Tokyo's hidden depths that many of its top restaurants remain so little known, at least among the city's expatriate population. That is certainly the case with L'Osier. Founded in 1973, it established its heavyweight reputation under French master chef Jacques Borie, winning a devoted...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Feb 5, 2006

Fashionista with attitude

Raised on the mean streets of Brooklyn's Brownsville district, Gene Krell is a self-proclaimed tough guy who cites as one of his heroes a little-known but highly colorful "Dadaist professional boxer" called Arthur Cravan.
JAPAN
Jan 4, 2006

Income disparities rising in Japan

During the period of high postwar economic growth, most people in Japan came to consider themselves part of a middle class.
JAPAN / FRAMING THE FUTURE
Jan 1, 2006

Elderly of tomorrow can count on technology, researchers say

Poor eyesight and hearing, and reduced physical strength often discourage elderly people from going out alone or visiting unfamiliar places where they can easily get tired or lost.
Features
Dec 25, 2005

Haruki Kadokawa: Spirits of the Yamato

Haruki Kadokawa is the closest Japanese equivalent to fabled Hollywood moguls like Sam Goldwyn or Howard Hughes in their glory days as master promoters and unrepentant egotists.
EDITORIALS
Dec 16, 2005

Advocate for the elderly

Next year Japan will take another step forward toward strengthening the protection of the weaker members of society. The Diet has passed a law to prevent cruel treatment of the aged and to assist those taking care of them. Preparations are being made for implementing the law in April. Enactment of the...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Dec 1, 2005

The reign of Vivienne

From being prosecuted under Britain's obscenity laws for her risque punk fashions to twirling pantyless after receiving an honor from the Queen whose image she once defaced with safety pins, Vivienne Westwood has always had a habit of causing controversy.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 30, 2005

Gun control loses yet again

LONDON -- Last Sunday in Brazil, a country with the second-highest rate of gun deaths on the planet, almost two-thirds of Brazilians voted against a total ban on the sale of firearms. Explain that.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Oct 16, 2005

No point in going if you can't wait in line

The next time you go to Tokyo Disneyland and find yourself waiting an inordinate length of time for five minutes of thrills on Space Mountain, spare a thought for Hung Wah-fung, who is certainly thinking of you -- or, more precisely, your situation.
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Sep 27, 2005

Time well spent

Living in the world's second largest economy, it's often tempting to forget that there are people and organizations in Japan in dire need of help.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Sep 25, 2005

Help the disabled, but don't deny them

Several years ago, the government discussed state-sponsored care for people with disabilities. The idea was to assist mentally and physically disabled people in leaving publicly-funded facilities and entering society; or, at least, that was how it was presented.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji