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May 01, 2024
 

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Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Nov 2, 2008
Probing the real Japan with Kenneth Pyle
Kenneth Pyle says his first memories of Japan were of watching war films when he was a child — "all the dogfights with Zero fighters and all that."
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Sep 7, 2008
Jurgen Lehl: A rebel with style
First-time visitors to Japanese department stores are likely to be surprised by the brand Jurgen Lehl. Chances are they haven't heard of it although it sounds international and its quiet chic suggests they should have. As well, Jurgen Lehl outlets generally occupy large chunks of prime in-store real estate — at Matsuya's flagship branch in Tokyo's glitzy Ginza, for example, where the label's trademark earth-toned boutique stands proudly alongside Valentino, Stella McCartney and Celine.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Aug 3, 2008
Jiang Rong: Writing in a world of wolves
Jiang Rong (pen name of Lu Jiamin), who is now 62, was born in Jiangsu Province, China, and educated in Beijing. In 1967, at age 21, he volunteered to go and work in Inner Mongolia, where he'd heard about the practice of people there paying homage to "wolf totems" erected in the rolling grasslands that stretch as far as the eye can see.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Jul 6, 2008
Peace follows turbulent times
"It was a nightmare," laughs Tokyo-based author David Peace of a recent trip to Paris to promote the French version of his most successful novel, "The Damned Utd."
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Jun 1, 2008
Arata Isozaki: Astonishing by design
If the entire Japanese architectural fraternity was one big royal family, then Arata Isozaki would be a king approaching the end of a long and glorious reign.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
May 4, 2008
Hideki Noda: Acting with joy in his soul
Even in today's theater world in Japan, which tends to venerate age, at just 52 Hideki Noda is already a towering, legendary figure.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Apr 6, 2008
Tom Maschler: A storied life of luck and literary passions
Regardless of whether you take it with a pinch of salt or think this consummate professional is simply being modest, Tom Maschler says that throughout his celebrated publishing career, "luck" has often played a significant role.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Mar 2, 2008
Shintaro Tsuji: 'Mr. Cute' shares his wisdoms and wit
Shintaro Tsuji isn't joking when he says he wants to make Hello Kitty, his company's best-selling character, into a brand name that rivals Gucci or Hermes.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Dec 2, 2007
Dalai Lama: Ocean of wit and wisdoms
Lhamo Thondup was born on July 6, 1935 in Taktster, a small village in the Amdo region of northeast Tibet. But neither his parents — farmers who grew barley, buckwheat and potatoes — nor his three elder brothers and one elder sister (a younger sister and brother came later) were to discover his true identity until a few years later.
Japan Times
LIFE / CLOSE-UP
Nov 4, 2007
Sue Palmer: The kids are not OK, top educator warns
To a growing legion of educated, enlightened and empowered mothers in Japan and abroad, Sue Palmer's advice on how to bring up children might sound — if not heard in context — too old-fashioned, too alarmist or even maybe too naive to prepare their loved ones for the rapidly changing, fiercely competitive society of the 21st century.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Oct 7, 2007
Nahoko Yamazaki: Off-stage woman stars in men's theater world
Just as in the realm of politics, in the arts world — and here, particularly regarding the performing arts — different countries adopt different policies depending on their historical and economic circumstances.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Sep 2, 2007
Danjuro Ichikawa: Destined to act wild
When Danjuro Ichikawa stomps around the stage in flamboyant costumes, his face painted in red-and-white makeup and his voice virtually bellowing, it is kabuki in its rawest, most dramatic form. This actor and his ancestors through 11 previous generations have been wreaking havoc in the elegant world of what has been one of Japan's main traditional theatrical forms for the last 300 years.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Aug 5, 2007
Antiwar activist Steven L. Leeper
In a sense, it is the ultimate irony: The man appointed to oversee the memorial to victims of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945 by an American B-29 aircraft is . . . an American.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Jul 1, 2007
Kotaro Sawaki: Writer on the road of life
Kotaro Sawaki is one of the most popular nonfiction writers in Japan. He made his name with "Shinya Tokkyu (Midnight Express)," a reportage of a yearlong overland trip through Asia and Europe he took when he was in his mid-20s. Those stories — whose title refers to a euphemism for "prison break" used by foreign inmates of an Istanbul prison — depict in astonishing detail Sawaki's friendly interactions with locals, his sometimes acrimonious bartering over bus fares, meals and accommodation — and his heart-rending and movingly humorous descriptions of the poor and downtrodden he encountered on his travels.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Jun 3, 2007
Thinking beyond the brain
Kenichiro Mogi would be the ideal person to find sitting next to you at a dinner party, or one bleary post-sake morning over breakfast in a Japanese mountain inn.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
May 6, 2007
Karel Van Wolferen: Insights into the new world disorder
When Karel Van Wolferen released his seminal book "The Enigma of Japanese Power" in the dying months of the bubble economy, the normally staid monthly magazine Chuo Koron described its impact as akin to being struck by a bolt of lightning. For once, the hype was merited. Little before had matched the authority, scope or ambition of "Enigma," which set out to do nothing less than explain the inner workings of Japan's political engine house to a then-uncomprehending planet.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Mar 4, 2007
Nanae Aoyama: Office worker takes exalted literary status in her stride
Nanae Aoyama only turned 24 in January, but already she has won literary prizes for each of the two books she has published.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Feb 4, 2007
Princess Tenko: conjuror of pure mystery
The life of illusionist Tenko Hikita -- better
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Jan 7, 2007
Yoshiharu Habu: Japan's king of the board
Yoshiharu Habu shocked the shogi (Japanese chess) world when, on Feb. 14, 1996, at the age of 25, he won his 7th title to become the only person in the history of the ancient board game to simultaneously possess all seven titles -- Meijin, Ryuo, Kio, Oza, Kisei, Oi and Osho.
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.
'So hot you can't breathe': Extreme heat hits the Philippines
A pedestrian cools himself with a folding hand fan as he waits for a ride along a road in Manila on Wednesday, as extreme heat hit the Philippines.
Yen rebounds strongly after first slide past ¥160 since 1990
The yen dropped to ¥160.245 per dollar on Monday before heading into the other direction to ¥155.01 amid speculation of an intervention by Japanese currency authorities.
Did Japan intervene to prop up the yen? Analysts think it did.
A man walks past an electronic board displaying the exchange rate for the yen against the U.S. dollar (right) in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAL cancels international flight after captain gets drunk at Dallas hotel
A Japan Airlines' flight from Dallas to Tokyo was canceled last week after its captain got drunk at a local hotel.
Golden Week crowds greeted with high temperatures as holiday period kicks off
The departure lobby for domestic flights is crowded with travelers at Haneda Airport in Tokyo on Saturday, the first day of this year's Golden Week holidays.
Climate change, chalky grains and the risks for Japan’s rice farmers
A farmer plants seedlings in Satsumasendai, Kagoshima Prefecture. Japan’s self sufficiency rate for rice is nearly 100%, compared with 38% for food overall, on a calorie basis.
Japan wants you to spend more with ‘luxury tourism’
Performers play a traditional drum unique to Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, in the prefectural capital of Kanazawa on March 16 to mark the extension of the Hokuriku Shinkansen line to Tsuruga Station in Fukui Prefecture.
Theaster Gates’ ambitious ‘Afro-Mingei’ brings Black Chicago to Tokyo
Theaster Gates' “A Heavenly Chord” lines up church pews before seven speakers and a Hammond B3 organ, a type of electric organ prevalent in Black American churches.
Casa del Cibo: A thriving jewel born from Tohoku’s harsh past
When chef Ryohei Ikemi moved to Hachinohe, Aomori Prefecture, and opened Casa del Cibo in 2011, it was the first proper Italian restaurant in the city.
Town to block view of Mount Fuji in response to overtourism
The town government of Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi Prefecture, decided to set up a 2.5-meter-high screen to prevent tourists from taking pictures of Mount Fuji looming behind a convenience store.

Podcast

From easily navigable train stations to the helpfulness of its municipal staff, Tokyo has earned high praise for its commitment to accessibility for disabled travelers.
[Rebroadcast] Japan is doing better on accessibility than you may think

Longform

When trying to trace your lineage in Japan, the "koseki" is the most important form of document you'll encounter.
Climbing the branches of a Japanese family tree
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

A young restaurant leads the way in Karuizawa
A young restaurant leads the way in Karuizawa

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