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May 01, 2024
 

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Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Nov 5, 2006
Joi Ito: Master of multitasking
Joichi Ito, better known as Joi Ito, defies any one simple label.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Oct 1, 2006
Hisashi Inoue: Crusader with a pen
So wide-ranging are 71-year-old Hisashi Inoue's talents and activities that it is difficult to know which to focus on at the expense of others.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Aug 6, 2006
Shu Uemura: A life in pursuit of beauty
Hailing from a conservative family of businessmen and bankers, as a young man in occupied Japan, Shu Uemura dreamed of becoming an actor. But, fearing that his weak constitution would hamper his chances of success, he instead enrolled at Tokyo Beauty Academy -- the only man in a class of 130.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Jul 2, 2006
Tamiyo Kusakari: Dancing with body and soul
Tamiyo Kusakari has been on her toes since the age of 8. Japan's most treasured ballerina virtually grew up in her toe shoes, and spent her youth dancing on one stage after another. Now, at the age of 41, she continues to enthrall legions of fans with the skill and eloquence of her craft.
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
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.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Mar 5, 2006
Chizuko Ueno: Speaking up for her sex
In the United States today, it is no longer radical to suggest that the next president could be a woman. In Nordic countries, no husband would rail at a pregnant wife who expected him to share child-raising duties. And female heads of state are now found the world over.
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 Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Jan 8, 2006
Shigeaki Hinohara: Doctor of reforms
Even at the age of 94, Shigeaki Hinohara's mind and memory are so clear as to put some of his medical students to shame. And even despite being Japan's best-known and most highly acclaimed physician -- and chairman of the board of trustees of prestigious St. Luke's International Hospital in Tokyo -- Hinohara shows no sign at all of tiring in his pursuit of reform of the country's hidebound medical laws and systems. On the contrary, Hinohara confides, with a twinkle in his eye, that he is becoming "more and more radical" in his drive to raise standards -- declaring boldly that "laws must be broken or they will never change."
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Dec 4, 2005
Shogo Kariyazaki: Flower power at his fingertips
Shogo Kariyazaki is one of Japan's most flamboyant and outspoken authorities on beauty.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Oct 2, 2005
Harumi Kurihara: Homing in on success
As a cook and lifestyle guru, Harumi Kurihara has often been dubbed Japan's answer to America's Martha Stewart or Britain's Delia Smith. But in February this year, she scaled new heights when the English-language edition of her book "Harumi no Japanese Cooking" -- titled "Harumi's Japanese Cooking" -- was judged Best Cookbook of 2004 -- the highest honor bestowed at the 10th Gourmand World Cookbook Awards in Orebro, Sweden. In scooping what's known in the culinary world as the "Cookbook Oscar," Kurihara not only outshone 5,000 entries from 67 countries, but she also became the first Asian to be awarded the honor.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Jul 3, 2005
Takeshi Yoro: Professor No-Self
Some think of him as a retired anatomist par excellence; some revere his knowledge of the human brain; while to others he's simply someone who's nuts about insects.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Jun 5, 2005
Seiji Hirao: Mr. Rugby
At the Rugby World Cup Sevens in Hong Kong in March, a group of eminent rugby journalists were talking about Japan's bid to host Rugby World Cup 2011.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
May 1, 2005
Sadako Ogata: Front-line fighter for a better world
Sadako Ogata, formerly United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, is one of Japan's most prominent international figures.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Apr 3, 2005
Ryu Murakami: Straight-talking wordsmith wields his pen like a sword
For nearly three decades since his seismic debut with "Almost Transparent Blue," which delved into the sex- and drug-fueled lives of Japanese youths in a town hosting a huge U.S. military base, author Ryu Murakami has often used his trademark explicit, offensive and guiltlessly cheerful language to dig deep into Japan's myriad subcultures.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Jan 9, 2005
Keiko Sakai: Conundrum Iraq
One year ago this month, an advance team from Japan's Ground Self-Defense Force (GSDF) arrived in Iraq on a mission -- so the Japanese public was told -- to help rebuild the wartorn country. The rest of the main contingent of 600 troops soon followed.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Dec 5, 2004
Joji Yamamoto: Time to serve
Joji Yamamoto was a young, idealistic politician with a bright future -- but all that promise dissolved on Sept. 4, 2000, when he was arrested on suspicion of fraud.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Sep 5, 2004
Takafumi Horie: Livedoor whiz kid sets a new style
Takafumi Horie, 31, has been the man in the news since the end of June, when he announced that his Tokyo-based Internet service firm, Livedoor Co., was in the market for Osaka's debt-ravaged Kintetsu Buffaloes baseball team.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Jul 4, 2004
Seiichi Kanise: Media insider casts an outsider's eye on Japan
After 17 years' experience as a top-flight news reporter both at home and abroad, in 1991 Seiichi Kanise began a 10-year stint as a TV news anchorman. Then, after covering a wide range of news events, in 2003 he accepted an offer from the Tokyo-based Bunka Hoso (Nippon Cultural Broadcasting Inc.) radio station to anchor "Next!," a prime-time morning news program launched in April that year.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Jun 6, 2004
Shinya Tasaki: Sommelier supreme
Shinya Tasaki was a teenager when he made his first solo trip to France in 1977. Even back then, he was so eager to learn about French food and wine that he visited as many wineries as he could -- only to be turned away from most. But his determination kept him from giving up -- and now nobody will turn him away, because Tasaki has become one of the world's best-known sommeliers.
'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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