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May 13, 2024
 

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ON THE ROAD

LIFE / Travel / ON THE ROAD
Jun 22, 2008
Women drive today's car industry
There's a common misconception that cars only interest men — and that the secret to success in the automotive industry is therefore to find new and better ways to build vehicles that appeal to them.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / ON THE ROAD
Jun 15, 2008
Women vie for the lead in motor racing
Hollywood's finest scriptwriters couldn't have come up with a better story line. A 92-year-old American car race where the winners celebrate with milk rather than champagne; where female drivers are more popular than their male counterparts; and where all V8 engines, supplied by Honda, run on renewable ethanol fuel.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / ON THE ROAD
Jun 8, 2008
In the land of pimped push bikes
It would be hard not to notice that Japan's streets are jammed with fixed-gear bikes. As reported here in December, these are simple, stripped-down bikes originally built for racing around velodromes; the single gear is locked to the back wheel, so the pedals keep turning when the bike is moving. But while these machines may be minimalist at their core, having just one gear, the youths who started this craze are finding ways to take it to the extreme.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / ON THE ROAD
May 11, 2008
Japan's gourmands should hit the highway
At the beginning of the postwar period of economic growth in Japan, highways were more for transporting parts and goods to jump-start the economy than for going on a Sunday drive. Even into the 1980s, pit stops in highway rest areas were still the stuff of nightmares. Surrounded by trucks belching acrid clouds of diesel smoke, motorists would find available food limited to soggy noodles and nefarious hot dogs, and worn-out, dirty squat toilets made for unpleasant experiences.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / ON THE ROAD
May 4, 2008
Take a royal ride on the Yamaha Majesty
If scooters could talk, they'd probably spout the late comedian Rodney Dangerfield's line about not getting any respect. No one casts admiring glances their way. In fact, some bikers even seem to sneer at them, but that hasn't stopped sales from rocketing through the roof.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / ON THE ROAD
Apr 27, 2008
Time that Japan's numbers came up
Given that much less than 1 percent of Japan's population are native English speakers, you can understand my surprise when the word "POLICE" suddenly appeared in bold reflective lettering on the nation's patrol cars last year.
LIFE / Travel / ON THE ROAD
Apr 20, 2008
Cheap car shows poorer nations won't accept role as the First World's 'factory'
Two or three hundred journalists from around the world rushed to the stage, pushing and shoving each other to get a glimpse. Although the car had been announced more than three years earlier, such was the excitement.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / ON THE ROAD
Apr 13, 2008
Why Japan finally got its foot off the brake
No other phrase more eloquently captures the essence of Japan's car industry than jishu-kisei, or "mutual self-restraint."
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / ON THE ROAD
Apr 6, 2008
Japan's most jam-packed year at the track
Atitan in the field of car manufacturing, Japan has also long been a magnet for international-level motor racing.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / ON THE ROAD
Mar 30, 2008
General Motors banks on an Aussie invasion
If you were fortunate enough to score an invite to a Hollywood party these days, you'd be hard-pressed to avoid rubbing shoulders with an Australian actor. Tinseltown is awash with them. Academy Award winners Mel Gibson, Nicole Kidman, Russell Crowe, Cate Blanchett and Geoffrey Rush lead an ever-growing troupe that also includes Toni Collette, Hugo Weaving and Guy Pearce. Nor can we forget the recently deceased Academy Award-nominated Heath Ledger.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / ON THE ROAD
Mar 23, 2008
Motorsport leads the drive to greener cars
The idea of "environmentally friendly racing" might sound oxymoronic, but "greener" motorsport isn't something that's on its way — it's already here.
LIFE / Travel / ON THE ROAD
Mar 16, 2008
Why some of Japan's top cars can't be found here
Ever wondered why some of the best automotive achievements from Japanese carmakers never make it to Japan?
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / ON THE ROAD
Mar 9, 2008
World's carmakers head back to school
International car manufacturers know that the automobile as a symbol has lost some of its gloss for the younger generation. Today's young people want to take transportation in new directions. They have a more ecological, environmentally sustainable vision of transportation, and often it's so idealistic that it's unrealistic. The car industry is a vast forest providing food and shelter — its different branches providing employment for millions of people. Razing the forest would have devastating repercussions for the international economy. The move to a greener future is one that must be very carefully planned.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / ON THE ROAD
Mar 2, 2008
Inviting Big Brother along for the ride
In-car camera systems that record accidents have the potential to change our behavior — and curb the rising number of traffic fatalities occurring around the globe as more vehicles pour onto our roads. They also open a debate on the right to personal safety versus the right to privacy; such systems could one day evolve in tandem with GPS satellite-navigation systems to allow authorities to track your location and actually see where you are through the camera — in real-time.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / ON THE ROAD
Feb 24, 2008
New rules for cyclists go round in circles
Putting the brakes on the country's bicycle chaos requires more than just imposing bans on headphones, cell phones and umbrellas.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / ON THE ROAD
Feb 17, 2008
Taking to the streets of tomorrow
Listen carefully and you might detect the slight whir of this car's motor, a little wind noise and a faint thrum from the tires. Could this be the sound of driving in the future? Will our streets one day be whisper-quiet even as they teem with traffic? Mitsubishi's electric mini-car, due on the market at the end of next year, points in that direction.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / ON THE ROAD
Feb 10, 2008
BMW's elegant hooligan
Renowned for its high- performance cars, BMW has long had trouble shaking the image that it's a builder of slightly quirky but sensible motorcycles for wealthy, bearded men.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / ON THE ROAD
Feb 3, 2008
Nano's low price comes at a cost
It's hardly surprising that Tata Group Chairman Ratan Tata chose the theme from the film "2001: A Space Odyssey" as the soundtrack to his unveiling of the Nano mini-car. Simply put, this car is epoch-making. It is the Ford Model T of India.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / ON THE ROAD
Jan 20, 2008
A home away from home: How we really think about the car
Is there a relationship between cars and houses? And, if there is, what commonalities are there between what we search for in an automobile and a home?
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / ON THE ROAD
Jan 13, 2008
Ranking Japan's most scenic skylines
Mountaintop vistas and an absence of patrol cars make for a slice of motoring heaven.
Three men rearrested over brokering of overseas prostitution
A woman speaks of her experience of being sent to Macau by an overseas prostitution broker during an interview in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward on April 8.
How the discovery of a giant sword in Nara offers clues into ancient Japan
Archaeologists say a 1,600-year-old wooden coffin at the Tomio Maruyama tumulus in the city of Nara was kept in good condition probably because it was protected by a layer of clay and copper ions that had seeped out of the mirrors that were buried together.
Tech giants start to treat Southeast Asia like the next big thing
Attendees arrive for Microsoft's event on AI technologies in Jakarta on April 30.
First 'extreme' solar storm in 20 years brings spectacular auroras
A meteor is seen in an aurora borealis above Lausanne and the Jura from the Tour de Gourze in Riex, Switzerland, on Saturday.
In first month of operations, ride-hailing services used more than taxis in Tokyo
As of last Sunday, ride-hailing services, which use personal vehicles to offer paid rides, had been used a total of 12,628 times in five areas.
Is black the new green for Japan’s flagging tea farmers?
George Guttridge-Smith brews tea at Kyoto Obubu Tea Farm in Wazuka, Kyoto Prefecture, where he serves as head of international development.
Japan's logistics firms seek partnerships to cope with driver shortage
Japan Post CEO Tetsuya Senda (right) and his Seino Transportation counterpart Satoshi Takahashi announce their companies' agreement on joint long-haul truck operations, in Tokyo on Thursday.
How the discovery of a giant sword in Nara offers clues into ancient Japan
Archaeologists say a 1,600-year-old wooden coffin at the Tomio Maruyama tumulus in the city of Nara was kept in good condition probably because it was protected by a layer of clay and copper ions that had seeped out of the mirrors that were buried together.
Unlike 10 years ago, Japan's new security bill sparks little debate
The Lower House starts discussing a security clearance bill on April 19 in Tokyo.

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