Tag - robert

 
 

ROBERT

Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Oct 1, 2014
Kafka's worm takes a high-tech turn
"I work a lot in France, where manga and anime are enormously popular, although many theater producers think they are basically for children and are often too violent. However, they regard my robot theater as being an essentially Japanese art form," the pioneering dramatist Oriza Hirata said recently during a break in rehearsals for his upcoming version of Franz Kafka's absurdist gem, "The Metamorphosis."
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 22, 2014
U.S. defense official praises Abe for bolstering military alliance
A high-ranking U.S. defense official visiting Tokyo said Friday that the U.S. appreciates recent actions taken by the Abe administration to bolster the Japan-U.S. military alliance.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS / SPORTS SCOPE
Aug 19, 2014
Critics of Tokyo 2020 venues misguided
The Tokyo 2020 Olympics are still almost six years away, but in many ways the games have already begun.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 2, 2014
'Earthquacks' challenged by U.S. expert in Tokyo
Robert Geller, an American seismologist teaching in Japan, has been fighting a lonely battle against what he says is a hopeless national initiative for predicting big earthquakes.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Jul 22, 2014
'Iron Man' Robert Downey Jr. highest-earning actor, Forbes says
Robert Downey Jr, the star of Disney's Marvel superhero film franchises "Iron Man" and "The Avengers," is Hollywood's highest-paid actor for the second consecutive year, with estimated earnings of $75 million, according to Forbes.com.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OLD NIC'S NOTEBOOK
Jul 5, 2014
Entertaining guests with a little horseplay
I had returned from a three-month trip to the Canadian Arctic and was in Vancouver, meeting up with family and friends before returning to Japan.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 13, 2014
Kagan and the ruin of ideas
Neocon commentator Robert Kagan's belief — detailed in his new book 'The World America Made' — that the world will benefit from a benevolent American suzerainty, despite the side effects of the Persian Gulf, Iraq and Afghan wars, beggars the imagination.
BASKETBALL
May 30, 2014
Kawai to remain Shinshu coach for 2014-15 season
After leading the Shinshu Brave Warriors to the playoffs for the first time in franchise history, head coach Ryuji Kawai will return to the sideline for the bj-league's 2014-15 season, the Eastern Conference club announced on Thursday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
May 20, 2014
Abe taps Shiller insights on breaking 'shrunken mindset'
Three weeks before the consumption tax was increased last month for the first time in 17 years, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe turned to Nobel laureate Robert Shiller to try to restore a vital ingredient of his economic revolution: optimism.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 28, 2014
Lest we forget LBJ's amazing side
Watching Robert Schenkkan's new Broadway play, 'All the Way,' is likely to remind people of how their views of U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson changed during the Vietnam War era.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Apr 12, 2014
Weapons for peace and proactive pacifism
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has relaxed curbs on arms exports and sees great market potential in Asia. In the Pacific Century, Asia's impressive economic growth is funding expanding defense budgets, making the region the most lucrative global arms market. Alas, it is also a region of significant flash points.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 3, 2014
Polish history captured by a man who was there
He may be 88 years old and the director of 54 films, but Polish film giant Andrzej Wajda is still evolving as a storyteller. His latest, "Wałesa: Man of Hope," opens in Tokyo on April 5 (as "Wałesa: Rentai no Otoko") and marks his further foray into the realm of history as entertainment, following "Katyn" in 2007. "Wałesa" is the final chapter in Wajda's "Man" trilogy of films based on the Polish Solidarity movement that was led by Lech Wałesa and, as such, it's a proper send-off, charged with passion and crammed with action.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 13, 2014
Surviving the latest trend in American cinema
Who is this man? The protagonist in "All is Lost" is also its sole character — an older (but astoundingly fit) stranded sailor portrayed by 77-year-old Robert Redford. He's unnamed, and does not speak except for right at the beginning of the film when he's reciting a letter to persons unknown. The letter is couched as an apology, but for what sin we do not know. "I will miss you," he says by way of farewell. He wears a wedding ring on his left hand, but there's no telling to whom he's directing this missive.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 26, 2013
Kaori Shoji's 2013 Top 10: films that aren't backward about coming forward
It has been a year of documentaries made on big ideas and small resources. At the other end of the spectrum, some of the best fiction films had the look and feel of a documentary, attesting to the modern notion that the individual and his/her story are just about the most interesting things around.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 7, 2013
Iran-baiting lawmakers busy ratcheting up tension
Iran-baiting lawmakers in the United State are busy trying to ratchet up the tension by pushing for more economic sanctions against Tehran despite an interim agreement on restriction Iran's nuclear program.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 4, 2013
Keep low economic profile in Iran, Einhorn urges
A former U.S. State Department official who had been tasked with overseeing sanctions on Iran is urging Japan to refrain from engaging in economic activities there for now in line with steps aimed at curbing Tehran's nuclear activities.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 15, 2013
Abe, U.S. senator concur on need to bolster alliance
Japan and the United States should strengthen bilateral ties as China increases its presence in the South China and East China seas, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and the visiting chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee agreed Thursday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / FUJI ROCK 2013
Jul 31, 2013
A year of tough choices at Fuji
Wandering around on the opening day of this year's Fuji Rock, I got the impression that numbers were down on previous years. Of course, anyone who has ever been stuck in the event's seemingly never-ending lines for the portable toilets — or who's been shut out from seeing their favorite band as the tent-like confines of Red Marquee filled to the brim — will be able to tell you that this is not necessarily a bad thing.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
May 31, 2013
U.S. soldier to admit Afghan massacre to avoid execution
Seattle AP A U.S. Army staff sergeant charged with killing 16 villagers in one of the worst atrocities of the Afghanistan war will plead guilty to avoid the death penalty in a deal that requires him to recount the horrific attack for the first time, his attorney said.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
May 26, 2013
Infernal prose flows again from Dan Brown's brain
I used to think that Dan Brown was merely bad. Now, after reading the latest version of the apocalyptic thriller he rewrites every few years, I suspect he might be mad as well.

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