83.948 
Home » Archives
Taken: Left-Behind Parents Fight for Their Children
Written on 6 Aug, 2010 at 9:24 in Features
by Stephen Parker Imagine saying good-bye to your child for the last time. Imagine if you didn’t even get the chance. In hundreds of cases, Japan has become a black hole for international child abductions. In any other industrialized nation, the forcible removal of children would be considered kidnapping. In Japan, the only G7 country [...]... (Continue reading)
Open Skies at Haneda
Written on 2 Jul, 2010 at 0:01 in Features
by Stephen Parker The new 115-meter control tower at Haneda is one of the tallest in the world. The compact airport it watches over is Japan’s busiest and is set to get busier still. This October will see the opening of runway D, a new, fourth runway alongside a new five-floor terminal building and train [...]... (Continue reading)
Aiming for the Top Four
Written on 4 Jun, 2010 at 8:58 in Features
Japan’s National Team Gears Up for the World Cup by Sean Carroll The eyes of the world will be on every pass, tackle and shot. The top players from the four corners of the globe will contest a total of 64 matches to determine who is the best. Greats such as Alfredo Di Stefano, George [...]... (Continue reading)
Haikyo: Abandoned Treasure
Written on 21 May, 2010 at 10:05 in Features
by Elisabeth Lambert The first time I participated in haikyo was entirely by accident. My husband and I were cycling in the shadow of Mt. Fuji when we stumbled across an empty and dilapidated hotel on the shoreline of Lake Kawaguchiko. It struck us as unusual that the remains of this building were completely open [...]... (Continue reading)
Amsterdam Revisited
by Ellen Boonstra Amsterdam has never quite managed to shake off its image as a Sodom and Gomorrah of readily available sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll, a flashback to the 60s where hippies still roam the streets advocating “make love, not war,” and where John Lennon and Yoko Ono staged their ‘bed-in for peace’ [...]... (Continue reading)
Building the Future
Written on 8 Mar, 2010 at 17:14 in Features
by Stephen Parker Tokyo Sky Tree – Artists Impression When it reaches its completed height of 634 meters, Tokyo Sky Tree will be amongst the tallest structures in the world. At halfway there it is already as tall as both the Eiffel Tower and the 1958 Roppongi landmark that it will replace. As cities like [...]... (Continue reading)
Tackling Bilingualism: Helping your child to take advantage of Japan’s multi-cultural enviroment
Written on 19 Feb, 2010 at 9:00 in Features
by Brett Iimura The question no longer seems to be whether to raise children bilingually or not, but rather how to do so. Although there is still much controversy in a few countries regarding whether or not public funds should be utilized in making bilingual education widely available, most countries around the world either actively [...]... (Continue reading)
The Peeves of Pet Culture in Japan
Written on 5 Feb, 2010 at 9:00 in Features
by Elisabeth Lambert Walking up the stairs into the store’s premium top floor space, one could be easily forgiven for thinking he or she has entered a jewelry shop. At one end of the small room is a well-dressed couple pouring over a display cabinet, looking at the enclosed products carefully, as though they are [...]... (Continue reading)
Winter Escapes
As the mercury drops and more and more expats leave town to visit family in their home countries, Japan can start to seem like a lonely place for those of us who are left behind. This is especially true after December 26, when all evidence of Christmas decorations disappears, leaving the formerly festive streets looking [...]... (Continue reading)
The Gift of Giving
Written on 4 Dec, 2009 at 0:00 in Features
by Elisabeth Lambert While the commercialism associated with Christmas has well and truly embedded itself into the Japanese social calendar, the more serious aspects associated with the event have been a little slower to take hold. In Western countries, Christmas nowadays has its commercial roots too, but whether you are religious or not, it is [...]... (Continue reading)
