author

 
 

Meta

Leeroy Betti
For Leeroy Betti's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
COMMUNITY
Oct 13, 2002
Saved by . . . 'a bad feeling'
Paul Malone turned down the adventure of a lifetime -- but his decision probably saved his life. The 30-year-old Australian is alive and well in Tokyo. Instead, he could so easily have been named in recent news reports as missing in the South Pacific along with former NBA basketball star Bison Dele and his girlfriend and the skipper of a yacht at the center of an international murder-mystery whose chief suspect is Dele's late brother.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jul 21, 2002
Sailing in the world
Japan's area is less than that of California, though its economic exclusion zone takes in an enormous 4 million sq. km of ocean. The length of the coastline per sq. km of land is second only to Denmark, yet Japan's annual celebration of its partnership with the sea, Umi no Hi (Marine Day), rated hardly a passing mention on Saturday.
CULTURE / Art
Jul 8, 2001
Fashioning jewels of enlightenment
KATMANDU -- Suman Ratna Dhakawa spills a tray of rings onto a bench and runs his fingers through the mass of metal as if it were a liquid. "My family all have been jewelry-makers, craftsmen or artists," says Dhakawa. "I have jewelry-making in my blood."
COMMUNITY
Feb 11, 2001
The accidental ambassadors
Less than six months after bathing in the international attention that came with hosting the Olympic Games, Australians are celebrating their nation's 100th birthday.
CULTURE / Music
Nov 26, 2000
Looking up so tears won't fall
Tragedy crushes some people, twists and mangles them in ways from which they never recover. Others emerge stronger, as if all the pressure had fused to produce a diamond. Violin prodigy Diana Yukawa shows such sparkle.
OLYMPICS
Nov 1, 2000
Ruling made on controversial judo final
The International Judo Federation on Monday confirmed that France's David Douillet should not have won a controversial point that gave him a decisive win over Japan's Shinichi Shinohara in the heavyweight final at the Sydney 2000 Olympics.
OLYMPICS
Oct 4, 2000
Highs and lows of Sydney 2000
Citius, Altius, Fortius -- faster, higher, stronger.
OLYMPICS
Oct 3, 2000
Time for Japan to look forward
SYDNEY -- Nippon, Nippon, Nippon! Banzai!
OLYMPICS
Oct 2, 2000
Olympics end -- the party begins
SYDNEY -- The world's premier sporting carnival drew to a close in an extravaganza of sight and sound Sunday as the Olympic host city prepared to party the night away to bid farewell to the last Summer Games of the 20th Century.
OLYMPICS
Oct 2, 2000
Olympics draw to a close
SYDNEY -- They came, they saw and some even conquered, but Sydney was the undisputed winner as the Games drew to a close Sunday and the last medals were being decided. These Olympics will be exalted as the best Games ever.
OLYMPICS
Oct 1, 2000
Takahashi still gracious after win
SYDNEY -- The strong performance of Japanese women to claim 13 of the 18 medals that the nation has won at the Sydney Olympics reflects women's growing independence in society, women's marathon gold medalist Naoko Takahashi said Saturday.
OLYMPICS
Oct 1, 2000
Yagi takes shot at CL, PL
SYDNEY -- Japanese Olympic Committee president Yushiro Yagi declared Saturday that the nation's Olympic delegation had performed to 80 percent of its capacity to win five gold medals and 18 medals with two days of competition left at the Sydney Games.
OLYMPICS
Sep 30, 2000
Japanese synchro team swims to silver
SYDNEY -- Japan lifted perfect 10s from the Sydney International Aquatic Center on Friday but had to be satisfied with a second Olympic silver in the battle with Russia for world dominance in synchronized swimming.
OLYMPICS
Sep 30, 2000
Okamoto boots her way to bronze
SYDNEY -- Martial arts superstar Jackie Chan had best take cover if he ever runs into Sydney Olympic taekwondo bronze-medalist Yoriko Okamoto.
OLYMPICS
Sep 29, 2000
Jones bags 200 meters
SYDNEY -- It was billed as the showdown between Australia's indigenous darling, Cathy Freeman, and U.S. star Marion Jones.
OLYMPICS
Sep 29, 2000
Welcome to Sydney's juiced-up Games
SYDNEY -- It was easier to follow at the start.
OLYMPICS
Sep 28, 2000
Nagata is Japan's unlikely hero in 69-kg wrestling
SYDNEY -- Katsuhiko Nagata was the unlikely hero for Japan at the Sydney Olympics on Wednesday when he lifted a silver medal to save the nation from embarrassment in the world's oldest competitive sport.
OLYMPICS
Sep 27, 2000
U.S. tips Japan for gold
BLACKTOWN, Australia -- Japan's shot at gold in Olympic softball slipped through Shiroi Koseki's fingers Tuesday night, ending the team's impressive winning streak but leaving it covered in silver.
OLYMPICS
Sep 27, 2000
Russian duo take synchro title
SYDNEY -- Japanese water-babes Miya Tachibana and Miho Takeda swam for the gold in the synchronized swimming duet final Tuesday, but were beaten by a Russian team whose routine drew on Japanese culture for inspiration.
OLYMPICS
Sep 26, 2000
Observers stunned by Takahashi's feat
SYDNEY -- The Olympic host nation has taken a break from self-aggrandizement to applaud Naoko Takahashi for raising the standard for all marathons to come with her record-breaking time in the women's marathon Sunday.

Longform

Later this month, author Shogo Imamura will open Honmaru, a bookstore that allows other businesses to rent its shelves. It's part of a wave of ideas Japanese booksellers are trying to compete with online spaces.
The story isn't over for Japan's bookstores