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Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Dec 14, 2003

Mars Volta

The Mars Volta, led by vocalist Cedric Bixler and guitarist Omar Rodriguez, formerly of the El Paso-based postpunk band At the Drive-In, forfeited much of their considerable mystique when they finally released their first album, "Deloused in the Comatorium," last summer. Until then, their reputation...
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Dec 14, 2003

Suns didn't rise for Johnson like last season

NEW YORK -- The healthier Antonio McDyess (not necessarily the Knicks) gets, the more extraneous Kurt Thomas becomes, logic dictates.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Dec 14, 2003

Ann Dyer: "When I Close My Eyes"

Ann Dyer's newest release, "When I Close My Eyes," sets a new standard for intimacy, improvisation and experimentation in vocal jazz. On her previous release, "Revolver: A New Spin," she sang strikingly original interpretations of the classic Beatles album. Her new release moves toward even greater...
JAPAN
Dec 14, 2003

Japan seeks U.S. help at Iraq mission

The Foreign Ministry has unofficially asked the United States to deploy armored vehicles and take other measures to tighten security around the Japanese Embassy in Baghdad following the killing of two Japanese diplomats in Iraq, government sources said Saturday.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Dec 14, 2003

Shooting gallery aimed at sumo

On the other side of the Sumida River from Nihonbashi is Ryogoku, the undisputed center of the sumo world. Popular ways for a visitor to experience the character of the area include watching one of the three annual Tokyo basho (tournaments) at the Kokugikan (Sumo Stadium), joining some of the wrestlers...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Dec 14, 2003

Not letting the facts get in the way of a good 'documentary'

In the tributes to the Japanese diplomats who were killed two weeks ago, few people mentioned what they were actually doing in Iraq. Katsuhiko Oku was, among other things, encouraging Iraqis to watch NHK's popular drama series, "Oshin," which is being broadcast on Iraqi TV. The show, originally aired...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Dec 14, 2003

Sweet sounds of the soundtrack

MUSIC FOR MOVIES: Toru Takemitsu, Vols. I & II (3-4 of the "Complete Takemitsu Edition"), edited by Tetsuo Ohara. Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2003, 21 CDs, with program books, 24,000 yen each. Some of the most interesting contemporary film music was written by Toru Takemitsu. In just under 40 years he composed...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Dec 14, 2003

Harboring American memories

DATE WHICH WILL LIVE: Pearl Harbor in American Memory, by Emily S. Rosenberg. Durham & London: Duke University Press, 2003, 236 pp., $24.95 (cloth). History is not a record of facts and just the facts, but rather a collection of significant tidbits plucked from among the accessible data and then arranged...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Dec 14, 2003

Netsuke artist carves a niche in Electric Town

Walking into the Matsuzaka Ivory Shop is almost like disembarking from a time machine. One minute you're among the futuristic 21st-century gizmos spilling out into Chuo Dori, the main drag of Tokyo's Akihabara electronics district; the next, you're back in the realm of a craftsman whose tools and techniques...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Dec 14, 2003

Bento pioneers stay the course of time

As the hub of the Gokaido, the five roads radiating from old Edo to major centers around the country, the Nihonbashi district of the capital was long one of its most bustling areas.
EDITORIALS
Dec 14, 2003

What the Wright brothers wrought

History is rife with illustrations of those rueful conditional verbs "could have," "would have" or "should have" -- and never more so than when a momentous anniversary rolls around. The latest example is the 100th anniversary this Wednesday of the huge accomplishment of the American Wright brothers,...
MORE SPORTS
Dec 14, 2003

Rugguts shock Green Rockets

On paper this game should have been a formality. The NEC Green Rockets -- the All Japan champion of 2003 and riding high in third place in the Top League against the Secom Rugguts, winless in this year's competition and without so much as a bonus point to show for their efforts.
CULTURE / Music / FUZZY LOGIC
Dec 14, 2003

Toasting the top of 2003's pop

It's been a fantastic 12 months for rock 'n' roll. Any of the top 10 albums listed here could easily have taken the No. 1 spot in a different year. Buy (or burn) them all. The only surprise was that, bar Kings of Leon, none of the new garage-rock upstarts hitching a lift on "The White Strokes" bandwagon...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Dec 14, 2003

Hair care from topknots to tints

To all outward appearances, Hair Salon Kitadoko is as modern as the Shibuya Cross Tower skyscraper in which it's located. As befits these times, too, it has a toll-free number for customers to call for appointments, as well as a Web site.
COMMENTARY
Dec 14, 2003

Getting Asia's youth behind their party

MANILA -- As elections approach, politicians remember the importance of being on good terms with the youth. Young people are easily motivated and are inexpensive workers in political campaigns. The young generation also constitutes a sizable electoral constituency.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 14, 2003

Does Bush have any China policy at all?

WASHINGTON -- After nearly three years of careful strides toward strategic clarity on a China policy, U.S. President George W. Bush has slipped back into strategic ambiguity, a posture that is certain to raise diplomatic questions in Asia and to cause him political problems at home.
EDITORIALS
Dec 13, 2003

A triumph for Mr. Wen

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao is a happy man -- and with good reason. His four-day visit to the United States this week was a huge success, a personal triumph for the premier as well as a trip that helped advance his nation's relations with the U.S. His host, U.S. President George W. Bush, is probably less...
JAPAN
Dec 13, 2003

Pair sue over fatal use of banned drug

A woman who had a stillborn birth and her husband filed a lawsuit Friday seeking 35.5 million yen against a maternity clinic in Shiga Prefecture and its head for giving her a banned drug in 2000 when she was pregnant.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 13, 2003

Japan, ASEAN look to future

The summit between Japan and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations closed here Friday with leaders signing a "special relationship" declaration.
JAPAN
Dec 13, 2003

Alleged abductee's remains sought by son

Japan will ask North Korea to return the remains of Shoji Terakoshi, who disappeared while fishing in the Sea of Japan in 1963, a senior Foreign Ministry official has told a family member.
JAPAN
Dec 13, 2003

Prize curbs an own goal for lotto?

The National Agency for the Advancement of Sports and Health, which operates the J. League soccer lottery, is worried about poor ticket sales.
JAPAN
Dec 13, 2003

Police, utility, transport firms bolster security

Police have joined operators of major utilities and transport facilities across Japan in bolstering security measures following the government's decision Tuesday to send noncombat troops to Iraq.
JAPAN
Dec 13, 2003

LDP task force's expressway plan emphasizes more road construction

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party placed emphasis on more road construction in its plan mapped out Friday for privatizing the nation's expressway operators.
JAPAN
Dec 13, 2003

Record child asthma rates tied to pollution, diet

The proportion of elementary and junior high school pupils with asthma marked a record high during health checkups last spring, up almost 2.5 times from a decade ago, according to a survey by the education ministry.
JAPAN
Dec 13, 2003

Bullets sent to SDP's Fukushima, Doi

A letter containing two bullets and addressed to Social Democratic Party leader Mizuho Fukushima and her predecessor, Takako Doi, was discovered at the Tokyo central post office Friday.

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past