search

 
 
JAPAN
Jul 16, 2003

SDF peacekeeping force eyed by Defense Agency

The Defense Agency is considering creating a standing unit of the Self-Defense Forces dedicated to peacekeeping, antiterrorism and other overseas operations, agency officials said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Jul 16, 2003

Quality, not quantity, hampers ODA: professor

The main problem with Japan's official development assistance lies not in its quantity but in its lack of expertise, a specialist in development economics said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Jul 16, 2003

Lingering cold may impact crops, weather agency says

Farm crops may be affected by the unusually cold weather in northern and western Japan since late June, the Meteorological Agency said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Jul 16, 2003

2,200 disease carriers may have given blood

About 2,200 people who tested positive for hepatitis and other contagious diseases while donating blood in fiscal 2002 had previous blood donation records, according to the Japanese Red Cross Society.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 16, 2003

Sinking isle's sentinel role to be bolstered

The government plans to boost its control over Okinotorishima Island, Japan's southernmost territory, by improving the monitoring of approaching ships, according to land ministry officials.
JAPAN
Jul 16, 2003

Government seeks SOFA deals with three Mideast hosts

The government plans to conclude status of forces agreements with Kuwait, Qatar and Jordan, a senior official of the Foreign Ministry said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Jul 16, 2003

UNSC may be brought in on North Korea

Japan, South Korea and the United States have agreed that the U.N. Security Council should adopt a statement denouncing North Korea for its suspected nuclear weapons development if it does not agree to conduct multilateral talks, a senior Foreign Ministry official said Tuesday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 16, 2003

Princess' ex-doctor faces more penalties

Osamu Tsutsumi, a University of Tokyo professor who served as the primary physician for Crown Princess Masako until June, may face further penalties because a university panel found that he made a false application for 20 million yen in donations, according to sources.
EDITORIALS
Jul 16, 2003

For now, focus on legislative agenda

The political situation in Japan is heating up amid growing speculation that the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership contest in September will open the way for a general election. Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, who is also president of the LDP, is already openly challenging his rivals in the party,...
BASEBALL / MLB
Jul 16, 2003

Matsui on a roll into All-Star game

TORONTO -- What a difference six weeks can make. On June 4, Hideki Matsui was scuffling along with a .250 batting average, a paltry three homers and 33 RBIs. Since that low point in the season, the New York Yankees rookie outfielder has hit at a torrid .387 clip, while adding six homers and 33 RBIs in...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 16, 2003

'Manifesto' replaces slogans in election wordplay

Now that there is a fall election in the air, once again politicians are couching their platforms with the buzzword "manifesto."
SUMO
Jul 16, 2003

Animosity toward Asashoryu intensifies

The Japan Sumo Association on Monday received a bomb threat and phone calls threatening an assault on Mongolian yokozuna Asashoryu, association sources said.
COMMENTARY
Jul 16, 2003

Parties gear up for elections

The political situation in Japan is already heating up in anticipation of a period of turbulence in the fall. The current ordinary session of the Diet has been extended until July 26, and it seems certain that the bill concerning Japan's support for the reconstruction of Iraq, the focal point of the...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 16, 2003

Worldly delights

Summer might be the time for outdoor music festivals in scenic locales, but, then again, some of us prefer air-conditioning, a bar within easy reach and a taxi home. So, thank goodness there's a couple of festivals in Tokyo, too.
BUSINESS
Jul 16, 2003

Honda leases out fuel-cell car to Iwatani

Honda Motor Co. leased out a fuel-cell vehicle Tuesday to Iwatani International Corp., company officials said.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 16, 2003

Jazz swinging out in the open

Jazz fans have dozens of excellent festivals to choose from throughout Japan, with lineups covering a broad base from slick, traditional-minded swing to in-your-face free jazz. At most festivals, one would have to have to be either deaf or drunk to love everything on the schedule, but part of why festivals...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jul 16, 2003

It's an absurd, absurd world

Theatrical experiences don't get much more intimate than at the Umegaoka Box in Tokyo's Setagaya Ward. The room-size home of the Rinko Gun theater company is barely four meters from front to back (including the floor-level acting area) and 15 meters across, meaning there's no place for either the 40...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 16, 2003

From town to country, tie-dye to leather

Geography as destiny might explain the different characters of the summer's mega-festivals: Fuji Rock and Summer Sonic. The sylvan hills and babbling streams of Naeba have undoubtedly contributed to the slow insinuation of a hippie-dippie vibe at Fuji Rock, with its Field of Heaven -- at first a tie-dyed...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 16, 2003

Not fade away

If Jim Morrison were alive, he'd turn 60 in December. His band, The Doors, will be playing in August at Summer Sonic; or, actually, keyboardist Ray Manzarek (64) and guitarist Robbie Krieger (57) will. The other surviving member, drummer John Densmore, has sued the pair for using the name without his...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jul 16, 2003

In your nightmares . . .

"In Room 101 is the worst thing in the world," Winston Smith's torturer told the defiant hero of George Orwell's dystopian novel "1984." Now, rooms 1-4 of the Bridgestone Museum of Art's temporary exhibition galleries are hosting a whole array of the world's "worst things."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jul 16, 2003

Ennosuke soars with two-in-one tale

For his 33rd annual summer season at the Kabukiza Theater in Ginza, Ichikawa Ennosuke is this month presenting not one but two kabuki classics: "Yotsuya Kaidan (The Ghost Story at Yotsuya)" and "Chushingura (The 47 Loyal Retainers)." There's a catch, though -- he's fashioned them into a single, three-act...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jul 16, 2003

Trendy avatars give Net users new way to impress -- and spend

"Avatar" has become the latest buzz word in the Net world, with major providers and portals launching new Web sites in their search for fresh revenue sources.
CULTURE / Music
Jul 16, 2003

On the summertime stages

Reggae Japansplash '03

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