search

 
 
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Jan 26, 2003

Cleaning up Japan is one tall order

Thanks to improved nutrition, the height of the average Japanese person has increased considerably since World War II. Nevertheless, many Japanese, especially those over a certain age, despair over what they believe is their short stature.
COMMUNITY
Jan 26, 2003

Whether crisis or not, sumo's show must go on

Of all the crises that the institution of sumo is said to be confronting -- and there are many -- yokozuna (grand champion) Takanohana's announcement last Monday of his retirement is being regarded by some as particularly ominous.
COMMUNITY
Jan 26, 2003

Shot eagle gains a domain

Late last year, in the mountains of Chiba Prefecture, hikers came across an owashi (Steller's sea eagle) -- a designated special natural treasure -- that was unable to fly.
COMMUNITY
Jan 26, 2003

Golden ages' glitter may be gone

The first exhibit of foreign animals in Japan seems to have been of Asian elephants imported from Vietnam in 1725 by Gen. Yoshimune Tokugawa. Originally a pair, the cow died soon after its arrival in Nagasaki, but the bull survived the overland journey to Hamagoten in Edo (now Tokyo), where it was sometimes...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jan 26, 2003

Reasoning against Iraq 'catastrophe'

Few were the world leaders who, in the immediate aftermath of Sept. 11, 2001, withheld moral support for the United States. Longtime friends and onetime foes, Christians, Jews and many Muslims alike sang as in one chorus: They would root out terrorism where it lurked. It seemed the birth of a new world...
SUMO
Jan 26, 2003

Asashoryu bags New Year basho

Ozeki Asashoryu pulled out all the stops against Kotomitsuki on Saturday to claim his second consecutive Emperor's Cup by winning the New Year Grand Sumo Tournament and virtually secure promotion to yokozuna.
JAPAN
Jan 26, 2003

Agency drills for terrorist attack

The Defense Agency has conducted a drill involving geographic scenarios to prepare for the possibility of terrorist attacks involving biochemical weapons, Defense Agency sources said Saturday.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jan 26, 2003

Should zoos become extinct?

Though I prefer seeing animals in the wild, I confess to being intrigued by zoos. I'm certainly not alone in my interest, as the long and varied history of zoological institutions shows.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jan 26, 2003

Replica habitats aim to create more natural animal displays

Spending the day at the zoo isn't one of the first things families think of any more when they're looking for weekend recreation. As both new alternatives -- from the recent upsurge of interest in soccer to the rash of flashy theme parks -- as well as more familiar ones -- like the movies -- vie for...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Jan 26, 2003

First, dump the zombie debtors

JAPANESE PHOENIX: The Long Road to Economic Revival, by Richard Katz. M.E. Sharpe: Armonk, NY, 2003, 351 pp., $24.95 (paper) As Japan limps further into a second decade of recession, optimists about its future economic prospects are thin on the ground. In this provocative and thoughtful study, Richard...
COMMENTARY
Jan 26, 2003

Undoing a dictator's legacy

HONG KONG -- There was a largely unseen symmetry underlying two political bombshells that recently exploded in the northern Philippines, one after the other: Early on Dec. 29, the effigy of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, seemingly carved into rock in northern Luzon, was at long last blown up. Then,...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jan 26, 2003

It's time Japan woke up to refugee problem

The Foreign Ministry's lack of a coherent policy with regard to North Korea was obvious back in autumn, when public opinion forced the government to renege on its promise to Pyongyang that the five Japanese abductees would return to the communist nation after a two-week visit to Japan. The five are now...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / PLAY BUTTON
Jan 26, 2003

A rare chance to tap into Cat Power

Chan Marshall sits in her record company's office toying with a partially eaten apple. It is a fitting symbol. In Tokyo to promote her new album under the Cat Power moniker, "You Are Free," Marshall (first name pronounced Shawn) is dealing with her own peculiar fall from grace: the publicity tour.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Jan 26, 2003

Rambo rides again on the mean streets of Tokyo

RAIN FALL, by Barry Eisler. G.P. Putnam's Sons: New York, 2002, 306 pp., $24.95 (cloth) What's it like to open a book and read an account of yourself being gunned down on the streets of Akasaka?
COMMENTARY
Jan 25, 2003

Avoiding World War III

HONOLULU -- Help me get this straight!
JAPAN
Jan 25, 2003

Coast guard criminal cases up in '02

The number of criminal cases handled by the Japan Coast Guard in 2002, including ship collisions and injuries to ferry passengers, totaled 1,364, the highest figure in five years, according to a coast guard report released Friday.
JAPAN
Jan 25, 2003

Nuclear safety official jailed for bribes

A former official of the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency was sentenced Friday to two years in prison and fined 22 million yen for taking bribes for leaking government information.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 25, 2003

Only Mitzna offers real hope for peace

NEW YORK -- The Jan. 28 elections in Israel offer voters a clear choice: either they choose to continue with policies that have only brought increased violence and misery to their country, or they can take the bold step of choosing a candidate with risky but novel ideas on how to deal with the ongoing...
SUMO
Jan 25, 2003

Asashoryu charges ahead

Ozeki Asashoryu let his speed do the talking Friday as he walloped komusubi Wakanosato to move one win away from clinching his second consecutive title by winning the New Year Sumo Tournament.
MORE SPORTS
Jan 25, 2003

A matchup made in heaven

SAN DIEGO -- For the first time in its 37-year history, the Super Bowl will feature a matchup of the NFL's No. 1 offense vs. the No. 1 defense when the Oakland Raiders (13-5) take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (13-5) Sunday at Qualcomm Stadium.
JAPAN
Jan 25, 2003

Japan, U.S. together on Pyongyang

Japan and the U.S. agreed Friday that they and South Korea should consult closely with each other in dealing with the standoff over North Korea's development of nuclear weapons if and when the United Nations Security Council takes it up.
BUSINESS
Jan 25, 2003

Confectioner Takarabune goes under

OSAKA -- Confectioner Takarabune Corp. said Friday it has filed for court-led rehabilitation under the fast-track Civil Corporate Revival Law, crippled by debts of 25.53 billion yen.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 25, 2003

Alien tick plague threatening nation's beetle population

When Koichi Goka heard rumors about the mysterious deaths three years ago, he started snooping around. What he found has put government officials on alert against a new plague, one that causes the limbs of its victims to rot and fall off.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 25, 2003

The world needs a new nuclear doctrine

After getting its first taste of an atomic holocaust in 1945, mankind has made various efforts to avoid nuclear calamity by enforcing a stalemate based on the doctrine of mutual assured destruction and an international agreement against nuclear proliferation.

Longform

Ichiro Suzuki, one of the most iconic players in NPB and MLB history, was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame with 99.7% of the vote.
With Hall of Fame induction, Ichiro makes himself heard loud and clear