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EDITORIALS
Aug 15, 2001

The prime 'rogue state'

For the Japanese, the first half of August is a period of soul-searching, remembering those who died in World War II and renewing our hopes for world peace. But more than half a century after the end of the war, and in spite of the termination of East-West confrontation, the world today remains a potentially...
JAPAN
Aug 15, 2001

Compromise visit could dilute 'Koizumi effect'

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's decision Monday to bring forward his controversial visit to Yasukuni Shrine may have saved face for opponents at home and abroad to a certain degree.
CULTURE / Art
Aug 15, 2001

Facing facts about the 'Big C'

An exhibition of photographs, images, specimens and computer simulations on the theme of cancer is being held till Sept. 2 at TFT Hall in Ariake, Tokyo.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 14, 2001

Koizumi visits Yasukuni Shrine

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi visited Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo on Monday afternoon, two days before the anniversary of Japan's World War II surrender, amid strong domestic and international criticism.
JAPAN
Aug 13, 2001

Koizumi pays visit to Yasukuni early

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi was set to make his planned controversial visit to Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine on Monday afternoon instead of on Wednesday's anniversary of Japan's World War II surrender, sources close to him said Monday.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Aug 12, 2001

Book bites

LETTERS FROM THE END OF THE WORLD: A FIRSTHAND ACCOUNT OF THE BOMBING OF HIROSHIMA, by Toyofumi Ogura. Kodansha, 198 pp., 2,000 yen. The first eyewitness account ever published of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, "The End of the World" is a devastating record of the horrors history professor Toyofumi...
COMMENTARY
Aug 11, 2001

Path to Yasukuni is for the independent

On Aug. 15, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi plans to visit Yasukuni Shrine for the express purpose of paying homage to the souls of those who died during World War II and expressing his determination that Japan will never again seek to solve international disputes by military force.
JAPAN
Aug 11, 2001

Foreign teenagers leave following month exchange

Ten teenage students left Japan for their home countries earlier this week following a monthlong fact-finding tour in which they communicated with Japanese youths and among themselves in Japanese.
SOCCER / J. League
Aug 10, 2001

Missing faces as J. League resumes action

After a three-week interval, Division One of the J. League kicks off again Saturday with the start of the second stage.
JAPAN
Aug 10, 2001

Yasukuni awaits as minefield for Koizumi

and TOSHI MAEDA Staff writers One might wonder why Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi is so bent on visiting Yasukuni Shrine on Aug. 15, the anniversary of Japan's World War II surrender, amid a steady outcry from Seoul and Beijing and opposition from inside his ruling camp.
JAPAN
Aug 10, 2001

No contenders file for LDP presidency

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi will be re-elected as president of the Liberal Democratic Party today, allowing him to stay in office for two more years.
JAPAN
Aug 9, 2001

Japan may formalize China import curbs

Upping the ante in its rankling, tit-for-tat trade war with China, the government could soon begin procedures to formalize emergency import restrictions on three Chinese farm products, government sources said Wednesday.
COMMENTARY
Aug 9, 2001

The dangers of cohabitation

LONDON -- The institution of marriage has been taking some hard knocks lately. It is not just that cohabitation -- living together without the marriage commitment -- is now increasingly popular. Nor yet that, as is widely known, one in four British marriages end in divorce. (In the United States, the...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 9, 2001

Feelings run deep about Yasukuni

Staff writer Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi says he simply wants to pay his respects for those who died for Japan.
CULTURE / Film
Aug 8, 2001

Are the fishing fools running out of line?

Tsuri Baka Nisshi 12 Rating: * * 1/2 Director: Katsuhide Motoki Running time: 111 minutes Language: JapaneseOpens Aug. 18 Some sequels make sense, but a "3" or "4" after the title of a Hollywood movie is generally a good reason to stay away unless you happen to be feeling charitable toward a studio...
CULTURE / Art / CERAMIC SCENE
Aug 8, 2001

Treasures to be hoarded

Here's an odd request: have a look in my closet.
JAPAN
Aug 8, 2001

Princess Akiko cleared for Oxford

The Cabinet on Tuesday approved a plan for Princess Akiko, 19, the elder daughter of Prince Tomohito of Mikasa, to study at Oxford University's Merton College in Britain from October to June as a privately financed student.
JAPAN
Aug 8, 2001

Chinese writer heads drive to build schools in Asia, Africa

After graduating from Shanghai's Fudan University, studying Japanese at Tokyo's Takushoku University and history at the University of Tokyo, Chinese writer Ye Qing is now leading a drive to construct elementary schools in Asia and Africa.
JAPAN
Aug 6, 2001

Yasukuni visit 'will certainly be made,' says Yamasaki

Taku Yamasaki, secretary general of the governing Liberal Democratic Party, said Sunday that Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi will definitely pay a visit to Yasukuni Shrine, where Class A war criminals are honored, despite strong opposition from neighboring Asian countries.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 5, 2001

U.S., China vie in bending the truth

Diplomacy, as much as the warfare it is designed to prevent, exacts a heavy toll on the truth. One can only wonder what future generations will learn with disbelief and chagrin when the Freedom of Information Act allows public examination of U.S.-China foreign policy intrigue in recent years.
CULTURE / Books
Aug 5, 2001

From the outside looking in

THE DONALD RICHIE READER: 50 Years of Writing on Japan. Compiled, edited and with an introduction by Arturo Silva. Stone Bridge Press, 2001, 238 pp., $19.95 (paperback). Full disclosure: I've known Donald Richie for more than 20 years and, like many people who have known him for a long time, I count...
COMMENTARY
Aug 4, 2001

Donors can make a world of difference

ISLAMABAD -- As Tetsuko Kuroyanagi returns to Japan with promises of using her television appearances to raise awareness over the plight of women and children in Afghanistan, there's no doubt that her six-day trip to the central Asian war-torn country was a brave effort.
BASEBALL / MLB
Aug 4, 2001

Kiyohara puts end to Baystars streak

Yomiuri slugger Kazuhiro Kiyohara hit a two-run homer off Yokohama starter Satoru Komiyama (6-5) in the sixth inning as the Giants put an end to the BayStars' winning streak at nine with a 4-3 victory on Friday night at Yokohama Stadium.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Aug 4, 2001

Reflections on a most unexpected career abroad

So often you hear of people who come to Japan for a few months and wake one day to find that many years have flown by. How comforting then to find that it also works in reverse.
JAPAN
Aug 3, 2001

Japan gets China's vote for ICJ

Japan has found an unlikely ally in its intensifying campaign to secure a judge's seat at the International Court of Justice.

Longform

After the asset-price bubble crash of the early 1990s, employment at a Japanese company was no longer necessarily for life. As a result, a new generation is less willing to endure a toxic work culture —life’s too short, after all.
How Japan's youth are slowly changing the country's work ethic