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EDITORIALS
May 12, 2006

Messy energy politics

Two decades ago, Europe and the Soviet Union first pondered a long-term energy-based relationship, one in which the Soviets would use their considerable energy reserves to fuel European economies. The prospect of European reliance on Soviet supplies triggered concern in the United States and some European...
COMMENTARY / World
May 11, 2006

Seeing Europe as a museum

WARSAW -- In the late 19th century, Europe viewed Asia mainly as either a source of inspiration for its artists or a focus of imperial ambition. Asians, for their part, viewed Europe as either a model of modernity, as in Meiji Japan, or a barometer of decay, as in China.
COMMENTARY / World
May 11, 2006

A power to resist the currents of history

One cold morning in December 1941, I was running through the frozen streets of Tokyo during the predawn hours, delivering newspapers. I saw this as my way to contribute to the family finances. I was 13 at the time, my father was bedridden with rheumatism, and my four elder brothers had been sent off...
COMMENTARY / World
May 11, 2006

Alliances to meet this century's threats

WASHINGTON -- In 1970 I traveled to Egypt as part of a delegation representing the United States at the funeral of President Gamal Abdel Nasser. Back then, Egypt was closely aligned with the Soviet Union. When we arrived in Cairo, it seemed that everywhere one looked there was evidence of the Soviet...
COMMENTARY / World
May 10, 2006

North-South fault line in global politics

On April 28 developing countries voted as a group at the United Nations to shelve management reforms proposed by Secretary General Kofi Annan in the wake of the oil-for-food scandal. Annan had requested more discretion and latitude in hiring, shifting and firing his staff, and controlling the organization's...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
May 9, 2006

Local fury at Hardy perennial

Last month, as they have every year for decades, a small crowd of people gathered under fat cherry blossoms in Tokyo's Aoyama Park, carrying red lanterns, placards and peace symbols.
MORE SPORTS
May 8, 2006

Oyama strong at Salonpas, sails to top of moneyleaders

Shiho Oyama maintained her comfortable lead with a final-round 70 to win the Salonpas World Ladies by six shots Sunday, claiming her fifth career victory on the Japan LPGA tour and second of the year.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
May 8, 2006

In search of Galbraithian wisdom for Japan's woes

John Kenneth Galbraith died last month. He was arguably one of the most influential economists of our time. One wonders what his comments would have been, had he been asked to say something about the course of the Japanese economy during these past few months.
MORE SPORTS
May 7, 2006

Zhang leads China to 5th straight Uber Cup title

Olympic gold medalist Zhang Ning edged archrival Mia Audina Tjiptawan and China went on to beat the Netherlands 3-0 to win its fifth straight Uber Cup women's world team badminton title and 10th overall on Saturday.
BASKETBALL
May 4, 2006

Tabuse still has eyes on NBA dream

Yuta Tabuse always watches NBA games, even when he's at a dinner table. And the sought-after dream has not changed at all since then.
JAPAN
Apr 29, 2006

Tokyo submits bid for 2016 Olympics

Mindful of the boom created by the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government on Friday submitted to the Japan Olympic Committee its candidacy to host the 2016 Games.
BUSINESS
Apr 29, 2006

EU-Japan ties have big potential to move on to a new dimension

Japan and the European Union need to expand cooperation on multiple fronts, including security, energy and technological innovations, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said at a recent seminar in Tokyo.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Apr 29, 2006

A boom time for Japanese electronics

Recently the day that my wife had long been predicting finally arrived -- sort of.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Apr 27, 2006

Embracing an organic modernism

At one of the extremes of 20-century architecture there were the modernists Adolf Loos and Le Corbusier and Bauhaus' Walter Gropius and Mies van der Rohe. They made impersonal and cool buildings in the "International Style" in vogue at the time that celebrated whiteness, straight lines and steel and...
BUSINESS
Apr 25, 2006

Sweden's IKEA back in Japan after 20-year hiatus

Furniture giant IKEA marked its return to Japan with the opening of a store Monday in Funabashi, Chiba Prefecture, but some domestic rivals question whether the Swedish firm has learned enough about Japanese consumers to please them.
MORE SPORTS
Apr 24, 2006

Japan advances in Fed Cup

Aiko Nakamura won her singles match against Nicole Riner of Switzerland on Sunday to give Japan an insurmountable lead in their Fed Cup World Group 2 matchup and a place in a playoff in July.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 23, 2006

Why not pay more for Fairtrade food?

PRINCETON, New Jersey -- Marks & Spencer, a supermarket and clothing chain with 400 stores throughout Britain, recently announced that it is converting its entire range of coffee and tea, totaling 38 lines, to Fairtrade, a marketing symbol of "ethical production." The chain already sells only Fairtrade...
MORE SPORTS
Apr 23, 2006

Japan knocks down Switzerland in Fed Cup play for 2-0 lead

Ai Sugiyama and Aiko Nakamura scored singles victories Saturday as Japan grabbed a 2-0 lead over Switzerland in the opening round of the Fed Cup World Group 2.
SOCCER / World cup
Apr 19, 2006

Dark horses tipped to go far under Hiddink

Australia vs. Japan June 12, Kaiserslautern, 10 p.m. kick off Australia vs. Brazil June 19, Munich, 1 a.m. kick off Australia vs. Croatia June 23, Stuttgart, 4 a.m. kick off (kick off Japan time)
SPORTS / E-LIST
Apr 19, 2006

'Little Matsui' a major league disappointment

The Pacific League has been raging on for nearly a month, but in the magical world of Major League Baseball, Japan's top-shelf exports are flying on Uncle Bud's calendar, and it must feel like Groundhog Day for some of the Hinomaru Heroes -- same old story day-in, day-out.
SOCCER / World cup
Apr 19, 2006

Formidable defense may not be enough for Croats

Croatia vs. Brazil June 14, Berlin, 4 a.m. kick off Croatia vs. Japan June 18, Nuremburg, 10 p.m. kick off Croatia vs. Australia June 23, Stuttgart, 4 a.m. kick off (kick off Japan time)
COMMENTARY
Apr 14, 2006

Tattered NPT needs repairs

LONDON -- What has become of the globally agreed regime designed to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons -- the Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT)? The answer these days is that while it has served the world well for many years it is now in tatters.
MORE SPORTS
Apr 13, 2006

Sugiyama returns to Japan Fed Cup team

Top Japanese tennis player Ai Sugiyama will return to the nation's Fed Cup squad for the first time in two years.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Apr 9, 2006

Pa League needs to know 'summer game' no fun in snow

A request this week to the Pacific League to please move back next season's Opening Day closer to where it belongs -- in April. I know the Pa League likes to begin play a week earlier than its Central League cousin, but is it going to start the 2007 season on March 24? This year, it began on Saturday,...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Apr 9, 2006

Bringing the lady-makes-tea debate to the boil

In the early 1990s I interviewed a representative of the vending machine industry who told me that one of the most revolutionary developments in his business was the installation of coffee and tea dispensers in new office buildings. "Think of it," he said excitedly, "women office workers will no longer...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / WALKING THE WARDS
Apr 7, 2006

Getting animated in Suginami

Suginami Ward may be known as a bed town, but the residents are restless. Butting up against Musashino and Mitaka cities and sharing a "west wing" location with Setagaya Ward to the south and Nerima Ward to the north, what appears to be a quiet residential area has always been a hotbed of activism.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Apr 7, 2006

Turntable takedown

In junior high, when Kentaro Okamoto first encountered DJing on a televised DJ battle, he could never have suspected that he would end up winning the 2002 DMC World Final Championship for his talent on the turntables, or spinning alongside hip-hop royalty like The Roots and Pharcyde.

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