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COMMENTARY / World
Dec 25, 2000

Sanctions target the innocent

The use of sanctions as a tool of foreign and international policy increased dramatically in the 20th century. Yet as the crumbling sanctions on Iraq show, their track record in ensuring compliance is pitiful. They inflict pain on ordinary citizens while imposing questionable costs on leaders who are...
LIFE / Travel
Dec 24, 2000

Do they know it's Christmas in Xian?

In the cradle of Chinese civilization, Christmas -- in all its commercial fury -- has taken Xi'an city by storm. Today, in this one-time imperial seat now famed for its terra-cotta warriors, storefronts blink Christmas red and green, Santa Claus poses for photos in supermarkets, employees don festive...
CULTURE / Stage
Dec 23, 2000

Anything but ordinary

With the title "Raj Packet -- Everything But Ravi," you can't help but be curious about the performance. "Raj" possibly indicates something to do with British sovereignty over India in the last century;"packet" could be compendium, maybe a selection box of performance chocolates; "everything" as in "everything...
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 21, 2000

Mounting problems to test Cambodia's new 'stability'

PHNOM PENH -- They fought with guns and bombast during a civil war, a U.N. peacekeeping mission, an election, a coup, another election -- and every free moment in between. For most of the past two years, the followers of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and Prince Norodom Ranariddh have cooperated in...
LIFE / Style & Design / BEAUTY EAST AND WEST
Dec 21, 2000

Refresh your soul with the scent of eternal rebirth

For me the special warmth, freshness and magic of this time of year is beautifully embodied in its piny scents. The pine of Christmas trees and wreaths segues nicely into the pine of Japanese New Year displays.
LIFE / Travel / NATURE TRAVEL
Dec 20, 2000

Walking along the edge of civilization

Done the Great Wall of China? Try the Great Wall of England. It's arguably the finest Roman monument north of the Alps.
EDITORIALS
Dec 18, 2000

Myanmar in the middle

Relations between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and Europe are moving forward. The fact that foreign ministers from the two blocs held their two-day meeting in Vientiane, Laos, last week is a sign of progress. The relationship had been frozen for two years amid mounting acrimony. Divisions...
MORE SPORTS
Dec 18, 2000

Steelers close Three Rivers with victory over Redskins

PITTSBURGH -- Conjuring up images such as the "Steel Curtain" or "Blitzburgh," Three Rivers Stadium has been always a symbol of the Pittsburgh Steelers' strong defense throughout their 30-year history. And so it was on the last day.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 17, 2000

The stage is set for genuine change

This is the final article of a 10-part series on contemporary Japan.
CULTURE / Music
Dec 17, 2000

Putting the double bass on top

Widely considered the greatest double bass soloist of our time, world-renowned virtuoso Gary Karr will perform tonight at Taishi Bunka Kaikan Hall in Hyogo Prefecture with the piano accompaniment of his long-time duo partner Harmon Lewis, one of the final concerts of his 11-city, 3-week tour of Japan....
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM MOSCOW
Dec 17, 2000

No place for tainted symbols

The Soviet Union is dead; long live the Soviet Union. This seems to be the current mood in the corridors of power in Moscow. Russian President Vladimir Putin has persuaded the Parliament to restore the Soviet anthem as Russia's national hymn and the czarist red banner, which was used in Soviet times...
JAPAN
Dec 16, 2000

Ogi rocks the boat with airport review

Transport Minister Chikage Ogi recently sparked a row over a key part of the nation's future infrastructure plans when she suggested a review of the roles of Haneda and Narita airports.
BASEBALL / MLB
Dec 14, 2000

Fighters re-sign three foreigners

The Nippon Ham Fighters have re-signed sluggers Sherman Obando, Nigel Wilson and southpaw Kevin Ohme at baseball's winter meetings in Dallas, officials of the Pacific League club said Tuesday.
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
Dec 14, 2000

Owners taking the hands-on approach

Watching Mario Lemieux as he made his rounds in Japan this past October, one could sense there was something very wrong with the picture. At various functions in Tokyo leading up to the National Hockey League opening games, here was this strapping 6-foot-5 man, just turned 35, looking healthy and fit...
LIFE / Food & Drink / WINE WAYS
Dec 14, 2000

Perfect match for sushi found in Deppisch wine

When all 194-cm of Johannes Deppisch looms before you, complete with his warm, spontaneous smile, you're inclined to think that his wines must be as powerful as he is. In fact, they're light, dry and fruity, and as refreshing as a visit to Josef Deppisch Weingut. Founded in 1872 in Marktheidenfeld, the...
JAPAN
Dec 13, 2000

Victims know true justice will elude

Although the Women's International War Crimes Tribunal on Japan's Military Sexual Slavery that ended Tuesday has no legal power, it provided victims of sexual violence by Japanese soldiers a forum where they could experience a sense of justice.
CULTURE / Books
Dec 13, 2000

Television as a pillar of the state

BROADCASTING POLITICS IN JAPAN: NHK and Television News, by Ellis Krauss. Cornell University Press, 2000, 278 pp., $35 (cloth). Many of us know NHK (Nippon Hoso Kyokai) for its film documentaries, its cultural programs -- stunning or plodding, depending on your perspective -- or its Sunday morning singalongs....
COMMUNITY
Dec 13, 2000

Unlocking secrets of the original Marseille Tarot

Tarot cards can be found in the game sections of toy shops, and there are hundreds of different decks. But Tarot is an ancient tradition, says tarot master Philippe Camoin, and the philosophy behind the cards is a powerful tool for awakening intelligence.
JAPAN
Dec 12, 2000

Citizen exchanges said key to Japanese-Korean ties

Japan and South Korea should increase citizen exchanges, especially of young people, to build a new partnership and jointly play a leadership role in the Asia-Pacific region, panelists at a symposium on Japan-South Korea relations agreed Monday.
JAPAN
Dec 12, 2000

Universities buy exams despite ministry warning

Nearly 20 private universities have signed contracts with the Nagoya-based Kawaijuku Educational Institution to supply them with questions for next year's entrance exams, the cram school has announced.
EDITORIALS
Dec 12, 2000

The banks' 'lost decade' continues

Japanese banks' performance for the first half of the current fiscal year delivers a disquieting message: They are still saddled with a large number of problem loans. For years, they have been saying that the worst is over -- and it is true that the danger of a financial meltdown no longer exists. But...
COMMENTARY
Dec 10, 2000

Conservation and clean energy

LONDON -- The global-warming conference in the Netherlands last month ended without agreement. Some scientists are still debating how real global warming is and how serious its effects are likely to be. Others are still inclined to argue that climates evolve naturally with warm and cold periods alternating....
COMMENTARY
Dec 10, 2000

American democracy teeters on the brink

NEW YORK -- There's plenty of room for reasonable disagreement in this post-election netherworld. The Bushies are right that we need a president-elect and we needed one weeks ago; despite lackadaisical opinion polls and surprising public apathy, the legal maneuvering over recounts can't go on forever....
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Dec 10, 2000

Anchita Ghosh

When she was a little girl living in Tokyo, Anchita Ghosh liked to stay behind after school and help her teacher clean up the classroom. When she was at home, she liked to help her mother cook. Her mother practiced professional Indian massage, and Anchita liked to pick up the towels, put away the oils...
CULTURE / Art / CERAMIC SCENE
Dec 9, 2000

The tiny treasures of Hikaru Shimamura

The great 20th-century Japanese potter Kanjiro Kawai (1890-1966) marveled at items that were small and most people overlooked: a stone, a leaf, a box of matches. He would toss them over and over again in his hands.
JAPAN
Dec 8, 2000

DPJ panel urges end to peacekeeping ban

A Democratic Party of Japan panel on Thursday called for the ban on Japanese participation in U.N. peacekeeping operations to be scrapped and for the five guidelines for Japan becoming involved in operations to be reviewed.
EDITORIALS
Dec 8, 2000

Europe's growing pains

European Union leaders are finding that success comes with a price. They meet today in Nice, France, for a critical summit that will modernize the EU and prepare it for new members and new responsibilities. Despite complete agreement that decision-making procedures must be changed, there is no consensus...

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