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LIFE / Digital
Apr 25, 2002

Lie detection infiltrating everyday life

When Bill Clinton first said, "I never had sexual relations with that woman . . ." back in 1998, a report flushed that a new Israeli lie detector figured he was being truthful.
CULTURE / Music / J-POPSICLE
Apr 24, 2002

Two men and a poor baby

I have a thang, as Isaac Hayes would say, for Yuki Koyanagi. Maybe it's her sultry pout. Maybe it's her bleached-blonde hair. Or it could be her gloriously trashy fashion sense.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Apr 24, 2002

Mixed messages follow love at first sight

Love is complex enough at the best of times, but when it crosses cultural borders, things can get really confusing. Opening April 24 at the Shimokitazawa Geki Shogekijo is "John-kun and Yoko-chan," a play co-written by American Michael Naishtut and Japanese Yoko Narahashi that takes a seriocomic look...
BUSINESS
Apr 22, 2002

Japan's deflation a puzzling issue for Europeans

BRUSSELS -- Viewed from Europe, there are some signs that the Japanese economy might be starting to emerge from its 10-year slumber, but it remains essential that Tokyo focus on far-reaching structural reforms and antideflation measures rather than short-term policy lurches if the economy is to avoid...
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 21, 2002

Koizumi trade pitch misses

CAMBRIDGE, England -- At the Baoa Forum for Asia that met on Hainan Island in China earlier this month, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi made yet another proposal for a greater economic cooperation agreement for East Asia. This time Japan's focus is on an ASEAN-plus-five formula, as announced...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Apr 21, 2002

Reality bytes across the Digital Divide

The latest fad in worldwide rifts is not East/West, North/South, Rich/Poor -- nor even Love Britney/Hate Britney. Rather it is the "Digital Divide" -- the gap between those who are prepared to live in our brave new world of information technology and those who are not.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Apr 21, 2002

Peak attraction

When the cherry trees in the highlands of Nagano Prefecture start blooming, Hajimu Miyamoto of the Azumi Village tourist association begins to feel excited -- and a little nervous.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Apr 21, 2002

A superstar rises to the advertising occasion

I guess it's supposed to set up a connection between athleticism and potency, but I was still slightly taken aback last week while watching a broadcast on NHK of a major league baseball game. Behind home plate there was an advertisement for Viagra.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Apr 21, 2002

And don't come back another day

ARTHRITIC JAPAN: The Slow Pace of Economic Reform, by Edward J. Lincoln. Washington, D.C.:Brookings Institution Press, 2001, 247 pp., $18.95 (paper) Japan's agonizingly slow attempts to resuscitate its ailing economy have left many observers bewildered. The policy failure is plain: the lowest growth...
COMMENTARY / WASHINGTON UPDATE
Apr 20, 2002

Gore begins long march to election 2004

WASHINGTON -- The Florida Democratic Convention provided the platform for the return of former Vice President Albert Gore to the national political scene last weekend. He jumped in with both feet in Florida, accusing President George W. Bush of a litany of misconceived policies, from the economy to the...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Apr 20, 2002

'Madame Butterfly' and the real Cho-Cho-san

Jan van Rij's interest in the story behind Giacomo Puccini's opera "Madame Butterfly" began on a visit to Nagasaki when he was working here in the 1980s. "I visited Glover Garden with all its confusions -- the ugly escalator, music coming out of the bushes. I could see he had a Japanese wife, with mixed-blood...
BUSINESS
Apr 19, 2002

Mazda to release 36 new models as it accelerates out of the red

Mazda Motor Corp. President Mark Fields said Thursday that the company plans to launch 36 new models over the next couple of years, following expectations that it has returned to profitability in the just-ended fiscal year.
COMMENTARY
Apr 18, 2002

Turkey's Mideast peace role

LONDON/ISTANBUL -- The only possible way of exerting outside influence on the ever-worsening conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians is through a visibly balanced approach.
SOCCER / World cup
Apr 17, 2002

Troussier to test combinations in Costa Rica friendly

YOKOHAMA -- With six weeks remaining before the start of the World Cup, Japan coach Philippe Troussier will be out to fine tune his team in Wednesday night's friendly against Costa Rica at International Stadium Yokohama, by giving a playing opportunity to those who haven't featured in the side much....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / NEW ART SEEN
Apr 17, 2002

Into the woods today: mourning nature's demise

Japanese cultural life has long revolved around the changing of the seasons, in particular, and nature, in general. Or has it? The differences between Japanese sensibilities toward nature and those generally held by Westerners have been much discussed. Yet it is interesting to note that, when used to...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Apr 17, 2002

All we know of heaven and need of hell

There may indeed be "more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of" in human philosophy, as Hamlet told faithful Horatio, but when it comes to hell, the human imagination needs little prompting. From Dante Alighieri's "Divine Comedy" to the Bible itself, hell and its tempting concomitant, sin, have...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Apr 17, 2002

Czukay ages well, but who's counting?

The first time Can bassist Holger Czukay came to Japan in 1982, his passport received extra scrutiny. This wasn't so unusual for slightly shaggy looking, middle-aged hippies. Czukay, however, wasn't an undesirable element.
CULTURE / Art
Apr 17, 2002

As time goes by

From cityscapes to country roads, Edward Levinson captures even the smallest movements of nature through the eye of his pinhole camera.
EDITORIALS
Apr 16, 2002

Tip of the 'bad debt' iceberg

The results of special bank audits announced last week by the Financial Services Agency confirm that Japan's banking sector is still saddled with large amounts of bad debt. The message is that banks remain heavily exposed to the risks of default despite stepped-up efforts to improve the situation.
SOCCER / THE BALD TRUTH
Apr 16, 2002

Careful with that tree, Eugene!

After months of teetering on the brink of full-blown silliness, World Cup organizers finally appear to have plunged into a vortex occupied by Teletubbies, giant talking tadpoles and Benny Hill lookalikes.
BUSINESS / ANALYSIS
Apr 16, 2002

Economic panel wants to go its own way on FTAs, farm trade

In a rather belated move aimed at giving the languishing Japanese economy a badly needed shot in the arm, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's key economic panel has put yet another sacred cow on its reform agenda: agriculture.
BUSINESS
Apr 16, 2002

Debate brews over easing trade with poor countries

A tug-of-war is brewing behind the scenes within the government over whether Japan should do more to help the world's poorest countries by granting their products, especially seafood, greater access to its lucrative market.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Apr 14, 2002

Pop stars set an example for us all

The permanent five-day school week that goes into effect this month has given rise to a great deal of discussion in the government and the media as to whether or not Japan can afford to cut back on classroom time. This discussion, however, has not addressed the question of what education is supposed...
JAPAN
Apr 13, 2002

'Secret' funds went to lawmakers in '91-'92: JCP

The early 1990s administration of Kiichi Miyazawa used 143.86 million yen in so-called discretionary funds to distribute to ruling and opposition party lawmakers and to cover personal expenses at the Prime Minister's Official Residence, the Japanese Communist Party revealed Friday.
JAPAN
Apr 13, 2002

Environmentalist says Japan should roll out solar energy Marshall Plan

Japan is in a unique position to help promote sustainable development in Asia and in developing countries in the area of solar power, an influential U.S. environmental pundit said in an interview.
MORE SPORTS
Apr 13, 2002

Honda races to find environmental solutions in F-1 lab

Honda launched its third assault on the Formula One World Championship in 2000 after seven years away from the world's top tracks. So far, though, success has eluded it -- despite this year's massive $210-million budget, which -- according to Euro Business magazine -- tops the lot, with Renault second...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 12, 2002

Women's group helps foster friendships

NARA -- Noriko Yamaue, 58, did not enjoy her first trip abroad.
BUSINESS
Apr 12, 2002

Fukuda airs possibility of pushing early tax cuts

The government may introduce early tax cuts as part of additional antideflation measures, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda said Thursday.

Longform

After pandemic-era border regulations eased, Indian migrants began returning to Japan. Their population now stands at more than 50,000 across the country.
How remote work is rewriting the migrant experience in Japan