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COMMUNITY
Apr 29, 2000

Children's library renovated in Ueno

On May 5, Children's Day, part of the first national library of children's literature will open in Ueno Park.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 29, 2000

Symbolism governs planned Imperial trip

The first postwar visit to South Korea by a Japanese Emperor is still up in the air due to a combination of politics, soccer bureaucracy, national sensibilities and a dispute over television broadcast rights.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 29, 2000

Containing authoritarianism in Myanmar

The answer to Myanmar's problems is obvious: The sooner the will of the majority of its people is respected, the better for all concerned in the country, the region and beyond.
EDITORIALS
Apr 28, 2000

The fight over Elian

It is a very long way from Japan to Miami, both physically and psychologically. For that reason, the brouhaha over little Elian Gonzalez that engulfed the United States this week has been a bit mystifying to people here. And yet perhaps distance lends a useful perspective.
COMMENTARY
Apr 28, 2000

Ichiro Ozawa now isolated

The recent change of government in Japan, resulting from Yoshiro Mori's replacement of the ailing Keizo Obuchi as prime minister, was accompanied by another important development: the end of a conflict between the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's Secretary General Hiromu Nonaka and Liberal Party leader...
BASEBALL / MLB
Apr 28, 2000

Tigers edge Carp to extend streak

Catcher Akihiro Yano scored the winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning Thursday as the Hanshin Tigers edged the Hiroshima Carp 1-0 to extend their unbeaten streak to 10 games and grab the Central League lead.
CULTURE / Stage
Apr 28, 2000

A powerful show of grace fit for royalty

History was made in the world of ballet in Japan with the gala performance of the two Nederlands Dans Theater companies at Saitama Arts Theater April 23. For the first time ever, the young and veteran companies, NDT II and NDT III, performed together, in this case to commemorate the 400 years of bilateral...
EDITORIALS
Apr 27, 2000

The real 'evil' in China

One year ago, Falun Gong made an eerie debut on the international stage. On April 25, 10,000 of the group's followers surrounded the Beijing compound where China's leaders live and stood silently to protest a government campaign against them. That show of force -- in particular, the group's ability to...
COMMUNITY
Apr 27, 2000

Outdated male views hamper care

In early April in a Tokyo suburb, a group of in-home caregivers -- all women -- were absorbed in a conversation about their elderly clients.
LIFE / Food & Drink / NIHONSHU
Apr 27, 2000

Nigorizake puts the fun back in sake drinking

It is all too easy to get all too serious about sake all too often. Ginjo this and ginjo that, highly polished rice, double-secret yeast, fancy fragrance, full palate, clean finish, yada yada yada. Sake in the end should be fun, and nothing reminds us of this better than nigorizake.
BASEBALL / MLB
Apr 27, 2000

Buffs' Tuffy drives in five

Outfielder Tuffy Rhodes drove in five runs Wednesday, including a three-run homer, as the Kintetsu Buffaloes downed the Pacific League-leading Lions 8-2 at the Seibu Dome to snap a five-game losing streak.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 27, 2000

Even after 25 years, U.S. herbicide Agent Orange takes a heavy toll on Vietnam

HO CHI MINH CITY -- It's time for the afternoon meal at the "peace village" ward in Ho Chi Minh City's Tu Du Hospital, and staff members wheel carts of milk and porridge into the rooms where 58 children -- ranging from newborns to teenagers -- are staying.
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
Apr 27, 2000

The Curse of Colonel Sanders

Back in 1985, Hanshin fans were giddy with joy when their Tigers secured the Central League pennant and then went on to capture the Japan Series. The standard canal-jumping scene took a new twist when a plastic Colonel Sanders mannequin was tossed into the Dotonbori Canal in downtown Osaka.
COMMUNITY
Apr 27, 2000

Sushi contest garners raw enthusiasm

WASHINGTON -- Sushi captured the hearts and stomachs of Edoites and quickly became a trendy fast food when it was introduced in the early 19th century. Over 170 years later, it has become a signature Japanese food, with lovers all over the world.
COMMUNITY
Apr 27, 2000

Celebration to wash away tears

A water festival without any water may sound like a contradiction in terms, but in Tokyo that's exactly how the Myanmarese community celebrate the New Year.
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Apr 27, 2000

Ohmatsuya: Down on the farm, just off the Ginza

You could call Ohmatsuya rustic -- but only in the most Ginza sense of the word. It sits just one floor above the brand-name bustle of the street, inside a modern multistory building little different from any others occupying that premium patch of real estate. Step inside, however, and you could have...
EDITORIALS
Apr 26, 2000

A last gasp by Iran's hardliners

Iran's hardliners refuse to give up. Despite a string of election defeats, conservatives are fighting reformers with every weapon at their disposal. A key battleground is the press, which has been a pillar of support for President Mohammad Khatami, leader of the reform movement. This week, fundamentalists...
BASEBALL / MLB
Apr 26, 2000

Hawks cruise to 6-1 victory over Orix BlueWave

Hawks hurler Tomohiro Nagai tossed a six-hitter and gave up just one run on a homer by Ichiro Suzuki to lead defending champion Daiei over the Orix BlueWave 6-1 on Tuesday at the Fukuoka Dome. Melvin Nieves singled home the first run of the game in the sixth, then drilled a solo homer in Daiei's three-run...
COMMUNITY
Apr 26, 2000

Celebrating the other Korakuen: Okayama

If I were asked to describe this garden with just one word, I would definitely choose "fantastic."
CULTURE / Art
Apr 26, 2000

The home of Japanese porcelain

Arita is a fine spot for porcelain pots -- and cups, vases, buttons, wall sockets and even denture-holders. Need a cartwheel-sized ashtray (useful at Japanese banquets), or a 1.8-meter-high urn to brighten up a castle somewhere? You'll find them in all shapes, sizes and colors in this peaceful town,...
LIFE / Travel
Apr 26, 2000

Buddhist cave art and mummies on the Silk Road

An overnight stop in Urumqi (there's even a Holiday Inn) gives a chance to see the museum there at leisure. Especially the famous mummies, perfectly preserved by the dry desert air in the tombs of the region, and the variety of grave goods, textiles and designs in the tombs that testify to the mixing...
LIFE / Food & Drink / KISSA KULTUR
Apr 26, 2000

Stirring up the dust of a Classic era

This column marks the one-year anniversary of Kissa Kultur. What started as a way to help freelancers find interesting spots to enjoy a coffee between jobs has now become a fascinating historical dig through postwar Tokyo.
COMMUNITY
Apr 26, 2000

Anne Frank exhibit offers family relics

Read by millions of people of all ages since it was first published in 1947, Anne Frank's diary is famous all around the world.
SUMO
Apr 25, 2000

JSA releases rankings for summer tourney

The Musashigawa Stable had its string of six tournament championships snapped in March, but returns with a yokozuna and two ozeki for next month's summer tourney, according to the rankings released Monday by the Japan Sumo Association.
EDITORIALS
Apr 25, 2000

Combating cross-border crime

With international exchanges of people and goods expanding at an accelerated pace, cross-border organized crime is also rising rapidly. In a concerted effort to combat the globalization of crime, the United Nations in 1999 set up a special panel to work out a global anticrime treaty. Now that drafting...
CULTURE / Books
Apr 25, 2000

The 400-year-old bridge

BRIDGING THE DIVIDE: 400 Years The Netherlands -- Japan, edited by Leonard Blusse, Willem Remmelink and Ivo Smits. Leiden: Hotei Publishing, 2000, 288 pp., $60. Japan and the Netherlands have a special relationship. No two other European and Asian countries have maintained such long and continuous contact...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Apr 25, 2000

Marco Polo's fantastic truths

MARCO POLO AND THE DISCOVERY OF THE WORLD, by John Larner. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1999, 250 pp., with plates (14) and maps, unpriced. In 1271, a mere 17 years old, Marco Polo left Venice in company with his uncle and several other merchants. Twenty-four years later, in 1295, he returned,...
CULTURE / Books
Apr 25, 2000

Salute to a life of honesty, humanity and hard work

A SUMMER FOR A LIFETIME: The Life and Times of George I. Purdy, as told to Thomas Caldwell. Foreword by Michael J. Mansfield. Lost Coast Press, 2000, 144 pp., $24.95. When I was a librarian I was assigned to inventory a business biography collection. I didn't expect to find much excitement in the stacks,...
CULTURE / Music / MUSIC NOMAD
Apr 25, 2000

Virtuosos from the fringes of Europe

Perhaps it's still too early to be talking about gigs of the year but the upcoming Altan Festival might prove hard to beat. There will be three outstanding acts. All come from the fringes of Europe, from peoples with a history of persecution, but all have an equally long and proud music tradition that...

Longform

Japan's growing ranks of centenarians are redefining what it means to live in a super-aging society.
What comes after 100?