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JAPAN / WEEKEND WISDOM
Aug 12, 2001

Copying Kyoto is way to revitalize Japan, fashion critic says

KYOTO -- If Japan wants to revitalize the sluggish economy and turn its prospects around, there are plenty of indications that Kyoto's way of life as well as its way of doing business are the answer, according to Hiromi Ichida, a fashion critic who has lived in the ancient capital for more than half...
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.
COMMENTARY
Aug 11, 2001

G8's glaring contradiction

LONDON — The belligerent actions of the Italian state at Genoa last month were a declaration of war against young anticapitalist protesters. That, anyway, is how they were understood.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Aug 11, 2001

Playing chicken with telecommunication big boys

To some he is a hero. To others an anathema. For this writer, who lives in trepidation of meeting with Japanese CEOs because (sorry guys) they tend to be so predictable, Sachio Semmoto is a breath of fresh air.
BUSINESS
Aug 11, 2001

Sony, Honda work on useful, entertaining robots

Ever since Sony Corp. and Honda Motor Co. unveiled prototypes of humanoid robots last year, expectations have been growing that they can be developed to carry out household chores and used for entertainment.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Aug 11, 2001

Martin L.M. Smith

It is startling to see a man in a wheelchair high up the mast of a sailing ship.
EDITORIALS
Aug 10, 2001

Easing the pain of reform

Japan's unemployment rate stood at 4.9 percent in June, setting the worst post-World War II record for two consecutive months. It is likely to go up higher still, as Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's economic-reform plans received a solid mandate in the July 29 Upper House election. For one thing, bad-debt...
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.
LIFE / Lifestyle / JET STREAM
Aug 10, 2001

Getting a different perspective

Before coming to Japan, Jennifer Biggers had achieved some success as a musician in her native Texas. The world music enthusiast had composed and produced two tapes and a CD of original music.
COMMUNITY / THE PARENT TRIP
Aug 10, 2001

We are family . . .

My seven brothers and sisters testify to the reality that families come in all sizes, shapes and colors. We range in shades from straight coffee to cafe latte to cream.
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...
CULTURE / Film
Aug 8, 2001

Director Veysset knows her characters by heart

Sandrine Veysset has only made three films so far, but it would be no exaggeration to call her one of France's most talented directors. Her debut, "Will It Snow for Christmas?" took a Cesar (French Academy Award), her follow-up "Victor . . . pendant qu'il est trop tard," grabbed a Critics' Award at Rotterdam,...
JAPAN
Aug 8, 2001

Tanaka to delay own punishment

Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka said Tuesday that she will wait until a fuller picture emerges of the embezzlement scams enveloping her ministry before imposing punitive measures upon herself.
JAPAN / STAGING A COMEBACK
Aug 8, 2001

Nanotechnology is seen having a massive future

AKO, Hyogo Pref. -- In many ways a typical science lab, it is difficult for an outsider to see what goes on at Himeji Institute of Technology's Laboratory of Advanced Science and Technology for Industry -- at least with the naked eye.
CULTURE / Art
Aug 8, 2001

Teddy bears dress for success

The great attraction of the Mona Lisa is the ambiguity of her expression. This allows the viewer to imagine, construct or project their own feelings onto the woman's face. This quality, which Da Vinci was only able to create by skillfully blurring the corners of the Mona Lisa's eyes and mouth, is perhaps...
CULTURE / Art
Aug 8, 2001

Two takes on what's really happening

Shiseido Gallery in Tokyo's Ginza and Art Tower Mito in Mito, Ibaraki Prefecture, will simultaneously present exhibitions of contemporary art from East Asia by up-and-coming artists, starting Friday. Asian contemporary art has captivated many people over the past decade. Masaki Higuchi from Shiseido...
LIFE / Travel
Aug 7, 2001

On a quiet crusade to end a tradition of injustice

BANGKOK -- On the first lunar cycle of the first month of this year, Chatsumarn Kabilsingh, an eminent Buddhist scholar, threw away her makeup, gave up eating meals after midday and relinquished the luxury of a comfortable bed. A month later, one day before the auspicious date of Buddha's holy Makhapuja...
COMMENTARY
Aug 6, 2001

Now Koizumi's battle begins

HONOLULU -- Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi delivered on his promise to revive the fortunes of the Liberal Democratic Party the weekend before last. LDP candidates steamrollered their opposition, claiming 64 of the 121 seats that were contested in the Upper House ballot. After an independent candidate...
BUSINESS
Aug 6, 2001

Wine exporters focus on Asia

BORDEAUX, France -- Japan is firmly back on the agenda for many wine exporters despite its continued economic slump, and value for money at the lower end should improve further. However, futures prices already indicate the prestige 2000 Bordeaux vintages won't be cheap.
EDITORIALS
Aug 5, 2001

Lies and consequences

Considering how consumed the media are with both death and dying, you might think a brief news item about someone's impending demise wouldn't cause much of a stir. But, of course, it all depends who the someone is.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 5, 2001

Evidence of microbes from outer space

LONDON -- The biggest news so far this year is not George W. Bush's plans for intergalactic defense, or even the Code Red virus that was supposed to eat our computers and then our brains. It is the discovery of bugs in the upper atmosphere.
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.
LIFE / Food & Drink / BEST BAR NONE
Aug 5, 2001

Passion burning on the dance floor

Lamont Raymond is better known simply as Monty to thousands of Japanese clubbers. After arriving in Tokyo on an English-teaching gig more than a decade ago, he ended up working as the sales manager for Tokyo Classified (the free paper now known as Metropolis). For many years, if you had picked up a copy,...
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.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Aug 3, 2001

Poetry, music and art make for a peaceful soul

Several summers ago, while at St. John's University in Minnesota, I came across a book that had matched a poem by Ntozake Shange with paintings by American artist Romare Bearden (1912-88).
LIFE / Digital / SURFERSPUD
Aug 2, 2001

From old Edo to South Park

www.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/flashback/0009/ National Geographic has been running a flashback series highlighting its rich photographic history. Here's the September 2000 peek-to-the-past: a Hadaka Matsui feat at Saidaiji Temple in Okayama just after World War II. The photographer's flash provided...
CULTURE / Film
Aug 1, 2001

A samurai flick for the MTV generation

Red Shadow Aka Kage Rating: * * 1/2 Director: Hiroyuki Nakano Running time: 108 minutes Language: JapaneseOpens Aug. 11 at Marunouchi Toei and other theaters Silent-era samurai movies fulfilled the same function as the westerns of W.S. Hart and Tom Mix: They entertained the common herd, particularly...
CULTURE / Film
Aug 1, 2001

There's 'cheerleader angst'

Bring It On Rating: * * * Director: Peyton Reed Running time: 98 minutes Language: EnglishNow showing Thank you, O Lord. Such was my reaction after viewing "Bring It On," a bouncing-with-exuberance tale of high school cheerleaders. Hey, where are you going? Don't put down the paper just because...
CULTURE / Art
Aug 1, 2001

A century down along the Sumida

In most of the great European capitals, wide, impressive rivers flow through the very heart of the cities, providing the perfect setting for stately buildings such as the Houses of Parliament in London or the Orsay Museum in Paris.

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