Search - things-to-do

 
 
COMMENTARY
May 16, 2001

New metaphors for Europe

LONDON -- German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and his Social Democratic Party have done Europe a great service -- although it may not have been the one Schroeder intended.
CULTURE / Music
May 16, 2001

The Sonig circuit

Back in 1960 when he was a strapping egghead of 31, Karlheinz Stockhausen, the father of taped electronic music, had a vision: Every major city in the world would build an auditorium for the appreciation of "space music." Stockhausen's prediction was simply the optimistic ramblings of an intellectual...
JAPAN / STAGING A COMEBACK
May 16, 2001

Can 'e-Japan' make leap from paper to reality?

The economic slump over the past decade has crushed Japan's confidence and raised fundamental questions about the government's ability to turn things around.
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
May 16, 2001

'Look Into the Eyeball': David Byrne

David Byrne once told the New York Times that he hated world music, surprising for someone whose own music incorporates elements of samba, African pop and a plethora of other influences. But what he was criticizing is the way the term is used to relegate the vast majority of the music produced in the...
CULTURE / Art
May 16, 2001

Revealing the mystery hidden in the ordinary

A vase of flowers. A bowl of fruit. Why have images of still, unmoving life fascinated artists for centuries?
EDITORIALS
May 14, 2001

Looking history in the face

For the United States, the Vietnam War is a war that will never go away. This has again been made clear by the public confession of former U.S. Sen. Bob Kerrey and the continuing commentaries on the matter, some expressing outrage and anguish and others trying to explain what seems almost impossible...
JAPAN
May 14, 2001

Mori criticizes Tanaka's judgment

Former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori on Sunday criticized Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka for trying to remove Vice Foreign Minister Yutaka Kawashima, the ministry's top bureaucrat and canceling talks with key overseas figures.
BUSINESS
May 14, 2001

NTT launches Internet certification exam

About 25,000 people took a computer test Sunday conducted by NTT Communications Corp. to receive a certificate of qualification in information technology.
MORE SPORTS
May 14, 2001

Japan edges S. Korea rugby team with late try

Masahiko Toyoyama scored a try three minutes from time as Japan rallied to beat South Korea 27-19 in the opening game of the Asian Tri-Nations rugby competition on Sunday, celebrating new head coach Shogo Mukai's first test with a win.
EDITORIALS
May 13, 2001

Short guide to a long career

An old man died in Nebraska last week. The event was noted briefly in newspapers across America, and people reading about it over their breakfasts probably experienced two sensations: a moment of surprise and then a rush of wry, affectionate memories. The old man's name was Clifton Keith Hillegass, not...
SOCCER / J. League
May 13, 2001

S-Pulse ends Jubilo's winning streak

AINO, Shizuoka Pref. -- Shimizu S-Pulse kicked the new Ecopa World Cup stadium into life Saturday with a 1-0 extra-time win over runaway J. League leader Jubilo Iwata before 52,959 fans.
CULTURE / Music / MUSIC NOMAD
May 13, 2001

Lonesome Strings come out of the shadows

Like anyone who's really good at something, Yoshiki Sakurai makes it look easy. On stage, as he lets fly with complicated riffs and rhythms in any variety of styles, he stands expressionless.
BUSINESS
May 12, 2001

Nighttime services popular among traders

Around-the-clock global stock trading is becoming the order of the day.
COMMENTARY / World
May 9, 2001

Maverick Koizumi set to buck the system

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi is committed to breaking up factions in his Liberal Democratic Party. "You'll see that I'm determined to eliminate the factions," he told reporters immediately before he started forming his Cabinet. He had just reshuffled the lineup of party executives by appointing men...
CULTURE / Art
May 9, 2001

The shock of the Nouveau

Like a femme fatale, Art Nouveau has long guarded her secrets well. Were her sinuous lines symbolic or erotic? Did she bring fresh beauty into the modern world, or exploit a fin de siecle taste for the decadent? And why did she suddenly disappear, after a rapid rise to fame?
CULTURE / Film
May 9, 2001

Talent aside, some people were born to dance

Center Stage Rating: * * * Director: Nicholas Hytner Running time: 115 minutes Language: English, with Japanese subtitlesOpens May 12 Ballet lessons (along with violin and piano) are often forced upon us at a certain age and continue until we or our parents throw a major tantrum and we call it quits....
JAPAN
May 9, 2001

Mystery man's passport used three times in Japan

The forged passport used in a recent illegal entry attempt by a man believed to be the eldest son of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il had been used three times before to successfully enter Japan, Justice Minister Mayumi Moriyama said Tuesday.
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
May 9, 2001

'Free All Angels': Ash

Rock music right now seems to be concentrated into two factions. On one side, you have the shouty angry Limp Bizkit, Slipknot, At The Drive In types and on the other there's Mogwai, Radiohead and a million other slow-fi bands drooling onto their fretboards. What's common to both camps is that neither...
BUSINESS
May 8, 2001

Sumitomo Life selects new president

Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. said Monday it will promote Vice President Shinichi Yokoyama, 58, to president.
JAPAN
May 8, 2001

Prime minister's policy speech

The following is a provisional translation of the policy speech given Monday by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to the 151st session of the Diet:
EDITORIALS
May 6, 2001

Pressing for freedom

Last Thursday was World Press Freedom Day. Most people probably missed it here in Japan, where Thursday was also Constitution Day, part of the mass timeout we call Golden Week. (They probably didn't spend much time thinking about the Constitution, either, or the coincidence that freedom of the press...
COMMENTARY / World
May 6, 2001

Thailand's model of religious harmony

CHIANG RAI, Thailand -- To all students of Buddhism, the terms "Mahayana" and "Theravada" -- the greater and lesser vehicle, respectively -- reflect the dichotomy of this great teaching into northern and southern schools.
MORE SPORTS
May 6, 2001

Japan notches first point in spite of referee's efforts

Ryan Kuwabara is the captain of Japan's national ice hockey team currently playing at the Pool A World Championships in Germany. Kuwabara, a Japanese-Canadian who was drafted by the Montreal Canadiens and now stars for Japan Ice Hockey League champion Kokudo, has agreed to keep a journal chronicling...
COMMUNITY
May 6, 2001

Think you're safe? Think again

Japan has long enjoyed a reputation for being one of the safest countries in the world. It's said that you can trust your neighbors here. That there's little need to be constantly worried about your belongings. That you can walk the streets safely at night.
COMMENTARY
May 5, 2001

Racism loses its grip in Britain

LONDON -- "Britain risks becoming a mongrel land"; "Britain will become a foreign land to most of the British": two thoughts from the Tory Party uttered in the past few weeks, one from a back-bench MP of little repute (John Townend), the other from the Tory Party leader, William Hague, whose reputation,...
BUSINESS
May 5, 2001

DoCoMo's 3G service delay raises more questions

Last week's decision by NTT DoCoMo Inc. to scale back the introduction of third generation (3G) mobile phone services confirmed the skepticism of many observers about its launch date. But it proved the company was willing to cut prices to allow more consumers to access its richer, higher-speed content....
COMMENTARY
May 5, 2001

Koizumi tidal wave may crest

The past 10 days have been a tumultuous period in Japanese politics. I refer, of course, to the series of events from the resignation of former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori to the election of Junichiro Koizumi as Liberal Democratic Party president and prime minister and the inauguration of the Koizumi...
JAPAN
May 3, 2001

Japan's Major league idols cash in at home clubs' expense

With the sensational debut of Japanese outfielders Ichiro Suzuki of the Seattle Mariners and Tsuyoshi Shinjo of the New York Mets, Major League Baseball is stealing the hearts of many Japanese.

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