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Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / J-POPSICLE
Jun 12, 2002

Message in a pop song

You've probably noticed a big mascara-lined eye staring out at you from billboards all over town lately. The eye in question belongs to Lisa, former vocalist with hip-hop/R&B trio m-flo, and the billboard is plugging her new single, "Babylon no Kiseki (Miracle of Babylon)," which was released on May...
COMMENTARY
Jun 11, 2002

Optimist has lost his bearings

The government of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi continues to face greater difficulties than perhaps ever before. I previously criticized his Cabinet as beset with troubles, both at home and abroad, as a result of scandals involving lawmaker Muneo Suzuki, former Liberal Democratic Party secretary general...
EDITORIALS
Jun 10, 2002

Scientific analysis should come first

The government's decision to host an international project to build the next-generation thermonuclear experimental reactor in Rokkasho, Aomori Prefecture, lacks a critical element: public understanding. The decision, prompted by a group of Liberal Democratic Party legislators promoting nuclear fusion...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jun 5, 2002

Celebrate football's field of dreams

It's twenty minutes before England's opening World Cup game at Saitama Stadium and I'm sitting almost directly behind the goal, sacred posts that I'm hoping Michael Owen will tune his gold-plated radar into the moment he walks onto the pitch.
JAPAN
Jun 4, 2002

Opposition seeks Fukuda's head

Four major opposition parties agreed Monday to demand the resignation of Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda over his suggestion last week that Japan could abandon its three nonnuclear principles.
BUSINESS
May 28, 2002

Koizumi sits while tax reform tug of war rages

As the government intensifies discussions toward compiling a fundamental tax reform blueprint next month, a new priority is emerging -- using tax breaks as a tool to revitalize the economy.
COMMENTARY / World
May 27, 2002

Learn to write better by reading the experts

"My dear Professor," reads a note I received about two weeks ago, "I've found your Japan Times editorial-page commentary most interesting. You say writing good English is more craft than art -- a craft that anyone can learn. But I don't think it's always the case." In the first place, continues the three-paragraph...
COMMENTARY / WASHINGTON UPDATE
May 23, 2002

Intelligence that got the U.S. nowhere

WASHINGTON -- "What did they know and when did they know it?" That is a paraphrase of the critical question that dogged Richard Nixon through the dreadful days of Watergate. Now, the same question is being asked again. What did the intelligence community know about the threat of terrorists -- specifically,...
JAPAN
May 23, 2002

Police search firms linked to dumpling manufacturer

OSAKA -- Osaka Prefectural Police conducted a series of searches Wednesday after the discovery that the Mister Donut chain in Japan had been using an unauthorized antioxidant in its dumplings.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
May 20, 2002

Kobe beef's secret: nice alcoholic cows

As we enter the barbecue season, that tiny lovely sliver of a season stuck between "o-hanami" and the rainy season, the question on everyone's mind is: What is Kobe beef? And what could make Kobe beef so special that people willingly pay over 10,000 yen for a steak?
EDITORIALS
May 19, 2002

When is a pro not a .pro?

It's amazing the things some people worry about. Consider the flap caused this month by the announcement that the new .pro (for professional) Internet domain address has finally been approved.
EDITORIALS
May 13, 2002

Conditions for SDF mobilization

National defense bills now before the Diet are drawing a mixed reaction from the public. In a Kyodo News poll earlier this month, nearly 50 percent said Japan needs emergency legislation to deal with military attacks from abroad, but when asked whether the package should be passed in the current Diet...
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
May 9, 2002

Welcome to a new page, welcome to a new column

Welcome to a brand new new weekly column that will provide a forum for readers to help one another, and for myself and Ken Joseph, of Japan Helpline, to help you. We will be printing your letters, offering personal input and bringing in experts on a regular basis to help answer your queries on living...
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
May 9, 2002

Crafting public opinion to fit fisheries policy

Kind and gentle reader, I have a confession to make that may shock you. It is necessary to tell you this because, unlike many politicians and bureaucrats, I believe truth and transparency are essential. So here it is: I have eaten whale.
COMMENTARY
May 6, 2002

Koizumi must focus or fail

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's administration, which marked its first anniversary April 26, stands at a crossroads. Its future hinges on whether his "no pain, no gain" reform initiative will produce tangible results. Thus far his administration has made no substantial achievements to speak of. Its...
EDITORIALS
May 3, 2002

Flawed bills need rewriting

Two pieces of legislation that could restrict the media's freedom of activities are being debated in the Diet. One bill lays out ground rules for protecting personal data. The other, designed to protect human rights, would create a human rights commission affiliated with the Justice Ministry.
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
May 2, 2002

The life and times of a Manchurian girl

NEW YORK -- The New York Times' recent reprinting of a cartoon showing Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat gagged and bound to a chair while Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon presses him to "say something! do something!" made me think of Rikoran, known today mainly as Yoshiko Yamaguchi.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 1, 2002

Tracking systems try to tackle food safety

Shoppers are now being invited to check with their own eyes that what something is labeled is what they actually eat.
COMMENTARY
Apr 22, 2002

Defense bills only a first step

Japan has moved a step closer to enacting emergency security legislation to deal with direct military attacks on the nation. Last Wednesday, the government introduced in the Diet a package of three bills for such emergencies.
MULTIMEDIA / SPORTS SCOPE EXTRA
Apr 20, 2002

Troussier raising more questions than answers

The only answer anyone in the press room could come up with was: "Well, he's French, isn't he."
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.
EDITORIALS
Apr 11, 2002

Steel-trade row's global jolts

With the world economy globalizing as never before, the possibility is growing that trade disputes may also assume global dimensions, with dire implications for the world's free-trade system. A case in point is the current international trade dispute sparked by the U.S. decision last month to impose...
EDITORIALS
Apr 9, 2002

The OIC's blind eye to terror

Defining terrorism should be easy. Innocent people should not be made targets for political purposes. Otherwise, none of us are safe. Yet some individuals -- and sadly, some governments -- continue to accept that "one person's terrorist is another's freedom fighter." That makes them complicit in the...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Apr 6, 2002

Y.E.S.: An English teaching system that works

In 1994, Northern-Ireland born Douglas Young was running two small branches of his English conversation school Formula 1 in the pottery town of Kasama, Ibaraki Prefecture. He and his English wife then moved to Hitachi Naka, where Douglas opened a main office and Alison had her first child. The family...
JAPAN
Apr 4, 2002

Court wants ex-minors to talk

The Tokyo High Court decided Wednesday to question two of three defendants in a civil damages suit who were accused of murdering a 15-year-old girl in Saitama Prefecture in 1985, when they were minors.
BUSINESS
Mar 29, 2002

Government experts butt heads over path to recovery

Discord is increasing between two key government panels debating whether to prioritize tax cuts or fiscal belt-tightening.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Mar 28, 2002

Insights from alumni are just one perk of the job

As a university professor, March ought to be a pleasure. There are no classes and few meetings. It is, though, a bittersweet month. Students who have become an integral part of the fabric and rhythm of my life are graduating. Most of the names and faces will fade, but many will be remembered, and a few...
EDITORIALS
Mar 26, 2002

Double-edged law for juveniles

The Liberal Democratic Party is preparing a bill designed to deal with "social conditions detrimental to the sound development of juveniles" -- conditions that induce or encourage sex and violence on the part of children. Although there is no question about the need to promote the healthy development...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Mar 16, 2002

Conspiracy behind itty-bitty kitty tails

There is one question about Japan that even the Japanese cannot answer: What has happened to all the cats' tails? I have never seen a kitten without a tail, but adult stray cats in Japan seldom have tails. Although many Japanese have offered theories, no one seems to really know the answer.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji