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EDITORIALS
Mar 19, 2004

A victory for terrorists in Spain

Terrorists won an important victory last week in Spain. A series of bombs exploded in trains and rail stations in Madrid, killing some 200 people and injuring nearly 1,500 others. Al-Qaeda has taken credit for the savage attacks, saying Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar's support for the war against terror...
JAPAN
Mar 18, 2004

Japan detainee meets family in China

A Japanese man detained in China for allegedly engaging in smuggling people by helping them flee from North Korea has met members of his family, the Foreign Ministry said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Mar 18, 2004

Terror-at-sea bill wins approval

A House of Representatives committee unanimously approved a bill Wednesday to tighten measures aimed at countering terrorist attacks on ships and ports.
JAPAN
Mar 18, 2004

Obituary: Cid Corman

Cid Corman, an American poet, editor and translator who lived in Japan for nearly 40 years, has died after suffering a heart attack, his coeditor said Wednesday. He was 79.
LIFE / Lifestyle / MATTER OF COURSE
Mar 18, 2004

Wartime stories of schoolkids on the move

I recently stumbled across a war story I knew nothing about. I was at the library looking for books to keep my older son reading in Japanese, now that he no longer attends Japanese school. Since he had just made a trip to Hiroshima with his international school, I chose books about Japanese children's...
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
Mar 18, 2004

Professional bowling coming to an alley near you

When first approached to interview Steve Miller, President and CEO of the Pro Bowling Association Tour (PBA), I was reluctant to put it politely. Bowling for me was always something of a last resort if a date was going badly, a sport in which my average closely resembled what it takes me to get around...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Mar 17, 2004

Three's a (talented) crowd

The Kabukiza in Ginza celebrates the arrival of spring with two excellent programs this month, including a striking dance number titled "Dattan" inspired by the fiery Buddhist rite of the same name held every March at Todaiji Temple in Nara.
CULTURE / Film
Mar 17, 2004

Oshii talks softly, but carries a big script

Before I interviewed Mamoru Oshii, his publicist asked if I would need an interpreter. "He tends to mumble," she explained. No, I didn't need an interpreter, but I did turn the volume of my tape recorder on high, fortunately. Looking a decade younger than his 52 years, with a mane of unruly black hair,...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / A GAIJIN'S TALE
Mar 16, 2004

Murdering the language

It was shortly after we moved to Japan and I was making a serious effort to learn and communicate in Japanese.
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Mar 16, 2004

Shifting the burden

With the latest Japan Foundation survey showing over 8,000 organizations here at least nominally involved in "international exchange," the government is hoping to spare its own coffers by shifting the burden of assisting Japan's foreign population onto NPO groups.
JAPAN
Mar 14, 2004

NHK's cancellation of 'Sesame Street' leaves fans in dismay

When word spread late last month that public broadcaster NHK would pull the plug on "Sesame Street" after more than 30 years, loyal fans were shocked.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Mar 14, 2004

The Siamese revolution through the eyes of an 'impartial' Jesuit

HISTORY OF SIAM IN 1688, by S.J. Marcel Le Blanc, translated and edited by Michael Smithies. Chiang Mai: Silkworm Books, 2004, 212 pp., 625 baht (paper). This volume is the most recent in the "Treasures from the Past" series published by Silkworm Books Co., a series that deserves credit for bringing...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Mar 14, 2004

Japanese erotica exposed

FORBIDDEN IMAGES: Erotic Art from Japan's Edo Period, by Monta Kayakawa, (Trilingual: Finnish, Swedish, English). Helsinki: City Art Museum, 2003, 112 pp., 82 color plates, 3,800 yen (cloth). Japanese shunga -- erotic paintings and prints, some of the world's most beautiful -- remain indigenously unknown....
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Mar 14, 2004

The twisted terminology in Japan's marriage system

The so-called culture wars that have reignited in the United States over the legitimacy of gay marriage may influence this year's presidential election despite a general feeling that there are more important issues. The problem with gay marriage as a social issue is that both sides work against their...
Features
Mar 14, 2004

Worlds of meaning in the naming game

"What's in a name?" Juliet famously asked Romeo in Shakespeare's tragedy of young love doomed because of their families' rivalry.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 13, 2004

Iraqi sovereignty remains a distant goal

SEOUL -- Let's start with the obvious but often overlooked topic of what isn't taking place in Iraq today. Commentary to the contrary, sovereignty is not being handed back to Iraqis on June 30; it isn't even on the table.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Mar 13, 2004

Roberto Wirth

"Italy has a lot to offer," Roberto Wirth said.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 13, 2004

The obstruction to Sri Lanka's evolution

CHIANG MAI, Thailand -- The continuous conflict between Sri Lanka's two main leaders has been covered from nearl every angle. What have been largely ignored, though, are the complications and contradictions arising on that beautiful island from a political system of "cohabitation." At present, public...
BUSINESS
Mar 12, 2004

Post offices should offer more services: panel

A governmental economic policy-setting panel said Thursday that services offered at post offices should be diversified when they are privatized, according to economic and fiscal policy minister Heizo Takenaka.
Japan Times
Events
Mar 12, 2004

Diagnosing what really ails Japan, Germany

BERLIN -- Japan and Germany, once the powerful engines of the global economy together with the United States, have had stagnant years since the 1990s.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Mar 11, 2004

River shrew

* Japanese name: Nihon kawanezumi * Scientific name:Chimarrogale platycephala * Description: Shrews are small mammals and are thought to be similar to the first mammals that evolved. Fur is dark gray-brown with a white-gray underside; the hindquarters are fringed with silvery hairs. They have small...
JAPAN
Mar 10, 2004

Bills on evacuation of civilians, U.S. cooperation wrap up defense package

The Cabinet approved and submitted to the Diet seven bills Tuesday that would define citizen evacuation procedures and update cooperation with U.S. forces stationed in Japan, wrapping up the nation's war-contingency legislation.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 10, 2004

Unions playing softball despite lift in economy

Labor unions at large companies, debilitated by falling membership and record unemployment, have given up all hope of obtaining wage increases for their members this year.
COMMENTARY
Mar 10, 2004

No easy answers to immigration issues

LONDON -- A fundamental principle of the European Union has been freedom of movement within it and the right to work in any member country. This principle has, however, been undermined by the decision of some EU founder states to limit immigration from the new member countries in Eastern Europe for varying...
COMMENTARY
Mar 9, 2004

Perilous drop in readership

One long-standing trend in Japan has been the "shift away from print" -- an aversion to serious reading. For example, in the past four years, book sales have continued to decline. Compared with other countries, the books being read woefully lags in quality and quantity.
EDITORIALS
Mar 9, 2004

Diet's plate remains full

Diet deliberations have been proceeding fairly smoothly since the 150-day regular session opened on Jan. 19. This augurs well for Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, who wants to avoid a legislative gridlock before July's Upper House election. He cleared a major hurdle last month when the Diet approved...
BASEBALL / MLB
Mar 9, 2004

Olympics green light for Nagashima

Shigeo Nagashima, who has been hospitalized since last Thursday after suffering a stroke, will manage Japan's baseball team as scheduled at this summer's Athens Olympics, a Japanese baseball official said Monday.

Longform

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