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COMMENTARY
Apr 19, 2004

Push Japan's good intentions

The lesson from the abduction and subsequent release of five Japanese civilians in Iraq is that the government should send a strong message to the Arab world that it is actively pushing humanitarian assistance and reconstruction in the war-torn country.
CULTURE / Music
Apr 18, 2004

A spiritual journey that begins within

What is the sound of the universe? What does one hear? These are questions that crossed David Sylvian's mind prior to the making of his most recent album "Blemish," the debut release of his Samadhi Sound label last year. Talking over the phone from London last week, the singer/songwriter and frontman...
BUSINESS
Apr 17, 2004

Postal privatization might hurt Japanese government bonds: economists

Privatize post offices and you may risk damaging the most trusted financial vehicle in Japan: the government bond.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Apr 17, 2004

Old folks at the steering wheel of fortune

On a recent trip home to the U.S., I realized that Japan lacks something central to highway driving: old folks behind the wheel. Although Japan's population is aging fast, it seems like most of the old people here do not drive. I rarely see the sticker on cars that old folks must display to drive in...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Apr 16, 2004

The great outdoors -- on a plate

All it takes is the first hint of warm spring weather and we start thinking of the great outdoors. By that, we do not mean sea kayaking, a vigorous hike in the hills or a jaunt to some provincial onsen. For us, it is quite sufficient to salute the first blossoms and leaves from the vantage point of a...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 15, 2004

Families caught in cross fire over Iraq hostage ordeal

The hostage crisis in Iraq has apparently split the Japanese public into two camps.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Apr 15, 2004

One day, Japan's 'losing dogs' will howl in unison

There's a new phrase out there and it's making a lot of people self-conscious. "Makeinu (losing dog)," which once meant nothing more than the literal translation, now indicates that swelling segment of the Japanese population: single people over 30.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 14, 2004

Interpreter's notes

Lost in Translation Rating: * * * * (out of 5) Director: Sofia Coppola Running time: 102 minutes Language: English, Japanese Opens April 17 at Cinema Rise [See Japan Times movie listings] The dialogue of "Lost in Translation" never sizzles, never gets out of line, doesn't really reveal...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 14, 2004

Sowing the seeds of a new genre

Appleseed Rating: * * * 1/2 (out of 5) Director: Shinji Aramaki Running time: 103 minutes Language: Japanese Opens April 17 [See Japan Times movie listings] Japanese animation is edging into the mainstream internationally, while insinuating itself into everything from "Kill Bill Vol....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 14, 2004

Shooting at the top

Another reason to love Sofia Coppola: She had the good sense (and stubbornness) to refuse to do any more interviews while in Japan. Judging by her news-conference comments, she is better at making her films than talking about them -- no crime, that -- so it was a smart move to delegate the explaining...
BUSINESS
Apr 14, 2004

Japan Post sees international business as cornerstone

Japan Post aims to beef up its international business to survive intensifying global competition ahead of its planned privatization beginning in 2007, according to Masaharu Ikuta, president of the government-owned entity.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Apr 13, 2004

Divorce and insurance policies

Divorce I was married for two years to a Japanese woman (no children). We separated almost one year ago. I recently asked my wife for a divorce, but she wants financial compensation before she will agree.
COMMUNITY
Apr 13, 2004

Rappers relish the opportunity to express individuality

Japanese-born, but with roots in Korea, MCs Jewong, 20, and Liyoon, 22, of rap duo KP, have caused a stir in the booming Japanese hip-hop industry with music and a message drawn from their experiences as members of the Korean community in Japan.
JAPAN
Apr 11, 2004

52% of young adults uninterested in science, survey shows

More than half of Japanese between the ages of 18 and 29 are not interested in science, and the percentage is growing despite an increased exposure to information technology products, according to a government poll.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Apr 11, 2004

Religion of the East through the eyes of the West

THE BUDDHA AND THE SAHIBS: The Men Who Discovered India's Lost Religion, by Charles Allen. John Murray, 2003, 322 pp., £8.99 (paper). The story begins with a botanist. At the end of the 18th century, a Scottish doctor named Francis Buchanan was employed to carry out surveys of Burma and Nepal, neither...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Apr 11, 2004

Chosuke Ikariya: the professional amateur

In his autobiography, Chosuke Ikariya, who died two weeks ago at the age of 72, mentions that when he won a Japan Academy Award in 1999 for his performance in "Odoru Daisosasen (Bayside Shakedown)" he felt guilty because he had never taken acting that seriously. It sounds like the requisite modesty of...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Apr 11, 2004

The struggle to find a collective identity

JAPAN UNBOUND: A Volatile Nation's Quest for Pride and Purpose, by John Nathan. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2004, 271 pp., $25 (cloth). In this engaging book, largely based on extensive interviews, John Nathan probes the pathologies, contradictions and search for identity in contemporary Japan. He ranges...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Apr 11, 2004

NHK's "Sonotoki Rekishi ha Ugoita" and more

Zenigata Heiji is an enduring fictional character in Japanese popular culture. Many of Japan's top leading men have portrayed him in dozens of movies and TV series.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 11, 2004

India girds for world's biggest tamasha

Between April 20 and May 10, staggered over five rounds, Indians will vote in the 14th general election since inde- pendence in 1947. When Florida caused such a fuss in the last U.S. presidential election four years ago, Indians were bemused and amused in equal measure. They suggested that Americans...
Japan Times
Features
Apr 11, 2004

Women in noh

Backstage at a noh theater in downtown Tokyo, the play was about to begin.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Apr 11, 2004

On a High with Teens

Friday, March 19: There's an explosion of noise and color in the heart of the Ten-jin district in Fukuoka City and the locals don't know what has hit them.
JAPAN
Apr 10, 2004

Koizumi says no to hostage-takers

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi struck a defiant pose Friday over the Japanese hostage crisis in Iraq, stating he would not cave in to terrorists' demands that the Self-Defense Forces troops be withdrawn from the country.
BUSINESS
Apr 10, 2004

BOJ aims to stabilize bond market

The Bank of Japan Policy Board on Friday left its monetary policy unchanged for the month and decided to introduce by the end of May a measure to stabilize the government bond market.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Apr 10, 2004

Alice Harrington

All her life, Alice Harrington has been used to caring for others. She said: "I grew up in a small farming community in South Dakota, where neighbors helped each other. My parents cared for my father's Danish immigrant parents, an elderly aunt and several elderly men on welfare. Our home was open to...
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Apr 9, 2004

Chelsea's performance makes Abramovich look foolish

LONDON -- There was a wonderful cameo of Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich captured on television after Wayne Bridge scored the winner at Arsenal to send the Blues into the Champions League semifinals.
BUSINESS
Apr 9, 2004

Japan Post let billions in taxes slide

Japan Post said Thursday it and its predecessor failed to collect 15.16 billion yen in withholding tax on postal savings interest in the three years through fiscal 2003 by illicitly applying its tax-exempt small savings system for the elderly and disabled to noneligible customers.
BUSINESS
Apr 8, 2004

Fujitsu files suit against Samsung

Fujitsu Ltd. said Wednesday it has sued subsidiaries of Samsung Electronics Co. of South Korea in Japanese and U.S. courts for infringing on its patents for plasma display panels.

Longform

Figure skater Akiko Suzuki was once told her ideal weight should be 47 kilograms, a number she now admits she “naively believed.” This led to her have a relationship with food that resulted in her suffering from anorexia.
The silent battle Japanese athletes fight with weight