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Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Apr 30, 2003

Symbols beyond the esoteric

Exotic chanting and the ringing of bells drifts from the corners of the dark room. All around are Buddhist statues darting sharp glances; paintings of buddhas and bodhisattvas in bright primary colors; and erotic and grotesque depictions of intertwined male and female deities.
JAPAN / History
Apr 30, 2003

Japan Occupation turned foes into friends

Before Gen. Douglas MacArthur landed at a small airstrip outside Tokyo to begin the U.S.-led Occupation of Japan in 1945, Americans were the object of intense hatred, portrayed by propagandists as rapacious foreign devils.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Apr 29, 2003

Overstaying visas, noisy neighbors and DIY trading

Visa overstaying I'm a Ukranian Citizen now in Japan. I have overstayed my tourist three-month visa. If I would like to go back to my country, what should I do? Can I buy an air ticket without a visa? Do they have money or other kinds of penalties for this type of case? -- Tokyo Don
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Apr 27, 2003

Canine care groups life spirits of sick and needy

There was a buzz of excitement in the pediatrics ward at St. Luke's International Hospital in Tokyo. Children were milling around in their pajamas with impish gleams in their eyes. Soon, they were all jostling near the door to the playroom, the little ones standing on tiptoes to peek inside.
COMMUNITY
Apr 27, 2003

Dolphin 'treatment' defies science

Michael Williams was born severely autistic. Even when he was in his teens, he was unable to communicate, other than through screeching, and his parents had to be constantly on the alert for violent behavior. Without warning, he would bang his head against objects, bite into his own fingers or lash out...
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE EXTRA
Apr 27, 2003

Japan rugby needs to act now before it is too late

For followers of Japanese rugby, the last few weeks have not made for happy reading.
EDITORIALS
Apr 26, 2003

Lessons of a cult guru's trial

In the marathon trial of Aum Shinrikyo cult leader Chizuo Matsumoto (also known as Shoko Asahara) at the Tokyo District Court, prosecutors on Thursday demanded the death penalty. "The accused promoted teachings that even approved of murder," they said in a closing argument. "He planned and ordered indiscriminate...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 26, 2003

Downsize, get out of China's way and rebuild: business chief

Japan should aggressively create new businesses to regain its global competitiveness, according to Kakutaro Kitashiro, new chairman of the Japan Association of Corporate Executives (Keizai Doyukai).
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Apr 26, 2003

Jiro Hirano

When he was poised between high school and university in the late 1950s, Jiro Hirano had a vague idea that in life he wanted to do "something international." He knew he didn't want to study at the University of Tokyo, as his father and brother and cousins had before him. "I wanted to have a way of my...
LIFE / Food & Drink / VINELAND
Apr 25, 2003

When necrophilia isn't best

One of the perennial debates among wine lovers is whether wine is best drunk straight on release, after five or 10 years, or decades down the road. Even collectors and winemakers can't agree, leading to understandable confusion among the rest of us. And cultural differences also come into play, spawning...
JAPAN
Apr 24, 2003

Death sentence for killer confirmed

The Tokyo High Court on Wednesday upheld the death sentence for a man convicted of murdering six female employees during a jewelry store raid in Utsunomiya, Tochigi Prefecture, in June 2000.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT
Apr 24, 2003

Shooting from the soul

Mark Deeble and Victoria Stone met at a diving class when they were students. Then, after graduation, they worked on an environmental-impact assessment project in the beautiful Fal estuary in Cornwall, southwest England, where a new port was being planned. It was the love of the sea and nature they developed...
JAPAN
Apr 23, 2003

Camera problem delays summer launch of satellite

The launch of a new multifunctional satellite, originally scheduled for this summer, has been put off until next year due to a problem with its weather observation camera, the Meteorological Agency said Tuesday.
EDITORIALS
Apr 22, 2003

The meaning of low interest rates

The global economic outlook remains dim despite the swift and decisive coalition victory in Iraq. In Japan the prospects are darker still, with deflation getting worse, not better. Stock prices are at their lowest level in about 20 years. Banks are still burdened with piles of bad debt. Prime Minister...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 20, 2003

68 evacuees from Miyake Island return for four-day visit

Sixty-eight former residents of Miyake Island returned Saturday morning for a four-day visit, their first overnight stay since the entire population of about 3,800 people was evacuated when the island's volcano rumbled into life in September 2000.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Apr 20, 2003

Changing narratives of Korean history

COLONIAL MODERNITY IN KOREA, edited by Gi Wook Shin and Michael Robinson. Harvard University Press, 2000, 466 pp., $49.50 (cloth) Until very recently most English-language general histories of Korea treated Japanese colonial rule or "Japanese occupation" as a rupture or distortion of the "natural development"...
JAPAN
Apr 20, 2003

Government to fight war-displaced

The government said Friday it will fight a compensation lawsuit filed by more than 600 war-displaced Japanese left behind in China and urged a court to reject the plaintiffs' claims.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / NATURE TRAVEL
Apr 20, 2003

Look what the tide brought in

Venice Beach, Fla., and the sun is hot and strong. Most tourists are simply lounging on the sand turning various shades of furious red or "Baywatch" bronze. A few are chucking Frisbees or checking out the babes.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Apr 20, 2003

Dancing detectives

A LOYAL CHARACTER DANCER, by Qiu Xiaolong. New York, SOHO Press, 2002, 351 pp., $25 (cloth) Popular fiction can be a fairly reliable indicator of changing public sentiments. One harbinger that the Cold War was beginning to wind down was the appearance of the now-famous police procedural novel. Such novels...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / THE SECOND ROOM
Apr 19, 2003

2003 party season gets its blessing; Credit where due in 2002

As omens go, the last two Sundays have been righteously encouraging for the Tokyo party scene.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 19, 2003

SARS forces rethink on disease responses

The health ministry is considering legal changes to more effectively handle outbreaks of infectious illnesses -- such as the atypical pneumonia now plaguing much of Asia -- by increasing the government's authority to act.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Apr 19, 2003

Silvio Vita

Silvio Vita leads an enviable life. He says perhaps he is lucky. That may be true, but it is not the whole story. He is also hardworking, and his work has done more than luck to bring him recognition and reward. He is a Roman, born in Romulus' fabulous city, which, built over seven hills by the Tiber...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 18, 2003

Journalist offers renewable energy as solution to wars fought over oil

OSAKA -- Humans may someday cease to fight over oil when the sun becomes our main source of energy, according to 64-year-old German journalist Franz Alt.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / INDUSTRY TRENDS
Apr 17, 2003

Big screens on grand scale win back new generation of film fans

The magic of Harry Potter and "The Lord of the Rings" may not be the only reason that people are returning to movie theaters.
BUSINESS
Apr 17, 2003

Tobishima returns to banks for 30 billion yen bailout

Struggling construction firm Tobishima Corp. said Wednesday it will ask its three main creditor banks to buy 30 billion yen in new preferred shares.
JAPAN
Apr 16, 2003

TOEFL preparatory aids hit market

The operator of the Test of English as a Foreign Language said Tuesday it has introduced two new products targeting schools: a software package named LanguEdge Courseware and an online service called Criterion.
BUSINESS
Apr 16, 2003

Politicians under fire for plan to fix accounting rules

A group of ruling coalition politicians is coming under fire from investors and accounting specialists for trying to suspend globally recognized corporate accounting rules as stock prices continue to tumble.

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