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EDITORIALS
Mar 20, 2005

A flock of Emiews

I t must say something about the times when a news release heralding yet another piece of cutting-edge Japanese technology makes us scratch our heads and think how quaint and last-century it sounds. That happened last week when we read about Hitachi Ltd.'s rollout of a wheeled humanoid robot that it...
EDITORIALS
Mar 12, 2005

Cedar Revolution? Knock on wood

The murder of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri has unleashed mass protests in Lebanon. The demonstrations calling for the departure of Syrian forces from Lebanon have been tagged the "Cedar Revolution" in the West as if they, too, reflect the spirit of the democratic movements that swept Eastern Europe...
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 9, 2005

How diplomacy can defuse the North Korean crisis

WASHINGTON -- "The sure way to miss success is to miss the opportunity," a wise man once observed. Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura asked U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to visit Japan "at the earliest possible opportunity" during a bilateral security meeting in Washington on Feb. 19. When...
COMMENTARY
Mar 7, 2005

Japan and U.S. up the ante on Taiwan

HONG KONG -- China's relations with Japan, already strained because of territorial disputes and differing perceptions of history -- in particular, because of Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's repeated visits to Yasukuni Shrine, Japan's memorial to its war dead, including Class A war criminals...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Mar 2, 2005

Mail bag questions on Bunch, Kiyohara and the minor leagues

Dear Wayne: I read what you posted from Melvin Bunch's e-mail (Feb. 23).
COMMENTARY
Feb 3, 2005

Fear of rips in the EU fabric

LONDON -- The fear here is that the whole of Europe has succumbed to the virus of racism and that new political parties based on some variant of racism will swell in popular support, win elections, run institutions of state -- including the European Union -- and destroy the civilization that has been...
EDITORIALS
Jan 27, 2005

Trimming a lifetime perquisite

The Japanese public has expressed anger over the fact that members of the Diet are entitled to such fat pensions. In response, a parliamentary panel has recommended that there be at least a 70-percent increase in premiums and a 30-percent cut in payouts. These proposals probably will take effect in fiscal...
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 23, 2005

Pitching a U.S.-South Korean divorce

HONOLULU -- In a provocative new book, the authors propose that the United States and South Korea agree to an "amicable divorce" in which all American military forces would be withdrawn from the Korean Peninsula and the security treaty that has made South Korea and America allies for 50 years would be...
Japan Times
Features
Jan 23, 2005

The riddle of rongorongo

The earliest documented reference to rongorongo was made by a French missionary, Eugene Eyraud, who wrote in 1864 that he thought "the primitive script a custom which [the islanders] preserve without searching for the meaning."
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Jan 23, 2005

As Japan goes through a transformation, so too might those who do the observing

JAPAN'S QUIET TRANSFORMATION: Social Change and Civil Society in the Twenty-first Century, by Jeff Kingston. London and New York: RoutledgeCurzon, 2004, 358 pp., 3,657 yen (paper). Nothing is permanent but change. The idea of transience has a long tradition in Japan, coming to the fore at times and receding...
JAPAN
Jan 22, 2005

Tsunami parley delegates seek specifics -- not vague pledges

KOBE -- As the United Nations World Conference on Disaster Reduction headed into its final two days Friday, NGOs and some member states warned that the five-day parley would be a failure unless it culminated in specific action on disaster reduction measures, especially in the Indian Ocean region.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jan 19, 2005

Goblins and deities in folk art

In celebration of the Japanese New Year, the Mingeikan (Japan Folk Art Museum) has organized a special exhibition titled "Otsu-e: Edo Period Popular Paintings," showcasing this traditional Japanese genre of painting from the Edo Period (1615-1868).
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Jan 16, 2005

Fuji TV's new romantic comedy series, "Fukigen no Jiin" and more

The title of Fuji TV's new romantic comedy series, "Fukigen no Jiin" (Mon., 9 p.m.), has a double meaning. The main character is a university research geneticist, so the title could be translated as "The Gene for Ill Temper." But this female researcher, played by Yuko Takeuchi, is nicknamed Jean, so...
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 11, 2005

Daunting U.S. tasks in Asia

PALO ALTO, Calif. -- President George W. Bush has claimed a renewed mandate and has reshuffled his national securit team. National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice will become Secretary of State, and Steve Hadley will move up at the National Security Council. Richard Armitage and Jim Kelly, who have...
EDITORIALS
Jan 1, 2005

Royal bridge to the people

The new year has been ushered in by the auspicious news of a long-awaited announcement: Princess Nori, the only daughter of the Emperor, is engaged to Mr. Yoshiki Kuroda, a Tokyo Metropolitan Government employee. We congratulate them heartily and hope that they will serve as a bridge between the Imperial...
JAPAN
Dec 17, 2004

NPA to launch unsolved-crime DNA database

The National Police Agency will launch a DNA database Friday of evidence found at unsolved crime scenes nationwide.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 15, 2004

Godzilla is dead, long live Godzilla

What do most non-Japanese, Western or otherwise, know about Japanese films? About Japanese pop culture, period? More than they did a decade ago certainly, but let's get real: Go to a typical family gathering in America — blue state or red, it doesn't much matter — and ask those assembled for the...
COMMENTARY
Dec 14, 2004

Bush's term to test Koizumi

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi will be required to fine-tune Japan's diplomatic strategies to deal with the reshuffle of U.S. President George W. Bush's administration. There is growing speculation that hardliners will gain more power in the second Bush administration following the departures of Secretary...
COMMENTARY
Dec 10, 2004

End the tunnel view of Asia

SINGAPORE -- In its second term, the Bush administration needs to pay more attention to Asia in general and Southeast Asia in particular.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / VINELAND
Dec 10, 2004

Six sure-fire gift ideas for fellow wine-lovers

There appears to be an entire cottage industry dedicated to making the kind of wine-themed gifts that imbibers everywhere are hoping not to receive this season -- our favorite of which is the doormat which says, "We love good wine. Did you bring any?"
BUSINESS
Dec 8, 2004

Tanigaki sides with Europe over weak dollar worries

Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki said Tuesday that worries raised by European financial chiefs Monday about the dollar's rapid fall against the euro are "understandable."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 1, 2004

The freaks that made good

End of the Century Rating: * * * * (out of 5) Director: Michael Gramaglia Running time: 108 minutes Language: English Currently showing [See Japan Times movie listings] My first introduction to The Ramones came, fittingly enough for a film critic, in a cinema . . . but, hey, they were...
Japan Times
Features
Nov 28, 2004

Revealing 'The Japanese Sensibility': Modernity

Who was this man who wrote, "When I die I forbid the erection of anything resembling a monument, and if erected I am vehemently opposed to any words being engraved into it, and if people must engrave words into it I absolutely despise when they gush on and on, because I'd rather that someone just rolled...

Longform

A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.
If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami