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COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Dec 18, 2004

Talking (and talking) about talking

"Did I ever tell you about the time I was kidnapped by Gypsies?"
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 18, 2004

Japan to join spring resolution to get UNSC reform ball rolling

Japan will work together with other countries to submit a resolution as early as next spring to revise the United Nations Charter and reform the international body, according to Kenzo Oshima, Japanese ambassador to the U.N.
MORE SPORTS
Dec 17, 2004

FIBA likes Japan's plan for 2006 world championships

Top executives from FIBA, basketball's world governing body, recently visited Japan for a site inspection tour of the five cities and venues that will host games here during the 2006 world championships.
CULTURE / Music
Dec 17, 2004

Jazzman

This year marks the 100th anniversary of big-band leader Glenn Miller, born on March 1, 1904, in Clarinda, Iowa, whose hits included "Moonlight Serenade," "In the Mood," "String of Pearls" and "Little Brown Jug."
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Dec 17, 2004

Raising a glass to the Food File's faves

The goose is getting fat and so too is your humble correspondent, after another year of gobbling his way through some of the best dining that Tokyo has to offer -- not to mention a sizable dollop of the mediocre and worse. But it's not just gluttony that keeps the Food File going, nor merely devotion...
JAPAN
Dec 16, 2004

Freelance journalist takes fight against press clubs to court

Japan's "kisha" press clubs have long been criticized for their closed, controlled nature and the various privileges solely accorded their members.
LIFE / Lifestyle / MATTER OF COURSE
Dec 16, 2004

Reflections on rich learnings we all shared

When I began writing this column, I thought it would be a one-year gig. My editors thought so too. But things went well, and for nearly four years now I've reported in this space about my children's experiences in Japanese school.
COMMENTARY
Dec 16, 2004

Cause for Arab optimism

DUBAI -- The Arab world might be expected to be feeling cheerful given current high prices for oil. But, instead, a cloud of unease hangs over Arabia today. There are fears of slow economic development, fears of weakening oil prices as oil production expands elsewhere -- or as the world learns to conserve...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 16, 2004

Egypt backs Japan's UNSC quest, troop dispatch to Iraq: ambassador

Cairo supports Japan's bid to be a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council and its deployment of Ground Self-Defense Force troops to southern Iraq, Egyptian Ambassador to Japan Hisham Badr said.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 15, 2004

It's a mad, mad, triple-mad world

Les Triplettes de Belleville Rating: * * * * (out of 5) Japanese title: Belleville Rendex-vous Director: Sylvain Chomet Running time: 80 minutes Language: French Opens Dec. 18 [See Japan Times movie listings] It's in sepia and scarred with soft, silvery needles, like interference on...
JAPAN / READERS' FUND
Dec 15, 2004

Aid helping to build schools in Cambodia

AMATAK, a Tokyo-based group headed by the Rev. Fumio Goto of the Catholic Kichijoji Church, and its sister group in Cambodia have been building elementary schools in poor villages in the Southeast Asian nation for about 10 years.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 15, 2004

Toy maker Takara needs Christmas gift: renewed demand

It isn't likely to be a very merry Christmas for Keita Sato this year.
JAPAN
Dec 14, 2004

Doctor who treated Bikini Atoll H-test victims dead at 83

Toshiyuki Kumatori, a prominent figure in radiological sciences who treated radiation victims of the 1954 U.S. hydrogen-bomb test at Bikini Atoll in the Central Pacific, died Saturday from pneumonia at a hospital in Saitama Prefecture. He was 83.
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...
Dec 14, 2004

Doctor who treated Bikini Atoll H-test victims dead at 83

Toshiyuki Kumatori, a prominent figure in radiological sciences who treated radiation victims of the 1954 U.S. hydrogen-bomb test at Bikini Atoll in the Central Pacific, died Saturday from pneumonia at a hospital in Saitama Prefecture. He was 83.
Features
Dec 12, 2004

'Clueless' husband rues lost love

Masatoshi Hoshino, a 56-year-old distribution company manager in Tokyo, had an arranged marriage 16 years ago to a woman he met just six months before.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Dec 12, 2004

Lord Shrimp gets deep-fried over New Year's special

While surfing for coverage of the most recent NHK scandal on commercial television, I naturally had my radar tuned for expressions of schadenfreude, especially on the wide shows, where commentators enjoy a little more freedom to be critical. But there hasn't been much gloating. Last Monday, the host...
JAPAN
Dec 11, 2004

Petition supports Kurdish refugees

A petition with more than 60,000 signatures supporting asylum for two Kurdish families from Turkey who staged a 72-day sit-in outside the United Nations University this summer was handed to the Justice Ministry on Friday.
JAPAN
Dec 11, 2004

Kenyan marathoner struck blind turns disability into gold medals

Winner of three gold medals at the Sydney and Athens Paralympics, Henry Wanyoike also broke the world record at the marathon for the visually disabled held in Boston this year, completing the race in 2 hours, 33 minutes and 20 seconds.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 11, 2004

Cell phones answer music players' call

After e-mail, Internet access and cameras, music will likely be the next killer application for cell phones in Japan, where online distribution is yet to catch on.
JAPAN
Dec 10, 2004

Extended Iraq tour a given from get-go

Although media opinion polls showed most respondents opposed extending the Self-Defense Forces deployment to Iraq, the government never seriously discussed a pullout of the Japanese troops from the war-torn country at the Dec. 14 end of their one-year mission.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Dec 10, 2004

Getting holy in Wakayama

Since ancient times, pilgrims have ventured into heavily forested mountains in Wakayama Prefecture to visit Koyasan, the headquarters of the Shingon sect of esoteric Buddhism. This is regarded as one of the most sacred places in Japan, lying in an alpine basin at an altitude of about 800 meters, and...
JAPAN
Dec 9, 2004

NPA report lists the usual suspects: Islamic terrorists, Aum, Pyongyang

International terrorist organizations run by Islamic extremists are expected to continue carrying out attacks worldwide, and the possibility of Japan becoming a target cannot be ruled out, the National Police Agency reckoned in an annual report on security released this week.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 8, 2004

Dark clouds over Japan

Lady Joker Rating: * * * 1/2 (out of 5) Director: Hideyuki Hirayama Running time: 121 minutes Language: Japanese Currently showing [See Japan Times movie listings] Why do films about salarymen tend to be either heavy-footed, with the principals rarely cracking a smile or otherwise dispelling...
EDITORIALS
Dec 8, 2004

To keep the SDF in Iraq or not

The government is set to extend Japan's troop deployment in Iraq beyond Dec. 14 for another year, although Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has not adequately explained why an extension is necessary. Nor has the Diet debated the question in detail. A joint opposition bill aimed at ending the dispatch...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 8, 2004

Captain goes down with the ship

Sky Captain and the World of Tommorrow Rating: * * (out of 5) Director: Kerry Conran Running time: 107 minutes Language: English Currently showing [See Japan Times movie listings] "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow" is yet another of those gazillion-dollar event flicks that's 90...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 8, 2004

Cheer and moaning in L.A.

How to Kill Your Neighbor's Dog Rating: * * * (out of 5) Japanese title: Butai Yori, Sutekina Seikatsu Director: Michael Kalesniko Running time: 98 minutes Language: English Opens Dec. 11 [See Japan Times movie listings] Kenneth Branagh once said in a movie many years back: "There is...

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