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EDITORIALS
Oct 27, 2002

At last, a move to cut down on popups

Sometimes you have to wonder what advertising gurus use for brains. For decades now, we've watched them fail to grasp the simple truth that television commercials repeated ad nauseam can actually drive viewers to boycott products rather than buy them. In recent years, though, it has been the idea of...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 27, 2002

Osaka housewife refuses to be cowed in the face of city hall

The towering stone structure that is Osaka city hall sits like a fortress on Osaka's Nakanoshima island. It might intimidate some who walk into its dimly lit marbled lobby, but not Yoneko Matsuura.
COMMUNITY
Oct 27, 2002

Ultimate distrust

Few things seem more certain than death.
EDITORIALS
Oct 25, 2002

Texas hospitality for Mr. Jiang

Chinese President Jiang Zemin is visiting the United States. The high point of the trip is a stop at President George W. Bush's Crawford, Texas, ranch, where the two men will indulge in summit rituals. The presidents will probably spend more time eating barbecue and posing for photographs than they will...
EDITORIALS
Oct 22, 2002

A disappointing policy speech

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's policy speech to the Diet last Friday can be summed up in a word: disappointing. It was disappointing particularly because he failed to explain in plain language how he intends to prevent a dangerous economic downturn. People know first hand that things are getting...
EDITORIALS
Oct 21, 2002

And now to work in South Asia

Pakistan and India have both held important elections in recent weeks. In Pakistan, the government party won as expected. In Kashmir, the pro-India party that has ruled the restive region for decades was routed. Even more important than the results is the fact that the votes were held at all. Now, both...
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 21, 2002

Problem calls for a 'concert of powers'

The stunning revelation that North Korea has a clandestine nuclear-weapons program casts a dark cloud over the future of a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula. It also dampens prospects for Japanese-North Korean normalization talks, not to mention the resumption of U.S.-North Korean dialogue.
LIFE / Food & Drink / VINELAND
Oct 20, 2002

Leeuwin Estate delivers a perfect hat trick

Wine lovers in Japan may have noticed the recent appearance of several new labels from Australia's Leeuwin Estate. Collectors have long coveted Leeuwin's Art Series wines. But these collectible, top-tier Leeuwin wines require cellar-aging to realize their potential and they bear a stiff cost commensurate...
BASEBALL / MLB
Oct 19, 2002

Future uncertain for Petagine, Ramirez,

After almost all of his home runs, Roberto Petagine praises his Lord for giving him faith.
Japan Times
Uncategorized
Oct 19, 2002

Shop brings famed goods of chilly Iwate to Tokyo

If food represents the land, climate and history of the region that nurtured its taste, the specialties of Iwate Prefecture reflect one of Japan's snowiest areas.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Oct 19, 2002

Crime writer racily exposes seamy side of Japan

It's a bit confusing when an author is called Guy Stanley but his card reads Stan Guy in English and Gai Stanri in katakana on the back.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Oct 18, 2002

Insuring your health; ensuring your privacy

Health concerns Health continues to be a regular source of your questions. The issue was really brought home to me the other day when, following a 10-hour flight, with no sleep, I got up to give a speech and couldn't speak nor remember what I was supposed to stay.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / THEN AND NOW
Oct 17, 2002

A proud town founded on ferries

The Ara River rises in the Chichibu Mountains of Saitama Prefecture, from where it flows southeast for some 140 km to reach the capital and discharge itself into Tokyo Bay. As its name (which means "rough") implies, it used to be a violent river, swelling after heavy rains and raging across the wide...
LIFE / Digital / NAME OF THE GAME
Oct 17, 2002

Honor (and fun) among thieves

American-made adventure games do not typically hit the Famitsu top 10 rankings that determine what's hot in gaming in Japan. "Donkey Kong Country," a British-made Super Famicom game, was Japan's all-time best-selling foreign-made adventure game.
COMMENTARY
Oct 14, 2002

Resurgent Asia may yet help buoy America

LOS ANGELES -- Think of the world economy as one huge ship with many passengers from all over and wildly varying tiers of service.
MORE SPORTS
Oct 13, 2002

Joanie's in town, and she's ready to kick some butt

Joanie Laurer lists herself as 5'10". She looks more like 6'4" in the flesh. Built like a brick lighthouse, former World Wrestling Federation (WWF) star "Chyna" cuts an imposing figure as she greets me at the door to her hotel room.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Oct 12, 2002

Joel Stewart

When he is painting, Joel Stewart says that he watches "what is happening right in front of my eyes. I'm making an image, and I reach a fork in the road. Shall I pull back to my original conception, or follow the new direction, which may lead to disaster?" If it is disaster, he is philosophical about...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Oct 9, 2002

CL, PL awards going down to wire

The Central and Pacific League pennant races were decided weeks ago, but the Japanese baseball season continues until the 12 teams have completed all 140 games on their schedules. The last game is tentatively scheduled for Oct. 18, and the next week-and-a-half of baseball, despite no flag chases, will...
COMMENTARY / JAPAN IN THE GLOBAL ERA
Oct 7, 2002

Brainstorming to bring positive change

LAUSANNE, Switzerland -- In an article on the IMF/World Bank meeting in Washington last month entitled "A Washington gathering of incompetents," Gerald Baker, while lambasting policyma- kers in the United States and the European Union, handed the first prize for incompetence to Japan. "Every time it...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / BEST BAR NONE
Oct 6, 2002

Into the night at Meguro's Saka Bar

When a friend took me on a tour of his favorite bars in Nakameguro, Saka Bar was the scheduled last stop. It scored this slot on the tour because of its notoriety in the area as a late-night hangout. On that first visit we arrived at 5 a.m. to find all stools at the bar taken -- though in an eight-seater...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Oct 5, 2002

Fiona Harden

"My family has always been traveling. Traveling got into my blood," Fiona Harden said. Through personal stories she recalls her family life in a colonial setting of bygone days. She is too young to remember at first hand the era that was ending when she was a child. During her growing-up years and as...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Oct 5, 2002

Rules of the 'genkan': First, wear shoes

There is a peculiar space in Japanese houses called the "genkan." Although "genkan" sounds like a Japanese English abbreviation for Genghis Kahn, the genkan has little to do with conquering and more to do with barriers. The genkan is the welcome pit just inside the front door that serves as a gathering...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Oct 5, 2002

Huddling against cold to keep oil, gas on move

It is down to 15 degrees Celsius by day on Sakhalin Island, and already under 5 at night. By December the temperature will be minus 30, and still going down.
EDITORIALS
Oct 3, 2002

Challenges for Mr. Takenaka

The reshuffled Cabinet of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has a powerful economic portfolio that may well be described as "deputy prime minister for economic affairs." As state minister in charge of economic and fiscal policy as well as financial affairs, Mr. Heizo Takenaka is now the de facto economic...
COMMENTARY
Oct 3, 2002

Iraq, yes -- but why now?

LONDON -- Everyone seems agreed that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein is a very nasty piece of work, a brutal tyrant with homicidal tendencies who cannot be trusted one inch.
COMMENTARY
Sep 30, 2002

A theory that doesn't work

For the market economy to function effectively, equal opportunity must be guaranteed in all sectors of society. In today's Japan, however, there is no such guarantee. For example, the opportunity for a Japanese person to become a Diet member is far from equal, because many retiring Diet members have...
Japan Times
JAPAN / WEEKEND WISDOM
Sep 29, 2002

'Kabukicho guide' offers punters a walk on the wild side

Sporting a pinstripe suit, a wiry figure hovers on the main street of Shinjuku Ward's Kabukicho -- Tokyo's busiest and arguably seediest entertainment district.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 29, 2002

Morning Musume: It's a family affair

The all-girl super-idol group Morning Musume has been astonishingly popular since it was formed in 1997. But it isn't because of their singing or dancing, their songs or their looks. What keeps them constantly in the limelight is a carefully crafted and well-oiled mechanism.
CULTURE / Music
Sep 29, 2002

Music of the J-people

Japanese pop music is crap. So say many of my friends, especially the non-Japanese ones. They reach that conclusion after noticing that the charts are full of chipmunk-voiced idols who are long on looks and short on talent -- and whose shelf lives are only slightly longer than sushi.
CULTURE / Music
Sep 29, 2002

Scouting out the Next Big Thing

At this very moment, thousands of young musicians throughout Japan are busy pursuing the same elusive goal: pop stardom. Some are driven by the need to express their artistic vision; others by the perks of stardom; and still more of them by the simple desire to support themselves by playing the music...

Longform

In 2020, 38% of all households were single-person. That figure is projected to rise to 44.3% by 2050.
The rise of AI companionship in a lonely Japan