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ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Oct 9, 2003

The roots of national security grow under our very feet

For many policymakers, the concept of national security now simply means possessing the capacity for overwhelming destruction. Armchair warriors find such thinking reassuringly straightforward and comforting, a neat and tidy corollary of "Might makes right." It is also pure fantasy.
MORE SPORTS
Oct 8, 2003

Experts tip All Blacks or England for World Cup

Former All Black legend Colin Meads recently caused a stir when he said that he thought England would beat New Zealand in the final of the 2003 Rugby World Cup. For a New Zealander to admit such a thing was considered by some in the land of the silver fern to be treasonous!
CULTURE / Art / NEW ART SEEN
Oct 8, 2003

The future's so pink ...

In preparation for the arrival of Junichiro Koizumi, George Bush, Vladamir Putin and 18 other world leaders for the Oct. 20-21 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Bangkok, Thai authorities have swooped down on the city. They have rounded up and shipped out hundreds of Cambodian beggars, thousands...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 7, 2003

Russian expert holds out hope for Kyoto

The fate of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol was thrown into jeopardy when Russian President Vladimir Putin failed last month to provide any indication that his country would ratify it.
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Oct 7, 2003

Time to come clean on foreign crime wave

For those who read and watch the Japanese press, these are scary times. Foreign crime is allegedly on the rise, members of the new Koizumi Cabinet are making clear policy statements against it, and the National Police Agency is ready for a new push.
EDITORIALS
Oct 6, 2003

Can Rengo stand up for the weak?

Over the years the image of Japanese trade unions as labor's standard bearer has become steadily tarnished. Their activities no longer hit the headlines except during annual labor-management negotiations. Even the name "shunto" -- the spring labor offensive -- now seems almost irrelevant because the...
COMMENTARY
Oct 6, 2003

Industry sounds out of key in its campaign against P2P

WASHINGTON -- The recording industry seems to believe that there is no greater enemy of all that is good and wonderful than peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing technologies. Thus the Recording Industry Association of America's campaign to sue grandkids and grandparents who violate copyrights by swapping...
JAPAN
Oct 5, 2003

Radiologist gave 254 people excess doses at state hospital

A total of 254 patients at a state-run hospital in Hirosaki, Aomori Prefecture, were administered radiation doses in excess of the amount prescribed by doctors over a seven-year period between 1988 and 1999, according to government and hospital officials.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 5, 2003

Fertility experts urge health insurance help

In response to the increasingly serious problem of Japan's falling birthrate, patients and medical professionals involved in fertility treatment are calling for the cost of treatment to be covered by national health insurance.
MORE SPORTS
Oct 4, 2003

Van Gundy building offense around Yao

NEW YORK -- Steve Francis isn't looking to challenge Jeff Van Gundy's authority or be perceived as a rebel. He also doesn't want to give the impression he's second-guessing his strategy.
JAPAN
Oct 4, 2003

Doctors, nurses to face war-crisis working orders

The Cabinet on Friday endorsed a revision to a Cabinet ordinance on the Self-Defense Forces Law to allow governors to order doctors, nurses, pharmacists, construction firms and private railway, bus or truck companies to continue working in times of emergency if requested by the Defense Agency chief....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / THE SECOND ROOM
Oct 4, 2003

Dad(o) hands down a family tradition

Frederic Holyszewski (aka Dado, Deedrah) was raised in the countryside of Fontainebleau, south of Paris. His parents handed down strong family traditions that grew out of a humble background. It was a charmed setting in which to grow up -- Fontainebleau even has a castle. And music was a pillar of his...
JAPAN
Oct 3, 2003

Fertility treatment carries heavy price

Women typically pay between 500,000 yen and 4 million yen to undergo in vitro fertilization treatment, sometimes borrowing money for the procedure, according to a recent study in Oita.
JAPAN
Oct 3, 2003

LDP cowed by specter of Tanaka comeback

Cleared of misappropriation allegations, Makiko Tanaka, one of the nation's most popular politicians, is on the verge of a comeback.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Oct 3, 2003

England could use experience, skill of McManaman in lineup

LONDON -- When Sven-Goran Eriksson names the England squad this weekend for the decisive Euro 2004 qualifying tie in Turkey on Oct. 11 it is a safe bet that Steve McManaman will not be included.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 2, 2003

Tokyo wards clamping down on public smoking

Ward governments around Tokyo got tough on smokers Wednesday as various ordinances took effect that ban smoking along public streets.
BUSINESS
Oct 2, 2003

Cabinet joins clamor for greater interference in currency market

Cabinet ministers said Wednesday that Japan will remain ready to intervene in the foreign-exchange market to stem volatility, after the nation's monetary authorities stepped into the currency market Tuesday in New York to stem the yen's ascent.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Oct 2, 2003

When American values get a woman's mind cooking

My brother has plunged into this deep gloom. It's his girlfriend, naturally. He's taken to calling me three times a week, genuinely perplexed and begging me to tell him why the romance is gone. He's my brother and I love him, but honestly, like most Japanese men the guy does not have a clue. I can tell...
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 2, 2003

Few know but many fear where the U.S. 'road map' leads

BEIRUT -- By the summer of 2002, U.S. President George Bush had firmly set his new course: "regime change" and reform in the Muslim and Arab worlds, and, where necessary, American military intervention to achieve it.
JAPAN
Oct 2, 2003

Abused by prison guards, ex-con still haunted by trauma

A 31-year-old former Nagoya Prison inmate who was allegedly abused by guards last year during his incarceration says he still suffers physical aftereffects as well as trauma from the violence.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 1, 2003

U.S. mission remains on track in Iraq

WASHINGTON -- How can we really determine if the Iraq mission is going well? Pessimists worry about recent truck bombings and political assassinations, ongoing serious crime problems, sustained attacks against U.S. forces, and high unemployment together with slow progress at improving the Iraqi standard...
JAPAN
Oct 1, 2003

450 sue over 'power-saving' scam

About 450 small-business operators across Japan filed a raft of lawsuits Tuesday against the failed Tokyo-based retailer Idic Co. and eight consumer credit companies, claiming they were cheated into buying an expensive electricity-saving device that made no dent in their power bills.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Sep 30, 2003

A level playing field?

Sports are seen as a catalyst for international communication. Even the Olympic Games were established a century ago to promote world peace -- through people meeting and competing on level playing fields.
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Sep 29, 2003

Debate on Emperor's role in war lives on

NEW YORK -- Will the nearly 60-year-old debate on the Showa Emperor's role in World War II ever end?
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Sep 28, 2003

Kawabata's Yomiura City

A short story by Yasunari Kawabata; translated by Burritt Sabin
JAPAN
Sep 28, 2003

JETRO admits stock irregularity

The Japan External Trade Organization said Saturday that a former director as well as four of its employees in Hong Kong obtained unlisted shares from a local firm and earned dividends on them.
JAPAN
Sep 27, 2003

Foreigners blamed for crime woes

Japanese police have blamed deteriorating public security in the country on foreigners, despite figures showing that 96 percent of the nation's crimes are committed by Japanese.

Longform

Dangami House is a 180-year-old former samurai residence of the Kato clan, who ruled over Ozu, Ehime Prefecture, until the Meiji Restoration.
A house, a legacy and the quiet work of restoration in rural Japan