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COMMENTARY / World
May 10, 2003

End of the old world disorder?

Wars are cataclysmic events. Out of the destruction of major wars emerge new fault lines of international politics. To this extent, wars are the international, political equivalent of earthquakes, eruptions on the surface reflecting deeper underlying seismic shifts in the pattern of major-power relations....
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
May 8, 2003

Watanabe his own man -- but honors father's role

Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Yoshimi Watanabe is an exception to the rule when it comes to discussing his political roots.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / NAME OF THE GAME
May 8, 2003

Sony's own silver lining

With all of the big games that have come out lately, it's hard to keep up.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
May 7, 2003

Come on, come on, let's get together

There's collaboration in the air in Japan's contemporary theater world; collaboration between foreign directors and Japanese actors, directors and producers.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
May 7, 2003

Tsugaru soul man

"Artistic skill that cannot be appreciated by young people is bound to fade away."
COMMENTARY
May 4, 2003

U.S. far from tying up Taliban's loose ends

ISLAMABAD -- Hamid Karzai, the president of Afghanistan's transitional government, spent much of his time on a recent visit to neighboring Pakistan discussing the mounting security challenge faced by his beleaguered government.
COMMENTARY
May 4, 2003

Roh's middle way to reform

HONOLULU -- South Korea's new president, Roh Moo Hyun, hasn't had much of a honeymoon. Since taking office two months ago, he has had to navigate a nuclear crisis with North Korea. To do that, he has had to work closely with the United States, a difficult assignment in the best of times, but one that's...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
May 4, 2003

Movers and shakers

The J-pop singing duo Kinki Kids are considered "first-class idols" by everyone in show business. However, the premise behind "The Domoto Brothers" (Fuji; Sunday, 10 p.m.) is that they're struggling musicians. On this weekly half-hour show, Tsuyoshi and Koichi Domoto -- who, despite having the same family...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / CLOSE-UP
May 4, 2003

Alice Walker: Love makes her world go round

Alice Walker is best known as the author of "The Color Purple," her 1983 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel about the lives of African-American women in the Deep South early in the 20th century -- which Steven Spielberg made into a film in 1985 starring Whoopi Goldberg and Oprah Winfrey.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
May 3, 2003

Shinkansen: shared stink, flying fruit

This is a followup to an article I wrote a few weeks ago on how to ride the shinkansen. As many readers pointed out, I overlooked some very important aspects.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
May 3, 2003

Time to reconnect? Home is where the hearts are

Living abroad has its ups and downs. There are times of euphoria -- total absorption and delight with one's adopted culture -- and there are the deep troughs, when negativity sets in and everything turns hateful and to be despised. There is also that infinitely more bewildering phase, when nothing feels...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 2, 2003

Economic woes weigh on Fukui

The fragile economy makes worrying almost an official job responsibility for the governor of the Bank of Japan. Looking back on six weeks at the helm of the central bank, Gov. Toshihiko Fukui even worried about worrying.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / INDUSTRY TRENDS
May 2, 2003

Firms itching to cash in on athlete's foot sufferers

The phrase "I wouldn't want to be in your shoes" threatens to take on a whole new meaning as summer kicks in, with an estimated one in five Japanese suffering from athlete's foot.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
May 2, 2003

Studio J: Masahito Ueki does it again

While the eyes of the world -- or at least the Tokyo-centric portion of the planet -- have been fixed on the unveiling of the massive Roppongi Hills complex, our attention was focused on another new arrival, not so far away but on a totally different scale. For us, the main event last month was the opening...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
May 1, 2003

Feathered friends of the forest

In a passive way, plants have got birds sussed. They use them, abuse them (ever seen a thrush drunk on fermenting apples?) and mess with their digestive systems. Birds are willing pawns, though; brightly colored flowers and gaudy berries send a simple signal to the bird brain that shouts -- energy! ...
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / ON THE BOOK TRAIL
May 1, 2003

"The Eternity Code," "The Countess's Calamity"

"The Eternity Code," Eoin Colfer, Puffin Books; 2003; 329 pp. The 13-year-old, pint-size mastermind of every heist known to man -- or to fairy -- is back. And in the latest installment of the "Artemis Fowl" series, time is running out not for Artemis' poor adversaries, but for him. His father, rescued...
COMMUNITY
Apr 29, 2003

Tama-chan: the questions that they tried to bur

Tama-chan has had an overwhelming e-mail response to the exclusive interview he gave to The Japan Times on April 1. This week he shares with us a selection of queries submitted by readers.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Apr 27, 2003

Time after time, show after show

Though Cyndi Lauper is much more than a one-hit wonder, her sudden stardom in 1984 made the subsequent lack of fireworks in her career seem as if she'd put everything she had into her debut album, "She's so Unusual." It's not entirely true, but in any case that LP went platinum five times in the United...
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.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Apr 27, 2003

Life is one big show -- at least for Mino

On April 18, TV Asahi premiered a new quiz show called "Thumbs Up," hosted by Monta Mino. Until this show, Asahi was the only commercial network that hadn't hired Mino to helm a regular series, which means the gruff emcee is now approaching omnipresence. He hosts eight prime-time programs a week in addition...
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...
JAPAN
Apr 26, 2003

Ghana envoy seeks more investment

Increased Japanese investment in the Republic of Ghana would be "mutually beneficial" to both sides, Ghanaian Ambassador to Japan Dr. Barfuor Adjei-Barwuah told The Japan Times on Friday.
BUSINESS
Apr 25, 2003

Sony group profit soars sevenfold

Sony Corp. said Thursday its group net profit in fiscal 2002 skyrocketed to 115.52 billion yen -- more than 7.5 times its 15.3 billion yen profit the previous year -- on strong movie sales and cost cutting.
JAPAN
Apr 25, 2003

Marathon trial could have gone on longer

The trial of Aum Shinrikyo founder Shoko Asahara is unprecedented both in the nature of the crimes involved and the way the court proceedings have progressed.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 25, 2003

SARS may lift Japan's leadership role

MEDFORD, Massachusetts -- At the height of the Asian financial crisis in 1997, two stories surrounded the role of China. One attested to China's positive role as a stabilizer; the other pointed to China's unsavory economic practice. According to the latter, China had intentionally devalued its currency...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 25, 2003

Tokyo under pressure to do more to upgrade ASEAN state economies

The success of Japan's proposal for a comprehensive economic partnership with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations depends greatly on Tokyo's "strong interest and capacity to assist ASEAN's industrial upgrading and competitiveness," said Hank Lim, director for research with the Singapore Institute...
JAPAN
Apr 25, 2003

Competition showcases diplomats' Japanese-language skills

Some took the opportunity to look back on the historical relationship between their countries and Japan. Others focused on everyday life in today's Tokyo, like sending e-mail by mobile phone.
JAPAN
Apr 24, 2003

Outlying regions want a piece of the action, too

Anticipating that the upcoming Visit Japan campaign will prove successful, businesses and local governments are developing strategies to draw prospective foreign tourists out of major cities and into their regions.

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