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Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 15, 2002

Offspring of poetry's artistic polygamy

Several events this month platform the spoken and written words in new combinations: An exhibition of Japanese and French "visual poetry" opens May 15; poetry marries improvisational live jazz and shakuhachi performance; and a book launch for an anthology of new writing offers readings, music and dance....
LIFE / Food & Drink / NIHONSHU
May 12, 2002

Brewing it naturally isn't so easy

In recent years, there has been increased interest in organic sake. To legally specify something as organic or organically produced is difficult, at least in countries that have begun enforcing the standards that are needed to ensure safety and quality, as well as the protection of the environment.
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
May 9, 2002

Sons light up mum's life, but also take years off it

All sons know that we get more flak than daughters. Does "You've taken years off my life" or "Why can't you be more like your sister?" sound familiar?
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
May 9, 2002

Welcome to a new page, welcome to a new column

Welcome to a brand new new weekly column that will provide a forum for readers to help one another, and for myself and Ken Joseph, of Japan Helpline, to help you. We will be printing your letters, offering personal input and bringing in experts on a regular basis to help answer your queries on living...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / VINELAND
May 5, 2002

Vineyards of New World beckon in warm weather

Only a decade ago, adventure and good value were tough to find in Japan's wine market. Wine lovers traded news of secret finds. We carried treasured bottles back from trips overseas. We called up buddies and huddled together to relish the long-saved treat of a wine unavailable in Japan. The rituals bore...
COMMUNITY
May 5, 2002

What is terrorism?

Two weeks after the attacks on New York and Washington, an article by Susan Sontag, novelist, essayist, director, playwright and easily America's most provocative public intellectual, appeared in the now-famous black-cover issue of the New Yorker magazine. In it, Sontag excoriated Americans for their...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
May 2, 2002

20 years of writing on the wild side

The biological exuberance of the equatorial region is staggering to behold. Walking through a temperate forest (as one might find in many areas of northern Japan, the northern United States or across much of central Europe), it is commonplace to have a clear view for hundreds of meters -- even to the...
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
May 2, 2002

Robo-rats galvanized into action

When the Italian physician Luigi Galvani published his theory of "animal electricity" in the 1790s, it roused biologists and physicists all over Europe, went on to influence the construction of the first electric battery and inspired an 18-year-old English girl to write "Frankenstein."
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
May 1, 2002

Lopez puts tantrum behind him

Hiroshima Carp first baseman Luis Lopez says the problem between him and outfielder Tomonori Maeda has been put to rest. Marty Kuehnert, in his April 10 "Keen Edge" column, described how the teammates had nearly come to blows after Maeda twice failed to score from second base on outfield hits by Lopez...
BUSINESS
Apr 30, 2002

METI group set to tackle copyright abuse in Asia

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry will organize a private group of publishers and producers of music, movies, games and other software in June to deal with rampant piracy in China, South Korea and Taiwan, METI officials said.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / NIHONSHU
Apr 28, 2002

When Nada sake ruled the realm

As sake becomes more recognized, not only as a world-class beverage, but also as an enjoyable topic of conversation and study, it can be fun to look at its interesting and culturally rich history.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 27, 2002

Greek Cypriots bluster over Israeli snub

NICOSIA -- At first glance, Cyprus might seem a likely friend for Israel in a hostile region. An eastern Mediterranean island just 105 km from Syria, the Republic of Cyprus is a democracy with a free press, thriving banking and shipping industries, and a per capita gross domestic product of $16,000,...
JAPAN
Apr 27, 2002

Koizumi determined to push four postal bills through Diet

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi expressed his strong determination Friday to clear all four bills on postal services deregulation in the current Diet session, braving fierce opposition from both the ruling and opposition blocs.
JAPAN
Apr 26, 2002

On-call sex service firms flourishing amid regulation

The number of businesses offering on-call sex services to customers at their homes or other locations tripled in the two years since police began regulating such trade in 1999, the National Police Agency said Thursday.
SOCCER / J. League / ON THE BALL
Apr 23, 2002

Shirt-throwing incident infuriates Korean midfielder

It's only a uniform, you may think. But it is not always that simple, especially when it concerns a player's country.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Apr 21, 2002

A fresh spin on Okinawan tradition

Inside Hot Wax, a hip music shop in Shibuya's Udagawa-cho, the wet, modern sounds of Ryukyu Underground's "Tinsagu nu Hana Dub" wash over racks of used records, compact discs and a half-dozen music lovers. One of the browsers, a young woman, describes the music as "like summer with the windows open."...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / HOGAKU TODAY
Apr 21, 2002

The rewards of spring

Next month offers a wide selection of concerts, ranging from contemporary hogaku, Okinawan folk and protest songs to the finest of the classics. All are performed by veteran musicians. The following is a sample of what's on.
JAPAN
Apr 20, 2002

Three held in connection with mobile phone scam

Police said Friday they have arrested three men on suspicion of running a mobile phone scam in which victims were billed for unwittingly listening to sexual or other messages by calling back a number that appeared on their phones.
BUSINESS
Apr 19, 2002

Uniqlo's profits on the wane

With Uniqlo's boom in casual clothing fading away, Fast Retailing Co. on Thursday cut its earnings projections for the business year to August from its previous estimate in January.
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Apr 18, 2002

The invasion and colonization of Europe

Cooperation is the key to the evolution of life, even though natural selection favors genetic selfishness. Since all complex life, whether it's a tree or a whale, reproduces through sex, genes have only a 50 percent chance of getting into an egg or a sperm. This means that even genes have to cooperate,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Apr 17, 2002

Musical works in progress

In the world of contemporary rock and dance music, everything old ultimately becomes new again. The plucky three-chord anthems of Green Day are fresh for youngsters exploring safety pins and green hair as fashion statements for the first time, but for many over the age of 30, they are all too familiar....
BUSINESS
Apr 17, 2002

LDP lawmakers to oppose taxation of new postal entity

A group of ruling Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers decided Tuesday to oppose the taxation of a new public corporation that will take over postal services, LDP officials said.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Apr 14, 2002

Desperate times call for innovative measures

No quick recovery is on the horizon for the slumping Japanese book business. That is the consensus of commentator Kazuhiro Kobayashi, writing in Shuppan News (January), and of three experts discussing the matter in Tsukuru (March) -- Yasuo Ueda, Yoshiaki Kiyota and Hiroyuki Shinoda. Unit sales, revenues...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / NIHONSHU
Apr 14, 2002

Where sake runs wild, unfiltered and free

Over the past few years, there has been a small surge in the popularity of muroka nama genshu sake. While it is hardly shaking the industry to its foundations, quite a few brewers -- usually smaller kura -- have begun to market this kind of sake.
LIFE / Language
Apr 12, 2002

Online tournament aiming to take haiku global

Last week, The World Haiku Club kicked off a global haiku tournament. For the first time, haiku enthusiasts from more than 10 countries are gathering online to watch and participate in this three-month contest which runs through June.
BUSINESS
Apr 10, 2002

Koizumi gives up on lifting legal ban on post privatization

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has given up on eliminating a legal clause banning the privatization of the new public corporation slated to take over the government-run postal services in 2003, posts minister Toranosuke Katayama said Tuesday.
COMMENTARY
Apr 5, 2002

Another failure in the making?

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, who will complete his first year in office April 26, finds himself in a precarious position as his reform initiative faces mounting resistance from the ruling coalition, particularly his own Liberal Democratic Party.
JAPAN
Apr 4, 2002

White powder sent to Tsujimoto

OSAKA -- A letter containing a white powdery substance was delivered Tuesday to the office of scandal-tainted former lawmaker Kiyomi Tsujimoto in Takatsuki, Osaka Prefecture, police said.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 2, 2002

Nonsmokers little-served by air purifiers

Whether they are waiting to board a flight at Tokyo's Haneda airport or taking a break in the lobby of a government ministry in the Kasumigaseki district, smokers nowadays are often herded into areas with prominent air filtering devices.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / NIHONSHU
Mar 31, 2002

Sake with a raw bite

With the sakura in bloom -- in some places, anyway -- this is one of the best times for experiencing Japan's wonderful knack for tying just about everything in to the seasons. Clothing, food, drink, design; all seem to resonate with the sakura this time of the year. The sake world's seasonal equivalent...

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past