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Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / CERAMIC SCENE
Feb 13, 2002

An art collector's dream on display

"In the mid-1950s, I saw an irresistible inflow of Western culture, mostly American, into war-devastated Japan. I witnessed a fading of our culture, which had been passed to us from generation to generation. As I watched the change, I felt a sense of fear that our next generation might not know what...
EDITORIALS
Feb 11, 2002

Space business still awaiting liftoff

The second H-2A rocket, which is touted as the leading player in Japan's space development at the beginning of the 21st century, was successfully launched last Monday, deploying one of the two probes it was carrying into orbit. Following the successful launching of the first H-2A rocket in August 2001,...
SOCCER / J. League / ON THE BALL
Feb 11, 2002

Wrong time to be in the wrong place

Naohiro Takahara's Argentine adventure with Boca Juniors came to a suddenly and unhappy end a few days ago when the Argentine club decided to cut short the one-year-loan deal of the Japan striker.
JAPAN
Feb 11, 2002

Japan gears up for 30th anniversary of ties with Mongolia

It's not China alone. There is one more Asian country with which Japan is gearing up to celebrate -- albeit with much less fanfare -- the 30th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties this year: Mongolia.
COMMENTARY
Feb 10, 2002

Pakistan turns the other cheek to India

ISLAMABAD -- Pakistan has decided against a knee-jerk reaction to India's test last month of the Agni missile, which has become another addition to the arms race in South Asia.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Feb 10, 2002

Japanese women 'defect' to the West

WOMEN ON THE VERGE: Japanese Women, Western Dreams, by Karen Kelsky. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2001, pp. 294, $18.95 (paper) The pursuit of "things foreign" has become an increasingly common activity of Japanese women in recent decades. Whether it be through study and work abroad, or through...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Feb 10, 2002

Love in a time of decline for homegrown literature

Is there a future for Japanese literature? That is the question posed by an article in the February issue of Bungakukai. Writer Akira Nagae visited various bookstores and publishers in search of an answer. The manager of a bookstore near an arts university in Tokyo feels authors and publishers are deceiving...
JAPAN
Feb 10, 2002

Kawaguchi reaffirms ties with China, South Korea

Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi held separate phone conversations Saturday with her Chinese and South Korean counterparts to reaffirm relations with the neighboring countries, a Foreign Ministry official said.
JAPAN
Feb 9, 2002

WWF warns of mass extinction by 2100

If greenhouse gas emissions continue to climb, ecosystems within a century may recede at speeds greater than 1 km a year, raising the specter of mass extinctions of plant and animal species in globally important nature areas, according to a World Wide Fund for Nature report.
JAPAN
Feb 9, 2002

Foreign firms draw both keen, reluctant Japanese

Strictly businesslike.
COMMUNITY
Feb 9, 2002

Chef's Table event to aid street children projects

Karen Lewis is wary of placing herself in the spotlight. She is part of a team -- a committee -- so finds it embarrassing to be singled out. There again, she recognizes that publicity is good for the cause she serves: protecting and caring for street children in seven facilities in the Philippines, Vietnam,...
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 9, 2002

Diplomats: more than traveling salesmen

CHIANG MAI, Thailand -- Recently, the order of a prominent European political leader to his country's ambassadors to begin acting as salesmen made waves all the way to Asia. This is not an isolated case: To various degrees, politicians from Europe to Asia and Oceania are now calling for a new diplomacy...
MORE SPORTS
Feb 8, 2002

Arimori strides for success in life after marathon

Winning an Olympic medal, you would think, would be the greatest honor an athlete can achieve.
JAPAN
Feb 8, 2002

Osaka stages memorial service for maestro

OSAKA -- A memorial service for Takashi Asahina, who was the world's oldest active conductor and a founder of the Osaka Philharmonic Orchestra, was held Thursday at a concert hall in Kita Ward. He was 93.
EDITORIALS
Feb 8, 2002

Let the Games begin

The 2002 Winter Olympics begin today. More than 2,000 athletes from 80 countries have descended on Salt Lake City, Utah, for the XIX Winter Games. This year's Olympiad takes place in the shadow of the Sept. 11 terror bombings. The games are a vital reminder that competition among nations may be inevitable,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Feb 6, 2002

From Dakota to Nagoya with a pirouette

Next week will see the great and the good of the ballet world descend on Nagoya for the Fourth Japan International Ballet and Modern Dance Competition. This triennial event, inaugurated in 1993, is unusual among leading international dance competitions in featuring simultaneous classical and modern dance...
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 5, 2002

French imitations of a banana republic

LONDON -- Is corruption a Third World disorder? Not if the French are any guide.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 4, 2002

Who is bugging the Chinese leadership?

HONG KONG -- Since it is not opening up to the outside world, but remains a very closed society in terms of its internal politics, China raises more questions than it answers. The latest intriguing episode concerns the bugging of a Boeing 767-300ER purchased in 2000 to be the VIP jet for President Jiang...
JAPAN
Feb 3, 2002

Mount Fuji slowly getting warmer

Climate change is causing Japan's mountains to warm faster on average than those in other countries, with the summit of Mount Fuji projected to be slightly warmer within half a century, according to the calculations of one expert.
LIFE / Food & Drink / NIHONSHU
Feb 3, 2002

Clearly making the grade isn't such an easy task

One of the biggest barriers to learning about sake is the terminology used to define the various grades. It is not a simple linguistic matter, as even the average Japanese person, more often than not, does not know specifically to what the terminology refers. These terms were not coined at once, nor...
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 2, 2002

Tackling global terrorism

It is clear now that Afghanistan had been taken hostage by the murderous cabal of the Taliban and al-Qaeda. As the U.S.-supported Northern Alliance liberated the country from the grip of the terrorists, it was interesting to witness the depth of the Afghan people's hatred for the foreign fighters who...
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 2, 2002

Ten years of Japan-Ukraine friendship

Japan recognized the independence of Ukraine on Dec. 28, 1991 and established diplomatic relations with it a month later, on Jan. 28, 1992.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Feb 2, 2002

How Lon Chaney led to lifetime of Japanese film

I'm rarely nervous these days. But the prospect of sitting down with author, academic, film scholar and art critic Donald Richie has me ever so slightly on edge. Movies like Akira Kurosawa's "Rashomon," seen as a student in England, were profound in effect. Forty years on and here I am with the man reputed...
BUSINESS
Feb 1, 2002

WTO gets call on U.S. steel curbs

Japan has filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization over a U.S. antidumping measure against Japanese surface-treated steel sheet exports, and asked Washington to hold talks on the issue under WTO auspices, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said.
JAPAN
Feb 1, 2002

Analysts consider possibility of large-scale crash

Takeshi Kimura, president of consulting firm KPMG Financial Co., says he periodically receives calls from overseas investors who ask one chilling question.
BUSINESS
Jan 31, 2002

Crisis fears grow as crunch time for banks nears

A recent nationwide flurry of collapsing credit unions and "shinkin" credit associations was accompanied by a total lack of panic.
JAPAN
Jan 30, 2002

Baker says Bush will focus on economy during visit

U.S. President George W. Bush will express his support for Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's economic reforms when he visits Japan next month, and the Japanese economy will be one of the major topics of discussion, U.S. Ambassador to Japan Howard Baker said Tuesday.

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’