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CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Aug 10, 2003

Foreign visitors who found the old in a new Japan

THE GREAT WAVE: Gilded Age Misfits, Japanese Eccentrics, and the Opening of Old Japan, by Christopher Benfey. New York: Random House, 2003, 534 pp., with monochrome plates, $25,95 (paper). In the middle of the century before last, Japan was -- as the West termed it -- finally opened up. The mysterious...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Aug 10, 2003

Lost pet? No sweat -- except in the tub

You may think you've got just about everything for your pet -- from brand-name waterproofs and jewelry to its weekly trips to a pet cafe and yoga classes. Now, though, there's a new out-of-this-world accessory for the pet owner with everything: the no-hiding-place collar.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Aug 9, 2003

To your health -- Japanese style

"Just what is good health," a wise man once told me, "other than the slowest way to die?"
BUSINESS
Aug 7, 2003

Fukuda pushing bullet train to China

As Aug. 15, the 58th anniversary of the end of World War II, approaches, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda is stepping up efforts to sell Japan's high-tech bullet train system to China.
ENVIRONMENT / OLD NIC'S NOTEBOOK
Aug 7, 2003

A tale of two Afans reborn

Two thousand years ago, my native Wales had 98 percent forest cover. By 1950, when I was a little lad, woodland in Wales was down to 5 percent. I was born in Neath, where coal-mining wasn't particularly heavy, and where there were still wooded parks and groves of wild trees so I didn't really feel the...
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / ON THE BOOK TRAIL
Aug 7, 2003

"Tell the Moon to Come Out," "Illustrated Oxford Dictionary"

"Tell the Moon to Come Out," Joan Lingard, Puffin Books; 2003; 208 pp.
COMMENTARY
Aug 6, 2003

A threat to one is a threat to all in a nation of laws

WASHINGTON -- There is a "very real potential" that al-Qaeda will strike again on U.S. soil, warns Attorney General John Ashcroft. Which makes it even more difficult to criticize the Bush administration's efforts to combat terrorism. But while the U.S. Constitution is not a suicide pact, it also means...
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 3, 2003

War notes for the leaders in Pyongyang

WASHINGTON -- In recent weeks, as the heavy global workload and overcommitment of the U.S. armed forces has become apparent, some have asked if the United States could handle a major crisis or a war in Korea these days.
CULTURE / Music
Aug 3, 2003

Michael Franti: a man for all stages

Michael Franti was the man of the festival, the one artist who embodied the spirit of Fuji Rock better than anyone else. As tall as a basketball player and sporting wild dreads that reach the middle of his back, he was seen everywhere -- dancing with the crowd at the Talib Kweli show, hanging out backstage...
COMMENTARY
Aug 1, 2003

Political roadblock spurs military detour

MANILA -- Military interventions in Philippine politics are not a novel phenomenon. The politicization of the armed forces occurred during the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos, when the influence and power of officers were determined not by merit or performance but by political allegiance to factions...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / THE SECOND ROOM
Aug 1, 2003

901 just wants to play; Games in the mist

She has, for nearly all her life, wanted one thing most of all -- to play. Whether it be in the sanctuary of fantasy anime worlds or along a deep spiritual vibe for healing the soul, just let this woman play.
JAPAN
Jul 30, 2003

Wakayama curry poisoning raises questions over judicial fairness

A teacher at a private high school in Kawasaki was surprised earlier this year to find that two-thirds of his social science class had negative views concerning defendants' right to silence during criminal trials.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 29, 2003

Tokyo bike couriers pedal their wares

Tokyo's perennial gridlock first prompted the birth of motorbike messenger services, but bicycle courier businesses are fast establishing themselves as viable.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Jul 29, 2003

In search of senbei and more culture

Senbei fan Randall writes from California, reporting that around 1900 a Japanese gardener in San Francisco started serving cookies with thank you notes inside at that city's Japanese garden.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jul 27, 2003

Brands vie for your thirst

"Advertising," as it's often defined, "is the creation of wants."
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Jul 27, 2003

So much to soak up in Yamagata

OK, let me put this out there: Yamagata-ken, just like any sensible prefecture in Japan, loves tourists. But you get the feeling that Yamagata Prefecture Tourist Division tries a little harder to promote its treasures. They even occasionally invite journalists up for a spin around the countryside.
COMMENTARY
Jul 27, 2003

50-year testament to the absence of war

HONG KONG -- Sunday is the 50th anniversary of the signing of a document that has lasted much longer than expected and has had a profound influence on the course of modern Asian history.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 26, 2003

Take another shot at Four Party talks

SEOUL -- While the United States and North Korea remain stuck in a standoff over the format of future meetings to deal with the North's programs to develop weapons of mass destruction, a scout on the upper deck has sighted an iceberg -- not landfall ahead. The warnings of this seasoned statesman issued...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jul 26, 2003

Thinking to build a house? Think Foothill Homes

A house is just a building. A home is filled with the warmth and individuality of its inhabitants. Which is where Robert Neil Hugo comes into the picture.
BUSINESS
Jul 25, 2003

Keidanren chief seeks reform ideas

OYAMA, Shizuoka Pref. -- Business leaders should take the initiative in pushing structural reforms aimed at reinvigorating the stagnant economy, Hiroshi Okuda, chairman of the Japan Business Federation (Nippon Keidanren), said Thursday.
JAPAN
Jul 24, 2003

Diet members tour execution chamber

Nine members of the House of Representatives Judicial Affairs Committee visited the Tokyo Detention House in Katsushika Ward on Wednesday morning for a rare view of its execution chamber.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / NAME OF THE GAME
Jul 24, 2003

The pirate planner

It does not take money to make money, at least not when you're a pirate. In "Tropico 2: Pirate Cove," a new game for PCs from Take 2, you can gin up money from thin air. That is if you have a mighty ship and a blood-thirsty crew.
JAPAN
Jul 23, 2003

Lawmakers to take rare look at prison gallows

Lawmakers won approval Tuesday to inspect one of the country's execution chambers in an extremely rare glimpse into a secretive system long criticized by international human rights groups.
JAPAN
Jul 23, 2003

Fund in slain peacekeeper's name continues to push peace

The legacy of U.N. peacekeeper Yutaka Akino continues five years after he was shot dead in Tajikistan.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / NEW ART SEEN
Jul 23, 2003

The high priestess of rock 'n' roll 'n' . . . art

Patti Smith has shown her drawings and paintings before in Japan -- some years ago at the Museum Eki in Kyoto. But it is a safe bet that most of her Japanese fans are more familiar with Smith the rock'n'roller, that sexily disheveled female version of Mick Jagger who kicked out prepunk jams from New...
COMMENTARY
Jul 22, 2003

Foot-in-mouth disease spreads among pols

LONDON -- Foot-in-mouth politicians are a major cause of public disillusionment with politics. Silvio Berlusconi, the Italian prime minister, not only has a bad reputation for attempting to interfere in the legal process, but also for making stupid and embarrassing gaffes. His latest gaffe at the European...
EDITORIALS
Jul 22, 2003

Manila gives peace another chance

The government in the Philippines has once again opted for peace negotiations with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). Last week President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo announced a mutual agreement to halt military operations in hopes of ending three decades of fighting. The odds of success are long,...

Longform

Members of the nonprofit group Japan Youth Memorial Association search for the remains of dead soldiers in a cave in Okinawa Prefecture in February.
The long search for Japan’s lost soldiers