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COMMENTARY
Jun 18, 2004

Shifting rightwing goal posts

Japan's increasingly powerful rightwing has gone to some strange lengths to condemn Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's recent admirable efforts to improve relations with North Korea.
COMMENTARY
Jun 5, 2004

Filipino politicians just don't like to lose

MANILA -- For the international media, the Philippine elections are a done deal, since the head of the Commission on Elections in an all but orthodox manner unofficially let it be known that President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo beat her main contender, ex-movie star Fernando Poe Jr., by more than 900,000...
COMMENTARY / World
May 24, 2004

People of Myanmar need Asia's support to hasten their passage to democracy

BANGKOK -- It was ridiculous to hear Myanmar's prime minister, Gen. Khin Nyunt, call on the literati to collaborate with the government in building a military-dominated nation.
Japan Times
Features
May 23, 2004

Japan's deadly game of nuclear roulette

Of all the places in all the world where no one in their right mind would build scores of nuclear power plants, Japan would be pretty near the top of the list.
COMMUNITY / Issues
May 11, 2004

Kidnap crisis poses a new risk

When five Japanese were taken hostage in Iraq last month, huge public concern for their safe return quickly gave way to hostility and a campaign of vilification. A disastrous public appeal by the families of three of the hostages for the withdrawal of SDF troops from Iraq encouraged the government to...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
May 2, 2004

Japan welcomes students, but you might end up majoring in crime

The controversy over the increase in crimes committed by foreigners in Japan is centered mainly on appearances and interpretation. The National Police Agency's use of statistics to show that "foreign crime" is on the rise has given the agency license to initiate policies that many people, both Japanese...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
May 2, 2004

More than a name in the game

THE MEANING OF ICHIRO: The New Wave From Japan and the Transformation of Our National Pastime, by Robert Whiting. New York: Warner Books, 2004, 318 pp., $25.95 (cloth). "The Meaning of Ichiro" is gathering deserved acclaim as a great book on baseball, but it would be a pity if it was not also appreciated...
COMMENTARY
Apr 29, 2004

Asian values shade Japan hostage crisis

LOS ANGELES -- It's true that Asian values may not be all they used to be. But they still pop up now and again with the capacity to dazzle and astonish. It's possible to argue, in fact, that if Asian values remain a strong enough force over time, they could even mitigate emerging Asian nationalism. Two...
COMMENTARY
Apr 20, 2004

Campaigns fail education role

MANILA -- Ideally, an electoral campaign in a democracy offers the voter the chance to study the available alternatives before deciding which options are most compatible with his or her individual preferences. In this sense, electoral campaigns should be exercises in political education.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Mar 21, 2004

'Mister' is a god, but he's not immortal

Former Village Voice media critic Tom Carson once wrote an essay in which he blasted the style imperative subscribed to by American men's magazines. These publications had invested so heavily in a certain male image that they couldn't imagine anything else. "You want to strike terror in the hearts of...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 18, 2004

Court halts weekly over story on Tanaka daughter

The latest issue of Shukan Bunshun was removed from newsstands Wednesday after the Tokyo District Court ordered a temporary injunction barring the sale of the Japanese-language weekly magazine.
EDITORIALS
Mar 17, 2004

Stability under a strongman

As expected, Russian President Vladimir Putin was re-elected by a landslide in Sunday's presidential election. His leadership now seems almost unchallenged. Opposition parties are weak. Parliament is obedient. Key government posts are held by Putin loyalists. Mr. Putin's tightened grip on power may bolster...
JAPAN
Mar 5, 2004

DPJ's Sato tenders resignation from Diet

House of Representatives lawmaker Kanju Sato tendered his resignation from the Diet on Thursday amid allegations that he pocketed the state-paid salary of a woman falsely registered as his secretary.
COMMENTARY
Mar 1, 2004

Asian tale of two technologies

MANILA -- Media developments influence not only our private lives, but also affect the way our societies and politics are organized. Before coming to the Philippines two years ago, I spent nearly six years in South Korea. In both countries, I observed the impact of media on political and social developments....
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 27, 2004

Bikini test survivors still living with blast

A bright light shatters the darkness over the predawn Pacific. The light envelops the entire sea and changes from yellow to orange, purplish orange to red.
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
Feb 27, 2004

Pantani's passing shows how fragile sports stars can be

The recent death of Italian cyclist Marco Pantani, at the age of 34 from an apparent drug overdose, was the final act in a life which had been spiraling out of control for the past 4 1/2 years.
JAPAN
Feb 24, 2004

Crown Prince turns 44, rues wife's woes

Crown Prince Naruhito said his wife has become exhausted from the pressures of royal life, motherhood and media scrutiny over the couple's lack of a male heir, and asks that she be left in peace.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Feb 12, 2004

The road to pinpointing corporations that care

When it comes to sex, drugs and rock'n'roll, the media never tire of airing dirty laundry.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 2, 2004

Thailand paying the price for flu coverup

BANGKOK -- Thai politicians belatedly ceded center stage to the public health experts as a strategy was mapped out to curb and contain the rapidly spreading avian flu. Until Jan. 23, the Thai government emphatically and continuously denied, in the face of mounting evidence and allegations of a coverup,...
COMMENTARY
Jan 14, 2004

Japan blind to Chinese reality

A recent tour of Chinese universities took me to Changchun, the capital of the puppet Manchukuo state that Japan tried to set up in the 1930s in China's remote northeast region. Today it is a sprawling conurbation of more than 6 million people, broad highways and high-rise apartments and a key player...
JAPAN
Dec 12, 2003

EU again calls for end to press clubs

The war of words over Japan's press club system continued Thursday, with the European Union delegation here defending the EU's wish to see the system abolished.
JAPAN
Dec 11, 2003

EU attack on press club rebuffed

The Japan Newspaper Publishers & Editors Association on Wednesday rebuffed the European Union's calls for the abolition of the press club system, claiming it plays an important role in disseminating news among the public.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 3, 2003

Takefuji wiretapping scandal unfolds

More than a year after journalist Shunsuke Yamaoka first accused Takefuji Corp. of tapping his home phone, police have finally reached the top echelons of the country's leading consumer loan firm.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Nov 23, 2003

State gambles with the future of 'discarded' kids

Last month there were two news stories about legal complications arising from the conception of children through special medical procedures. In one, a surrogate mother in California gave birth to twins who were the product of a Japanese man's sperm and the egg of a third-party Asian-American woman. In...
COMMENTARY
Sep 14, 2003

Shy man performs historic balancing act

HONG KONG -- Because Hong Kong's leader tends to view the news media (local or otherwise) with the enthusiasm of a swimmer greeting a school of sharks, Tung Chee-hwa has scant hope of receiving his due as the historically pivotal man he is. His public image is generally terrible, and he is often portrayed...
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Sep 11, 2003

'War on Terror' veils assaults on the environment

Alread two years have passed since terrorist attacks in New York and Washington shook America and shocked the world. Today, the repercussions of those tragedies continue to impact American lives in ways never imagined. For environmentalists, one of the most disturbing consequences has been the Bush administration's...
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Sep 9, 2003

Waging war on the U.S. presence

If you're a reader of Japanese newspapers or a viewer of Japanese TV news, you're probably well aware of the U.S. military presence in Japan.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / INTERNATIONAL RATIONALE
Sep 9, 2003

Hello Kitty, Pokemon, Doraemon battle for global supremacy

A number of U.S. celebrities have been spotted toting Hello Kitty paraphernalia in the past year or so, leaving officials of Sanrio Co., the maker of the long-selling character, scratching their heads.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Sep 7, 2003

North Korea unveils secret weapon: It's an attack of the clones

This year's World University Games, held in the South Korean city of Taegu from Aug. 21 to 30, drew a record 7,000 young athletes from 174 countries. The Games also drew daily Japanese media coverage, with some news shows running lengthy special reports on all the excitement in Taegu.

Longform

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