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Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jun 25, 2003

An all-star cast -- but if only they'd let 'Hamlet' be

As the Beckham typhoon swept through Japan last week, so Japan's theater world was taken by storm by its biggest event of the year to date.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / THE SECOND ROOM
Jun 20, 2003

Solstice Music Festival off the calendar; Shared honors for 2002; new releases

It's like watching the lights go out at the stadium. You know, that low metallic "Klung!" "Klung!" "Klung!" as the off switches are hit in succession.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 18, 2003

Blair may be down but he's far from out

LONDON -- Since the European community of nations began to take shape 52 years ago, Britain has taken an ambivalent view of the Continent's moves toward greater unity. It did not join the coal and steel community that began the process in 1951, and, six years later, did not sign the Treaty of Rome that...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jun 15, 2003

Shades of good sense

Parasols are peculiar things. Meaning "to ward off the sun" in Latin-based languages, these lightweight umbrellas were long ago the height of coquettish fashion in Europe. Until recently though, in Japan they were the preserve of its distinctly uncoquettish obasan.
JAPAN
Jun 14, 2003

Guard abuse evident in only two of 1,566 deaths: ministry

The Justice Ministry said Friday that a special probe into suspicious prisoner deaths between 1993 and 2002 has found evidence of abuse by guards in just two of the 1,566 cases under scrutiny.
BUSINESS
Jun 10, 2003

Balance of bank loans down again

The balance of loans by banks fell 4.7 percent in May from a year earlier for the 65th straight monthly decline, the Bank of Japan said Monday in a preliminary report.
EDITORIALS
Jun 8, 2003

The case of the indignant diva

One of the odder human traits is our apparently inborn ambivalence toward celebrities. There would be no such thing as a celebrity if the rest of us did not, in some sense, celebrate certain people -- for their artistic gifts, their looks, their wealth, their charm, their brains or whatever else it is...
BUSINESS
Jun 7, 2003

Foreign reserves hit record high

Japan's foreign-exchange reserves at the end of May were up a record $43.65 billion from a month earlier to $543.09 billion, hitting an all-time high for the sixth straight month, the Finance Ministry said Friday.
EDITORIALS
Jun 5, 2003

Politics prevail at the G8

Once upon a time, the heads of the world's seven leading industrial powers got together to discuss economics and ways to ensure growth. That focus made sense because there were other forums to talk about politics, and economic coordination was much lacking. Sadly, that time is long gone. Instead, the...
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 2, 2003

Myanmar's regime must embrace change

"We are confident that change will come -- not as quickly as most of us would wish it to come -- but it will come. And I think the more we all try to make change come instead of wondering when change will come, the quicker it will come."
COMMENTARY
Jun 2, 2003

U.S.-Japan global alliance

Last week's summit between Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and U.S. President George W. Bush ushered in a new era for the Japan-U.S. security alliance: The bilateral system is beginning to change into a global alliance.
COMMENTARY
May 29, 2003

Change hasn't halted decline

LONDON -- I was invited recently to Japan to speak to two Japanese audiences about the Japanese economy as seen from London and what should be done to ensure Japanese economic recovery. I prepared a speech that was pessimistic. This was inevitable as British reporting on the Japanese economy is full...
COMMENTARY
May 26, 2003

High cost of the farm lobby

The outlook for the World Trade Organization's new round of trade negotiations is uncertain after member nations failed to agree on farm-trade "modality" before the March 31 deadline. The U.S.-European split over the Iraq war has slowed the momentum for talks. The initial goal of reaching a comprehensive...
EDITORIALS
May 25, 2003

Auguries in a coffee cup

Eight years ago, there was no such thing as a Starbucks coffee shop in Japan. Now they are part of the landscape; in the big cities, you can often find two or three of the ubiquitous stores with the round green logo within a couple of blocks of each other. That might sound like the ultimate definition...
COMMENTARY / World
May 22, 2003

Aceh won't derail Indonesia

SINGAPORE -- Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri has signed a presidential decree putting Aceh under martial law and authorizing military operations after the latest peace talks collapsed in Tokyo last weekend.
COMMENTARY
May 19, 2003

Strengthen Japan's deterrent

The ruling coalition and the top opposition party, the Democratic Party of Japan, have agreed to amend a package of government-sponsored war contingency bills, marking a turning point in Japan's security policy.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
May 18, 2003

Battleground Japan: crows, N. Korea and corporate rents

TV Tokyo's weekly financial documentary series, "The Dawn of Gaia," moves from Sunday to Tuesday this week with a special program about "The 2003 Problem" (May 20, 10 p.m.).
BUSINESS
May 16, 2003

Mitsubishi Materials cuts net loss

Major nonferrous metal smelter Mitsubishi Materials Corp. said Thursday it slashed its group net loss to 26.85 billion yen in fiscal 2002 from the previous year's 61.32 billion yen on the strength of cost cuts and fewer special losses.
BUSINESS
May 16, 2003

Mitsubishi Estate back in the black

Mitsubishi Estate Co.'s group net balance returned to the black in fiscal 2002 due to a much smaller special loss than the previous year, when it booked huge valuation losses on fixed property.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
May 15, 2003

Big-mouth bulbuls time it just right

Second of two parts Imagine, if you can, an opinion poll of Japanese forest plants. Question: which bird is most important to you? The brown-eared bulbul, or hiyodori, would have to take a bow.
BUSINESS
May 9, 2003

Foreign reserves hit new record

Japan's foreign-exchange reserves at the end of April hit a new record high for the fifth straight month, rising by $3.26 billion from a month earlier to $499.44 billion, the Finance Ministry said Thursday.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
May 9, 2003

Le Jardin: The fine art of museum dining

What could be more cultured and civilized -- indeed more pleasurable -- than to spend the morning strolling around a good museum and then, with legs aching and aesthetic senses saturated, to adjourn from exhibition hall to adjoining restaurant for a leisurely lunch? Especially when the cuisine is sophisticated...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
May 8, 2003

Japanese weasel

* Japanese name: Nihon itachi * Scientific name: Mustela itatsi * Description: Japanese weasels are fairly small mammals in the mustelid family (a large family of animals that includes otters, badgers, stoats, polecats, martens and skunks). Males are 29-37 cm long, females 20-26 cm. The fur is an orange-brown...
BUSINESS
May 5, 2003

Japanese government committed to promoting foreign investment

On April 22nd, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry selected five regions in Japan that are making special efforts to attract foreign direct investment.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
May 3, 2003

Kathleen Gunn

"I very much enjoy working with children and young people," Kathleen Gunn said. In different cities in England and in Japan where she has lived, for many years she has volunteered her time to help organizations for young people. Older people have sought her out too, as she is also interested in welfare...
JAPAN
Apr 26, 2003

Personal info bills OK'd by Lower House panel

A package of controversial bills aimed at protecting personal information was approved Friday by a special committee of the Lower House.
BUSINESS
Apr 26, 2003

Costs for bad loans climb 1.3 trillion yen

The Financial Services Agency reported Friday that the nation's 11 largest banks incurred additional bad loan disposal costs of 1.3 trillion yen for the 2002 business year, which ended in March.
JAPAN
Apr 26, 2003

Is Koizumi's political star waning?

Last weekend, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi was on the campaign trail alongside Liberal Democratic Party candidates fighting Diet by-elections in Tokyo and Ibaraki Prefecture.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Apr 25, 2003

Un Cafe: I'm falling in love again

Going back to favorite restaurants after a gap of several years is much like meeting up with an old flame after being out of touch for too long. Anticipation is likely to be tempered by a good measure of anxiety. How have they changed? What if they don't look so good any more, or they've gone to fat,...

Longform

After pandemic-era border regulations eased, Indian migrants began returning to Japan. Their population now stands at more than 50,000 across the country.
How remote work is rewriting the migrant experience in Japan