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CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Jul 13, 2003

Join the club: Today's Japanese fads

THE IMAGE FACTORY: Fads & Fashions in Japan, by Donald Richie, photographs by Roy Garner. London: Reaktion Books, 2003, 176 pp., £14.95 (cloth). Fads and fashions are not, of course, exclusively Japanese. Still, the unself-conscious abandon with which fads and fashions are adopted in Japan assures that...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / BEST BAR NONE
Jul 13, 2003

Out of the way, but never too far

After S'ayak has the disadvantage of being somewhat difficult to find. It is tucked away in a dark alley off a relatively well-patronized neighborhood shopping street lined with many cool little sake bars and eateries. You have to know it's there to find it.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / CERAMIC SCENE
Jul 9, 2003

Goro Suzuki: Honored to live in his time

Wrapped in flickering candlelight, koto master Tamiko Asai spoke to the audience in a hushed voice:
COMMENTARY
Jul 5, 2003

Tony Blair: a casualty of war

LONDON -- As the grim business of policing a vanquished Iraq drags on, it seems less and less likely that Prime Minister Tony Blair's authority over party and country will survive. For the first time since Labour's landslide victory in 1997 the Conservatives are nudging ahead of Labour in opinion polls...
JAPAN / KANSAI BEAT
Jul 4, 2003

Shop redefines the sound bite

KYOTO -- Enter the little shop in Kyoto's Higashiyama Ward and the world unfolds through sound -- the sounds collected around the world, such as ice melting off a glacier, snarling Bangkok traffic, beetles mating, a rhinoceros breaking wind and the silence of a Patagonian plain interrupted by a flying...
Japan Times
JAPAN / IN WITH THE NEW
Jul 3, 2003

For security realists, Ishiba a breath of clear air

Since becoming Defense Agency chief, Shigeru Ishiba has not been shy about rocking the boat.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jul 2, 2003

On a director's storyboard far, far away

Is there a person in the Western world -- or even globally, given Hollywood's cultural reach -- who is unaware of "Star Wars"? In a society increasingly described as amnesiac, in which pop culture seems to come with an expiry date, George Lucas' movie trilogy (now with two -- soon to be three -- "prequels")...
EDITORIALS
Jun 23, 2003

Tax system for an aging society

With Japanese society aging rapidly, what kind of tax reform is needed to cover soaring social security costs? The government's tax panel answer is that taxpayers must assume a greater burden. In a report presented to Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi last week, the Tax Commission called for raising personal-income...
JAPAN
Jun 20, 2003

Tollbooth offer draws thousands

The transport ministry said Thursday it received applications from 22,000 car owners and 2,800 commercial vehicle owners for its electric toll collection monitoring program on the first day of a related promotional campaign.
JAPAN
Jun 20, 2003

Tollbooth offer draws thousands

The transport ministry said Thursday it received applications from 22,000 car owners and 2,800 commercial vehicle owners for its electric toll collection monitoring program on the first day of a related promotional campaign.
BUSINESS
Jun 19, 2003

Dispute over local finance reform resolved

The government on Wednesday settled an argument concerning reforms for central and local finances with a compromise plan empowering local authorities to levy taxes.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jun 19, 2003

A sensitivity course in the frigid effects of hiesho

"Hey, what's with all the clothing during the hottest months of the year?" That's my friend Alan's observation of the working women populace in Japan. Nagasode (long sleeves), uwagi (outer jacket) and suttokingu (nylons) are the norm for so many of them, despite the unbearable heat and humidity of a...
BUSINESS
Jun 18, 2003

Subsidies to localities face cuts totaling 3.6 trillion yen

The national government is set to cut its subsidies to local governments by at least 3.6 trillion yen a year by fiscal 2006 as part of its reforms of tax and fiscal systems, Finance Minister Masajuro Shiokawa said Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Jun 18, 2003

Ministers fail to settle row over funding allocations

Cabinet ministers failed Tuesday to bridge their differences over the best way to revamp the allocation of funds between the central and local governments, agreeing only to discuss the issue again Wednesday.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Jun 15, 2003

Hard balls from the dugout

Professional athletes are a tight-lipped bunch, and even those who are relatively voluble rarely step outside the usual collection of bromides about "doing my best" and "taking one day at a time."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / J-POPSICLE
Jun 15, 2003

Sophomores who shine in a new light

Second albums are notoriously difficult, especially if an act's first album has been a success. But on "Modern Lights," Kobe-based pop/jazz duo Orange Pekoe have avoided the "sophomore-album syndrome" by broadening their stylistic template to create a work that demands to be listened to on its own terms,...
BUSINESS
Jun 14, 2003

Fund reform details to go in key report

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi told his ministers Friday to ensure that the controversial issue of reforming the flow of money between the national and local governments is included in a key economic report scheduled to be finalized this month.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 12, 2003

UPS to buck economic trend and expand in Japan

Despite the current volatility of the economic climate, United Parcel Service Inc., the world's largest package delivery company, will actively expand operations in Japan, according to the head of UPS Asia Pacific Region.
BUSINESS
Jun 11, 2003

Reforms to set targets for transfer of tax funds

Four ministers decided Tuesday to set numerical targets as part of efforts to improve the flow of funds between the central government and local governments, with Finance Minister Masajuro Shiokawa proposing a 4 trillion yen cut in subsidies as part of the plan.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Jun 7, 2003

Robin Maynard

Next Thursday, June 12, Robin Maynard will celebrate his 59th birthday. In October he will mark 25 continuous years of living and working in Japan. Recently he secured permanent residence here. Next year, he said, after 26 years, "I will be the longest-serving-ever insurance expat Englishman in Japan."...
BUSINESS
Jun 7, 2003

Tokyo, Osaka chiefs push for tax powers

The governors of Tokyo and Osaka demanded Friday that the central government hand some of its tax-raising powers over to local governments in light of its plans to slash fiscal assistance for local authorities.
CULTURE / Art
Jun 6, 2003

Ongoing in Kanto: Ginza & Marunouchi

"Lee Bul: Theatrum Obis Terrarum" till July 13.
CULTURE / Art
Jun 6, 2003

Ongoing in Kanto: Tochigi & Shizuoka

TOCHIGI Exhibition of Marie Laurencin, till July 6.
LIFE / Digital / NAME OF THE GAME
Jun 5, 2003

Back on the fast track

Sega's Sonic The Hedgehog, the video-gaming world's fastest little blue rodent in tennis shoes, has returned in style. After a string of games that have ranged from old hat to downright disappointing, "Sonic Advance 2" -- a new game created by Sega for Game Boy Advance -- serves as a good reminder of...
JAPAN
Jun 3, 2003

Drivers fear revenue shift may spur local crackdowns

Nearly eight out of 10 drivers object to the idea of allowing local authorities to keep traffic penalties they collect as local revenue, fearing the system would encourage crackdowns on traffic violations, the National Police Agency said Thursday.
EDITORIALS
May 30, 2003

Self-help is the best help for banks

The latest earnings reports from Japan's top banks confirm what everyone already knows: They are still heavily burdened with bad loans that won't be paid back. In the financial year that ended March 31, the seven largest lenders chalked up a combined deficit of 4.6 trillion yen, in large part because...

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji