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Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / JAZZNICITY
Oct 13, 2002

Fiery duo take jazz to task

Pianist Satoko Fujii and her husband, trumpeter Natsuki Tamura, seem an unlikely couple to storm the citadel of jazz with challenging new sounds. Far from the typical black-clad, scowling and self-absorbed avant-garde artist, they are surprisingly casual -- the kind of people you immediately want to...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Oct 13, 2002

Japanese will have babies when living is easy

In the middle of September, the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry released a set of countermeasures to address the declining birthrate, which Chikara Sakaguchi -- the head of the ministry -- has said will "sink Japan" if it remains as low as it is.
COMMENTARY / WASHINGTON UPDATE
Oct 10, 2002

All bets off on upcoming U.S. midterm elections

WASHINGTON -- We are just a few weeks from election day 2002. Usually, in a midterm election, especially one just after the redistricting of Congress, it becomes apparent how the races are shaping up. Trends set in as candidates begin to pull away in competitive races. But not this year; just the reverse...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Oct 6, 2002

No looker, but a great personality

BANGKOK, by William Warren. Reaktion Books, 2002. 160 pp., with monochrome photos, £14.95 (paper) Thailand's ebullient capital is many things, but it is not beautiful. True, there are many lovely things in it, but it can no more be considered comely than can Tokyo, a city it in some ways resembles....
COMMUNITY / NOTES FROM THE SMOKE
Oct 4, 2002

A chance to see the best of Michaelangelo and Michael Owen

Major Sports Bar #23 in Takadanobaba is a real sports fan's sports bar.
SOCCER / J. League / ON THE BALL
Oct 3, 2002

New J. League boss to build on World Cup

On July 23, former Kashima Antlers president Masaru Suzuki succeeded Saburo Kawabuchi as J. League chairman after Kawabuchi retired from the post and moved on to take office as president of the Japan Football Association.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Oct 2, 2002

Arto Lindsay: He bangs

Arto Lindsay steps onto the stage. In his late 40s, he still retains the gawkiness of an adolescent boy, all long arms and legs. The image of a geek is completed by large horn-rimmed glasses and a pale complexion.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Sep 27, 2002

Plenty of reasons to enjoy the predictable pleasures of fall

The Japanese have long described themselves as people who value the solidity of sameness. Anyone who has ever seen "Mito Komon" on TV will know what this means: the same dialogue, the same roles and the same big sword fight exactly 45 minutes into the program, all going on for many decades to general...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Sep 22, 2002

Veteran builder lives his art

Toshio Konuma, 43, is a Japanese bodybuilding legend. He started training at 17 and entered his first competition two years later. He won that, and he's been winning ever since. In 1985, he scaled the pinnacle of Japanese competition, capturing the Mr. Nihon title. Then he won it again in 1987, and held...
MORE SPORTS
Sep 20, 2002

Life is good in Serena's world

Closing in on her 21st birthday, Serena Williams seems to have it all: No. 1 in the world in women's tennis, four Grand Slam singles titles to her credit, 17 victories on the WTA Tour, an Olympic gold medal (in doubles with sister Venus), over $9 million in prize money (plus who knows how much in lucrative...
MORE SPORTS
Sep 19, 2002

Serena blasts out of blocks

The Serena Williams traveling tennis clinic rolled into Tokyo on Wednesday and, in this land of sushi, it was doughnuts that Williams had on her mind.
Japan Times
JAPAN / WEEKEND WISDOM
Sep 8, 2002

Radio icon pulls plug on show after world-record 45 years

Her achievement is nothing special, she says. But the thing that has kept Chieko Akiyama going throughout her unprecedented career is the human energy radiating from the people she meets.
BASEBALL / MLB
Sep 5, 2002

Ham proves too much for Lions

The Seibu Lions hit a speed bump Wednesday night on their way to their first pennant since 1998.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Sep 2, 2002

Historic Tsumago: a time capsule of Edo living

Build a good tourist trap, and the world will beat a path to your door. This seems to have been the thinking in the small town of Tsumago in southwestern Nagano Prefecture. Facing rural decay in the late '60s, the townspeople decided to do something about it. They reached for their one real asset the...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Aug 29, 2002

Questions over foreigners' phone deposit

Last April, telecoms giant NTT announced the largest annual corporate loss in Japanese history -- 2 trillion yen. More than a third of it came from its cell phone subsidiary, NTT Docomo.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
Aug 25, 2002

Emerson shines for East in All-Star Match

SAITAMA -- Urawa Reds striker Emerson came off the bench in the second half to strike the winner as the J. East team edged the J. West team 2-1 in the J. League All-Star Match on Saturday night at Saitama Stadium 2002.
CULTURE / Film
Aug 21, 2002

The busiest bad guy around

Show Aikawa is the hardest-working man in Japanese movies, but one that Japanese cinemagoers have rarely, if ever, seen. Unless, that is, they happen to be fans of straight-to-video films. They would know Aikawa as the gangster glaring down from the boxes of dozens of action films with titles like "Shuraba...
COMMUNITY
Aug 15, 2002

Where the hair salons are only slightly more modern than the food rationing

Ever been to a cake shop that operates a rationing policy?
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Aug 14, 2002

Felicien Rops: Days of madness

The catalog of the Felicien Rops exhibition is wrapped in the anonymous brown paper more often used to disguise pornography than art. The display itself, now at the Machida City Museum of Graphic Arts, would, if art galleries issued such things, come with a parental advisory label. With a preponderance...
BASEBALL / MLB
Aug 10, 2002

Giants show no mercy to Carp

Hideki Matsui extended his lead in the Central League home run race with his 29th and 30th homers of the season as the Yomiuri Giants overwhelmed the Hiroshima Carp 15-1 Friday night at the Tokyo Dome.
COMMENTARY
Aug 10, 2002

The danger of good intentions

HONOLULU -- After a year and a half of gradual improvement, relations between the United States and China appear to be taking a turn for the worse. Two recent U.S. reports sharply criticize U.S. policy toward China and have earned equally sharp criticism from Beijing in return. While we shouldn't overestimate...
BUSINESS
Aug 9, 2002

Shiokawa wary of corporate tax cut

Finance Minister Masajuro Shiokawa said Thursday it would be "extremely difficult" to carry out permanent tax cuts as part of proposed reductions of more than 1 trillion yen for fiscal 2003.
CULTURE / Stage
Jul 28, 2002

Placido Domingo calling all opera buffs in Japan

Opera is total theater that incorporates all of the arts, says the publicist. It's a pageant, says the wig-maker. We live in a visual culture and opera appeals to the visual; it is pure, unadulterated spectacle, says the stage director.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / JET STREAM
Jul 26, 2002

Breaking down people's mental barriers

Joannah Peterson was a bright, attractive, typical 14-year-old when the accident occurred. In the car with her were her older brother and a cousin. Both escaped with minor injuries, but for Peterson, the story was different.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Jul 25, 2002

Health insurance, pension cash claims and odd-job search

It's been quite surprising to receive so many "thank yous" from readers, but more surprising has been that they come not only from Japan but from all over the the world. It seems a lot of people who have lived in Japan in the past and moved on read the column at www.japantimes.co.jp to keep up on things...
EDITORIALS
Jul 21, 2002

New Cabinet, old problems

South Korean President Kim Dae Jung continues to make history. This month he selected the first female prime minister, a ground-breaking move in male-dominated South Korean society. Predictably, the decision has been derided as a political gesture to shore up the government's faltering support; opposition...
JAPAN
Jul 21, 2002

Information age stunting our imagination, director believes

The explosive spread of information technology is leading to an overload of data and images that is cramping our creativity and even stunting our minds, according to noted stage drama director Amon Miyamoto.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jul 20, 2002

Kyoto's unique guide gives you tour to remember

It's unfortunate that I can't join one of Johnnie Hillwalker's world famous walks. His tours -- Walk in Kyoto, Talk in English -- are scheduled come rain or shine on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays (excluding national holidays). I am in the city for the weekend.
LIFE / Lifestyle / MATTER OF COURSE
Jul 19, 2002

Painting in the park is a lesson in creativity

One morning in June, my kids left for school without their usual leather backpacks. Instead, they each carried a knapsack with a water bottle, a ground cloth and a handful of my sentakubasami. Clothespins? Yup. Standard equipment for the Zenko Shasei Taikai (All-School Sketch Festival).
ENVIRONMENT
Jul 18, 2002

'Factory' fishing threatens marine stocks

Ever evening at sunset, Maruyama Keizo, 64, and his brother Motoichi, 54, of Minabe, Wakayama Prefecture, take their boat out and return the next morning at dawn with their catch: either flatfish or sardines, depending on the season. In his 50-year working life, Maruyama has seen shrinking catches, the...

Longform

A sinkhole in Yashio, which emerged in January, was triggered by a ruptured, aging sewer pipe. Authorities worry that similar sections of infrastructure across the country are also at risk of corrosion.
That sinking feeling: Japan’s aging sewers are an infrastructure time bomb