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JAPAN
Jun 6, 2001

War victims to speak out against contentious history text

About 40 people, including war victims, from several parts of Asia will speak against a recently approved Japanese history textbook at a two-day meeting in Tokyo starting Sunday.
COMMENTARY
Jun 5, 2001

Labor's win, democracy's loss

LONDON -- It is possible that in some dark cavern by the River Thames, or wherever it is that Labor's inner circle does its thinking, party planners are already plotting who is going to do what in government for the next five years. Labor is confident of winning the election on June 7: Its lead in the...
CULTURE / Books
Jun 3, 2001

Past obscures Korea's nuclear future

SOLVING THE NORTH KOREAN NUCLEAR PUZZLE, edited by David Albright and Kevin O'Neill. Washington, D.C.: ISIS Press, 2000, 333 pp., $29.95 (paper). We may never know how close the world came to war in 1994, but most accounts suggest the margin was slim. Suspicions about North Korea's nuclear program...
SOCCER / World cup
Jun 1, 2001

Japan debuts with 3-0 victory

NIIGATA -- Japan got off to a good start in the Confederations Cup, beating Canada 3-0 in a Group B game Thursday night at Big Swan Niigata Stadium.
CULTURE / Film
May 30, 2001

Memories as microcosms

Directors, it's often said, keep making the same movie over and over, though the sameness is more evident with some than others. Akira Kurosawa was among the most eclectic directors of his generation, filming everything from Shakespearean drama ("Throne of Blood") to popcorn entertainment ("The Hidden...
BUSINESS
May 28, 2001

A successful model for privatizing Japan's special-purpose entities

In revitalizing the Japanese economy with Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi at the helm, Japan should look to France as a model for privatizing its special-purpose entities in light of years of debate and analysis that have resulted in little action.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
May 27, 2001

Make your rest assured

Ever have difficulty falling asleep at a friend's house because of an uncomfortable pillow?
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
May 27, 2001

Sip your way to a green, healthy state of mind

URESHINO, Saga Pref.-- Green tea is back.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
May 27, 2001

Cosmetics companies give themselves a makeover

Truth in advertising has never been a strong concept in Japan, but no one flouts it as boldly as the cosmetics industry, which is understandable, since makeup itself is a form of deception. One company's antiwrinkle cream is said to "prevent aging," an obvious impossibility, while the manufacturer of...
JAPAN
May 26, 2001

Net overseas assets rise above 133 trillion yen

Japan's outstanding balance of net assets abroad came to 133.47 trillion yen at the end of last year, a 57 percent increase from the year before and the second-largest total on record, the Finance Ministry said Friday.
EDITORIALS
May 23, 2001

A new dawn for nuclear energy?

After a 28-year lull, the United States seems ready to resume its flirtation with nuclear energy. Despite several high-profile incidents, including one that claimed two lives in 1999, Japan has never lost its interest in this power source. Europeans have gone back and forth on the issue: Green candidates...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
May 20, 2001

The importance of being Osakan

"Osaka? You think Osaka is the same as Tokyo?"
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
May 20, 2001

Ten weddings and a quiz show

'Timeshock" was one of the original Japanese quiz shows, an uncomplicated but tense trivia contest that kept viewers glued to their screens in the '60s and made its voluble host, the late Jiro Tamiya, a superstar. The heart of the show was the intense one-minute barrage of questions that the contestants...
CULTURE / Music
May 20, 2001

You gotta fight for your right to freedom

Adam Yauch, MCA of the Beastie Boys, has come a long way since 1986's "License to Ill," the obnoxious, wildly juvenile album that launched the careers of the punk-turned-hip-hop trio from New York. And not just musically. He's become one of the voices of a worldwide political movement, one heard in Tokyo...
LIFE / Food & Drink / VINELAND
May 20, 2001

Large portfolio of wines blesses the Anderson Valley

An easy drive from San Francisco, Northern California's sun-drenched wine country is a favorite destination among devotees of food and drink. Napa Valley, home to many prestigious, big-name Cabernet Sauvignon producers, draws the heaviest tourist traffic. Napa visitors spill from buses at lavish tasting...
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
May 18, 2001

Pipistrelle bat

*Japanese name: Abura komori *Scientific name:Pipistrellus abramus
CULTURE / Art
May 16, 2001

Revealing the mystery hidden in the ordinary

A vase of flowers. A bowl of fruit. Why have images of still, unmoving life fascinated artists for centuries?
EDITORIALS
May 15, 2001

Plans for NTT overhaul fall short

Two revision bills now before the Diet, designed to update the laws governing telecommunications business, do not go far enough to meet the demands of a competitive market. In December last year, the Telecommunications Council, a government advisory panel, called for a review of the NTT group's holding-company...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
May 6, 2001

Drumming up some PR for the old neighborhood

Most of the current travel-information programs you see on TV are stylistic offshoots of TBS's long-running "Soko ga Shiritai," which has been off the air for several years now. One of the few variety shows that has done something different with the format is TV Tokyo's "Shutsubotsu! Ad-Machikku Tengoku"...
CULTURE / Books
May 6, 2001

Hot spot needs the 'virtual alliance'

U.S.-KOREA-JAPAN RELATIONS: Building Toward a "Virtual Alliance," edited by Ralph Cossa. Center for Strategic and International Studies, 1999, 207 pp., paper. ALIGNMENT DESPITE ANTAGONISM: The U.S.-Korea-Japan Security Triangle, by Victor D. Cha. Stanford University Press, 1999, 373 pp., $49.50 (cloth),...
JAPAN
May 4, 2001

Constitution turns 54 as battle lines drawn up for and against reform

Groups for and against revision of the Constitution held rallies in Tokyo on Thursday to mark the 54th anniversary of the supreme law amid increasing calls for its revision from political leaders, including Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
May 4, 2001

River damselfly

*Japanese name: Kawatombo *Scientific name: Mnais costalis *Description: Damselflies perch with their wings folded shut (their bigger cousins, dragonflies, perch with their wings held open). There are many damselflies that live around rivers, but some male river damselflies have orange wings, making...
JAPAN
May 3, 2001

Peacekeeping shackles hobble Japan

Staff writer The 1991 Persian Gulf War marked a turning point in Japan's involvement in international security efforts, triggering a debate that paved the way for the nation to participate in U.N.-led peacekeeping missions. Ten years later, however, Japan is still debating how far it can go.
COMMENTARY / World / GUEST FORUM
May 3, 2001

Turn the PM into a man of the people

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi is right to suggest amending the Constitution to allow the people to elect the prime minister directly. The government of Japan currently lacks the ability to make quick and firm policy decisions. The Japanese tradition of decision-making by a consensus of powerful individuals...
BUSINESS
May 2, 2001

REITs banked on to ease market fears

As stock market woes and asset deflation continue to cast a cloud over Japan's economic recovery, a new type of investment trust will be introduced this month in a bid to solve these problems in one fell swoop.
COMMENTARY
Apr 23, 2001

Signs of political upheaval on the horizon

A preliminary election tomorrow for the new president of the Liberal Democratic Party will decide how a total of 141 votes cast by representatives of the party's local blocs will be shared among the four candidates. Final results will be determined by the election in which 246 LDP Diet members will cast...
MORE SPORTS / THE DUKE OF HAZARDS
Apr 17, 2001

The revolution is coming: Get ready for cheap golf in Japan

I probably play golf more than 80 times a year around the world. It's a tough life, but someone has to do it. And besides, it's my job.
SOCCER / THE BALD TRUTH
Apr 17, 2001

Small minds behind the small screen

Have you been lucky enough to follow England's World Cup qualifiers or Liverpool's progress in the UEFA Cup on SKY PerfecTV recently? Let me rephrase that: Have you been clever enough?

Longform

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.