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LIFE / Travel
Jun 9, 2002

In step with the real Japan

We both confess to complete and utter madness, but we've been having a whale of a time -- and not only down in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture, where the International Whaling Commission had its recent roughhouse, and where we completely pigged out on kujira no niku (whale meat) before heading on to...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jun 5, 2002

Billy Childish: cool way before your time

Being dyslexic hasn't stopped Billy Childish from writing two novels and 30 volumes of poetry. Being tone-deaf hasn't stopped him from singing in a bunch of garage bands. And his determination to do things his own way without giving a damn about being ignored by the mainstream has made him into an icon...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / NEW ART SEEN
Jun 5, 2002

A Japan-Korea joint show that's wide of goal . . .

By this time, even the most blinkered of Tokyo's art enthusiasts will be aware that the planet's premier sporting event, the World Cup, is taking place in Korea and Japan. There is just no ignoring the newspaper and magazine coverage, the live television broadcasts and the hordes of dumbfounded soccer...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / BEST BAR NONE
Jun 2, 2002

Permanent collection of cool

Ebisu is not only full of little bars, it is full of similarly named bars, which can make things pretty confusing. Within a 50-meter radius, there's E, E-Cafe, Fura and Furo Furo -- see what I mean? So before we start, let's clear up a few things. E-Cafe is a cute 'n' cozy second-floor perch overlooking...
COMMUNITY / CLOSE-UP
Jun 2, 2002

Straight talking from Citizen Nic

Writer and naturalist C.W. Nicol left his home in South Wales in 1958 at the age of 17 to join an Arctic Institute of North America expedition to the Arctic. Four years later, he made his first visit to Japan to study karate and Japanese, before heading back to Canada to take part in a further six Arctic...
Japan Times
JAPAN / CLOSE NEIGHBORS
May 31, 2002

Tourism offers one path to better understanding

The pamphlets lined up at tourist centers scream, "Experience the real Korean-style aesthetic treatment and make your skin smooth!" "Spend three full days in Seoul sightseeing and shopping!"
COMMENTARY
May 30, 2002

Chirac chooses neutral team

PARIS -- Not so long ago, a majority of the EU members had leftist governments. Most have since shifted to the right, starting with Spain followed by Austria, Portugal, Italy, Denmark and, on May 16, the Netherlands -- despite very low unemployment figures under the Socialist Cabinet.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / NATURE TRAVEL
May 28, 2002

On the front lines of bird conservation

It may say as much about the status of politicians as it does about that of birds, but one of the more striking demographic statistics to emerge from the United Kingdom is this: There are currently more members of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds than there are members of all British political...
EDITORIALS
May 25, 2002

'Media bills' require changes

The Diet debate on media-related legislation has stirred controversy over freedom of expression. The main concern, expressed by legislators from both the ruling and opposition camps, is that it would put unreasonable restraints on the media. Even former members of the government panels that drafted the...
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
May 24, 2002

Japanese women staying in touch with their inner virgin

What with the rise of the strong and professional Japanese woman, it may have escaped your notice. But the nation is currently undergoing a quiet boom in otome (innocent young girl) culture, to which a large number of aforementioned strong professionals are addicted.
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
May 23, 2002

Buyers be wares -- shopping consumes Japan

I was once asked to translate a pamphlet published by the municipal government of one of the most beautiful and historically endowed cities in Japan. The material was aimed at foreign companies and their expat employees to entice them to the city.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
May 19, 2002

Repent of Western ways to see the light

A BURDEN OF FLOWERS, by Natsuki Ikezawa. Kodansha International, 2001, 239 pp., 2,400 yen (cloth) A story of two Japanese siblings' rejection of Western values, one eloquent on the dangers of being "too Cartesian in your thinking, too tied up in Western rationalism," is hardly an obvious candidate for...
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
May 17, 2002

We're all narrow-minded

It's a commonly held belief that we lose brain cells as we age. But, in fact, although our brains may not work as well when we get older -- learning becomes harder, memories fuzzier -- the number of cells they contain remains the same, about 28 billion. Scientists think the real problem is that the myelin...
COMMENTARY
May 15, 2002

Myanmar moves forward, China takes a step back

LOS ANGELES -- Fleeting images can become perceived realities. For example, images viewed positively by the American public allow U.S. political leaders to unlock foreign-aid funds -- and business leaders to go forward with ambitious foreign-investment schemes. From this perspective, Myanmar, long-spurned...
BUSINESS / ON MANAGEMENT
May 13, 2002

Training for success -- crash and learn

Car wrecks always draw a crowd, as every driver knows, and that's true for the equivalent in business, too. Rubber-necking at someone else's trouble, many executives thank their stars that they're not caught in the pileup; most take the opportunity to remind themselves to be extra careful to stay out...
Japan Times
LIFE / Language
May 10, 2002

No molds barred

These fuzzy fellas aren't cute at all. In fact, they often grow to stink. If you're not careful, they'll attack your food faster than the class glutton. What are they? Mold spores.
COMMENTARY
May 9, 2002

EU not growing anti-Semitic

LONDON -- The Jewish lobby and the religious right in the United States have described European critics of the policies of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and his government as anti-Semitic. Such comments reveal a woeful ignorance of Europe and the real issues in the Middle East. They also tend to...
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
May 9, 2002

Sons light up mum's life, but also take years off it

All sons know that we get more flak than daughters. Does "You've taken years off my life" or "Why can't you be more like your sister?" sound familiar?
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
May 8, 2002

His fingers on the pulse

Bill Laswell stands in the lobby outside the Shinjuku Pit Inn, where on April 27 and 28 he played to packed houses with drummer Hideo Yamaki and saxophonist Yasuaki Shimizu. He's just set up his bass rig and is wondering where to sit for our interview.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / CERAMIC SCENE
May 8, 2002

Heart and soul in your hands

A list of the things we humans take for granted would be long indeed. Not wishing to embark on a colossal environmental-spiritual- humanitarian itemization, I'll keep my list real short. One item, in fact: a clay mug.
COMMENTARY / World
May 5, 2002

Why it must be Bush vs. Gore in 2004

NEW YORK -- It is impossible to overstate the importance of tossing U.S. President George W. Bush back onto the unemployment lines in 2004. His illegitimate presidency isn't even half-over, yet Bush's disreputable Cabinet of tin-pot gangsters has already succeeded in causing irreparable harm to our great...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
May 5, 2002

Straight from Tsukiji to Harajuku

What's the difference between an izakaya and a restaurant? Often very little, if the izakaya in question serves good food and comports itself with a degree of sophistication. Perhaps the best yardstick is the noise level. The louder the conversation and more voluble the pleasure, the less likely a place...
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
May 2, 2002

Robo-rats galvanized into action

When the Italian physician Luigi Galvani published his theory of "animal electricity" in the 1790s, it roused biologists and physicists all over Europe, went on to influence the construction of the first electric battery and inspired an 18-year-old English girl to write "Frankenstein."
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 29, 2002

Possibility of Osama's escape haunts U.S.

WASHINGTON -- Was Osama bin Laden in the mountains of Tora Bora in the first half of December? And did the U.S. decision to rely on Afghan militias and Pakistani troops, rather than American forces, to seal off escape routes from those mountains permit bin Laden to escape during the intensive bombing...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Apr 28, 2002

A suck-up, a thumbs up

Ever since SMAP-man Goro Inagaki returned from self-imposed exile, during which he supposedly reflected on his heinous parking infraction, he seems to be everywhere, as if he were making up for lost time. Perhaps as a spoof on his capacity to demonstrate self-effacement, he's currently starring in his...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Apr 27, 2002

Let's celebrate nature at Disneyland

Monday is Greenery Day, a national holiday. Let's hear it for plants! But the question on everyone's mind is: Do plants really need a day off? Let's find out with some roving in-the-pot interviews.
EDITORIALS
Apr 27, 2002

From hope to helplessness

How ephemeral a politician's popularity is. When he made his debut just a year ago, on April 26, 2001, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi was basking in an unprecedented degree of public support. Now his ratings have hit a record low. What are we to make of this?
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 25, 2002

Time to engage, not bully, North Korea

CAMBRIDGE, England -- Since January 2001, relations between Pyongyang and Seoul have been tense. The various confidence-building measures agreed to at the summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Il and South Korean President Kim Dae Jung in June 2000 came to a halt after newly elected U.S. President...
LIFE / Digital
Apr 25, 2002

Broadband security: put a lock on the back door

It's late one evening last July, and a green activity light is blinking on the front of the DSL modem next to my desk.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CLOSE NEIGHBORS
Apr 19, 2002

Language, music point way to stronger relations

When Akiko Konishi felt life had become routine after five years in the same company, she decided to spice things up a little by studying a foreign language.

Longform

Members of the nonprofit group Japan Youth Memorial Association search for the remains of dead soldiers in a cave in Okinawa Prefecture in February.
The long search for Japan’s lost soldiers