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Japan Times
JAPAN / AT THE JUNCTION
Nov 14, 2002

Ailing expressway entities' fate hangs in balance

A showdown looms between advocates of reform and vested interests.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Nov 13, 2002

Dishonor avenged, love avowed

This month, following the lead of the Kabukiza, the National Theater in Tokyo also presents "Kanadehon Chushingura (The 47 Loyal Retainers)" to mark the upcoming 300th anniversary of the famous act of revenge carried out by the 47 ronin (masterless samurai) on the night of Dec. 14, 1702 (on the old calendar)....
COMMENTARY / WASHINGTON UPDATE
Nov 10, 2002

The president lifts the GOP to victory

WASHINGTON -- In 1992, the Clinton election team had a sign in its War Room that said, "It's the ECONOMY, Stupid!" That was the theme of that election.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 9, 2002

An alphabet soup of FTAs in East Asia

CAMBRIDGE, England -- There are so many summit meetings nowadays that it is difficult to keep up. Only a week after the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum summit finished in Mexico, East Asian governments met at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations plus 3 summit in Phnom Penh. ASEAN plus 3...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Nov 3, 2002

Yokohama: city of wide horizons

Yokohama owes its rise to political compromise and a natural harbor. The Tokugawa shogunate and Commodore Perry, on the occasion of his return in 1854, could not agree on a parley site to discuss the opening of Japan to trade. The shogunate insisted on Uraga; Perry demanded entrance to Edo. The two sides...
CULTURE / Music / FUZZY LOGIC
Nov 3, 2002

Joy and pain falling in love again

"We're girls too nasty/We're girls too hot/We're punky girls so you can't stop us.'' Complete lyrics to Anadorei's 40-second-long "Girls Anthem"
JAPAN
Nov 1, 2002

Talks on hold until Pyongyang affirms family reunions

The government on Thursday said it will not set a date for another round of normalization talks with North Korea unless the reclusive state indicates when the family members of five Japanese abducted decades ago and currently on their first homecoming can also come to Japan.
COMMENTARY
Oct 31, 2002

EU facing a bumpy road to expansion

PARIS -- In December 2000, the 15 members of the European Union signed the Nice Treaty, which was designed to remove the obstacles to the proposed expansion of the EU by 10 countries -- eight from the former Soviet bloc plus plus Cyprus and Malta. Like all treaties, it had to be ratified. Fourteen governments...
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Oct 24, 2002

EU reticent over funding Pyongyang nuclear reactors

European Union member states have voiced reservations over continuing to fund an international consortium to help build light-water nuclear reactors in North Korea, EU's new ambassador to Japan Bernhard Zepter said Wednesday.
COMMENTARY
Oct 21, 2002

It's not what Bush says but how he says it

HONOLULU -- The controversy swirling around President George W. Bush's foreign policy is remarkable for two things. The first is the consensus regarding its content. Observers generally agree that the Bush foreign policy is muscular, unilateralist and dominated by political realists who practice power...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Oct 18, 2002

Och aye! Highland Games rollinto Tokyo

From Cowal to Kolwoon and from Braemar to Bangkok, wherever you find Scots, you'll find Highland Games.
COMMENTARY
Oct 17, 2002

Face down lobbies, factions

LONDON -- Why can't Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi carry out his promised reforms of the Japanese economy? Some may argue that he never really intended to reform the system and that his promises were all sham designed as a political boost. I don't agree, although I do question whether he and his close...
LIFE / Language / KANJI CLINIC
Oct 11, 2002

Kanji power unlocks the secret room of Japanese literature

Surely many of you, including overseas readers of The Japan Times online, live within 100 km of a Japanese-language bookstore or a university with a collection of Japanese books. Japanese literature is available, but confronting the sheer volume of offerings can be overwhelming.
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Oct 9, 2002

Steve Earle: "Jerusalem"

The fuss over "John Walker's Blues," Steve Earle's look-see into the mind of the American Taliban, barely survived the actual release of the song a few weeks ago. John Walker Lindh, who is portrayed by Earle as a naive but well-meaning young idealist, has since tearfully owned up to his mistakes and...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Oct 6, 2002

Takafumi Goda: the man at the helm

As director of the university division of the higher education bureau at the Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry, Takafumi Goda is at the helm of national policy on university education. Recently, one of his chief tasks has been to oversee long-awaited reforms to Japan's university...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Oct 6, 2002

Which way with an MBA?

For the past six months, Hidenao Fujitake has been leading a double life. A fund manager by day, 35-year-old Fujitake is a student by night, at Hitotsubashi University's Graduate School of International Corporate Strategy.
EDITORIALS
Oct 5, 2002

Gore vs. Bush again?

With the U.S. midterm election less than a month away, the campaign season is beginning in earnest. This year's ballot is an especially important one: With the U.S. electorate virtually split in two, the outcome of a few key races could determine the shape of U.S. politics for a long time to come. It...
COMMENTARY
Oct 3, 2002

Iraq, yes -- but why now?

LONDON -- Everyone seems agreed that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein is a very nasty piece of work, a brutal tyrant with homicidal tendencies who cannot be trusted one inch.
COMMENTARY
Oct 2, 2002

Once-cool Britannia begins to boil

WASHINGTON -- Britain split along three rift lines last week and it's hard to see where they might meet again. Perhaps only an Anglo-American attack on Iraq could unite the nation against such mind-boggling folly and terrifying, costly megalomania.
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.
BUSINESS
Sep 28, 2002

SMBC, subsidiaries agree to form new holding company

Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. formalized a plan Friday to establish a holding company that will oversee SMBC and three of its wholly owned subsidiaries.
COMMENTARY / WASHINGTON UPDATE
Sep 26, 2002

Iraq dominates Washington's agenda

WASHINGTON -- The Oct. 4 target date for the adjournment of Congress is fast approaching. The top priority for President George W. Bush is to convince Congress to give him some form of support for his crusade against Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.
COMMENTARY
Sep 25, 2002

Strengthen Sino-Japanese ties

Japan and China will soon observe the 30th anniversary of their normalization of relations, which took place Sept. 29, 1972. The bilateral relationship was placed on a solid foundation with the conclusion of a treaty of peace and friendship in 1978. Economic relations have since dramatically expanded....
BUSINESS
Sep 24, 2002

Rival DVD formats jockey for position

Speculation is rampant these days over which DVD format will follow the path of the Betamax.
JAPAN
Sep 23, 2002

Forum focuses on new oil source

OSAKA -- The eighth International Energy Forum moved into its second day Sunday with meetings between Asian energy ministers on how to cooperate more closely to ensure stable supplies in the face of mounting uncertainty in the Middle East.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Sep 22, 2002

Happy doing it her way -- whatever the 'bashers' say

Yumi Sekine, 41, a nurse by profession, began training 12 years ago and has reached levels beyond those of any other female bodybuilders competing in Japan.
BUSINESS
Sep 21, 2002

Ten countries agree to develop nuclear systems

The United States, Japan and eight other countries have agreed to jointly develop a series of new nuclear energy systems by 2030, U.S. Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham said Friday in Tokyo.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 20, 2002

Three Kyushu assemblies agree to request probe into abductions

Three local assemblies in Kyushu separately adopted written opinions Thursday pressing the central government to fully investigate North Korea's abductions of Japanese citizens.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Sep 19, 2002

Check-up costs, parking perils, and 'quake advice

Health check-ups I'm not feeling well and feel I need to get a complete checkup or physical. It is my understanding that the national health insurance only covers diagnosed illness but not such preventive care. What can I do? -- Phillip in Tokyo

Longform

Japan's growing ranks of centenarians are redefining what it means to live in a super-aging society.
What comes after 100?