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CULTURE / Art
Oct 22, 2000

Holding art and utility in our hands

Amid the sensationalism of much contemporary art, it is refreshing to sense honest artistry in metal, clay and wood. "Thoughts on Contemporary Vessels" at the Crafts Gallery of the National Museum of Modern Art is an exhibition centered on the humble cup, bowl or jar. And it reveals crafts that are as...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Oct 19, 2000

Talking head Tanaka wows 'em in Nagano

Yasuo Tanaka, candidate for the governorship of Nagano Prefecture, was supposed to meet voters at 2:30 p.m. at a shopping arcade in downtown Nagano, but it was a long arcade. A campaign worker wearing a bright orange windbreaker was handing out literature in front of Ito Yokado. "I think it's been changed,"...
EDITORIALS
Oct 17, 2000

Economy inspires cautious optimism

The Bank of Japan's latest quarterly "tankan" survey of business sentiments, conducted in September, provides further evidence that the Japanese economy is slowly recovering from its worst postwar recession. Leading the recovery are large corporations riding the crest of the information-technology revolution....
CULTURE / Books
Oct 17, 2000

Japan's pop culture conquers the world

JAPAN POP Inside the World of Japanese Popular Culture, edited by Timothy J. Craig. M. E. Sharpe, 235 pp., $58.95 (cloth). Japan is undergoing a quiet revolution. Long known for its talents in miniaturization and for the mass production of electronic consumer products, Japan is gaining a new image:...
JAPAN
Oct 15, 2000

BOJ tour aims to educate the public

KOBE -- Some words of advice for those who dream of laying their hands on 100 million yen -- don't spend money on lottery tickets, just join a tour organized by the Bank of Japan's Kobe branch.
COMMUNITY
Oct 15, 2000

Honesty is JAL president's policy

Entranced by the view from the windows of an executive meeting room on the 24th floor of the headquarters of Japan Airlines in Tokyo's Tennozu Isle, I almost missed the entrance of JAL's president, Isao Kaneko. Luckily he is not the kind of man to take offense. Slightly built, in a pale gray suit, he...
CULTURE / Music / HOGAKU TODAY
Oct 7, 2000

Tales of romance and bloodshed come alive in Shinnai song

Some of the performing arts of Japan are so spectacular that they grab your attention and immediately make you feel a part of the music. Taiko drumming is one; rhythm speaks directly to our bodies, and the beating of a stick on a drum has a physical appeal to all, regardless of language or culture.
CULTURE / Music / FUZZY LOGIC
Oct 3, 2000

We've got a personality crisis

If you go to a live event you don't just want to listen to music, you want to witness a show, right? You want the people on stage to be rock stars for the night. And you want to be swept away on a flood of shared adrenalin.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 30, 2000

Time to reassess the nuclear-energy option

Safety and cost competitiveness: These two factors are clearly incompatible when it comes to nuclear energy. Yet these were some of the key words used by the government and the nuclear industry to promote nuclear energy.
BUSINESS
Sep 29, 2000

Mizuho has big goals -- and hurdles

The Mizuho Financial Group, the world's biggest financial empire in terms of assets, takes shape today, integrating Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank, Fuji Bank and the Industrial Bank of Japan under a newly created holding company.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 28, 2000

Koreas need peace, not a peace treaty

SEOUL-- This week's defense minister-level meeting on Cheju Island is welcome news as the two Koreas take another historic step forward in their rapidly developing rapprochement. But the road ahead will be long and convoluted. According to one well-placed South Korean official, "we are in the realm of...
BUSINESS
Sep 25, 2000

Yurakucho Sogo closes shop

The Yurakucho store of ailing department store operator Sogo Co., located near Tokyo's posh Ginza district, drew the curtain on nearly 44 years of history Sunday as it closed as part of the Sogo's group's restructuring efforts.
EDITORIALS
Sep 24, 2000

A feminist ties the knot

A lot of fun has been had this month at the expense of longtime American feminist icon Gloria Steinem. After decades of pointing out the drawbacks of marriage, the 66-year-old Ms. Steinem recently surprised and titillated the world by going off and getting married.
COMMUNITY
Sep 24, 2000

Creative outsider paints orderly inside of chaos

Yuji Oki lives in a big house and paints increasingly large paintings -- by Japanese standards at least.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 24, 2000

U.N. deaths are no surprise

The recent death of U.N. aid workers in Timor was a tragedy. The reprehensible action has rightly drawn international condemnation. The perpetrators will hopefully be caught, tried and punished.
BUSINESS
Sep 22, 2000

Mexico, Japan ready to resume investment pact negotiations

After a hiatus of about six months, Japan and Mexico will resume tough negotiations next week on concluding a pact aimed at shoring up the flow of investment across the Pacific.
COMMUNITY
Sep 21, 2000

Hanae Mori's gems shine brightly

Let's begin with the keywords: graceful, feminine, sharp, inspired.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Sep 15, 2000

Ever-unfashionable Akutagawa

JAPANESE SHORT STORIES, by Ryunosuke Akutagawa, translated by Takashi Kojima, foreword by John McVittie. Singapore: Tuttle Publishing, 1981, 240 pp. with 15 illustrations, $14.95. THE ESSENTIAL AKUTAGAWA, by Ryunosuke Akutagawa, edited by Seiji Lippit, foreword by Jorge Luis Borges. New York: Marsililio...
LIFE / Digital / CYBERIA
Sep 6, 2000

The horror, the horror

We're back. Did you miss us? That question isn't the product of an (especially) insecure soul. I mean it.
COMMUNITY
Sep 3, 2000

Extreme Goes Mainstream

SAN FRANCISCO As Cory "Nasty" Nastazio, 22, comes off his dirt jumping practice at the 2000 X-Games site in San Francisco, he pulls up to the ESPN cameraman on his little BMX bike and the first thing he does is remove his helmet.
JAPAN
Aug 30, 2000

Osaka divided over Games

OSAKA -- Osaka took a big step forward in realizing its dream of hosting the 2008 Summer Olympics on Monday when it was listed among five final candidate cities.
EDITORIALS
Aug 29, 2000

An achievement of sorts

The latest normalization talks between Japan and North Korea, held here for two days last week, ended in a draw, although the two sides agreed to meet again later this year. While North Korea focused on "liquidating the past," demanding a Japanese apology and compensation for the 1910-1945 colonization...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Aug 27, 2000

Yoko Ishii

LONDON -- "I am very proud that I really did find a wonderful job. I can travel the world with my scissors and comb, and wherever I go not only can I find work, but by making people beautiful I can also give them hopes and dreams," said Yoko Ishii.
BUSINESS
Aug 25, 2000

Japan, Saudi Arabia to build 1.5 billion yen mechanics school

Despite the collapse of key oil negotiations earlier this year, Japan and Saudi Arabia are entering the final stage of preparations for a 1.5 billion yen joint project to establish a training institute for Saudi car mechanics in the kingdom.
CULTURE / Art
Aug 19, 2000

Colors just the way she wants them

What we have here is a gallery whose walls are bare.
COMMUNITY
Aug 17, 2000

Paper wings that bear dreams aloft

It is a bright, sunshiny day in Musashino Central Park in Tokyo's Musashino City, but the wind is a little strong for the participants in the Japan Paper Airplane Association semifinal flyoffs.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Aug 16, 2000

The hippies were right -- go macrobiotic!

FUKUOKA -- Is it possible to re-create the clean, almost-vegetarian Japanese cuisine of the past?

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.