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COMMENTARY
Jan 25, 2005

Short shrift to a leader ousted by outlaws

HONG KONG -- The death of former Chinese Communist Party chief Zhao Ziyang is a reminder of the tragedy that befell 15 years ago when the People's Liberation Army was called upon to shoot down unarmed demonstrators in Beijing, students as well as civilians. But it is also a reminder that China even today...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 23, 2005

The Delgados

Everybody knows that Glasgow is the current Mecca of international indie rock, though there's some debate as to who is its Mohammed. People with long memories will claim it's The Pastels, who first explored the lo-fi, do-it-yourself aesthetic that the city has become famous for way back in the early...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Jan 23, 2005

"The Background of His Excellency President Bush" on TBS and more

TBS will present one of the stranger variety-show combinations of recent memory on Wednesday at 9 p.m. Tetsuya Chikushi is the respected veteran print journalist who helms the network's nightly news program. He'll be be co-hosting a program with the ubiquitous comedy duo Bakusho Mondai called "The Background...
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 23, 2005

Pitching a U.S.-South Korean divorce

HONOLULU -- In a provocative new book, the authors propose that the United States and South Korea agree to an "amicable divorce" in which all American military forces would be withdrawn from the Korean Peninsula and the security treaty that has made South Korea and America allies for 50 years would be...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 23, 2005

Interpol well suited for success after all

Image isn't everything. If it was, then the New York four-piece known as Interpol would have already become one of the biggest rock bands on the planet. While their tailored suits and runway-ready haircuts have brought them plenty of press, the band is actually earning recognition the old-fashioned way,...
JAPAN
Jan 22, 2005

Tsunami parley delegates seek specifics -- not vague pledges

KOBE -- As the United Nations World Conference on Disaster Reduction headed into its final two days Friday, NGOs and some member states warned that the five-day parley would be a failure unless it culminated in specific action on disaster reduction measures, especially in the Indian Ocean region.
JAPAN
Jan 22, 2005

Crown Princess may take in games

Crown Princess Masako may accompany Crown Prince Naruhito to attend the opening ceremony for the 2005 Special Olympics World Winter Games next month in Nagano Prefecture, Imperial Household Agency officials said Friday.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jan 22, 2005

Cotton Club's pianist records album with friends

It takes awhile to link up with Noriko Kamo, who keeps going adrift in the snowfalls of Hokkaido's Hakodate. Since her mother is now living alone, Noriko tries to come back to Japan every year to keep her company through the hardest month of the year. It helps, she says, that "it's quiet in New York...
JAPAN
Jan 22, 2005

Koizumi repeats postal reform line

Postal privatization -- Page 3 REIJI YOSHIDA Staff writer Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi reiterated his resolve Friday to split the nation's state-run postal services into four privatized companies -- a plan destined to put the prime minister and his own party on a collision course.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jan 22, 2005

Taming the wild beet root in Australia

I have just come back from Australia and I'm covered with blood. But before I tell you about that, you're probably wondering why I chose Australia to spend the holidays. Well, Australia has a lot to offer. Inhabited by 11 of the most poisonous animals in the world, why wouldn't someone want to visit...
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Jan 21, 2005

Has master manipulator Ferguson unnerved Wenger?

LONDON -- Earlier this season, the sports pages of English newspapers were delighted when the public row between Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsenal's Arsene Wenger kicked off (though no one expected it to be continuing and even gathering pace three months later).
JAPAN / 10 YEARS AFTER
Jan 21, 2005

Quake-preparedness a patchwork effort

The thicket of wood houses and small shops that line the warren of alleys just east of Tokyo's Sumida River in the Higashi-Mukojima 1-chome district has been deemed "highly dangerous" by disaster-preparedness authorities.
Reference / SO WHAT THE HECK IS THAT
Jan 21, 2005

Sugidama

Dear Alice,
JAPAN
Jan 20, 2005

Proposal presented at U.N. disaster reduction meet

KOBE -- A UNESCO-backed proposal that calls for the introduction of a $13 million tsunami early warning system for the Indian Ocean within one year was presented Wednesday at the U.N.'s World Conference on Disaster Reduction in Kobe.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jan 20, 2005

Examining the exotic ins and outs of marrying a foreigner

Elsewhere in the world, mixed marriages are no big deal. In Japan, however, the kokusai kekkon (international marriage) is still an issue tinged with exoticism and other-worldliness. Witness the enormous success of manga series "Daalin wa Gaikokujin" (My Darling is a Foreigner), and you'll see the point....
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Jan 19, 2005

With spring training near, end of line for George, Peta here?

With just 13 days remaining until the start of spring training, it appears George Arias and Roberto Petagine may have reached the end of the line in their productive careers in Japanese pro baseball.
JAPAN
Jan 19, 2005

Despite rash of counterfeiting, bank-note transition to take a year

The debut of new currency with anticounterfeit technology appears to have prompted people turning out fake old bank notes to rush to use them, but it will probably take about a year before all the old money is taken out of circulation.
JAPAN
Jan 19, 2005

Quake hit foreign community at its roots

Korea," said George Gibbons, a Kobe resident from Britain who recently retired as an official at Marist Brothers International School. While exact figures were not available, a Kobe official said the number of ethnic Korean residents has seen a slight increase over the past four years.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jan 19, 2005

Castle of the truly absurd

One night in deep midwinter, K. arrives at an inn in a snow-covered village beneath a mighty castle which may or may not exist. K., played by Tetsushi Tanaka, claims he has been hired by the castle as a land surveyor.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 19, 2005

Not a whodunit but a whydunit

Coming last in a daylong round of media interviews, I was expecting my 40 minutes with Shinji Aoyama to be strained, as in "I'm so tired I can hardly stand." Instead, he came into the meeting room at Toho with a smile and a brisk manner, as in "I'm just getting warmed up." While he was obviously there...
MORE SPORTS
Jan 18, 2005

Federer blasts Santoro in first round

MELBOURNE, Australia -- Top-ranked Roger Federer quickly dispelled any thoughts that the new year might bring a letdown by the man who dominated men's tennis last year, blasting 54 winners to win his first-round match at the Australian Open on Monday over France's Fabrice Santoro 6-1, 6-1, 6-2.
JAPAN
Jan 18, 2005

Kobe remembers earthquake with candlelight vigil

KOBE -- This city on Monday morning marked the 10th anniversary of the January 1995 earthquake that resulted in the loss of 6,433 lives, with ceremonies paying tribute to reconstruction efforts and offering condolences and promises of further assistance to survivors of national and international disasters....
JAPAN
Jan 18, 2005

Visa ban lifted to boost Aichi expo crowds

The government may temporarily lift regional restrictions for issuing visas to Chinese tour groups, allowing visitors from any part of China to enter Japan during the 2005 World Expo in Aichi Prefecture, which will run from March 25 through Sept. 25, transport minister Kazuo Kitagawa said Monday.
JAPAN / History
Jan 18, 2005

List details deaths of 3,500 POWs held by Japan

A Japanese citizens' group recently released a list of about 3,500 Allied prisoners of war who died after being captured by the Japanese military during World War II, disclosing their names, nationality and cause of death.
EDITORIALS
Jan 17, 2005

Research to ameliorate disaster

Jan. 17 marks the 10th anniversary of the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake, which took the lives of more than 6,400 people. In the past decade, Japan's earthquake countermeasures have changed enormously. Its earthquake observation system has become more sophisticated. Together with general observation...
COMMENTARY
Jan 17, 2005

Japan seizes the moment

HONOLULU -- Japan has put itself at the forefront of international relief efforts in the wake of the devastating Dec. 26 earthquake and tsunami. Tokyo is acting both out of concern for the victims and to forward its own political-diplomatic strategy. Japan's reaction has demonstrated the role that Tokyo...
MORE SPORTS
Jan 16, 2005

Zico's deal renewed

The Japan Football Association said Friday it has renewed the contract of national team coach Zico until mid-December 2005 to keep the Brazilian at the helm for the Asian final-round qualifiers for the 2006 World Cup in Germany.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji