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COMMENTARY
Sep 17, 2003

Moscow must walk a fine line as Tokyo and Beijing compete for Russian oil

HONG KONG -- Russia is in the enviable position of being wooed simultaneously by Asia's two main powers, China and Japan. At the same time, it has to walk a fine line because it is unlikely to be able to please both countries.
JAPAN
Sep 15, 2003

Japan, China at odds over mustard gas compensation

Japan and China are at odds over compensation for a fatal leak of mustard gas in August in Qiqihar, HeilongEjiang Province, Japanese offiEcials said Sunday.
EDITORIALS
Sep 15, 2003

Looming specter of tax hikes

The government's budget deficit continues to swell at an ominous pace. According to an estimate by the Finance Ministry, the total amount of bond issues in fiscal 2004 may exceed 41 trillion yen -- a sum roughly half the size of the budget. The figure could be revised downward, possibly to less than...
COMMENTARY
Sep 15, 2003

U.N. force key to Iraqi peace

LONDON -- The news from Iraq over the last month has been bleak, with U.S. and British forces continuing to suffer significant casualties. Bomb blasts last month at the U.N. headquarters and a Shiite mosque left many dead and wounded. Acts of sabotage have hindered the resumption of electricity and water...
JAPAN
Sep 14, 2003

LDP candidates all favor revisions to Constitution

The four candidates for the presidency of the governing Liberal Democratic Party each appeared positive Saturday about the possibility of revising the war-renouncing Article 9 of Japan's Constitution.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 14, 2003

Television stands test of time

It seems every band that broke up in the decade prior to, say, 1985 has reunited in the past few years to take advantage of whatever shred of nostalgia still dangles from its reputation. Television, the guitar band that emerged from the underground New York scene centered on the Bowery dive CBGB's in...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Sep 14, 2003

The money hole

Kumiko Morita looked down at her cell phone as it began to ring. With reluctance she picked it up and answered it. After listening to the caller, she began to speak -- not in her usual soft-spoken way, but in a loud, forceful voice.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 14, 2003

Counting down to victory, Hanshin fans warned Dotombori River is full of toxic sludge

As ardent Hanshin fans count down to the roaring Tigers' much-awaited baseball title, environmentalists wary of the revelers' ultimate expression of rapture -- a dive into Osaka's Dotombori River -- warn that the waterway is full of toxic sludge.
COMMENTARY
Sep 14, 2003

Shy man performs historic balancing act

HONG KONG -- Because Hong Kong's leader tends to view the news media (local or otherwise) with the enthusiasm of a swimmer greeting a school of sharks, Tung Chee-hwa has scant hope of receiving his due as the historically pivotal man he is. His public image is generally terrible, and he is often portrayed...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Sep 14, 2003

Uncovering lost worlds of Japanese film

RECALLING THE TREASURES OF JAPANESE CINEMA: Japanese Film History Studies, edited by Friends of Silent Film Association, supervised by Matsuda Film Productions, preface by Tadao Sato. Tokyo: Urban Connections, 2003, 200 pp., with photos, 1,800 yen (cloth). With movies so ubiquitous it is easy to forget...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Sep 14, 2003

From West to East: Ian Buruma casts his light on the making of modern Japan

INVENTING JAPAN: 1853-1964, by Ian Buruma. New York: The Modern Library, 2003, 194 pp., $19.95, (cloth). This is a satisfying hors d'oeuvre that awakens readers' intellects while whetting their appetite for more substantial fare. It is a quirky, opinionated and selective narrative redolent of what is...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Sep 13, 2003

You gotta have wa, and good chi as well

The front door to your house is where chi enters the home. So spruce up your front door with decorations to make it more inviting and to attract only good chi inside.
MORE SPORTS
Sep 13, 2003

Shop until you drop: Eriksson may be next on Chelsea's list

LONDON -- Sven-Goran Eriksson quits his job as head coach of England to become manager of Chelsea where he takes over from Claudio Ranieri.
BUSINESS
Sep 13, 2003

Corporate bankruptcies fell 15.4% in August

The number of corporate bankruptcies in Japan fell 15.4 percent in August from a year earlier to 1,321, Teikoku Databank Ltd. said Friday.
EDITORIALS
Sep 12, 2003

A 'peaceful' parade in Pyongyang

A parade of military hardware was conspicuously absent from North Korea's 55th anniversary celebrations on Tuesday. That seemed to reflect its present external position. Perhaps the country was trying to send a dual message to the world: It wants to reconcile the political imperative of maintaining a...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 11, 2003

Seniors enjoy thespian therapy

Kiyoko Goto, 86, dried her eyes several times as she watched the action unfold before her.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Sep 11, 2003

'War on Terror' veils assaults on the environment

Alread two years have passed since terrorist attacks in New York and Washington shook America and shocked the world. Today, the repercussions of those tragedies continue to impact American lives in ways never imagined. For environmentalists, one of the most disturbing consequences has been the Bush administration's...
BUSINESS
Sep 11, 2003

April-June GDP up a real 1%

The economy grew a real 1 percent in the April-June quarter, the highest level of quarterly growth since the real 1.3 percent rise in the October-December quarter of 2000, the government said Wednesday.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT
Sep 11, 2003

Dolphins: To kill them or let them be

Japanese, just like anybody else, love dolphins.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 10, 2003

Music of the spheres

Acid Mothers Temple and the Melting Paraiso U.F.O. is arguably one of the most influential Japanese bands in the world at this moment.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / NEW ART SEEN
Sep 10, 2003

Enjoying the view from up on high

Last Wednesday, in the early evening, a tremendous thunderstorm crashed through Tokyo. There were blackouts, the lightning started fires, even the rain-or-shine Yamanote Line was shut down for three hours. Meanwhile, Yumiko Okui was putting up her show at the Kenji Taki Gallery in Shinjuku.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Sep 10, 2003

Scout Niblett

Scout Niblett deserves to be a star just on the strength of her name. Born Emma Niblett, she adopted "Scout" as a performing moniker because of an obsession with the leading character in the Southern saga "To Kill a Mockingbird."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Sep 10, 2003

Roscoe Holcomb: "An Untamed Sense of Control"

Among instruments, the banjo is one of the few considered truly an American original. Roscoe Holcomb's voice could be considered another. A just-released collection, "An Untamed Sense of Control," shows just how original he was.
JAPAN
Sep 9, 2003

Foreign minister post left in doubt until after LDP presidential election

Who will speak as Japan's foreign minister at the U.N. General Assembly meeting Sept. 23?
JAPAN
Sep 9, 2003

More talks eyed over fatal gas leak

Japan and China will hold another round of working-level talks Tuesday in Beijing over last month's fatal mustard gas leak, the Foreign Ministry said Monday. The mustard gas was left in China by the Japanese military at the end of World War II.
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Sep 9, 2003

Waging war on the U.S. presence

If you're a reader of Japanese newspapers or a viewer of Japanese TV news, you're probably well aware of the U.S. military presence in Japan.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Sep 9, 2003

Should Japan upgrade its defense?

Lee Frank

Longform

Figure skater Akiko Suzuki was once told her ideal weight should be 47 kilograms, a number she now admits she “naively believed.” This led to her have a relationship with food that resulted in her suffering from anorexia.
The silent battle Japanese athletes fight with weight