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JAPAN
Oct 27, 2001

Japan, U.S. to discuss planned support by SDF

Japan and the United States will hold security talks in Tokyo on Thursday to discuss logistic support to be offered by the Self-Defense Forces for the U.S.-led military operation in Afghanistan, a top Defense Agency official said Friday.
JAPAN
Oct 26, 2001

Japan must leave backward ways behind

Japan must drastically revise its attitudes toward women and foreigners to stake a place in the global information technology revolution and survive and prosper as a nation in general, according to experts at a Tokyo conference last week.
JAPAN
Oct 26, 2001

U.S. professor wins award for urban planning

A U.S. professor has received an award for trying to balance urban planning with environmental protection.
JAPAN
Oct 24, 2001

Buddhist author Setouchi condemns U.S.-led attacks against Afghanistan

Popular writer and Buddhist preacher Jakucho Setouchi said in a recent interview that the U.S.-led attacks on Afghanistan will only contribute to the cycle of hatred and animosity and solve nothing.
CULTURE / Stage
Oct 17, 2001

Rock to the Beat that goes on

Jack Kerouac died a drinker's death Oct. 21, 1969, many years after reaching fame with his novels "On the Road" and "Dharma Bums," which inspired generations to follow. To mark his death and to celebrate his life, The Doors in Tokyo's Shinjuku district is hosting Bohemian Cafe, a night of music, theater...
JAPAN
Oct 13, 2001

Minamata poisoning continues in southwest Japan

Minamata poisoning continues to spread in southwestern Japan and as many as 2 million people may have contracted it since the early 1950s, a researcher has said, citing new scientific studies.
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Oct 4, 2001

Putting fear and hope on the genome map

Future historians might well classify this week as typical of the early 21st century, in that there is a flurry of reports linking specific genes to human diseases, and at the same time there is a voice warning against seeing genetics as a "magic bullet," the solution to all our problems.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Sep 28, 2001

Sesame Street for better English learning

The creators of "Sesame Street" are developing new content and materials to make the highly successful children's television program more useful for Japanese children learning English.
COMMUNITY
Sep 24, 2001

Tyndale and the English Bible

History sometimes fails to recognize the brilliance of a true pioneer, glorifying those who profit from his innovation while conveniently forgetting the source.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Sep 23, 2001

Arcane lore as taught by the masters

BUDO SECRETS: Teaching of the Martial Arts Masters, by John Stevens. Boston/London: Shambhala, 2001, 116 pp., with illustrations, $19.95 The term "budo" is relatively recent one. After the Meiji Restoration of 1868, the martial arts were no longer to be used in combat, but rather to be considered...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Sep 22, 2001

Dyeing to make a difference with fair trade clothes

The world this week is sadly less of a global village than it was 10 days ago. At least Kusum Tiwari is back in India, safe and sound after her first trip to East Asia, and two weeks in Japan.
JAPAN
Sep 20, 2001

Japan risks ties if slow to back retaliation by U.S., expert says

The United States is expecting Tokyo to cooperate and assist in tackling its current crisis in the wake of last week's terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, and Japan may not be able to maintain its good relations with the U.S. if it fails to act quickly, according to an American specialist on...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Sep 16, 2001

Pick a fate, any fate: it's all in the tarot

It is often said that all human life is contained within the tarot -- from shady business prospects and secret admirers to unexpected adventures and marriage plans. But can a tarot spread really contain so much meaning, or is it pure chance?
JAPAN
Sep 14, 2001

Japan Foundation Awards granted

This year's Japan Foundation Awards are going to Ikuo Hirayama, a prominent painter, and William Beasley, a British historian specializing in the history of the Far East.
CULTURE / Art
Sep 12, 2001

Little forget-me-nots

"I Don't Mind, If You Forget Me" is the rather bold title of Yoshitomo Nara's current exhibition at the Yokohama Museum of Art. But Nara can easily feign indifference, knowing full well that his warped yet archetypal children will have the opposite effect on viewers. With their enlarged heads and bean-shaped...
JAPAN
Sep 9, 2001

Koizumi hails U.S. relations on anniversary of treaty

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi commemorated the 50th anniversary of the signing of the San Francisco Peace Treaty on Saturday by emphasizing the continued importance of solid U.S.-Japan relations.
CULTURE / Books
Sep 9, 2001

This is the season of our national discontent

Last week's edition of Aera (Sept. 3) looked at the current "Age of Discontent," while Bungei Shunju published a special issue in August on ways to find happiness. Both themes currently feature on the shelves of Japanese bookstores as well.
COMMUNITY
Sep 9, 2001

To hide or not to hide - the balding man's dilemma

For most men, the mere mention of going bald provokes a quickened pulse-rate and the onset of hyperventilation. To say the thought of hair loss scares most males is to dramatically understate the case.
COMMUNITY
Sep 2, 2001

What's off the menu?

Types of vegetarians and definitions, according to the British-based International Vegetarian Union:
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Sep 1, 2001

Prize-winning poet and the Japanese connection

By today, Ken Taylor will be back in his native Australia after a month in France and three weeks in Japan. He says he always learns something from his trips here -- 17 to date -- but at our time of meeting has no idea what that is. "The process can take a long time, or I may know when I step off the...
JAPAN / History
Aug 30, 2001

A half-century of media pigeonholing

Japan is a nation of children who were led astray by their military, re-educated under the benevolence of the United States, and rose to become America's important ally. It became a nation of salaried men and office ladies gaining, for a few brief years, through international trade what it had failed...
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Aug 30, 2001

We can't stay young forever, but why not age gracefully?

Following recent reports of a mammal able to regenerate after injury, science continues to imitate fiction, with a discovery in Boston that recalls the search for the philosopher's stone. The stone, the subject of the first Harry Potter book, was long sought after by medieval alchemists, who believed...
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Aug 29, 2001

Marshall Crenshaw

With its encyclopedic array of early rock 'n' roll hooks and a spare guitar sound that anyone could duplicate, Marshall Crenshaw's eponymous 1982 debut was the perfect primer, the kind of record mainstream acts could plunder for material to plug into the already ebbing New Wave. The fact that the record...
COMMUNITY
Aug 26, 2001

Living on the edge

It's 6 a.m. on Saturday, and Teruyuki Kato is woken at home by the beeping of his government-issued pager. The University of Tokyo professor of geophysics knows he must act fast. He calls the local police, who arrive within minutes and transport him, sirens howling, red lights whirling, to the Meteorological...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Aug 26, 2001

Hope for the best . . .and prepare for the worst

Think about how difficult it would be if all our lifelines -- water, gas and electricity -- were suddenly cut off. In the event of a major earthquake, we would have to do more than just ponder these hardships. And it would go on for longer than you might think. After the 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake,...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Aug 26, 2001

Hell on earth in '23

"The pillars of the house made groaning sounds and began to crack. An earthquake! The wall clock stopped, and the electric fan went flying." That was how Hisamatsu Yamato, then an 18-year-old living in Tokyo's Honjo district, recalled the moment.
CULTURE / Books
Aug 19, 2001

Uniformly stylish Japanese

WEARING IDEOLOGY: State, Schooling and Self-Preservation in Japan, by Brian J. McVeigh. Berg, Oxford, 2000, 231 pages, $19.50 The Japanese are some of the most fashion-conscious dressers in the world. They spend large amounts of their discretionary income on clothes, have a strong preference for designer-made...
CULTURE / Books
Aug 19, 2001

Politico battled clans, bureaucrats

THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF OZAKI YUKIO: The Struggle For Constitutional Government in Japan. Translated by Fumiko Hara. Princeton University Press, Princeton, 2001, 455 pp., $35 (hardback) Well into this fascinating account of Japanese politics, which spans the period from the beginning of the Meiji Era...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Aug 18, 2001

Joe Grace

"To all those who remember me in Tokyo, be certain that there is life after retirement. You've just got to find your niche," Joe Grace said.

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