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COMMENTARY / World
Apr 16, 2001

The worst is yet to come in Macedonia

WASHINGTON -- While the world's eyes were fixed on Hainan Island off the coast of China, Macedonia's ethnic Albanian rebels were completing a tactical retreat after an offensive by government forces. Some hope that Macedonia's government will now, as expected, offer greater political rights to its ethnic...
EDITORIALS
Apr 15, 2001

Prepare now for demographic changes

The rapid aging of Japan's population, combined with a steady decline in the birthrate, makes it certain that the productive-age population will begin to fall sharply in the not-so-distant future. As a result, the entire population will also start shrinking, making it necessary to redesign the economic...
LIFE / Food & Drink / NIHONSHU
Apr 15, 2001

Let's raise a glass to the final batch

The sake brewing season is drawing to a close. Except for the handful of large breweries that brew year-round in climate-controlled factories, most sakagura (breweries) will be finishing up their brewing sometime this month. Naturally, there will be ceremonies connected with significant activities within...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Apr 15, 2001

At long last, Tokuda Shusei

ROUGH LIVING, by Tokuda Shusei, translated by Richard Torrance. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, April 2001, 184 pp., $45 (hardcover), $21.95 (paper). This is, I think, the first translation into English of a novel by a writer that Japanese think is one of their finest. Tokuda Shusei (1871-1943)...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Apr 15, 2001

The miracle man of Shimokitazawa

Self-professed "Miracle Man of the World" Masahiko Hirota sits me down on his massage table and quickly locates the knot just to the left of my right shoulder blade that has been bugging me for days. Closing my eyes, for an instant I am gratefully transported away as my knot is gradually unraveled by...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Apr 15, 2001

Eyeballing a personal language coach

Upon first meeting my wife-to-be, my entire future flashed before me. Already I could foresee this girl as my life partner, the mother of my children and the person I would wrestle with for legroom in the kotatsu.
LIFE / Travel
Apr 15, 2001

Grand Imperial Palace tour offered gratis

Cut off from the outside world by wide moats and high stone walls, the Imperial Palace is an especially mysterious place for us "commoners." But it doesn't have to be.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 14, 2001

Russia's dark clouds have silver linings

LONDON -- Forty years ago Thursday, Yuri Gagarin became the first human being to go into space. Last month, the decrepit space station Mir plunged back into the atmosphere, incinerating among other things the photograph of a youthful, happy Gagarin (he died in a plane crash in 1968) that had hung on...
JAPAN
Apr 14, 2001

State downgrades economy

The economy is weakening, the government said Friday, downgrading its assessment for the third consecutive month mainly due to reduced production and worsening business sentiment.
EDITORIALS
Apr 13, 2001

Diplomacy does the trick

The United States and China have resolved their crisis. Diplomats crafted a statement that allowed both sides to save face and permitted the 24 members of the U.S. spy plane to go home. The peaceful resolution of the standoff is a victory for diplomacy. Just as important, however, both governments now...
JAPAN
Apr 12, 2001

Issei's love of America tempered

A loyal American who cherishes Japanese values inherited from his issei parents, Henry Ikemoto's life bridges two cultures.
JAPAN
Apr 12, 2001

Pyongyang welcomes Japan NGO pushing redress

Kyodo News
JAPAN
Apr 12, 2001

Japan in diplomatic pickle over Lee's visa application

Japan claimed Wednesday that it has not received an application for an entry visa from former Taiwanese President Lee Teng-hui.
LIFE / Digital
Apr 12, 2001

Handspring holds on to the future

Move over personal computers, you're just not personal enough. Consumers are seeking something sleeker, something less sedentary. Something that will perform more technological acrobatics and perhaps be a little easier to cuddle up with on a rainy day. Or so handheld computer makers and visionaries would...
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Apr 12, 2001

Scientists find munchies has physiological basis

The anecdotes and folklore that filter out from the hazy world of cannabis users attest to the drug's stimulating effect on the appetite as well as on the brain. Now scientists have confirmed that the munchies has a physiological basis, establishing the first firm link between cannabinoids (chemicals...
JAPAN
Apr 11, 2001

Cabinet approves import curbs on China leeks, shiitake, straw

The Cabinet on Tuesday approved a plan to invoke temporary import curbs on three agricultural products, mainly from China, to protect domestic farmers from a recent surge in imports.
JAPAN
Apr 11, 2001

Seoul recalls ambassador over textbook controversey

South Korea's ambassador to Japan returned to Seoul on Tuesday in a move to protest Japan's approval last week of a history textbook that many Asian nations say brushes over descriptions of Japan's wartime atrocities.
CULTURE / Film / SHORT TAKES
Apr 11, 2001

Nostalgic views of youth and rebellion

Almost Famous Rating: * * * * Japanese title: 'Ano Kono Penny Lane To' Director:Cameron Crowe Running time: 122 minutes Language: English This spring's pure pop treat is a largely autobiographical tale by Cameron Crowe, a superior piece of '70s nostalgia that deals with his own memories of working...
CULTURE / Art / CERAMIC SCENE
Apr 11, 2001

Abe's enchanted villa inspires sublime pottery

In peaceful hamlets throughout Japan, local potters work at their own pace while garnering a loyal local following. There are literally thousands of such ceramists, and the serene environment in which they work nurtures and supports their artistic endeavors in subtle ways.
CULTURE / Art
Apr 11, 2001

Buddhist treasures undimmed by time

Daigoji Temple has maintained its status as one of Japan's leading Buddhist temples upholding the Shingon sect since its foundation in Kyoto over 1,100 years ago. Named a World Cultural Heritage Site in 1994, the temple is a veritable treasury of Japanese Buddhist sculpture, scripture, esoteric paintings...
CULTURE / Music
Apr 11, 2001

K-pop, ya don't stop

BoA Last month, 500 members of the media gathered for the debut of singer BoA at the Roppongi club Velfarre.
CULTURE / Art
Apr 11, 2001

Retrospective traces life of nihonga master

Nearly 40 years ago, Junsaku Koizumi went into a self-imposed exile from nihonga painting circles as part of his endeavor to create a new world of nihonga. He decided to "learn from objects (of art) rather than from people."

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