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COMMENTARY
Feb 15, 2004

Afghanistan risks becoming narco-state

ISLAMABAD -- The United Nations' office on drugs and crime has warned recently that Afghanistan risks becoming a narco-state, dependent largely on the flow of illegal drugs. The production and shipment of narcotics in an otherwise shattered and bankrupt economy not only add to the aggravation within...
JAPAN
Feb 14, 2004

Defense Agency list violated privacy

The Tokyo District Court ruled Friday that a list compiled by the Defense Agency of people who asked it for information was a violation of their privacy.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Feb 14, 2004

Roland Thompson

His happiest memory, Roland Thompson says, is of his training, and learning advanced techniques, in Soke Shioda's black-belt aikido classes. His saddest memory is of the day Shioda died. He regards himself as "very fortunate to have been with him, and to have trained with him, during that last part of...
JAPAN / LABOR PAINS
Feb 13, 2004

Medical sector faces hard choice amid aging society

As Japan gropes for solutions to the imminent labor shortage amid the rapidly graying population, the failure of a private-sector project to import nurses is a bitter reminder of the hurdles involved in attracting and keeping foreign professionals here.
JAPAN
Feb 13, 2004

Officials play down Pyongyang meeting

Wednesday's surprise visit by two senior Foreign Ministry officials to Pyongyang has fueled speculation -- or, to be more precise, expectation -- among the public that there will be developments on the abduction issue.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Feb 13, 2004

Hoddle returning to Southampton not a good, or popular, idea

LONDON -- Imagine your company has a product soon to go on the market and to test public opinion you canvass the views of most of the potential buyers.
BUSINESS
Feb 13, 2004

Coca-Cola Japan eyes new business strategy

The Japanese unit of The Coca-Cola Co. plans to strengthen its four main products through advertising campaigns and develop health drinks and other new products to respond more quickly to changing beverage trends.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 13, 2004

Bird flu lessons highlight change in Asia

SINGAPORE -- Avian flu has spread across 10 countries in Asia -- from China and Pakistan to Indonesia. A meeting in Bangkok at the end of January highlighted the flu's "regional dimension" as well as the necessity for a regional approach to eradicating it.
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Feb 12, 2004

To run, or not to run, the race issue

Last year, when Californians had to choose between Hollywood star Arnold Schwarzenegger and incumbent Democrat Gray Davis to be their governor, they also had to vote on another divisive issue: Proposition 54. This law, the so-called Racial Privacy Initiative, sought to ban the state collection of information...
Japan Times
LIFE / Language
Feb 12, 2004

English: black and white and read all over

"What does 'abortion' mean? It's not a word we often find in textbooks, is it?" Hideharu Tajima, a teacher at Shakujii High School in Tokyo's Nerima Ward, asked students in his English-language class.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 12, 2004

Yasukuni remark annoys China

Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wang Yi voiced displeasure Wednesday over remarks made by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi about the controversial Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo.
LIFE / Digital / NAME OF THE GAME
Feb 12, 2004

Classic game builds on game classic

Nintendo's Metroid has always been more popular in the United States and Europe than in Japan, but I'm really not sure why. The series follows the adventures of Samus, a female microbe-massacring bounty-hunter/astronaut, in some truly incredible space armor.
JAPAN
Feb 11, 2004

Changing security situation may alter collective defense stance: Koizumi

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi hinted Tuesday that the government might alter its constitutional interpretation of the nation's right to collective self-defense as it deals with future changes in the security situation.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 11, 2004

Yoshinoya faithful prepare for end to 'gyudon'

Customers lined up for a bowl of "gyudon" beef on rice at Yoshinoya D&C Co. outlets Tuesday, a day before it stops serving the dish at most shops due to the import ban on U.S. beef.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Feb 11, 2004

Timeless message of divine 'Angels' rings loud and clear

They've pulled it off again! Almost exactly a year ago the team at tpt (Theatre Project Tokyo), led by the renowned American director Robert Allan Ackerman, got Tokyo theater in 2003 off to a great start with their stunningly moving production of "Bent," cast entirely from the young actors who took part...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 11, 2004

Sexual harassment victim to stage English play about her experience

About six years ago, Lilith Takahashi began performing a solo Japanese play based on her experience of sexual harassment at a U.S. university in the early 1980s.
COMMENTARY
Feb 11, 2004

SDF dispatch opens new era for Japan

The dispatch of the Self-Defense Forces to Iraq marks a watershed in Japan's post-World War II security and defense policy. The SDF has joined U.N. peacekeeping operations several times since 1992. The latest deployment, though designed primarily to support humanitarian and reconstruction efforts in...
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Feb 10, 2004

Used books, furniture sales and clothes

More readers have been writing to say that they have lost columns cut out for future reference, so could we please relay the same information again. Happy to do so from time to time. Note, however, that that you can find back columns on The Japan Times Web site at www.japantimes.com
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 10, 2004

Court rejects former sex slaves' plea for damages, government apology

The Tokyo High Court on Monday rejected an appeal by seven women from Taiwan for an official apology from the government and a total of 70 million yen in damages for being forced to provide sex for the Japanese military before and during World War II.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 8, 2004

Resist the attempts to recognize Taiwan

TAIPEI -- The Cold War may be over in Europe, but it is very much still with us in Asia. The North-South division on the Korean Peninsula is still possibly the world's most dangerous political stand-off. Not far behind is the tension between China and Taiwan. A civil war between the two was frozen just...
JAPAN
Feb 8, 2004

More Japanese finding wedded bliss with foreigners

Marriages between Japanese and foreign nationals now account for around 5 percent of all marriages in Japan, more than double the rate of the late 1980s, according to a recently published report by the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
JAPAN
Feb 7, 2004

Pilots, cabin crew at airlines seek shorter exposure to cosmic radiation

Pilots and cabin crews of Japanese airlines urged the government Friday to protect them from exposure to high-altitude cosmic radiation.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 7, 2004

Harajuku Segway stunt draws Tokyo cops' ire

Tokyo police turned over to prosecutors Friday their case against a businessman who asked an employee to ride a U.S.-made Segway scooter on a public street, allegedly in violation of the Road Traffic Law.
JAPAN
Feb 7, 2004

90% of consumers worried about future food supply

About 90 percent of Japanese consumers are concerned about Japan's future food supply, according to a survey by the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry.
COMMENTARY
Feb 7, 2004

Flu brings out worst in Asia

HONG KONG -- Amid the spread of bird flu, developing Asian nations face a challenge they are failing to meet, because a degree of modernity is required that they are unable to attain. On the one hand, Asia pursues the skyscrapers, the summit conferences, the high-tech industries seen as symbols of modernity....

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