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CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Jan 18, 2004

It takes a demon to bring out the saint

LONELY WOMAN, by Takako Takahashi, translated by Maryellen Toman Mori. New York: Columbia University Press, 2004, 192 pp., $24.50, (paper). "A female demon is no mere fanciful creature," writes Takako Takahashi in this newly translated work. "An ordinary woman can turn into a demon in an instant. She...
BUSINESS
Jan 17, 2004

Nine-to-five ATMs passe as banks jump on 24-hour bandwagon

Round-the-clock automated-teller machines are expected to become commonplace in Japan in the near future.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Jan 17, 2004

Robert Tsonos

The magnetism of theater pulled in Robert Tsonos at an early age, and kept him captive. He cannot account for the passion with which he responded to performance art, which still holds him in thrall. Robert says he is the only one in his immediate family, and in his extended family of several cousins,...
JAPAN
Jan 17, 2004

Koizumi pitches Iraq, reforms to LDP

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Friday reiterated the importance of dispatching Self-Defense Forces units to Iraq to help its postwar rehabilitation, in collaboration with the United States and the international community.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jan 17, 2004

Float to travel without moving to find deep self

There are only two known isolation tanks in Japan. One is in Kyoto, for private use. The other is in Kazuo Miyabe's first-floor apartment in one of the fast-disappearing enclaves of Shirokane in downtown Tokyo, where he makes it his business to help people float away the stresses and strains of modern...
JAPAN
Jan 16, 2004

Women become youngest recipients of literary award

Two women became the youngest winners Thursday of the Akutagawa Prize, one of Japan's top literary awards, while two other writers shared the Naoki Prize.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Jan 16, 2004

Lost Nambu citadel of the North

With Morioka, you know where you stand from the outset. As the title to the official English guide declares, Morioka is "the castle town of northern Japan."
BUSINESS
Jan 16, 2004

Cool summer hurts beer, 'happoshu'

Combined shipments of beer and "happoshu" low-malt beer by Japan's five major breweries fell 6.3 percent in 2003 from the previous year for the second straight annual decline.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jan 16, 2004

Your geisha fantasy fulfilled

It was high time for a break from the pressures of jobs and family.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 15, 2004

Offspring of 1970 JAL hijackers arrive from North Korea

Six offspring of Japanese radicals wanted in the 1970 hijacking of a Japan Airlines jetliner to Pyongyang have arrived in Japan, coming from North Korea via Beijing.
JAPAN
Jan 15, 2004

Fukuda lauds halt to defense briefings

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda on Wednesday welcomed the Defense Agency's decision to halt regular news conferences involving top officers of the Air, Ground and Maritime Self-Defense Forces.
JAPAN
Jan 15, 2004

Japanese funds to help make Iraq's mean streets a safer place

Japan will help Iraq buy about 600 police cars as part of its reconstruction efforts, government officials said Wednesday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Jan 15, 2004

'Little' Matsui is ready for New York challenge

Moving to the major leagues won't be the first big change Japanese star Kazuo Matsui has had to make in his baseball career.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / MATTER OF COURSE
Jan 15, 2004

Meiji schoolhouse offers lessons in history

"You want us to go to school on our day off?" my 9-year-old cried in disbelief. "Zettai iyada! (Absolutely no way!)" He's been in Japan since he was 5 and tends to speak in Japanese when he's riled. "Yeah, leave it to our mother to come up with a cockamamie scheme like going to school while we're on...
EDITORIALS
Jan 14, 2004

Mr. Bush sets his sights on Mars

For as long as humankind has been capable of wonder, men and women have looked to the stars and dreamed. For centuries, they had to be content with just that. Only a mere half century ago, we first escaped the Earth's atmosphere; a decade later an American astronaut lowered himself to the lunar surface....
JAPAN
Jan 14, 2004

Court targets obscene comics

A Tokyo publisher was found guilty in a landmark criminal trial Tuesday of distributing obscene comic books containing uncensored sex scenes.
BUSINESS
Jan 14, 2004

McDonald's to give away burgers

McDonald's Co. (Japan) said it will hand out 10 million hamburger coupons on Sunday in an attempt to buck up sales following the outbreak of the first U.S. case of mad cow disease.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / NEW ART SEEN
Jan 14, 2004

Zoom in on Shinjuku for photogalleries galore

Arguably the premier creative medium in Japan, photography has undergone significant changes over the last few years. The advent of digital imaging has made it easier and cheaper for people to experiment with photography, while the latest generation of inkjet printers have made it possible to display...
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Jan 13, 2004

Prize trouble, study in Oz, and a recap

Student rants Let us begin on a note of tolerance and goodwill, with two similar reactions to the letter from student J. in southern Japan with fellow student troubles (Lifelines; Nov. 25, 2003).
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 11, 2004

Belle & Sebastion

Certainly the most interesting commercial success story to emerge from the British indie scene in the '90s was Glasgow's Belle & Sebastian, which contains neither a Belle nor a Sebastian but a shy singer-songwriter named Stuart Murdoch and a consortium of close friends. They garnered a dedicated underground...
JAPAN
Jan 10, 2004

Lay judges may be jailed for leaking private data

The government is studying the feasibility of imprisoning lay judges if they leak information pertaining to the privacy of people involved in trials, according to government sources.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 10, 2004

New defenses for new realities

LONDON -- British defense and security policy has been undergoing a radical reappraisal, as security gurus in their think tanks and military commanders in their operations rooms ponder the unfolding implications of defending a vulnerable island in a world of global terror, rogue states, international...
EDITORIALS
Jan 9, 2004

Settling labor disputes efficiently

One notable development in Japan's labor relations is the rapid increase in disputes between individual employers and workers, such as those involving sudden dismissals and unpaid wages. To settle these disputes legally and quickly, the government has decided to set up a "labor tribunal system."

Longform

Once smoky, male-dominated spaces, today's net cafes, like Kaikatsu Club, are working to make their operations more attractive to women customers.
The second life of Japan's net cafes