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EDITORIALS
Jan 5, 2003

The tale of a Spix's macaw

Two weeks ago, a lonely specimen of one of the world's rarest birds made a very special trip. "Presley," a male Spix's macaw, had been found last summer living quietly in a Denver suburb with his owner, a woman who had no idea of his importance in the scheme of things. Now Presley was finally on a plane...
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Jan 5, 2003

Milner the hottest new kid on the block

LONDON -- James Milner will celebrate his 17th birthday on Saturday by signing a new contract with Leeds United that will earn the forward £800 a week -- 10 times his current apprentice salary of £80.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Jan 5, 2003

Staging stellar shows at bargain prices

As the commercial networks wind up their holiday offerings of low-budget blooper specials and celebrity-heavy quiz shows, regular programming slowly returns. However, things don't really get back to "normal" until next week.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jan 5, 2003

Japan's own meals on wheels

In the early morning of Dec. 1, the first "Hayate" shinkansen left Hachinohe Station in Aomori Prefecture. Its departure for Tokyo in a blaze of publicity signaled that Japan's fastest express trains had a new northernmost limit -- some 96.6 km further on the Tohoku Shinkansen Line from Morioka in Iwate...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jan 5, 2003

You saw it! The gongs and goofs of 2002

Media Personalities of the Year: Koichi Tanaka and Tama-chan
JAPAN
Jan 4, 2003

North Korea abductees to be made eligible for financial help

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi is to officially recognize 15 Japanese -- including the five people who returned to Japan on Oct. 15 -- as victims of abduction by Pyongyang, it was learned Friday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 3, 2003

77,000 turn out for Emperor's New Year's talk

About 77,000 well-wishers visited the Imperial Palace on Thursday as Emperor Akihito offered his annual New Year's greetings.
JAPAN
Jan 3, 2003

Ishihara's first term gets mixed review

Outspoken Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara is one of the most talked-about politicians in Japan today, often mentioned by the media as a possible future prime minister.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 3, 2003

LDP eyes age limit in quest for new blood

Older lawmakers of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party may be feeling particularly jittery as speculation of an early dissolution of the Lower House for a snap election circulates in Nagata-cho.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Jan 3, 2003

Vast visions made real

First of two parts These days the United States may not be pulling its weight and taking any kind of responsible lead vis-a-vis climate change and the Kyoto Protocol. In the past, however, there have been undeniable -- if occasional -- grand American visions or strokes of inspired leadership. One such...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jan 3, 2003

Chic eats for the months ahead

It's prognostication time again and, just like Janus (after whom this month is, after all, named), the Food File likes to look ahead by surveying all that lies behind.
COMMENTARY
Jan 1, 2003

Pols are but small cogs in the machine

LONDON -- My God, the shame of it. Prime Minister Tony Blair is a poodle, yapping obediently when U.S. President George W. Bush snaps his fingers. This bitter vein of comedy runs through the thin political culture we have at the moment. But perhaps, muse the bitter critics, this British subservience...
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 1, 2003

Trials of Khmer Rouge must serve true justice

WASHINGTON -- The New Year may finally see the start of trials for Khmer Rouge leaders responsible for the deaths of nearly 2 million Cambodians in the 1970s, if the Cambodian government seizes the opportunity. But it's also possible that the United Nations could be dragged into a flawed process to set...
JAPAN
Jan 1, 2003

Recruiters adapt to a changing job scene

Are the days of the job-offering "recruiter" numbered? In Japan, recruiters are young employees who help their companies woo recent graduates from their alma maters. But the long-standing practice -- criticized for favoring students from a small circle of select universities -- is giving way to more...
BUSINESS
Jan 1, 2003

Dollar expected to fall against yen in first half

For Japanese looking to travel to the United States this year, the best exchange rates for the yen are likely to last until around June -- that is, if market predictions prove to be correct.
CULTURE / Music
Jan 1, 2003

2002: The sound of a year

Chickens Coming Home to Roost Award Last fall, Dr. Dre was sued by an Indian composer who said the producer used a sample of the composer's music in Truth Hurts' hit single "Addictive" without permission and without giving credit. The composer accused Dre of "cultural imperialism" and "perpetuating...
CULTURE / Music
Jan 1, 2003

Heard, but not scene

Only a few years ago, Japanese music was the hype. At South by Southwest, the tony annual music confab, consecutive years saw Cornelius, Number Girl and Ex-Girl wow audiences. Rolling Stone ran a feature on upcoming Japanese bands like The Zoobombs, Takako Minekawa and Buffalo Daughter that heralded...
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Dec 31, 2002

Caveats to help avoid the conmen

Not long ago, while I was out posting a letter, a salesman phoned and told my wife that we had been tabbed to receive a new water filter for our kitchen faucet, absolutely free of charge.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Dec 31, 2002

Don't pay extra for shipping when you move to Japan

Belated greetings
EDITORIALS
Dec 30, 2002

Mr. Koizumi fails to measure up

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi is losing his precious political capital: public popularity. He may be likened to a stage actor who no longer strikes a strong chord in his audience. The actor still has many fans, but he is falling short of general expectations. Moreover, his lines lack punch and he...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Dec 29, 2002

A practical politician with his eyes fixed firmly on the stars

SPARKY: Warrior, Peacemaker, Poet, Patriot. A Portrait of Senator Spark M. Matsunaga, by Richard Halloran. Honolulu: Matsunaga Charitable Foundation, 2002, 259 pp., paper ($16.95) At a reception for a visiting Japanese prime minister held at the White House in 1981, Alexander Haig, recently confirmed...
COMMENTARY
Dec 29, 2002

Resist the potions of the past

LONDON -- "Capitulation bottom" is the ugly and inelegant phrase used by financial analysts in London to indicate the low point in the cycle of investor optimism and pessimism -- the point where investors give up in despair, sell their shrunken shareholdings, if they can find a buyer, and start putting...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Dec 29, 2002

Koma Square -- a new years' tale by RK

1997-99 He woke to the sound of a prerecorded voice booming from the nationalists' minitruck rolling through their neighborhood, making the windows rattle. Shirtless on the tatami, his bare back pressed to the ribbed weave, he heard the voice as part of his dream and then part of the day, and then...
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 29, 2002

'Russian spirit' headed down the hatch

MOSCOW -- With the winter holidays upon us, Russians are looking forward to the longest drinking binge of the year. It started with "Western" Christmas, which Russians began celebrating after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Then come New Year's Eve, Russian Orthodox Christmas on Jan. 7 and the old...
COMMENTARY
Dec 28, 2002

Keep a close eye on prisons

LONDON -- The basic objectives of a judicial sentence of imprisonment are deterrence, rehabilitation and punishment. To deter criminals, it is first necessary to arrest them and ensure that those who are guilty are convicted. The criminal must then recognize that imprisonment, which means in the first...

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