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COMMENTARY / World
Aug 5, 2002

Risks preclude nuclear option for Japan

WASHINGTON -- "Just like the Constitution . . . the amendment of (Japan's nonnuclear principles) is also likely."
COMMENTARY
Aug 5, 2002

Virtues that bolster China

I traveled to China July 11-16 to deliver a lecture at a congress of econometrics at Jilin University. It was my first visit to China in three years.
COMMENTARY
Aug 3, 2002

Flaws mar proposed reforms

LONDON -- The Japanese Foreign Ministry has been much criticized over the last year. Reforms have been made and more changes are likely. Some of the criticism has been justified, but much is misplaced and some of the proposals for changes are mistaken.
JAPAN
Aug 3, 2002

Lack of rival leaves Koizumi boss by default

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's sky-high popularity is a thing of the past. Over the last six months, his public approval ratings have declined sharply, as has his image as a charismatic reformer.
BUSINESS
Jul 31, 2002

As plasma-display TVs come down in price, sales go up

After an inauspicious debut just a few years ago, plasma-display TVs have become one of the hottest home appliances around.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Jul 28, 2002

Putting her house in order

In Japan, the vast majority of legal adoptions -- more than 90 percent -- are of adults and are usually carried out for inheritance or family succession purposes. A house with only daughters, say, will adopt a grown man who can maintain the family business and family name.
COMMENTARY
Jul 26, 2002

Iran's reformers need support

BRUSSELS -- Images of Iran seem stuck in a time warp that dates back to the early 1980s, when the country was considered to be one of the world's "rogue states" due to its militant standoff with the United States and its state support of Islamic terror groups. Now it is a flawed democracy -- with a distinctly...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 25, 2002

Tanaka denies state-salary scam

Former Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka on Wednesday categorically denied allegations she misappropriated the state-paid salaries of her secretaries.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 24, 2002

Nation at crime and punishment crossroad

Eight inmates share a cell designed for six in Fuchu Prison in western Tokyo, following a recent explosion in the ranks of the incarcerated.
COMMENTARY / JAPAN IN THE GLOBAL ERA
Jul 22, 2002

'Domesticists' rule amid idea drought

LAUSANNE, Switzerland -- I do not live in Japan, although I first set foot (a rather small foot at 4 years old) on Japanese soil in 1949 and knew the country throughout the 1960s, '70s, '80s and '90s, when I either lived there temporarily or commuted frequently. My visits this century have been far fewer...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Jul 14, 2002

Living outside the box

The days of Japan as the No. 1 business model for the world are long gone, but a new and perhaps more interesting model combining Japanese and Western elements seems to be developing. Unfortunately, the transition from a system based on lifelong employment, seniority and unthinking loyalty to one's company...
JAPAN
Jul 14, 2002

Coalition may amend bills on protection of information

The ruling coalition parties are considering amending controversial bills on the protection of personal information to include penalties for violations by bureaucrats and a clause to take freedom of expression into account, it was learned Saturday.
COMMENTARY / JAPAN IN THE GLOBAL ERA
Jul 8, 2002

Great country; pity about the institutions

LAUSANNE, Switzerland -- My good friend Philippe Pons, the Japan correspondent for the leading French daily Le Monde, wrote an excellent article, "Au Japon, la crise n'est pas ce que l'on croit" (In Japan, the crisis is not what people think), for the newspaper's June 19 edition. Pons rectifies many...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / FUZZY LOGIC
Jul 7, 2002

And the beat goes on

After locking myself in the garage for ages, banging my head against the wall and screaming the merits of the latest Japanese band that sounds remotely like Stooges brawling with MC5 in a wind tunnel, it seems logical to kind of get away from it all -- open that door, stroll outside for some fresh air,...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 3, 2002

Lawyers defend poisoning suspect's silence

Legal experts and journalists in Japan sometimes forget that defendants in criminal cases are guaranteed the right to remain silent.
SOCCER / J. League / ON THE BALL
Jul 2, 2002

Success in first round weakened Japan's motivation

The World Cup ended Sunday night with Brazil claiming its fifth World Cup title following a monthlong soccer festival which has seen quite a few surprises, including first-round exits by France and Argentina and cohost South Korea's fine run into the semifinals.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / NEW ART SEEN
Jun 26, 2002

Photo selection offers the whole picture

Before World Cup events kicked off in Japan, there were distressing media reports of how hotels planned to refuse service to foreigners; and of stadium-area restaurants and bars intending to close their doors on game days, from fear of furigan (hooligans).
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 25, 2002

Shenyang highlights bilateral problems

BEIJING -- Although the furor raised by the two-week dispute over the Shenyang incident has died down, it has not entirely dissipated -- particularly in Japan. The incident highlighted Japan's sensitivity toward China's growing power, and demonstrated that if frictions in this area are not effectively...
COMMENTARY
Jun 24, 2002

There's a spoiler in China's dynamo economy

It is becoming a fad among the Japanese media to praise China as a new economic giant. Some reports say the fast-growing neighbor poses a serious threat to Japan's economy; others say China is emerging as "the factory of the world."
JAPAN
Jun 21, 2002

Improved PR urged for Foreign Ministry

The Foreign Ministry could improve its handling of public relations matters by reinforcing the role of senior officials in charge of dealing with the media, an advisory panel said Thursday.
SOCCER / World cup
Jun 18, 2002

Troussier ready to take on Turkey

RIFU, Miyagi Pref. -- Japan coach Philippe Troussier warned his players on Monday not to get cocky ahead of their Round of 16 game against Turkey.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Jun 9, 2002

In publishing, the modern girls have it

World Cup fever may have taken over the Japanese media, but the bookstores are full of books on language and education. The sales of books for learning English are perhaps connected to spring and its association in Japan with the beginning of the academic year and the hiring of new employees by the corporate...
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 4, 2002

Activists put themselves in firing line

It was April 1, and Aisa Kiyosue and nearly 100 other activists from around the world were marching toward the Dehesha refugee camp in Beit Jala, northern Bethlehem, in an attempt to block it from an anticipated attack by the Israeli Army. They were in high spirits, clapping and singing songs of protest,...
JAPAN
Jun 4, 2002

Private data kept by all SDF arms

The Defense Agency on Monday said that it and each branch of the Self-Defense Forces have systematically collected data on individuals who made information-disclosure requests, contradicting a statement last week indicating the practice was isolated to the Maritime Self-Defense Force and carried out...
JAPAN
Jun 1, 2002

Kansai firms hope the Cup runneth over

OSAKA -- While economists debate the macroeconomic impact of the FIFA World Cup, which kicked off Friday, Hisako Tanigawa just hopes it will mean extra pocket money for her family.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / THE WRITERS' SPIN
May 31, 2002

Keio professor applies soccer tactics to business

Watching World Cup soccer games may give corporate managers a good clue about productive organization. Shunsuke Takahashi, an expert on human resources management, said that in a "soccer style" organization, team members work autonomously and flexibly. Even defenders can take shots on goal.
JAPAN
May 30, 2002

Court overturns textbook ruling

The Tokyo High Court on Wednesday overturned a lower court decision and denied a university professor compensation for the government's screening of textbooks, which he said violated his constitutional freedom of expression.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CUP COUNTDOWN
May 29, 2002

Hotels vie for World Cup windfall

As the Friday opening of the 2002 FIFA World Cup approaches, hoteliers in and around Tokyo are making last-minute efforts to get their slice of the hoopla that will carry on through the next month.
COMMENTARY
May 27, 2002

Global soccer invades Japan

LONDON -- Now for the really big story -- and Japan is at the center of it. But the focus this time is not on dreary economics but on soccer. With the curtain rising on the great drama of the Japan/South Korea-hosted World Cup, all eyes and world media attention are beamed on the teams, the players,...
LIFE / Digital
May 23, 2002

Net making inroads on World Cup

South Korea has already won the World Cup, virtually.

Longform

Koichi Tagawa’s diary entry from Aug. 9, 1945, describes the day of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki.
The horrors of Nagasaki, in first person