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CULTURE / Art
Apr 11, 2001

Signs of an artistically lived life

Living in a country where reading involves interpreting thousands of characters from four different writing systems, it is interesting to reflect on the economy of the English-language alphabet. Isn't it just a little amazing that everything from Shakespeare to the newspaper you are holding in your hands...
JAPAN
Mar 29, 2001

Abe acquitted of negligence in HIV blood-products scandal

A former top authority on hemophilia was acquitted Wednesday of professional negligence resulting in the death of a male patient through the use of HIV-tainted blood coagulants at Teikyo University Hospital in Tokyo.
COMMENTARY
Nov 18, 2000

Wired world has its limits

LONDON -- Is everything breaking down?
CULTURE / Music / PLAY BUTTON
Nov 10, 2000

Kobe's FBI investigates improvisation

Improvisation is a tricky business. In mediocre hands, it is interminable at best, masturbatory at worst. But with skilled practitioners, improvisation becomes the haute couture of the music world, each piece tailored on the spot to a particular confluence of musicians, audience, time and place.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Nov 2, 2000

English teaching comes home to roost as foreign corporations invade Japan

When I was teaching English to Japanese business people in the late '80s, the main purpose was to prepare them for overseas assignments. In many cases, the students were not management people, but technicians and blue-collar workers. They were being sent to the U.S. or Europe to train employees in factories...
LIFE / Food & Drink / NIHONSHU
Aug 24, 2000

Where new discoveries and old favorites await

For exploring the world of sake, nothing is more helpful than a reliable sake retailer with a wide and varying selection. There are many such retailers in all parts of Japan, and developing a good relationship with one is key.
BUSINESS
Jul 21, 2000

Sogo's collapse stokes bankers' nightmares

The recent failure of Sogo Co. has revived a nightmare for major Japanese banks whose share prices are falling to levels that bring to mind early 1999 and the country's acute financial crisis.
COMMENTARY
Jul 18, 2000

A new era unfolds in Taiwan

I was part of a Japanese media group that visited Taiwan June 18-21, took part in joint interviews with President Chen Shui-bian and his predecessor Lee Teng-hui, and came away with strong impressions of their leadership skills.
BUSINESS
May 17, 2000

Sweep kicks up suspicious trading sites

The Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission is examining 25 Japanese-language Web sites for fraudulent activity related to securities transactions, commission officials said Tuesday.
COMMENTARY
Feb 2, 2000

Is the U.S. on the right track?

As we enter the Year of the Dragon, U.S. bilateral relations with key states in Northeast Asia generally appear on track. Ties with America's two key allies, Japan and Korea, remain steady, as the Trilateral Cooperation and Oversight Group process has helped to keep all three in sync when dealing with...
JAPAN
Jan 6, 2000

Pyongyang a gracious companion in food aid talks

BEIJING -- Japanese negotiators last month noticed something unusual when they sat down across the table from government and Red Cross officials from North Korea. The North Koreans, diplomatic sources now say, were being uncharacteristically gracious. While asking Japan for several years' worth of food...
JAPAN
Dec 3, 1999

Delegation urges resumption of talks with Pyongyang

Representatives of a nonpartisan mission that returned from a trip to North Korea on Friday urged Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi to work toward a quick resumption of normalization talks with the Stalinist country. Former Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama, who headed the delegation, and two other representatives...
LIFE / Food & Drink
Nov 11, 1999

Japanese white lightning from a still in Tonga

I admit it. I had to travel all the way to the Kindom of Tonga to learn about shochu. In my six years in Japan, I had simply not heard of it. Sounds ridiculous, but it's true. No, the Tongans don't make it, never mind drink it. They hadn't heard of it till recently either. In fact, most of them still...
JAPAN
Feb 5, 1999

Panel preps battle plans for WTO trade talks

A government panel endorsed two interim reports Friday calling for the government, businesses and academia to work together to prepare for a new round of global trade negotiations scheduled to begin in 2000.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 9, 2023

Bill to promote LGBTQ understanding passes key step in Japan's Lower House

Discussions took place at an unusual speed, with the committee approving the proposal after only a few hours of debate.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
May 24, 2023

'Unusual' level of aircraft maintenance seen in North Korea

North Korea has effectively sealed its borders since early 2020 as part of its drive to deal with the coronavirus pandemic, with all flights cancelled.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 19, 2023

Climate must drive change at development banks

If multilateral development banks undertake a shift in mindset, they can do much more to combat global warming, and faster, with the substantial resources that they manage.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 12, 2023

Taiwan ruling party taps vice president for closely watched election

The winner of the January 2024 vote will immediately step into a role that could determine the trajectory of geopolitics and the global economy for years to come.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 9, 2023

Tokyo is very much invested in Taiwan's future

Japan's strategic agenda with Taiwan will continue to entail more frequent engagement and fostering new avenues of cooperation.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 22, 2023

For China, it's the ordinary people who pose the greatest risk

In times of crisis, such as the COVID pandemic, Chinese leaders are so terrified of public panic that they view the people as the actual source of the crisis at hand.
JAPAN
Dec 4, 2022

From Kyoto Protocol to ‘fossil’ awards: Japan’s climate image stained by inaction

A quarter century after Japan hosted the COP3 climate talks where the Kyoto Protocol was adopted, the country's record at the national level is a study in contrasts.
The Maritime Self-Defense Force's Hyuga destroyer leads the MSDF fleet during the International Fleet Review to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the MSDF's foundation, in Sagami Bay, off Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, last November.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 31, 2023

Japan seeks record ¥7.7 trillion defense budget as buildup continues

The budget request signals that Tokyo remains committed to following through on historic defense reforms instituted in December.
Chinese tourists watch the North Korean border on the Yalu river in the Chinese border town of Dandong, in China's northeastern Liaoning province.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Oct 2, 2023

China's gateway to North Korea waits in vain for border opening

The bustling northeastern city of Dandong offers a window into isolated North Korea.
Nepali security personnel stand guard at Pokhara International Airport in Pokhara, Nepal, ahead of the arrival of the first international flight from China on June 21.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 13, 2023

Nepal is investigating new airport made by China

A few engineers who had worked on the airport said that building quality had been compromised and that the project’s infrastructure was not sound.
A radar facility set up for coastal surveillance by the Ground Self-Defense Force's Yonaguni base on Yonaguni island in Okinawa Prefecture.
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
Dec 14, 2023

Acquiring counterstrike capabilities is no simple matter for Japan

Under its defense and security strategies, deterrence by denial and deterrence by punishment are the essence of Japan’s deterrence capabilities.
Four-piece Atarashii Gakko! and Okinawan rapper Awich (center) shared the Mojave Stage at 88Risings’s “Futures” showcase at Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival last weekend.
CULTURE / Music
Apr 19, 2024

Japanese acts seize Coachella's spotlight — and this ain't your typical J-pop

Yoasobi, Awich and Atarashii Gakko! shine at the California festival, proving just how much J-pop has made strides in reaching international audiences.
New Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te (right) waves alongside outgoing leader Tsai Ing-wen during the presidential inauguration ceremony at the Presidential Office in Taipei on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 20, 2024

‘Cease the intimidation,’ Taiwan’s new president tells China in inaugural speech

New leader Lai Ching-te used his inauguration speech to deliver a clear message to Beijing: Taiwan will not be subordinate to China.
A self-driving vehicle travels along a public road in Eiheiji, Fukui Prefecture, on May 25.
JAPAN
Jun 3, 2024

Self-driving gets off to bumpy start in Fukui town

In the year since the service began in Eiheiji, financial and technical problems have emerged.

Longform

Members of the nonprofit group Japan Youth Memorial Association search for the remains of dead soldiers in a cave in Okinawa Prefecture in February.
The long search for Japan’s lost soldiers