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Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / ON THE BOOK TRAIL
May 27, 2004

"The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time," "Fergus Crane"

"The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time," Mark Haddon, Random House; 2003; 272 pp. You know from the first paragraph that this is no ordinary book.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / FUZZY LOGIC
May 23, 2004

Should be handled with extreme caution

Violence is in, pop-pickers. You've seen those pictures of those troops whooping it up in Iraqi jails. Violence is clearly fun. It's cool. It basically rocks! Just ask Bush and Rumsfeld. They kicked the whole thing off.
JAPAN
May 22, 2004

Quasi-jury system earns Diet approval

A judicial reform law designed to introduce Japan's first quasi-jury system was enacted by the Diet on Friday, paving the way for the system's launch in 2009.
JAPAN
May 22, 2004

Quasi-jury system earns Diet approval

A judicial reform law designed to introduce Japan's first quasi-jury system was enacted by the Diet on Friday, paving the way for the system's launch in 2009.
COMMENTARY / World
May 22, 2004

AIDS: China's titanic threat

NEW YORK -- The recent warning by the Chinese government that HIV/AIDS is spreading rapidly in the country and that new and urgent measures are needed to combat the infection marks an important step in the fight against HIV/AIDS. This is particularly remarkable because, at the beginning of the epidemic,...
EDITORIALS
May 19, 2004

Chechnya explodes again

The assassination last week of Mr. Akhmad Kadyrov is a reminder of the festering sore that is Chechnya. Moscow's hopes of pacifying the restive republic have been laid to rest with the slain president. Russian President Vladimir Putin now faces difficult choices: Find a suitable local figure that both...
JAPAN
May 18, 2004

Some still against drinking water during exercise

Until about a decade ago, students at many Japanese schools were forbidden from drinking water while engaging in sports, no matter how thirsty they became.
JAPAN
May 18, 2004

Some still against drinking water during exercise

Until about a decade ago, students at many Japanese schools were forbidden from drinking water while engaging in sports, no matter how thirsty they became.
COMMUNITY / Issues
May 11, 2004

Kidnap crisis poses a new risk

When five Japanese were taken hostage in Iraq last month, huge public concern for their safe return quickly gave way to hostility and a campaign of vilification. A disastrous public appeal by the families of three of the hostages for the withdrawal of SDF troops from Iraq encouraged the government to...
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 7, 2004

Troubled kids find caring for animals good therapy

Problem and abused kids are on the rise and need help from many quarters, not just professional, to turn their lives around, and animals can and do play a therapeutic role to this end, according to an American expert in the field.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 4, 2004

Effort afoot to put Japan on eco-tour map

The government has embarked on a project to make Japan a major travel destination in the 21st century, hoping this not only boosts the domestic tourism industry but offers other windfalls as well.
JAPAN
May 4, 2004

Iraqis here laud Hussein's fall but have mixed feelings about U.S. role

When the war in Iraq began in March last year, many Iraqis living in Japan, just like their compatriots back home, pinned their hopes on the United States being able to oust Saddam Hussein from his iron-fisted, decades-long grip on power.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 4, 2004

Effort afoot to put Japan on eco-tour map

The government has embarked on a project to make Japan a major travel destination in the 21st century, hoping this not only boosts the domestic tourism industry but offers other windfalls as well.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
May 1, 2004

Reverend mom gives a good name to activism

Quite how the Rev. Claudia Genung (a surname of French Hugenot origin) fits everything into 24 hours is beyond all understanding.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 30, 2004

Kimono makes comeback -- in used form

Every once in a while, 27-year-old Junko Nagumo and five companions visit boutiques in upmarket Tokyo districts such as Omotesando and Ginza -- not to buy trendy fashion items but to find inexpensive used kimono.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Apr 27, 2004

Does comic relief hurt kids?

'Cuteness, eroticism, and violence are the essence of Japanese pop culture," says Ichiya Nakamura, executive director of the Stanford Japan Center and ex-government policy maker.
EDITORIALS
Apr 25, 2004

'A long fuse has been lighted'

With the earlier-than-usual arrival of warm weather, the influenza season in Japan is almost over, and the number of patients reported to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare is down 40 percent from last year. However, the danger of the bird flu virus mutating and a new type of influenza breaking...
Features / LIFE OR DEATH
Apr 25, 2004

Debate heats up over legal reform

The maximum legal penalty in Japan is death. Locked alone in their tiny cells, 56 death-row prisoners are now awaiting their fate. Last year, one person was executed. No one knows how many will be this year.
JAPAN
Apr 24, 2004

Cabinet trio sorry for not paying compulsory pension premiums

Three of the 17 ministers in Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's Cabinet said Friday they have not paid their premiums for the compulsory National Pension System.
JAPAN
Apr 21, 2004

10% of abused elders imperiled: poll

A government survey has found that about 10 percent of abused elderly people in Japan have been in a life-threatening situation while being abused.
COMMENTARY
Apr 20, 2004

Hong Kong protesters roll up their sleeves

HONG KONG -- The April 11 protest against Beijing's decision to interpret the Basic Law's provisions in a way that makes it impossible for the Special Administrative Region, or SAR, to initiate moves toward universal suffrage marks the first large protest against the central government since the handover...
JAPAN
Apr 17, 2004

Soliciting for oldest trade with Shibuya-style spin

Announcements at a JR Shibuya Station exit warn people to be on guard for strangers approaching them, and police outside are on constant watch to ensure pedestrians aren't accosted.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 14, 2004

Shooting at the top

Another reason to love Sofia Coppola: She had the good sense (and stubbornness) to refuse to do any more interviews while in Japan. Judging by her news-conference comments, she is better at making her films than talking about them -- no crime, that -- so it was a smart move to delegate the explaining...
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 11, 2004

India girds for world's biggest tamasha

Between April 20 and May 10, staggered over five rounds, Indians will vote in the 14th general election since inde- pendence in 1947. When Florida caused such a fuss in the last U.S. presidential election four years ago, Indians were bemused and amused in equal measure. They suggested that Americans...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Apr 10, 2004

How to be polite when you're really not

Japanese people are renowned for being polite. But I think "polite" is a misplaced word because in Western culture, whether someone is polite or not is completely optional. Some people are polite and others are not. The meaning of "polite" in Japanese culture is deeper, and perhaps a more proper English...
COMMENTARY
Apr 4, 2004

Taiwan invasion scenario not so unlikely

HONG KONG -- It's unimaginable that China would ever go to war against Taiwan, right? Until recently, that's what I thought.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 24, 2004

Prince of Darkness

Why did Melt Banana, a local avant-punk band, open for Bonnie "Prince" Billy on his first-ever concert tour of Japan. Simple: Melt Banana like the music of Will Oldham, the man behind the moniker, and wanted to be part of his final show at O'Nest in Shibuya.
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM MOSCOW
Mar 20, 2004

Back to the future in Russia

MOSCOW -- The outcome of Russia's presidential elections was known long before the polls opened March 14. President Vladimir Putin had successfully marginalized the opposition by placing mass media under state control and exiling tycoons who were supplying opposition groups with donations.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 18, 2004

Preventive-care firms lift operations in response to graying population

Care-related firms are trying to expand operations aimed at preventing the physical and mental deterioration of people insured for nursing care, in line with the government's plan to reform the nursing-care insurance system in fiscal 2005.

Longform

Ichiro Suzuki, one of the most iconic players in NPB and MLB history, was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame with 99.7% of the vote.
With Hall of Fame induction, Ichiro makes himself heard loud and clear