Search - media

 
 
COMMENTARY
Nov 6, 2000

Japan has no monopoly on obscuring past

The fuss surrounding a recent book by U.S. academic Herbert Bix, "Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan," said to detail for the first time the Showa Emperor's allegedly close involvement in Japan's past militarism, seems strange. The critics are making much of Japan's lack of interest in these revelations....
JAPAN
Nov 3, 2000

Mori says he is 'humbled' by dismal approval ratings

Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori said Thursday he "humbly" accepts the low approval ratings of his Cabinet in recent media polls and repeated his determination to promote ongoing economic stimulus policies and continue to support the information technology revolution.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 3, 2000

Behind the rush to Pyongyang

SEOUL -- Some journalists profess to know more than they ought to. While President Bill Clinton insists a decision regarding a possible visit to North Korea has not been taken, some media have already published details of the president's itinerary. According to one report, Clinton's two-day visit to...
JAPAN
Oct 28, 2000

With shield gone, Mori may be next

Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori's decision Friday to accept Chief Cabinet Secretary Hidenao Nakagawa's resignation was apparently aimed at containing further damage to his administration, which was battered recently over his comments regarding a controversial proposal to North Korea.
JAPAN
Oct 27, 2000

Pressure mounts for Mori to dump top aide Nakagawa

Chief Cabinet Secretary Hidenao Nakagawa came under heavy fire Thursday over scandals involving a rightist figure and an extramarital affair, with some ruling bloc officials joining the opposition's calls for his resignation.
COMMENTARY
Oct 27, 2000

The coalition loads the dice

A few months ago, leaders of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party were concerned that the party could suffer a shocking setback in the Upper House election next year if Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori remained in power then. There were also widespread fears that the ruling coalition of the LDP, New Komeito...
COMMUNITY
Oct 12, 2000

Nagano microbrewer takes eco-friendly path

Remember that book, "100 Simple Things You Can Do To Save The Earth?" Here is the 101st: Head out to Kurohime in Nagano Prefecture. At the foot of Mount Kurohime you'll find Shinano Brewery. Walk into the woody Chestnuts Pub, order one of their English-style beers and you'll be partaking in a unique...
COMMENTARY / WASHINGTON UPDATE
Oct 11, 2000

U.S. race is too close to call

The 2000 U.S. presidential election campaign closely resembles a roller-coaster ride. The candidates are gyrating up and down in the polls, both in momentum and in spirit.
CULTURE / Books
Oct 6, 2000

'Exodus' to a country of hope?

In recent years Murakami Ryu has received much attention for his uncanny knack of writing novels taking up themes, such as teen crime and hikikomori (withdrawing from the world and shutting oneself up in one's room), just before they come to public awareness as social problems. Now Murakami's new novel...
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 3, 2000

A real German lesson for the two Koreas

SEOUL -- In one of numerous books dealing with unification matters, South Korean President Kim Dae Jung refers to his meetings with leading German politicians in the early part of the 1990s. According to Kim's account, the German politicians told him, "You are fortunate because you can analyze all the...
OLYMPICS
Oct 2, 2000

Olympics draw to a close

SYDNEY -- They came, they saw and some even conquered, but Sydney was the undisputed winner as the Games drew to a close Sunday and the last medals were being decided. These Olympics will be exalted as the best Games ever.
EDITORIALS
Sep 25, 2000

The Whitewater washout

The independent counsel investigating U.S. President Bill Clinton in connection with the Whitewater scandal has determined that neither the president nor his wife "knowingly participated in any criminal conduct . . . or knew of such conduct." The investigation, announced Mr. Robert Ray in a summary released...
EDITORIALS
Sep 24, 2000

A feminist ties the knot

A lot of fun has been had this month at the expense of longtime American feminist icon Gloria Steinem. After decades of pointing out the drawbacks of marriage, the 66-year-old Ms. Steinem recently surprised and titillated the world by going off and getting married.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Sep 21, 2000

Japan insurance market just a phone call away

For the past several years, the insurance industry has been battered on two fronts by bad publicity. On the one hand, the collapse of almost all the major life insurance companies has been blamed on poor investment choices and even poorer management, while on the other, the spate of recent murder-for-insurance...
OLYMPICS
Sep 16, 2000

Fire and glory open 2000 Olympics

SYDNEY-- Carrying the hopes of her nation both in sport and racial reconciliation, 400-meter world champion Cathy Freeman ran a guard of honor the length of the stadium before lowering the Olympic torch into a pool of water Friday to light a submerged cauldron to open the biggest and last Olympic Games...
OLYMPICS
Sep 13, 2000

Web sites offer a different Olympic view

Want an alternative perspective of the Sydney Olympics? Look no further than the World Wide Web, where everyone from subversives to satirists are poking criticism and fun at the biggest sporting show on earth. Fired by a sense that Australia and the Games are not all sugar-coated harmony and joy -- or...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Sep 10, 2000

That Fukuoka Dome Japan Series screw-up

While it's pretty much a foregone conclusion the Yomiuri Giants are going to win their first Central League pennant in four years, the Pacific League race is a dandy that threatens to go to the Oct. 9 wire with three teams in the running: the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks, Seibu Lions and Nippon Ham Fighters....
JAPAN
Sep 10, 2000

Shibuya residents furious with graffiti seen as art

Some call it the latest art trend, but others lambaste it as an ugly symbol of present-day Japanese society.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 9, 2000

Historical irony haunts Chinese uprising

HONG KONG -- Last March 8, the Chinese government executed a former vice governor of the southeast province of Jiangxi, in the hope that this would demonstrate its determination to act against corrupt and oppressive officials.
JAPAN
Sep 6, 2000

Top LDP faction set to back Mori: Aoki

Mikio Aoki, a key member of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's most powerful faction and the chief Cabinet secretary to two prime ministers, said his faction will support Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori until the Upper House election next summer.
JAPAN
Sep 5, 2000

Serial killer may be after Western women

A serial killer who preys on attractive Western women may be on the loose in Tokyo, according to a well-known Japanese criminologist and psychiatrist who has advised the family of Lucie Blackman.
CULTURE / Art
Aug 31, 2000

Covering the fine arts: Frank Stella speaks

Frank Stella As part of the celebration of the art collection at the U.S. ambassador's residence, Ambassador Foley invited celebrated artist Frank Stella to take part in the reception and media tour. The day after the media tour, The Japan Times interviewed Stella at the residence. Following are excerpts...
EDITORIALS
Aug 28, 2000

Wiretap, but carefully

The wiretap law against organized crime that took effect on Aug. 15 could prove a double-edged sword. It allows law-enforcement officials to eavesdrop on phone conversations (including cell-phone conversations), fax messages and e-mail. Unless properly enforced, however, the law could violate basic rights,...
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 20, 2000

The targeting of a journalistic pariah

Despite an abundance of wives and concubines, ancient Israel's King David bedded another man's wife. The prophet Nathan condemned David with the parable of a rich man who ignored his own flocks to seize a poor man's lamb (2 Samuel 12:1-4). So it is with leftwing activists who lobby for the firing of...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Aug 17, 2000

Support the economy -- take a vacation

If all you knew about Japan was what you saw on Japanese TV, you might think the Japanese are the most well-traveled citizens in the world. No other broadcast culture offers as many travel programs in which happy-go-lucky celebrity guides see the sights, interact freely with the natives and, most importantly,...
COMMENTARY / WASHINGTON UPDATE
Aug 12, 2000

Lieberman gives Gore a boost

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut is Democratic presidential nominee Al Gore's choice for vice president. The choice is a masterful one. Lieberman brings several big pluses to Gore's candidacy:
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
Aug 10, 2000

Japanese athletes owe debt to Chiba

In today's sporting world we are too often forced to see rebels without a cause trying to make a name for themselves by their outrageous actions on or off the field of play. They constantly try to attract attention by bullying, being obnoxious or condescending to opponents, teammates, coaches, fans and...
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 2, 2000

Lebanon's Daily Star does battle on a new front

BEIRUT -- The Daily Star did not need to send a reporter to the front line to cover the first salvos of the 15-year civil war that nearly broke Lebanon's back. The newspaper's offices were already there.
JAPAN
Aug 1, 2000

Mori apologizes for naming shady Kuze as FRC chief

Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori on Monday officially apologized for having appointed scandal-tainted Kimitaka Kuze as chief of the Financial Reconstruction Commission, telling the Diet he was not fully aware of Kuze's shady background.

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