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COMMENTARY / World
Jun 25, 2005

EU lessons for East Asian regionalism

SINGAPORE -- Recent referendums in both France and Netherlands dealt a blow to European integration as voters overwhelming rejected the proposed EU Constitution 55-45 percent and 64-37 per- cent, respectively. Nine countries, including Germany, Spain and Italy, have already approved the constitution...
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 24, 2005

Door wide open for resolving Korean nuclear issue

HONOLULU -- There is no country in Asia, indeed in the world, that behaves like the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). Since its founding more than a half century ago, the DPRK has pursued a different course, always troubling. For 13-15 years it has been the very center of Northeast Asian...
JAPAN
Jun 23, 2005

Boy held for killing parents, blowing up home

A 15-year-old youth was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of murdering his parents at their home in Itabashi Ward, Tokyo, this week, police said.
MORE SPORTS
Jun 20, 2005

Bears beat Lions in Ivy-Samurai Bowl

Meiji University senior running back Koji Yamazaki rushed for 128 yards and three touchdowns while former Brown University back Joseph Rackley added 177 yards and a score to lead the Bears to a 38-21 win over the Lions Sunday in the '05 Ivy-Samurai Bowl.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Jun 18, 2005

Setsuko Ishii

"Art exists at the border between the ordinary and the extraordinary," Setsuko Ishii said. "Light is something that essentially cannot be bent, nor shaped, nor even held. Yet in holography light can be molded like clay, or woven like thread. Through holography I want to create a certain set of circumstances...
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / NAME OF THE GAME
Jun 16, 2005

Ancient China never looked so good

Buyers of "Jade Empire" are greeted with laughable cover art and silly character names like "Furious Ming." At first glance, the mythological theme appears to be a mockery of ancient Chinese culture. But beneath the regrettable packaging lies an honest and fun game that engulfs players in an awe-inspiring...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Jun 12, 2005

It keeps coming back to haunt us

JAPANESE HORROR CINEMA, edited by Jay McRoy, preface by Christopher Sharrett. Edinburgh University Press, 2005, Traditions in World Cinema Series, 220 pp., £16.99. (paper). Latest among the packaged movie trends is the Japanese horror film. Every month more samples appear, all of them scrutinized for...
JAPAN
Jun 12, 2005

Man to sue TV Asahi over report he smuggled guns

A Japanese man now serving a 15-month sentence in the United States will seek 5 million yen in damages from TV Asahi for defamation for airing a report that he was illegally selling guns.
COMMENTARY
Jun 11, 2005

Slots, cops, and deception

LAS VEGAS -- The Japanese have been kicking around the idea of building American-style casinos in Japan for four years now. The Parliament Committee on Casinos with 100 Diet members has been gathering information on casinos, and Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara has been a major proponent of the idea. In...
EDITORIALS
Jun 8, 2005

Wisdom for an aging world

In the 21st century, the world faces a dual demographic problem. First, the world population will continue to grow, increasing from about 6 billion in 2005 to more than 9 billion in 2050. Second, by around that time, the waves of an aging society now enveloping the developed countries as a result of...
COMMENTARY
Jun 7, 2005

Kudos here, detention there

LOS ANGELES -- Journalism free from government constraint just isn't for everybody. It certainly wasn't for Richard M. Nixon while he was president. Unrestrained investigative journalism of the Watergate variety ultimately pushed Congress in the direction of potential impeachment and shoved Nixon onto...
JAPAN
Jun 6, 2005

Frenchman to try to row from Chiba to San Francisco

Emmanuel Coindre, the French sailor who has crossed the Atlantic five times in a rowboat, is planning to set out this month on the first-ever solo nonstop rowboat voyage from Japan to the U.S.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Jun 5, 2005

Seiji Hirao: Mr. Rugby

At the Rugby World Cup Sevens in Hong Kong in March, a group of eminent rugby journalists were talking about Japan's bid to host Rugby World Cup 2011.
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
May 31, 2005

New Nova hours pose health risk

Nova Corp., Japan's largest employer of foreign nationals, is set to amend its working times from this week, a move which could see thousands of foreign teachers become ineligible for Employees Health Insurance, and save the company as much as 1 billion yen a year in the process.
COMMENTARY
May 30, 2005

Western lies blackened Beijing's image

China's successful moves to improve ties with India have done more than sabotage Tokyo's hopes for an anti-China alliance with New Delhi. They have also put an end to the myth that China's alleged aggressions against India since the 1960s would prevent any rapprochement between the two countries.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
May 29, 2005

In the spirit of humanism

THE CINEMA OF GOSHO HEINOSUKE, by Arthur Nolletti, Jr. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2005, 243 pp., with photographs, $27.95 (paper). Though Heinosuke Gosho (1902-1981) is remembered in Japan where his films are still occasionally shown, he is all but unknown abroad. This neglect is not due...
BUSINESS
May 25, 2005

ATMs need to take foreign cards: critics

The inability of most automated teller machines at Japanese banks to accept foreign credit cards has long irritated tourists and short-term foreign residents in a country where cash still plays a key role in everyday life.
COMMENTARY
May 20, 2005

The right leader for Britain

LONDON -- British politics is now in a fluid state. The May 5 general election, which should have settled things, at least for four or five years, has unsettled everything in a very puzzling way.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / NAME OF THE GAME
May 19, 2005

Puppies for the digital age

Let me introduce Funky. He's a young, short-haired Chihuahua with a happy temperament and distaste for learning new tricks. With a job and family duties, it's hard to give Funky the attention he deserves. But I've surprised myself. Even though I'm more of a cat-lover than a dog-lover, I'm showing a great...
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
May 18, 2005

Man United fans being irrational about Glazer's takeover

I was asked an interesting question recently.
BUSINESS
May 18, 2005

Yamada Denki's profit surges 50%

Yamada Denki Co. said Tuesday its net profit jumped 50 percent to a record 28.82 billion yen for the year that ended in March, driven by aggressive store openings and strong sales of flat-screen TVs.
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
May 13, 2005

Tsutsumi used culture to amass, retain iron grip on power

"If you want Sundays off, don't be a manager in my company."
COMMENTARY
May 8, 2005

Bush just can't get the hang of diplomacy

YANGPYUNG, South Korea -- "It makes sense to put somebody who's skilled and who is not afraid to speak his mind at the United Nations." So said U.S. President George W. Bush during his spirited defense of his nominee for ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton. With all due respect, Mr. President,...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 3, 2005

Shakeup in the lending business

O Kobayashi was stunned last year when he found that his mortgage applications had been rejected by two banks.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
May 1, 2005

'The Only Woman in the Room' who helped to reshape Japan

Last Monday evening, 81-year-old Beate Sirota Gordon walked onto the stage of the Japan Bar Association auditorium in Tokyo, took a seat, and for 90 minutes explained in Japanese how she helped write Japan's post-war Constitution.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / BEST BAR NONE
Apr 22, 2005

Trilogy in a triangle

In general, pre-bubble nightlife in Tokyo was rather dull. In the early 1980s, a Saturday night out in Shinjuku or Roppongi meant jockeying for space in a crowded disco with packs of Japanese intent on line dancing in front of mirrors. There were a few alternative bars scattered in and around Aoyama,...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT
Apr 21, 2005

Matters of survival in a 'shattered world'

One of the best things about writing a newspaper column is that I get a chance to meet people whose paths I might otherwise never cross. Last weekend, at the Odaiba waterfront launch of Earth Day Tokyo 2005, I had the rare pleasure of meeting and interviewing two environmentalists I have long admired,...
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 18, 2005

Howard boosts neighborly ties

SYDNEY -- A bridge between East Asia and the South Pacific has been formed. The way is open for economic and security links to be strengthened between the Asian mainland and its Southern Hemisphere neighbors.
BUSINESS
Apr 15, 2005

Toyota boosts car wireless service

Toyota Motor Corp. on Thursday announced a beefed up wireless system for cars that can call an ambulance when an air bag opens, play thousands of karaoke tunes and send a mobile-phone message when a car door is left unlocked.

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