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COMMENTARY
Sep 10, 2003

China-Japan perception gap

WHITE FISH, Montana -- The accidental discovery of buried canisters of mustard gas, abandoned by Japanese troops in China over a half century ago, is only the most recent tangible reminder of the unfinished legacy of World War II. Forty Chinese workers were injured and one died after barrels of nerve...
EDITORIALS
Sep 9, 2003

Can do in Cancun?

Trade ministers from 146 states gather in Cancun, Mexico this week to jump-start international trade negotiations. It is difficult to exaggerate the importance of this week's meeting. The Doha round, launched nearly two years ago, has stalled, the victim of a global economic slowdown and growing ill...
JAPAN
Sep 9, 2003

Koizumi unlikely to repeat landslide win

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's chances of being re-elected in the Sept. 20 Liberal Democratic Party's presidential election are high, but he is unlikely to win a landslide victory as he did in the last election due to the new voting system the party has adopted.
BASEBALL / MLB
Sep 9, 2003

Swallows' Hodges to fly the coop

Yakult Swallows right-hander Kevin Hodges will not re-sign with the Central League team for next season, club officials said Monday.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Sep 9, 2003

Scootering, start-ups and an update

Scooter licenses Maynard never learned to drive in Canada before moving here in 1972 ("yes, 31 years ago, sigh"). Living and working in Tokyo's Yoga district, he has had no need to drive a car, and is put off by the 250,000 yen starting price for local driving schools.
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Sep 9, 2003

Waging war on the U.S. presence

If you're a reader of Japanese newspapers or a viewer of Japanese TV news, you're probably well aware of the U.S. military presence in Japan.
JAPAN
Sep 9, 2003

LDP's No. 2 man loses defamation suit

Taku Yamasaki, the Liberal Democratic Party's No. 2 man, lost a defamation suit Monday when the Tokyo District Court rejected his demands that a magazine pay him damages for writing a report about his alleged mistress.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / INTERNATIONAL RATIONALE
Sep 9, 2003

Hello Kitty, Pokemon, Doraemon battle for global supremacy

A number of U.S. celebrities have been spotted toting Hello Kitty paraphernalia in the past year or so, leaving officials of Sanrio Co., the maker of the long-selling character, scratching their heads.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 9, 2003

Using the right words in Kosovo

When it comes to media access, Kosovo's population is spoiled for choices. No apartment block is complete without its symmetrical rows of white satellite dishes scanning the heavens for news and entertainment. One estimate has it that 75 percent of the population has media access. BBC and MTV are just...
EDITORIALS
Sep 8, 2003

Moving too fast on missile defense

The Defense Agency's plan to build a missile-defense system is causing much controversy here. The basic question is whether such a system is urgently needed and whether it is suitable for ensuring the peace and security of Japan. The question should be addressed very carefully from various angles. The...
JAPAN
Sep 8, 2003

Ishihara could form new party if Koizumi loses

Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara is likely to form a new political party should Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi lose in the Sept. 20 Liberal Democratic Party presidential election, Ishihara's son said Sunday.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Sep 8, 2003

Taking the blue pill in a deflationary world

"Welcome to the real world," says Morpheus, captain of the hovercraft Nebuchadnezzar. That is how the cult-movie serial "Matrix" first ventured out into its progressively surreal world. Fans avidly await the coming of the third and (supposedly) last installment of the saga later this year.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 8, 2003

Too early to write off India

Earlier this year I had argued that on balance, China was outperforming India on the world stage ("China leaves India in the dust," Jan. 27). While keeping costs as low and offering the lure of a market as big as India's, I argued, China has attained levels of infrastructure closer to those of Southeast...
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 8, 2003

Reflections on Vieira de Mello's sacrifice

CHIANG MAI, Thailand -- The international community has lamented last month's death of a brave and honest man dedicated to the service of his fellow human beings to a degree matched by few others.
JAPAN
Sep 7, 2003

Nearly 50% oppose keeping imported wild animals as pets

Nearly 50 percent of Japanese responding to a government survey said they are opposed to imported wild animals, such as raccoon and iguanas, being kept as pets.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / CLOSE-UP
Sep 7, 2003

Freedom at his fingertips

Yosuke Yamashita is one of the rare Japanese jazz musicians who is a household name in his native land. Despite his uncompromisingly avant-garde style, he is also one of the few to establish himself as a well-respected jazz pianist in Europe and the United States.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / FUZZY LOGIC
Sep 7, 2003

Boiled alive . . . all for rock 'n' roll

It's hitting 40 degrees in the concrete badlands of Odaiba and the asphalt beneath our feet is attaining the viscosity of quicksand. We wanna run for cover, but this stuff sucks at your sneakers and makes the beer tent slower to get to. The only sea breeze today is the cocktail mixed by the bartender,...
JAPAN
Sep 7, 2003

Envoy on Iraq fact-finding mission

Yukio Okamoto, diplomatic adviser to Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, left Saturday for Iraq to look into how Japan can contribute to reconstruction efforts there.
COMMENTARY
Sep 7, 2003

Exams fail to rock the boat

LONDON -- Summer is examination season in Britain with results posted in mid-August. These are important for young people as entry to university, especially a more prestigious one, depends on the results they achieve.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Sep 7, 2003

Searching individuality

JAPANESE WRITERS AND THE WEST, by Sumie Okada. Hampshire: Palmgrave Macmillan, 2003, 216 pp., £45, (cloth). Though not nearly as inclusive as the title suggests, Professor Sumie Okada's small but earnest book does contain an amount of interpretation not elsewhere found.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 7, 2003

Competing visions fuel leadership struggle

SEATTLE -- The buzz in the media about the "power struggle" between Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat and his prime minister, Mahmoud Abbas (also called Abu Mazen), is misleading. The issue at stake is not simply the drive for power.

Longform

An illustration features the Japanese signs for "ganbare" (good luck) and the Deaflympics, which will be held between Nov. 15 and 26.
A century of Deaf sport finds its moment in Tokyo