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COMMENTARY / World
Sep 3, 2003

U.S. must offer more, demand more

WASHINGTON -- It was predictable that the six-nation talks last week in Beijing over how to handle the North Korean nuclear crisis would fail to achieve substantive results. Hardliners will argue this proves that diplomacy with the Stalinist North Korean regime can't work. In fact, what it really shows...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Sep 3, 2003

Will Valentine return to manage Marines?

The Nikkan Sports, on the front page of its Aug. 23 edition, ran a speculative but spectacular story with a headline saying Bobby Valentine would return to Japan in 2004 for a second tenure as manager of the Chiba Lotte Marines.
BUSINESS
Sep 3, 2003

Takenaka envisages forum to combat export-friendly yuan

Financial Services Minister Heizo Takenaka said Tuesday a forum should be created so that countries can discuss the exchange rate of the Chinese yuan.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 3, 2003

Mood subdued as BS digital TV hits milestone

Broadcast-satellite digital television programs went on the air three years ago in Japan amid great fanfare and expectations they would quickly bring higher quality pictures and sound to a large number of households.
JAPAN
Sep 3, 2003

U.S. might deploy Aegis warship at Japan base

The United States may deploy a ship equipped with the advanced Aegis defense system and interceptor missiles at a U.S. naval base in Japan by next year, according to Japanese government sources.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 3, 2003

The Plan finally disbands, but the dialogue continues

Last January, The Dismemberment Plan announced that after 10 years, four well-received albums and countless tours that earned them a reputation for being one of the most consistently exciting live acts on the planet they were calling it quits.
JAPAN
Sep 2, 2003

Bone-marrow seekers hit with cash requests

Patients in need of bone marrow transplants said Monday they are troubled by requests for cash donations from an organization that acts as a go-between between them and marrow donors.
EDITORIALS
Sep 2, 2003

The growing fat of the land

Why are fat people fat? The flip answer -- "because they eat more, stupid" -- just garnered some respectable academic support last week with the publication of a U.S. study that had looked into the question of why the French, with their famously high-fat diet, are still noticeably slimmer than Americans....
COMMENTARY
Sep 2, 2003

One-sided bilateral relations

TOKYO -- The conventional wisdom on the other side of the Pacific is that U.S.-Japan relations are the best they've ever been. The view is very different in Japan. Here, an increasing number of voices argue that the benefits of the relationship only flow one way. On a recent visit, I was continually...
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Sep 2, 2003

Baby names, death tax and crackers

Greetings from Baghdad, where it's 120 in the shade, the food is great, the people the best and electricity a dim memory. Oh, for the goodness of Japan.
JAPAN / AFTER 2 1/2 YEARS
Sep 2, 2003

Koizumi's failings linked to inflexible fiscal policy

Some economists compare it to trying to lose weight by fasting when the real solution is exercise, while others talk about repairing an airplane's altimeter when it's the engine that needs attention.
JAPAN
Sep 2, 2003

Three arrests made in 2002 killing of yakuza boss while under police watch

A gang leader and two others were arrested Monday on suspicion of murdering another yakuza boss in police custody at Nippon Medical School Hospital in Tokyo in February 2002, police officials said.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / FRONT-RUNNERS
Sep 2, 2003

Matsushita hopes to pad DVD lead with new Diga recorder

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. on Monday released the latest in its Diga series of DVD recorders, hoping to consolidate its position as the nation's No. 1 shareholder in the rapidly expanding market.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Sep 2, 2003

Time running out for shrinking Japan

Last week when I started to research this article I went looking for foreign factory workers.
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Sep 2, 2003

How are foreigners faring in financially lean times?

Victoria Bauzyte Model, 20 I work at two shows per day and get 70,000 yen for those two. It's not the most you can get, but it's nice for starters, especially since I got it after just one week of casting.
BUSINESS
Sep 2, 2003

Toyota puts new Prius hybrid on sale

Toyota Motor Corp. launched a redesigned Prius in Japan on Monday as part of a drive to spearhead the development of environmentally friendly technology.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 1, 2003

Japan's lesson for Europe

LONDON -- At some point last year, it became fashionable to compare the economic plight of Germany and, by extension, the euro zone as a whole with the situation in Japan. As recession bit into the country that used to be Europe's motor and as the 12-nation euro area began recording declining growth...
MORE SPORTS
Sep 1, 2003

Sugiyama battles into quarters

NEW YORK -- Japan's Ai Sugiyama produced a hard-fought come-from-behind win over Australia's Nicole Pratt on Saturday to advance to the U.S. Open women's singles quarterfinals for the first time in her career.
Japan Times
JAPAN / AFTER 2 1/2 YEARS
Sep 1, 2003

Koizumi renews confrontational posture

When he became prime minister in April 2001, Junichiro Koizumi boasted high public support, portraying himself as a lone wolf fighting old-guard politicians in the Liberal Democratic Party.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 1, 2003

Mess with the bull and you might get gored

GUATEMALA CITY -- At last, the Nikkei stock average has risen above 10,000 points for the first time in more than a year, rebounding from 7,600 in April. Much of the rally is due to the net buying of Japanese shares by foreign investors as global money managers increase their holdings.
EDITORIALS
Aug 31, 2003

A hopeful start

The much-heralded six-nation talks in Beijing ended Friday without any specific progress on North Korea's nuclear weapons development. But all parties agreed to resolve the issue peacefully while addressing Pyongyang's security concerns. Japan and North Korea reached no explicit agreement on the abduction...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Aug 31, 2003

Tips from the top

Feeling lucky? This time, you're certain, you just know the takarakuji is as good as yours.
COMMUNITY
Aug 31, 2003

What's it really like to win?

Everyone who buys a takarakuji ticket dreams of winning big, but what is it like to actually hit the jackpot? The Japan Times spoke with a 36-year-old who won a 100 million yen jackpot seven years ago, and heard how his win brought him a fortune -- and some hard lessons in life as well.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Aug 31, 2003

Great wave of artistic influence

HOKUSAI, by Gian Carlo Calza. London: Phaidon Press, Ltd., 2003, 336 pp., 700 illustrations, $59.95 (cloth). It was the West that first discovered the art of the Japanese woodblock print. Though popular in Japan, the prints were denied any kind of artistic standing until it became understood that abroad...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Aug 31, 2003

A better forecast for South Korea's Sunshine Policy

SUNSHINE IN KOREA: The South Korean Debate Over Policies Toward North Korea, by Norman D. Levin and Yong Sup Han. Rand Center for Asia Pacific Policy, 2002, 143 pp. (paper). Although Kim Dae Jung is no longer president of South Korea, his "Sunshine Policy" toward North Korea lives on. His successor,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / J-POPSICLE
Aug 31, 2003

Buffalo Daughter's deeper grooves

It's usually not a good idea to go into the recording studio without having some idea of what you're going to record. Most artists have a demo or a written score to work from; some even have full-fledged arrangements down on paper before they start recording.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Aug 31, 2003

Reform is required to untangle pension system

A woman I know recently went to her local Social Insurance Agency office to find out about her pension. Since she is 68, she is past the age when she should have started collecting benefits, but she was never sure what she was supposed to do because the SIA never contacted her.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Aug 31, 2003

Lottery yarns of yore

For at least 300 years, lotteries in Japan have been the stuff of dreams -- and nightmares. This is most evident in the stories about tomikuji (fortune lotto), a lottery that flourished in the Edo Period (1603-1867). These tales are found in the repertoire of rakugo comic monologues.

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