Search - about-us

 
 
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Aug 10, 2003

Lost pet? No sweat -- except in the tub

You may think you've got just about everything for your pet -- from brand-name waterproofs and jewelry to its weekly trips to a pet cafe and yoga classes. Now, though, there's a new out-of-this-world accessory for the pet owner with everything: the no-hiding-place collar.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Aug 10, 2003

The spirit of corrupt regimes alive in Japan

It's no secret that Japan discourages asylum-seekers, though officials never admit to it openly. When asked what the government would do about the 10 North Korean refugees who entered the Japanese Embassy in Bangkok on July 31, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda said that it would be better for them...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Aug 10, 2003

State of the rock nation, in 35-min. bites

Since they took place on successive weekends, it's difficult not to compare this year's editions of the Fuji Rock Festival and Summer Sonic, so let's do it. Fuji is bucolic where SS is urban. Fuji's vibe is communal and free-spirited, while the SS vibe is commercial and controlling. Fuji is populated...
JAPAN
Aug 10, 2003

Fraud probe dropped after Tanaka questioned

Public prosecutors questioned former Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka in late July about allegations that she misused the government salary of her secretary before they decided not to indict her, investigative sources said Saturday.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Aug 10, 2003

EDO: City spirit of an era

Whether it's the floating world of ukiyo-e, the stately rites of sumo, the meticulous craft of netsuke, the minimalist art of Japanese gardens or the decorums of the samurai, what we today regard as the traditional values of Japan took shape in what's known as the Edo Period.
COMMENTARY
Aug 9, 2003

Political world prepares for fall showdown

The first half of 2003 was volatile both internationally and domestically. Severe acute respiratory syndrome hit China, other Asian countries and Canada at the beginning of the year and spread around the world. Then, in the Middle East, war broke out when the United States and Britain invaded Iraq, overthrew...
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 9, 2003

U.S. need not fear the ICC

NEW YORK -- In recent years regional courts have been set up in Europe and the Americas to deal with the most serious human rights abuses committed by governments. International "ad hoc" criminal tribunals have been set up to deal with atrocities and massive killings committed in the former Yugoslavia,...
BASEBALL / MLB
Aug 9, 2003

Giants go to Goto for victory

Koji Goto pinch-hit a go-ahead sacrifice fly in the eighth inning to lift the Yomiuri Giants over the Yakult Swallows 6-5 at Tokyo Dome on Friday.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Aug 9, 2003

To your health -- Japanese style

"Just what is good health," a wise man once told me, "other than the slowest way to die?"
BUSINESS
Aug 9, 2003

McDonald's cuts annual forecast

Struggling restaurant chain McDonald's Holdings Co. (Japan) on Friday cut its full-year earnings forecast by about 50 percent due to weak sales during the first half of the year.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Aug 9, 2003

Bon preparation: something must die

Bon is when the spirits of the dead come back to their ancestral homes to visit. When I moved into my house, the grandfather's "ihai" (ancestral tablet) was still in the Butsudan (family shrine) and stayed there for years. I always enjoyed leaving sake, fruit and other offerings out for his return at...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Aug 9, 2003

Heart of Laos displays traditional textiles' beauty

Having heard so much about Rassanikone Nanong, what a joy to meet her at an exhibition of textiles from her homeland. Sponsored by Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), the show in Akasaka Twin Towers is promoting the work of three of 10 companies working in the arena of traditional Laotian weaving....
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 9, 2003

Debt-collectors push professionalism, not pain

Despite popular perceptions, profanities and threats are not screamed down the phone and the receiver doesn't end up getting slammed down.
MORE SPORTS
Aug 8, 2003

Kitajima eyes Athens gold medal

A year ago, he was just another of Japan's swimming prospects for the 2004 Athens Olympic Games. But now, Kosuke Kitajima is a double world record holder and an Olympic gold medal contender.
BUSINESS
Aug 8, 2003

NTT regional units plan cheap IP phone service

The two regional phone operators of Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. plan to launch cut-rate Internet protocol telephony services in October, officials at the two firms said Thursday.
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
Aug 8, 2003

Saturday night American Bowl a big hit

Leave it to the NFL to take something it has done 11 times before, give it a makeover, and turn it into a huge success.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 8, 2003

No symmetry in annexations of Sikkim and Tibet

CHIANG MAI, Thailand -- In my last column, and in the aftermath of the recent high-level Sino-Indian talks in Beijing, we dealt with the issue of Tibet from a historical perspective. A parallel analytical exercise with regard to Sikkim would perhaps prove equally interesting.
EDITORIALS
Aug 8, 2003

Welcome progress in Liberia

The dispatch of U.N. peacekeepers to Liberia is the first real sign of progress in the search for peace in that war-torn country. The first soldiers were members of a West African force. While it is right and proper that fellow Africans take the lead in stabilizing the situation in Liberia, peace will...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Aug 8, 2003

Keeping your cool this summer

Summer is here, the season of lethargy and listlessness, of sweat and stunted appetites. There are ways to ameliorate (if not actually beat) the big heat, but very few of them involve eating. For us, summer is about sitting outside in the cool of the evening, a nice cold beer at hand, or a bottle of...
EDITORIALS
Aug 7, 2003

Renewing the nonnuclear vow

Wednesday marked the 58th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. Three days later, on Aug. 9, 1945, a second atomic bomb exploded over Nagasaki. This is the time for all of us to remember the tragedy and renew our vow to establish world peace and eliminate nuclear weapons.
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Aug 7, 2003

Taking your mate for a ride

Now here's a heartwarming tale for all readers. It involves a partner who provides free transport, free food and, as a nice bonus, unlimited sex. Our story is about an insect, but it starts thousands of years ago.
ENVIRONMENT / OLD NIC'S NOTEBOOK
Aug 7, 2003

A tale of two Afans reborn

Two thousand years ago, my native Wales had 98 percent forest cover. By 1950, when I was a little lad, woodland in Wales was down to 5 percent. I was born in Neath, where coal-mining wasn't particularly heavy, and where there were still wooded parks and groves of wild trees so I didn't really feel the...
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / ON THE BOOK TRAIL
Aug 7, 2003

"Tell the Moon to Come Out," "Illustrated Oxford Dictionary"

"Tell the Moon to Come Out," Joan Lingard, Puffin Books; 2003; 208 pp.
LIFE / Digital / NAME OF THE GAME
Aug 7, 2003

Lessons in rage control

"Hulk," a game that is ever so loosely based on the new Universal Studios movie, has an element missing from most superhero action games -- fun.
COMMENTARY
Aug 7, 2003

Nukes still won't help Japan

HIROSHIMA -- The walk from my hotel to the conference center took me past the Atomic Dome and through the Peace Park that commemorates the atomic bombing of Aug. 6, 1945. Friday morning, several fire trucks were parked in front of the Children's Peace Monument; someone had torched two display cases that...
EDITORIALS
Aug 6, 2003

Detours on the Mideast 'road map'

The Israeli-Palestinian peace process has been inching forward. There has been some progress as Palestinian officials continue to try to crack down on terrorists, and Israel dismantles some Jewish settlements in occupied territories. Predictably, each action generates its own reaction. Palestinian militants...
COMMENTARY
Aug 6, 2003

Too early to toast Kim's cooperation

HONOLULU -- Let's not open up the champagne too quickly! The announcement that North Korea finally has agreed to attend multilateral talks "to resolve the nuclear issue" is good news indeed . . . if they actually show up at the yet to be scheduled meeting. But sitting down at the table, as important...
BUSINESS
Aug 6, 2003

FSA sets up project team to study using public funds to bail out banks

The Financial Services Agency has set up an in-house project team to study a proposed system for injections of public funds into banks, Financial Services Minister Heizo Takenaka said Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Aug 6, 2003

Tokyo deletes 'weak' from economic outlook

The government Tuesday raised its assessment of the economy for the first time in five months in the wake of a recent stock rally and new signals from the United States.

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