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Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Apr 30, 2003

Aoki Takamasa, Ogurusu Norihide and Takagi Masakatsu: "Come and Play in Our Backyard"

Last week a friend of mine complained about a performance of "laptop music" he saw recently. "If I wanted to elbow through a crowd just to watch someone sit behind their Powerbook," he snarled, "then I could just go to my office -- and it's not as smoky." He's got a point, but computer-generated music...
JAPAN
Apr 30, 2003

TELL struggles amid foreigner influx

Tokyo English Life Line, a telephone counseling service for non-Japanese that celebrated its 30th anniversary this month, sees a need for such services increasing in line with the growing number of foreigners living in Japan.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Apr 30, 2003

Matthew Sweet: "Kimi ga Suki * Life"

When applied to pop musicians, the term "big in Japan" tends to be pejorative, as if Japanese fans were less discriminating than those in the rest of the world. The only way to dispel the condescension inherent in the term is by example.
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM MOSCOW
Apr 30, 2003

Pyongyang's actions shock few observers

MOSCOW -- When you are told that a person whom you don't know has won the lottery or lost a job, your feelings are pretty predictable and simple: Envy in the first case and empathy in the second. Yet if the person in question is somebody you know, your reactions get more complicated. You immediately...
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 30, 2003

For Japan, being America's ally is no longer so easy

The number of North Korean Nodong missiles capable of targeting Japan is now thought to be some 175 to 200, rather than 100 as previously believed. Moreover, at the China-U.S.-North Korea talks in Beijing last week, North Korea taunted the United States by saying that it had developed nuclear weapons....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Apr 30, 2003

Time to 'think different,' says Pierre Boulez

In the world of architecture, celebrated composer and conductor Pierre Boulez sees a relevant analogy to contemporary classical music.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Apr 30, 2003

Now (and forever) a girl's best friend

Once the home of a prince, the Teien Art Museum is now playing host to a king's ransom in jewelry comprising a truly sparkling survey of the bijoutier's art in the four centuries spanning 1540-1940.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Apr 30, 2003

A gathering of Kyoto's ancient masters

Before the advent of 20th-century brand-name designers such as Kenzo, Miyake or Mori, there was Kenzan of Kyoto -- back in the Edo Period that is. His instantly recognizable signature was not found on any trendy kimono or handbag of the day, however, but on clay vessels.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 29, 2003

Tokyo Station a mecca for outlying colleges

Hoping to ensure their survival, better meet students' needs and enhance ties with the business community, universities are increasingly opening offices and satellite campuses around Tokyo Station.
JAPAN
Apr 29, 2003

Writer's son arrested over drugs

The son of prizewinning writer Masako Togawa was arrested early Monday in Tokyo for possession of stimulants and marijuana, police said.
JAPAN
Apr 29, 2003

Lift ban on labor by illegal aliens: unions

Unions assisting foreigners working illegally in Japan are calling on the government to lift its ban on allowing them to engage in manual labor.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Apr 29, 2003

Overstaying visas, noisy neighbors and DIY trading

Visa overstaying I'm a Ukranian Citizen now in Japan. I have overstayed my tourist three-month visa. If I would like to go back to my country, what should I do? Can I buy an air ticket without a visa? Do they have money or other kinds of penalties for this type of case? -- Tokyo Don
BUSINESS
Apr 29, 2003

Unease over Sony, banks drags Nikkei to fresh low

The benchmark Nikkei index ended Monday trading at another 20-year low as investors dumped technology shares amid earnings concerns triggered by Sony Corp.'s dismal estimate last week and falls in bank shares.
EDITORIALS
Apr 29, 2003

A crucial contingency package

How should Japan deal with a military attack from abroad? This question has acquired greater urgency amid heightened regional security concerns. However, military contingency legislation now before the Diet should be debated from a long-term perspective. At stake is the fundamental question of how to...
JAPAN
Apr 29, 2003

State-paid pensions short on funds, faith

Mariko Horiuchi, a 30-year-old part-time English-language teacher living in Tokyo, wonders if she should trust what the government promises for her future: a sound retirement covered by state pension benefits.
BUSINESS
Apr 29, 2003

Deflation-fearing firms want action

More than half of major firms responding to a recent survey said the government must implement both fiscal and monetary policies to combat deflation, the Cabinet Office said Monday.
BUSINESS
Apr 29, 2003

Little light seen at end of job search

Job prospects for those leaving universities next spring appear nearly unchanged from this year, according to a Kyodo News poll.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Apr 29, 2003

Refugees treated like criminals

Last month, these pages carried the story of a Kurdish family that came to Japan seeking asylum, only to be torn apart by the country's arcane immigration laws.
COMMUNITY
Apr 29, 2003

Tama-chan: the questions that they tried to bur

Tama-chan has had an overwhelming e-mail response to the exclusive interview he gave to The Japan Times on April 1. This week he shares with us a selection of queries submitted by readers.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / FRONT-RUNNERS
Apr 29, 2003

Latecomer Sharp leads the pack in LCD TV sales

It took a while for the average engineer at Sharp Corp. to tune into the idea of the company dumping cathode-ray tube televisions by 2005.
EDITORIALS
Apr 28, 2003

Pyongyang's self-destructive strategy

North Korea has played another nuclear card, giving a more dangerous twist to its game of brinkmanship. Pyongyang claims that it already has nuclear weapons and has reprocessed thousands of spent nuclear fuel rods in its possession -- a step that could lead to the production of more atomic bombs. Given...
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Apr 28, 2003

Lakers getting a little help from their friends

LOS ANGELES -- If I was David J. Stern, commissioner of the NBA beat, I would give serious thought to calling one Mr. Glen Taylor, owner of the Minnesota Timberwolves and pledge to return all draft choices and fine money from the Joe Smith affair several years ago. In fact, I would even throw in bonus...
COMMENTARY
Apr 28, 2003

Asian politicians slowly embrace the Net

MANILA -- Irrespective of ideological leanings, all politicians are keen on receiving media coverage. As one U.S. political campaign publication noted, "If you don't exist in the media, you don't exist."

Longform

Members of the nonprofit group Japan Youth Memorial Association search for the remains of dead soldiers in a cave in Okinawa Prefecture in February.
The long search for Japan’s lost soldiers