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COMMENTARY
Apr 26, 2003

A Pyrrhic victory in Iraq

When the war in Iraq began March 19, speculation was rife about its likely duration. Predictions ranged from very short (less than 10 days) to fairly long (over a month) to very long (a protracted Vietnam-type war). As it turned out, the fighting effectively ended in a little over three weeks. But it's...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 25, 2003

ASEAN needs to rise from '97 ashes

With many of its member nations still unable to recover from the impact of the region-wide financial crisis of the late 1990s, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations must "reinvent" itself so it can play a significant role in the regionalism that is emerging in East Asia, a think tank expert from...
JAPAN
Apr 25, 2003

Tainted Matsunami seeks ear of ethics panel

Lower House lawmaker Kenshiro Matsunami is asking the chairman of the House of Representatives' ethics panel to convene the council to deal with a scandal over Matsunami's links with the criminal underworld.
COMMENTARY
Apr 25, 2003

North Korea policy hijacked

Tokyo's never-ending capacity for emotional overreaction, irrational group-think and back-to-front foreign policies has reached new heights over North Korea. Somehow Pyongyang's remarkable willingness to admit and apologize for former abductions of Japanese citizens has been turned around 180 degrees...
JAPAN
Apr 25, 2003

LDP wants to legalize SDF by amending Constitution

The dominant Liberal Democratic Party aims to amend the Constitution to state in explicit terms the legitimacy of the Self-Defense Forces, party lawmakers said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Apr 25, 2003

China seen as 'second engine' of growth for ASEAN nations

The rise of China as an economic power has been greeted with a mixture of fear and hope by member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, according to Chia Siow Yue, a senior research fellow with the Singapore Institute of International Affairs.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 25, 2003

SARS may lift Japan's leadership role

MEDFORD, Massachusetts -- At the height of the Asian financial crisis in 1997, two stories surrounded the role of China. One attested to China's positive role as a stabilizer; the other pointed to China's unsavory economic practice. According to the latter, China had intentionally devalued its currency...
BUSINESS
Apr 25, 2003

Tertiary industry activity down 0.8%

The index of Japan's tertiary industry activity fell 0.8 percent in February from January, partly affected by sluggish tourism amid fears about the war in Iraq, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said Thursday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 25, 2003

Travel agencies open theme branches to lick SARS, Iraq war

Amid the sharp decline in the number of Japanese taking overseas trips, travel agencies are opening novelty branches to lure customers.
JAPAN
Apr 25, 2003

Competition showcases diplomats' Japanese-language skills

Some took the opportunity to look back on the historical relationship between their countries and Japan. Others focused on everyday life in today's Tokyo, like sending e-mail by mobile phone.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 24, 2003

Responding to provocations

SINGAPORE -- In late February and early March, North Korea launched two antiship cruise missiles in the direction of Japan. Japan tried its best to downplay the events. In the first instance, it said the 90-km test did not technically violate the North's moratorium on ballistic-missile tests. After the...
JAPAN
Apr 24, 2003

Outlying regions want a piece of the action, too

Anticipating that the upcoming Visit Japan campaign will prove successful, businesses and local governments are developing strategies to draw prospective foreign tourists out of major cities and into their regions.
EDITORIALS
Apr 24, 2003

Quick action needed to stabilize Iraq

Last Sunday marked one month since the war began in Iraq. The United States and its allies have yet to declare victory, but for all intents and purposes the military operation is over. In fact, the fighting in strategic areas ended in less than four weeks, making this war one of the shortest in history....
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Apr 24, 2003

Feedback

Dear readers, as you rarely get the last word, this week's column aims to put that right. Two weeks ago, I wrote about the dangers of our society's addiction to oil, and noted that much of the world still believes the primary purpose of the U.S. invasion of Iraq was to dominate its oil supplies and establish...
CULTURE / Books / THE BOOK REPORT
Apr 24, 2003

Challenging English at 65

April is traditionally the time of new beginnings in Japan, at school and at work. Novelist Sae Shuichi, however, makes it a practice to embark on a new project every five years. At 55, for example, he took up kendo. And at 65, as detailed in his latest book, "65-sai Ojisan no Eikaiwa Benkyo ga Tanoshiku...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 24, 2003

Tokyo should act as model, Ishihara says

Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara, at the outset of his second four-year term on Wednesday, stressed that metropolitan government officials should act as a model for the nation.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Apr 24, 2003

Happy b'day double helix

This week is the anniversary of what some have called the most important intellectual innovation in human history, the discovery of the structure of DNA. From a paper originally published in Nature on April 25, 1953, DNA has made it into the pantheon of chemical structures instantly known to all members...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT
Apr 24, 2003

Shooting from the soul

Mark Deeble and Victoria Stone met at a diving class when they were students. Then, after graduation, they worked on an environmental-impact assessment project in the beautiful Fal estuary in Cornwall, southwest England, where a new port was being planned. It was the love of the sea and nature they developed...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / GARDEN PATHS
Apr 24, 2003

Yokohama's green bower

In spring it is delightful to see, as the poet William Wordsworth described it, "the budding twigs put out their fan to catch the breezy air."
EDITORIALS
Apr 23, 2003

U.S. and North Korea to talk at last

After nearly two years of silence, the United States and North Korea are about to resume diplomatic discussions. Representatives from the two govEernments will meet this week in Beijing to discuss North Korea's nuclear-weapons program and, eventually, the entire range of relations between the two counEtries....
JAPAN
Apr 23, 2003

Events slated to promote studying English abroad

Two events of interest to anyone studying English -- Language Fair (Ryugaku Expo) 2003 and Study USA 2003 -- will take place next month at four locations around Japan, according to organizers.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 23, 2003

Aum flailing amid vacuum left by Asahara

In early February, a 37-year-old former member of Aum Shinrikyo launched a Web site featuring transcripts of past lectures by the cult's founder, Shoko Asahara.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 23, 2003

Europe-based executive MBA program pitched at Japanese

European business school INSEAD has recently begun offering an exclusive executive MBA program -- and is hoping to attract some Japanese students.

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