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Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Apr 2, 2003

Yo La Tengo: "Summer Sun"

The first thing people notice about any record is its title. "Summer Sun," the latest offering by Yo La Tengo, might appear to be a collection of bright pop singles. Indeed, the band has covered the Beach Boys in the past and always includes original pop songs on their records amid the ambient experimentation...
JAPAN
Apr 1, 2003

Two Japan medical teams in Iraq to leave due to deteriorating security

Japan decided Monday to expedite the pullout of two medical teams in Iraq due to deteriorating security, Senior Vice Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said.
BUSINESS
Apr 1, 2003

Nikkei dives below 8,000 amid fears of longer war

Tokyo stocks plunged Monday, the final day of fiscal 2002, with the key Nikkei index ending below 8,000 amid growing concerns over a prolonged U.S.-led war in Iraq and its effects on the global economy.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 1, 2003

Oshima steps down over aides' scandals

In another blow to the Cabinet of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, tarnished farm minister Tadamori Oshima stepped down Monday.
BUSINESS
Apr 1, 2003

BOJ leaves liquidity at record level

The Bank of Japan left a record-high level of liquidity in the financial system Monday, as many companies closed their books on the last day of fiscal 2002.
JAPAN
Apr 1, 2003

Truant kids tend to stay away up to two years, study finds

Children who refuse to go to school due to bullying and other reasons miss an average of 18 months to two years of class, according to a recent report by the education ministry.
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Apr 1, 2003

Many Iraqis see war as their only escape route

The older man sitting beside me at a simple meal to welcome peace activists to Baghdad sounded me out cautiously.
COMMENTARY
Apr 1, 2003

Alternatives to pummeling

WASHINGTON -- After Vietnam and Operation Mongoose (the bizarre 1962 attempt by the U.S. military to invent covert "pretexts" for an attack on Cuba), only flag-waving militarists and small children could want to believe current U.S. and British excuses for the attack on Iraq.
COMMUNITY
Apr 1, 2003

Brave Tama-chan takes fame in his stride

If ever an amphibious mammal was catapulted to the forefront of a nation's consciousness, Tama-chan, the bearded seal who has taken up residence in Yokohama's Katabira River, is that animal.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 1, 2003

Miura case came to define sensationalism

In January 1984, more than two years after his wife was gunned down in a Los Angeles parking lot, a major weekly newsmagazine began a series of articles titled "Bullet of suspicion," suggesting Kazuyoshi Miura arranged his wife's murder for the insurance money.
BUSINESS
Apr 1, 2003

Official refuses to use postal savings to aid market

A key postal ministry official on Monday brushed aside calls by a senior ruling party lawmaker that the government use postal savings and insurance funds to prop up the slumping stock market.
JAPAN
Apr 1, 2003

Prison time sought for player in Teikyo University scandal

The younger brother of Teikyo University's former chief executive officer could face an 18-month prison term and 42 million yen fine in connection with a money-for-admissions scandal.
COMMENTARY
Mar 31, 2003

U.S. coalition unnerves allies

SAN FRANCISCO -- Although the United States didn't go to the United Nations for explicit authorization of an attack against Iraq, the Bush administration never abandoned attempts to craft a multilateral coalition in support of those efforts. But this government's view of "multilateralism" differs from...
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 31, 2003

Posturing of 'truths' failed to derail U.N.

NEW YORK -- One of the first casualties of any war -- although often overlooked -- is language. Perhaps this has never been more true than in the present war against Iraq. Diplomacy, we are told, "failed." The United Nations, we are told, has become "irrelevant." The attack against Iraq, we are told,...
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Mar 31, 2003

The economics of friendly fire

Friendly fire is a terrible thing to be a casualty of. But such things happen in the battlefield. As has indeed been happening in the Iraqi war zone.
EDITORIALS
Mar 31, 2003

Mr. Fukui makes a good start

With the war in Iraq clouding economic prospects, the immediate task for the new governor of the Bank of Japan, Mr. Toshihiko Fukui, is to shore up sagging confidence in the nation's economy, particularly the financial system. In this respect, he has made a good start. Several days after he took office...
COMMENTARY
Mar 31, 2003

Debt owed to those inclined to be soldiers

WASHINGTON -- Americans have grown used to nearly costless wars. The New York Times headlined one story: "Invading Forces Capture Key Bridge -- More American Deaths." It left readers to ponder which was the more interesting news nugget -- that a bridge was taken, or that U.S. soldiers died taking it....
JAPAN
Mar 31, 2003

Ministry plans new law to stop prison abuse

The Justice Ministry plans to draw up new legislation to prevent correctional officers from abusing prison inmates in the wake of a series of incidents at Nagoya Prison in which two convicts have died since late 2001, according to ministry sources.
BUSINESS
Mar 31, 2003

Stocks to move within narrow band this week

Stocks are expected to trade narrowly this week, largely influenced by the war situation as they were last week.
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Mar 31, 2003

Modesty marked this great man of letters

NEW YORK -- Herbert Passin, whom I had the honor of knowing, died on Feb. 26. Like kabuki expert Faubion Bowers, whom I also knew, Passin was a top graduate of the Military Intelligence Service Language School, which was established in 1941 in preparation for the coming war with Japan. Both did wonderful...
EDITORIALS
Mar 30, 2003

No escape from this war

All war, all the time: It's not healthy. Newspapers, magazines, television and radio are universally consumed with the unfolding drama of advances and skirmishes, threatened aerial bombardments and possible civil uprisings in Iraq. It does have a horrible fascination -- the ultimate reality show in action....
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 30, 2003

U.S. will welcome Japan input in Iraq: CSIS expert

Postwar Iraq will need a heavy American military presence to maintain order, but Japan can also play an important role in providing humanitarian assistance and helping international organizations' efforts to rebuild the country, according to a senior member of a Washington-based think tank.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Mar 30, 2003

An artist drawing on peace

Yoshitomo Nara is one of Japan's most popular contemporary artists, with admirers not only in Japan but also in Europe and the United States.
CULTURE / Music
Mar 30, 2003

Setting music free on the open road

While major record labels battle Internet file-sharing to preserve the sanctity of music delivery media (CDs and whatever the hell will take their place), major artists challenge their contracts and less-than-major artists avoid the "entertainment industry" altogether. The consequence of technological...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Mar 30, 2003

Lock & key

KAZUYOSHI UEHARA -- not the Kazuyoshi Uehara -- rang the doorbell. He sensed a pause, a hesitation, an interrupted action -- his imagination no doubt -- and tensed slightly as approaching footsteps grew audible.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Mar 30, 2003

Letters from the front

Personal perspectives on the tragedy of war are bound to be rampant this week, so Sunday's installment of Nihon TV's "Document" series (Sunday, 1:25 a.m.) might feel like overkill to some people. As history, though, it offers something more interesting.

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