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COMMUNITY
Mar 23, 2003

From ancient to modern

As quintessentially contemporary as manga may seem, the oldest extant manga-style drawings actually date from the eighth-century zare-ga (play pictures), scrawled graffiti-like in the attic of the Horyuji Temple in Nara.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Mar 23, 2003

Comic culture is serious business

Can anyone be in this country a week and not notice manga -- Japan's unique contribution to comics?
COMMUNITY
Mar 23, 2003

By the people, for the people

Pop into any bookstore and you'll find shelves overflowing with comic books about samurai, yakuza, war, business, baseball, soccer, golf, examination hell, high-school romance, office affairs -- in every genre from sci-fi to porn. And that's just the tip of Japan's manga iceberg.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Mar 23, 2003

Lawyers: they're not all out for themselves

HUMAN RIGHTS IN JAPAN, South Korea and Taiwan, by Ian Neary. London, Routledge, 2002, 297 pp., $95 (cloth) It's not easy being a lawyer these days -- putting up with nasty jokes, scant respect and widespread suspicions that the public interest is way down on the list of priorities. Ian Neary reminds...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Mar 23, 2003

Art on the fast track

OK, so manga are hugely popular -- but so are 500 yen umbrellas on a rainy day. Like those cheap plastic parapluies, though, manga seem little more than a temporary feature of daily commuting. Those young furiita and salarymen who thumb through the pages with barely a pause can't be getting much from...
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 23, 2003

U.S. must rethink North Korea strategy

MONTEREY, Calif. -- On the eve of South Korean President Roh Moo Hyun's swearing-in ceremony, North Korea lobbed a land-to-ship cruise missile into the Sea of Japan. This provocation took place as the world's dignitaries -- among them U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Mar 23, 2003

English text lays bare a secret

Fanc a trip to a not-so-secret but hitherto inaccessible part of Japan?
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Mar 23, 2003

Japan's dumb leaders fail to exercise tongues

In the weeks leading up to the invasion of Iraq, it was common for reporters throughout the world to sample public opinion about it. As journalism, man-on-the-street interviews are more or less a sideshow, since, depending on the country, they offer little of substance in terms of information. Americans,...
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 23, 2003

More relevant now than ever

"A Tale of Two Cities" by Charles Dickens, set in revolutionary France, begins with the observation that it was the best of times and the worst of times. So might it be said, thanks in no small measure to France, of the tale of two cities of contemporary times, namely Washington and New York, the political...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Mar 23, 2003

Women on top

Shows about and for women will highlight the second week of Japan's pre-spring TV specials. Fuji TV will present the eighth in its occasional series of talk shows, "Ganbare! Onna Bakari no Jinsei Tatenaoshi Hitori Mi, Issho Kenmei Special" (Monday, 7 p.m.), in which a dozen or so single female celebrities...
Japan Times
JAPAN / PREFECTURAL FARE
Mar 22, 2003

Tokyo gets taste of Okinawa longevity

Last in a series Okinawa is well-known for the longevity of its people. Its subtropical climate may be one reason, but a major contributing factor is most likely the southern-most prefecture's healthy foods.
JAPAN
Mar 22, 2003

ANA hit by computer glitch

An All Nippon Airways computer system went down for about 2 1/2 hours Friday morning, forcing the cancellation of 20 domestic flights and delays across the country, ANA officials said.
JAPAN
Mar 22, 2003

Forum tackles water access

OTSU, Shiga Pref. -- Among the many issues delegates to the World Water Forum are debating is how to deal with conflicts between tribes and nations over limited water supplies.
JAPAN
Mar 22, 2003

Committee to review nation's dams

KYOTO -- Experts from Japan and the U.S. on Friday launched a committee to examine Japan's love affair with dams, hoping to draw on U.S. experiences in reviewing and decommissioning such projects.
JAPAN
Mar 22, 2003

Tokyo peace protest draws thousands

Thousands of demonstrators marched Friday through downtown Tokyo to protest the war in Iraq and Japan's plans to support the U.S.-led campaign with nonmilitary aid.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Mar 22, 2003

Funny money clothed in cute cartoons

Before I came to Japan, I hadn't used money in years. It's not that I didn't have money -- I just never dreamed of taking it out of the bank and using it. That's because on my planet, the United States, money is a thin piece of plastic called a debit card, inside of which are mathematical molecules swirling...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Mar 22, 2003

Painter enhances nature to give ikebana new life

About to spend four days in Tokyo curating her students' work for an exhibition -- "Collaboration with Nature" -- at Sogetsu Kaikan in Akasaka, Liga Pang juggles cooking lunch and packing bags as we talk.
JAPAN
Mar 22, 2003

Ministries gear up to counter terror threat

Government ministries agreed Friday to prepare for possible terrorist attacks and offer security information to the public as things continue to heat up in Iraq.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Mar 21, 2003

Drink culture still a major problem for English soccer

LONDON -- It has long been one of the mysteries of English football -- why does the national sport accept so much money from the product that has fueled so much hooliganism, which has caused so much trouble -- even deaths and destruction?
BUSINESS
Mar 21, 2003

Economy is at mercy of conflict in Iraq

Financial markets in Japan, well prepared for the U.S.-led attack on Iraq, bounced back quickly Thursday after the onset of war. But some experts warned that the nation's fragile economy may be headed for tragedy.
JAPAN
Mar 21, 2003

Hope evaporates at water forum

OTSU, Shiga Pref. -- With the long-expected U.S.-led war in Iraq now a reality, the ongoing World Water Forum began falling apart Thursday.
JAPAN
Mar 21, 2003

Subway workers offer prayers on sarin attack anniversary

Tokyo subway workers offered prayers and flowers Thursday at Kasumigaseki Station to mark the eighth anniversary of the Aum Shinrikyo sarin gas attack that killed 12 people and injured more than 5,000.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 21, 2003

Antiwar rallies go on unfazed

Rallies against the U.S.-led war on Iraq continued Thursday in front of U.S. diplomatic offices in Japan, with hunger strikes continuing as U.S. bombs started falling on Baghdad.
JAPAN
Mar 21, 2003

Koizumi cites security in backing attack

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi emphasized the importance of Japan's alliance with the United States on Thursday as he voiced support for the U.S.-led attack on Iraq less than two hours after the operation began.
COMMENTARY
Mar 21, 2003

Perhaps society is the problem

Like a parrot, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has been repeating the same phrase: "There will be no economic growth without structural reform." At last he is being forced to make a policy turnaround to implement a package of antideflation measures to stimulate domestic demand. The reversal has been...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 21, 2003

Panel advocates teaching patriotism

The Fundamental Law of Education should be revised to include the concept of patriotism and the importance of educating students about religion, a key government panel said in a report submitted Thursday.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / THE WAY OF WASHOKU
Mar 21, 2003

Nyumen: Warming noodles are just the ticket

The other day we lined up for standing-room tickets to see the grand sumo tournament here in Osaka. It must have been 10 years since I had attended a tournament — it only comes to Osaka once a year.
EDITORIALS
Mar 21, 2003

War against Iraq, again

The bombs have started falling and the world is once again at war. While the adversary is the same -- the regime in Baghdad -- and the terrain familiar, this conflict is much different from the first clash between Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and the international coalition led by the United States...
BUSINESS
Mar 21, 2003

Majority of workers pulling out of Mideast

Although most Japanese firms trading in the Middle East have responded to the war in Iraq by evacuating their employees to safe locations, a few are moving ahead with projects in potentially dangerous areas.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Mar 21, 2003

Gonpachi: Elevated dining at this three-in-one

Nobody would claim that Shibuya is among the most attractive neighborhoods of this metropolis. And yet, as with so many other less than salubrious districts, when viewed at night from a suitable distance -- say 14 stories above the ground -- it does take on an undeniable glow that could almost be called...

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