Search - about-us

 
 
COMMUNITY
Dec 29, 2002

Winter's ancient symbol of vigor and life

In the contemporary Western world, Christmas starts with Christmas Eve on Dec. 24. and ends with Boxing Day on Dec. 26. In times now long past, though -- and on calendars now long since consigned to history -- the date of Christmas and celebrations of the birth of Christ have varied from Dec. 25 to Jan....
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Dec 29, 2002

Stymied by a myopic military

THE SHADOW WARRIORS OF NAKANO: A History of the Imperial Japanese Army's Elite Intelligence School, by Stephen C. Mercado. Brassey's: Washington, D.C., 2002, 331 pp., $27.95 (cloth) This is the groundbreaking story of Japan's World War II intelligence agents, an elite cadre of approximately 2,500 men...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Dec 29, 2002

Mt. Fuji observed, and revealed

FUJI: Images of Contemporary Japan, by Chris Steele-Perkins. New York: Umbrage Editions, 2001, 136 pp., 104 color plates, $45 (cloth) Ukiyo-e master Hokusai established a tradition when he traveled around Mount Fuji in the 19th century, illustrating his 36 views of the mountain. He made it the locus...
COMMENTARY
Dec 29, 2002

Resist the potions of the past

LONDON -- "Capitulation bottom" is the ugly and inelegant phrase used by financial analysts in London to indicate the low point in the cycle of investor optimism and pessimism -- the point where investors give up in despair, sell their shrunken shareholdings, if they can find a buyer, and start putting...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Dec 29, 2002

Hideki Togi out to gagaku your world

He is the man responsible for bringing gagaku back into the Japanese lexicon. He is to gagaku (classical Japanese court music) what Ayumi Hamasaki is to J-Pop. Since Hideki Togi left the Imperial Household Agency in 1996, armed with his hichiriki, black leather pants and cool charm, he has been on a...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Dec 29, 2002

Koma Square -- a new years' tale by RK

1997-99 He woke to the sound of a prerecorded voice booming from the nationalists' minitruck rolling through their neighborhood, making the windows rattle. Shirtless on the tatami, his bare back pressed to the ribbed weave, he heard the voice as part of his dream and then part of the day, and then...
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 29, 2002

'Russian spirit' headed down the hatch

MOSCOW -- With the winter holidays upon us, Russians are looking forward to the longest drinking binge of the year. It started with "Western" Christmas, which Russians began celebrating after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Then come New Year's Eve, Russian Orthodox Christmas on Jan. 7 and the old...
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 29, 2002

Modernization model for Islamic nations

HONOLULU -- With all due respect to his office, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad of Malaysia got it wrong when he suggested in Tokyo in mid-December that the Japanese help Americans and Europeans to understand Islam.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 28, 2002

Saber-rattling leaves Asia cold

CAMBRIDGE, England -- I was in Beijing last week for a conference and research visits that focused on regional cooperation in Northeast Asia. While I was there, Chinese newspapers reported on Japan's dispatch of the Aegis missile detection system-equipped warship, Kirishimi, to the Indian Ocean.
COMMENTARY
Dec 28, 2002

Keep a close eye on prisons

LONDON -- The basic objectives of a judicial sentence of imprisonment are deterrence, rehabilitation and punishment. To deter criminals, it is first necessary to arrest them and ensure that those who are guilty are convicted. The criminal must then recognize that imprisonment, which means in the first...
EDITORIALS
Dec 28, 2002

Playing with human rights

China is once again engaging in human rights diplomacy. This week the government in Beijing released dissident Xu Wenli, one of the country's most famous human rights activists. It is tempting to applaud this long-overdue development, but the truth is that Mr. Xu should not have been in jail in the first...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Dec 28, 2002

Three baas for the year of the sheep!

Baa-aa! Yes, you herd me right -- it's almost the year of the sheep. It's going to be a long year of itchy sweaters and mothballs. So put on your woolies and finish writing those New Year's cards.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Dec 28, 2002

Rosanna Zambon

Many years ago, a Tokyo woman had a house to let in Sengawa. She used to laugh ruefully at the peculiarities of some of her short-term tenants. Then she had a pair who were the best, who she hoped would stay a long time, whom she spoke of affectionately as "a lovely young couple." They were Rosanna Zambon,...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Dec 28, 2002

Waiting for the ultimate exchange gift

Perhaps the first disappointment most kids experience while growing up is discovering the truth regarding Santa Claus. For me, it was the same.
EDITORIALS
Dec 27, 2002

Resuscitate local economies

Japan's economy for 2003 poses inevitable questions. Will deflation get worse or better? How far will banks go to shed their dud loans? If the United States goes to war with Iraq, how will it affect the economy? In these increasingly uncertain times, forecasting is a tricky business. Offering stock answers...
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Dec 27, 2002

Roberto Carlos was best player of 2002

LONDON -- As the year winds down we are seeing a plethora of honors being handed out to different soccer players around the globe. Here are my picks for some alternative awards for 2002:
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 27, 2002

ASEM painfully short on substance

CHIANG MAI, Thailand -- ASEM, the Asia-Europe meeting process, was born in a climate of general euphoria in 1996 in Bangkok. The idea to bring together the combined potentials of the European Union and of several important Asian players looked promising and, fundamentally, it is still valid today.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Dec 27, 2002

Let us raise a toast to six of the best in 2002

Just as, after a leisurely banquet, conversation inevitably turns to storytelling and reminiscing, in much the same vein we like to devote our final column of the year to the highlights of the past 12 months. During the course of 2002, we have cast our spotlight on more than 60 restaurants, bars and...
COMMENTARY
Dec 26, 2002

Marketing matters in foreign policy

HONOLULU -- Call me a cynic, but I've long believed that one of the greatest foreign-policy advantages the United States has enjoyed is the ineptness of the governments it has confronted. It's always good to have right on your side, but sometimes that isn't enough. Nor is might the answer: The reality...
COMMENTARY
Dec 26, 2002

A rising China lifts Asian economies

HONG KONG -- For many years now, a debate has raged over the political and economic implications of a rising China, both for the region and for the world. That China is rising is not a matter of debate.
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Dec 26, 2002

Jail Blazers just can't stay out of trouble

NEW YORK -- And now, for your dining and dancing pleasure, we offer an encore holiday performance of the Portland Penal Colony in "The 12 Visitation Days Of Christmas."
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / GARDENS FOR ALL
Dec 26, 2002

Turning over new leaves

Time seems to fly by. With 2003 just around the corner, major housework operations are in order to enter the year with everything sparkling. Garden companies, too, will be busy cleaning up gardens. Pruning pine trees and cutting hedges, known as hagari (lit. "leaf-cutting") is an important part of the...
LIFE / Digital / TANGLED WEBS
Dec 26, 2002

All it takes is a bit of inspired teamwork

Traditionally, the end of the year is a time of reflection. In good times, we congratulate ourselves on what we did right, and in bad times we brood over our mistakes.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Dec 26, 2002

Thirty years of environmental progress, but . . .

Yet another year is tugging impatiently at the sleeve of closure and within days will be history.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / NAME OF THE GAME
Dec 26, 2002

Arcade gem returns to glory

This is the time for bringing games back from retirement. Sega came out with new a new "Shinobi." Konami has a new "Contra." And Tecmo has brought back two great blasts from the past: "Ninja Gaiden" and "Rygar."
EDITORIALS
Dec 25, 2002

A bridge from science to life

The government's Biotechnology Strategy Council deEfines biotechnology as a pillar industry of the 21st century along with information technology. This perception, expressed in the council's "outline of bioEtechnology strategy" issued last week, should serve as an important guide for Japan. Such a national...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Dec 25, 2002

Dancing to the Eastern wind of change

Asian performers of contemporary dance embody an inherent contradiction. With their Asian physiques and being raised in Asian cultures, they perform an art form that was pioneered by Isadora Duncan (1878-1927) and developed in the West.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Dec 25, 2002

The Pascals: "The Pascals Go"

The Pascals are a quirky collection of outstanding Japanese musicians whose tunes are penned in the spirit of the French composer Pascal Comelade.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 25, 2002

Put America's Korea policy on track

WASHINGTON -- With South Korea's critical presidential election decided, the Bush administration's Korea policy is in need of a midcourse correction.

Longform

Koichi Tagawa’s diary entry from Aug. 9, 1945, describes the day of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki.
The horrors of Nagasaki, in first person