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EDITORIALS
May 13, 2002

Conditions for SDF mobilization

National defense bills now before the Diet are drawing a mixed reaction from the public. In a Kyodo News poll earlier this month, nearly 50 percent said Japan needs emergency legislation to deal with military attacks from abroad, but when asked whether the package should be passed in the current Diet...
SOCCER / World cup
May 13, 2002

A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity

"Passion" is the story of Japan soccer team coach Philippe Troussier, his struggle to make it as a player and manager and his travels around France, Africa and Japan. In the book, Troussier also details his philosophy and thinking as he prepares for the World Cup in June. In this, the ninth of 10 exclusive...
COMMENTARY / World
May 13, 2002

Unilateralism is not the way

CANBERRA -- As the sole remaining superpower, not only does the United States have no peer competitor, its dominance is unmatched across a whole range of issues and areas of activity in world affairs.
JAPAN
May 13, 2002

Health ministry confirms fourth case of mad cow

A test conducted Saturday on a slaughtered cow has revealed that it was infected with mad cow disease, the health ministry said.
BUSINESS / ON MANAGEMENT
May 13, 2002

Training for success -- crash and learn

Car wrecks always draw a crowd, as every driver knows, and that's true for the equivalent in business, too. Rubber-necking at someone else's trouble, many executives thank their stars that they're not caught in the pileup; most take the opportunity to remind themselves to be extra careful to stay out...
COMMENTARY / World
May 12, 2002

Voter alienation feeds Le Pen's success

NEW YORK -- On May 5, I voted for a rightwinger. It was my first time, and with any luck it will be my last. I really didn't have much choice. Born in the United States of a French parent, I enjoy dual nationality -- a status that Jean-Marie Le Pen had promised to eliminate had his National Front seized...
Japan Times
JAPAN / WEEKEND WISDOM
May 12, 2002

Former top executive attempts to save Japan Inc. with ethics

What is the root cause of corporate failure?
EDITORIALS
May 12, 2002

Harry Potter and the no-show sequel

Where is Harry Potter when we need him? For the second year in a row, the nonappearance of Book 5 of the small bespectacled one's magical doings is throwing readers of all ages into a spring tizzy.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
May 12, 2002

All right, now here's the skinny . . .

People with list fetishes can get off on the new TV Asahi variety show, "Japan's Best 100" (Sunday, 6:56 p.m.), which each week runs down the Top 100 products, services or ideas related to a given topic. The premiere show covered "all you can eat" restaurants throughout Japan. Perhaps as a kind of rebuttal...
COMMENTARY
May 12, 2002

The ICC's war crimes fantasy

WASHINGTON -- Former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger recently visited Europe and almost ended up in the dock for alleged war crimes committed three decades ago. This preview of the operation of the International Criminal Court, or ICC, a U.N. body ready to go into effect after receiving the necessary...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
May 12, 2002

Chewing the cud with cheap shots at soccer

Here's a confession for you -- a self-insight I discovered just the other night:
COMMUNITY
May 12, 2002

Straight from the trainer's mouth

Japan's racing world is steeped in tradition. Many trainers are former jockeys or come from long-established racing families. Nobuhiro Suzuki, 42, is one of a new breed of trainer: outsiders, usually highly educated. Suzuki gained his training license in 1997 after working as a veterinarian, groom and...
JAPAN
May 12, 2002

DVD firms want 4% patent royalty on Chinese versions

Six Japanese and U.S. companies with DVD-related patents are negotiating with Chinese makers to charge about 4 percent of the price of a DVD player as royalties, China's official Xinhua News Agency reported Saturday.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
May 12, 2002

The free press exercise their muscles

In addition to being Japan's Constitution Day and the United Nations' Press Freedom Day, May 3 marked the 15th anniversary of the unsolved murder of Asahi Shimbun reporter Tomohiro Kojiri in Kobe.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
May 12, 2002

The complete picture

The late Hiroshi Teshigahara was not only the "iemoto" (head) of the Sogetsu school of ikebana and a noted traditional potter, he was also a film director of international fame, best known for his 1964 picture "Woman in the Dunes." The sumptuously designed DVD collection "Teshigara Hiroshi no Sekai"...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
May 12, 2002

Are local tracks up against the odds?

There is little glamor at Kawasaki Racetrack. Under grubby baseball caps, cigarettes and pencil stubs are jammed behind the ears of tense punters. The odor of ramen wafts along the betting slip-littered corridors and stairways under the stands.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
May 12, 2002

Where the finest get on the fast track

Imagine, just for a moment, that you are a horse.
LIFE / Food & Drink / NIHONSHU
May 12, 2002

Brewing it naturally isn't so easy

In recent years, there has been increased interest in organic sake. To legally specify something as organic or organically produced is difficult, at least in countries that have begun enforcing the standards that are needed to ensure safety and quality, as well as the protection of the environment.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
May 12, 2002

Making each note dance on the wind

In 1968, at the age of 13, Akikazu Nakamura began playing electric guitar. A few years later, he discovered that one of his favorite bands, King Crimson, counted contemporary classical music among their influences. Intrigued, Nakamura pursued this thread and soon discovered "November Steps" by the composer...
COMMUNITY
May 12, 2002

Born to ride -- and to win

Veteran jockey Yukio Okabe is a legend in Japanese racing, perhaps best-known for his partnership with Triple Crown winner Symboli Rudolf. At 53, he is Japan's most senior rider, and has won awards in 27 of his 34 years as a jockey. As national racing's record-holder for number of rides, with more than...
SUMO
May 12, 2002

Takanohana is still star of the no-show

Much of the focus in the runup to the Natsu Basho has been on a rikishi who will not even compete: yokozuna Takanohana.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / JAZZNICITY
May 12, 2002

The smallest jazz club in the world -- or close

At the Hot House jazz club in Takadanobaba, you not only rub elbows with great jazz musicians and intense fans, you also rub shoulders, knees, ankles and hips. To get to the toilet, someone has to stand up (me as it turned out); to get in the door, the pianist has to move his bench; and to get a drink...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
May 12, 2002

When in doubt, just say 'wakarimasen'

Violent antisocial crimes by teenagers have sent shockwaves through Japan in recent years, hinting ominously at cracks in the very foundations of modern Japanese society. On a more mundane level, older Japanese often find themselves puzzled and annoyed by the everyday behavior of young people, who often...
JAPAN
May 12, 2002

OECD set to recognize gradual Japan recovery

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development is likely to acknowledge the possibility of a modest recovery in Japan's economy at its ministerial meeting in Paris this week, according to a draft statement obtained Saturday.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
May 12, 2002

Poetry that's music to the ears of millions

POEMS OF THE GOAT, by Chuya Nakahara, translated by Ry Beville. American Book Company, Richmond, VA, 2002, 77 pp., $15/2500 yen (paper) Why do some writers get translated and others -- better, more deserving -- remain obscure? This is a question that Ry Beville, a young Virginia native, asked himself...
COMMUNITY
May 12, 2002

The King of Sports .... in the land of emperors

Some 15 years ago, I found racing -- or perhaps you could say that it found me. Free tickets to the international Japan Cup took me to Tokyo Race Course and marked the beginning of a continuing affair with the horses.
EDITORIALS
May 11, 2002

Murder in the Netherlands

The assassination of Dutch politician Pim Fortuyn is a wakeup call to the citizens of Europe. Coming only days after the defeat of rightwing leader Jean-Marie Le Pen in the runoff for the French presidency last weekend, the killing is a savage reminder of the threats to democracy in Europe. The Dutch...
COMMENTARY / World
May 11, 2002

Indian state frenzy borders on genocide

NEW DELHI -- The continuing communal violence in the western Indian state of Gujarat has not only left hundreds dead, but has also led to embarrassing condemnation by world leaders. New Delhi finds itself in an utterly shameful spot, a situation brought on by its own inept handling of the Hindu-Muslim...

Longform

Ichiro Suzuki, one of the most iconic players in NPB and MLB history, was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame with 99.7% of the vote.
With Hall of Fame induction, Ichiro makes himself heard loud and clear