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COMMENTARY
Jan 6, 2002

Pakistan needs trade, not aid

WASHINGTON -- The United States has assembled a dubious collection of allies over the years. Washington long has had to emphasize the vices of its adversaries rather than the virtues of its friends. Instead of tying itself to morally putrefying regimes through aid programs and military alliances, the...
JAPAN
Jan 6, 2002

Architect blames Japan cityscapes on obsession with wealth

Japan's cities have been criticized for lacking the harmony and consistence felt in other countries, especially in Europe. But that's not a result of poor city planning; the disarray of structures in Tokyo and Osaka simply mirror the country's postwar obsession with material wealth, according to architect...
JAPAN
Jan 6, 2002

Falun Gong follower deported from China

A Japanese Falun Gong follower has said that he was deported from China after protesting Beijing's ban on the group.
LIFE / Food & Drink / BEST BAR NONE
Jan 6, 2002

Daybreak in the garden of Any and Yappy . . .

By the time you read this, Tokyo will be back to business after the New Year's break and the people and traffic will have returned to choke the city's streets. But the pollution that hangs like a lid over the greater metropolis will take a few days longer to return. Blue is the color of the New Year...
COMMUNITY
Jan 6, 2002

Life in the new year: Que sera sera

What joys and sorrows will the coming year bring for Japan? Fast forward to Jan. 1, 2003, apply tongue firmly to cheek and enjoy the benefit of hindsight by reading the alternative futures contained in the 2002 diaries of long-suffering Tokyo banker Gamansuruzo Nostrodoomus, and go-getting Kansai career...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jan 6, 2002

Dewi Sukarno: 'Miss Ambition' who's done it her way

Ratna Sari Dewi Sukarno has become a well-known Japanese media figure in recent years and has just raised some $90,000 for victims of terrorist attacks in the United States.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Jan 6, 2002

A fresh look at a familiar subject

A SNAKE IN THE SHRINE: Journeys With Nobby Through Middle Japan, by David Geraghty. University of Otago Press, 2001, 222 pp., $29.95 (paper) Perhaps there's something about coming to Japan that brings out the writer in a person -- the peculiarities of the culture, the rarity of the experience, the seemingly...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Jan 6, 2002

The challenges and rewards of bicultural marriage

LOOKING BEYOND THE MASK: When American Women Marry Japanese Men, by Nancy Brown Diggs. State University of New York, 2001, 231 pp., $19.95 (paper). Finally, here is a book that explains the ramifications of a decision I made 24 years ago when I married my Japanese husband in the United States. Although...
EDITORIALS
Jan 6, 2002

Back to work, back to 'normal'

On the one hand, 2001 zoomed by, didn't it? It seems just an eye-blink since we were last cleaning up after New Year's feasts and fireworks, sitting in traffic jams to get back home and gearing up for the Monday-after return to work. It is a well-established fact that the older we get, the more often...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jan 6, 2002

Faces of 2001: who's hot and who's not

Media Personality of the Year: Ichiro Suzuki or Junichiro Koizumi
LIFE / Food & Drink / THE WAY OF WASHOKU
Jan 6, 2002

Starting at the root of Japanese cooking

A samurai party — pungent as daikon radish their conversation! — Matsuo Basho (1644-1694)
BUSINESS
Jan 6, 2002

Koizumi hints at more public funds for banks

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has pledged to take every possible step to avert financial crisis, hinting at yet another injection of public money into banks suffering from bad loans.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Jan 6, 2002

Deconstructing Tokyo

INSIDER'S TOKYO, by Angela Jeffs. Times Books International (Singapore), 2001, 280 pp., with numerous maps and photographs, 2,100 yen (paper) Tokyo must have more foreign-language books devoted to it than any other major city -- not only the guides, which endlessly proliferate, but also serious books...
LIFE / Language
Jan 6, 2002

Kids: They've got it figured out

The year's end is a natural time for reflection. Every December, I take a break from the hectic activity of the season and sit down for a quiet cup of tea. I look back at the year passed and reflect on the year to come.
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jan 6, 2002

Oh, what will they think of next?

It's never a good idea to start a new year by looking over your shoulder. But there's no harm in saluting the trends that have emerged over the past 12 months, especially if they represent a significant slippage in the gourmet zeitgeist. After all, yesterday's dabblings by the food fashionistas become...
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 5, 2002

South Asian drumbeats of war

NEW DELHI -- Exactly one week after a terrorist attack on India's Parliament that left over a dozen people dead, I visited a senior lawmaker in that building. The atmosphere was as heavy with anger and determination as shock and trauma. Preparations for war were obvious everywhere, including troop movements...
EDITORIALS
Jan 5, 2002

Flicker of peace in a unipolar world

Uncertainty envelopes the world as it moves into the second year of the 21st century. U.S. President George W. Bush, who launched a "new war" against international terrorism after Sept. 11, is resolved to carry on the campaign in 2002. It is ironic that the end of the Cold War -- which supposedly marked...
COMMENTARY / World / GUEST FORUM
Jan 5, 2002

Writing: A craft that anyone can learn

"Speeches are not magic. A speech is essentially a combination of information and opinion written on paper and spoken. If you can have a thoughtful conversation, you can probably write and give a thoughtful speech."
JAPAN
Jan 5, 2002

JET Program doing its job but in need of reform: expert

The Japan Exchange and Teaching Program has improved English education in Japan and has promoted mutual cultural understanding between Japanese and people from other countries since its inception in 1987, according to the chairman of the program's evaluation committee.
BUSINESS
Jan 5, 2002

Mazda lets buyers fine-tune Roadster

If you are a fan of Mazda Motor Corp.'s Roadster, shopping for your next new car might be a little different than what you expect.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jan 5, 2002

13 another lucky number for 'surimono' albums

David Bull is as insistent as he is stubborn. No sooner has he sat me down beside his workbench (the only warm room in the house), with younger daughter Fumi (16) creating a Web page on the computer on top of the "kotatsu," then he is demanding how much I know about "hanga" (woodblock prints).
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jan 5, 2002

The trucks and bolts of perfect massage

Anyone who has spent some time in Asia has become familiar with massage. You can get all kinds of massage here: Japanese "shiatsu," Chinese foot massage, Thai, Vietnamese and even Swedish massage. But all the different methods can be confusing. Let me set it straight for you.
JAPAN
Jan 5, 2002

More to laser surgery than meets the eye

Corneal laser surgery may be a sight for sore eyes for people suffering from nearsightedness or those just tired of wearing glasses, but experts warn that people considering the increasingly popular operation need to be well-informed about the procedure and its possible results before going under the...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Jan 5, 2002

Hiroshi Ito

When he was a merry little boy in Seijo in the '50s, Hiroshi Ito disliked having to practice playing the piano. As often as he could, he escaped to play outdoors with his friends. When he advanced to Meiji University, however, with the aid of an instruction book he taught himself to play the banjo. Once...

Longform

Bear attacks have dominated Japanese news headlines in recent months, with 13 people so far having been killed by the animals.
Japan’s bears have been on their killing spree for more than 100 years