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CULTURE / Stage
Apr 22, 2001

Yukio Ninagawa: Now that's the fighting spirit

In the theater world, director Yukio Ninagawa is a living legend. Practicing his craft for more than 30 years and in the international spotlight for 20, he has yet to exhaust his renowned creativity and energy.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Apr 22, 2001

All together now: Let's all shill for Universal!

Before Universal Studios Japan opened on March 31, media commentators were asking why the new Hollywood theme park wasn't called Universal Studios Osaka. After all, Tokyo Disneyland isn't called Japan Disneyland. Here's the punch line: If they called it Universal Studios Osaka, the acronym would be USO,...
CULTURE / Music
Apr 22, 2001

A new drumbeat resounds around the world

The powerful beat of taiko (Japanese drums) of different sizes vibrates the air, while the delicate sound of shinobue (bamboo flute) adds spice to the dynamic rhythm. On stage is taiko troupe Tokyo Dageki Dan: four muscular men drumming and another with the flute.
CULTURE / Music
Apr 22, 2001

Where to go to hear hogaku

With the gradual extinction of the old Japanese yose vaudeville theaters in the postwar era, regular venues for enjoying hogaku have become hard to find.
JAPAN
Apr 22, 2001

Tokyo-Beijing relations expected to decline despite visa conditions

Although the government cited "humanitarian reasons" in deciding to issue an entry visa to former Taiwanese President Lee Teng-hui, the Foreign Ministry recognizes the decision will have political implications and will certainly serve Tokyo-Beijing ties yet another blow.
CULTURE / Music
Apr 22, 2001

Nurturing the next generation of traditional musicians

Many observers attribute the steep decline of Japanese traditional music in the 20th century in large part to the fact that Japan's school system teaches Western music intensively and hogaku almost not at all. That situation is due to change as the Education Ministry introduces new guidelines, effective...
LIFE / Food & Drink / VINELAND
Apr 22, 2001

Days of wine and picnics

The ideal picnic wine must meet several criteria. Since a throbbing hangover can ruin an afternoon, the wine should be low in alcohol. On a warm day, it is best to avoid heavy red wines; harsh tannins can leave the mouth feeling parched. Finally, the wine should convey a sense of celebration. It is hard...
LIFE / Food & Drink / BEST BAR NONE
Apr 22, 2001

More sonic power to the people

I first met Shunnosuke when he was a gangly 19-year-old art student. We both subscribed to the "give art the flick, let's dance" school of thought. And we did.
CULTURE / Art
Apr 22, 2001

You will read this -- now

Tokyo recently witnessed the latest stage of an arresting visual campaign -- the sudden appearance around town of black, white and red posters and stickers featuring the iconographic face of pro-wrestler Andre the Giant and the ominous message "Obey" printed below.
CULTURE / Music
Apr 22, 2001

Killing the Buddha -- form vs. content in hogaku

Nagauta shamisen players and singers line up in perfect rows across the kabuki stage, facing the audience while singing deeply expressive music with deadpan faces.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Apr 22, 2001

Big novels get the small-screen treatment

Jiro Asada won Japan's prestigious Naoki Prize for literature in 1997 for his novel "Poppoya," which was later made into a hit movie starring Ken Takakura. His followup, "Tengoku made no Hyaku Mairu (The One Hundred Miles to Heaven)," was published in the fall of 1998. Veteran TV director Katsumi Oyama...
EDITORIALS
Apr 21, 2001

A reassuring signal from the Fed

One question uppermost in the minds of political and business leaders the world over probably is whether the slowing U.S. economy will pick up in the second half of this year. The Federal Reserve Board on Wednesday provided its answer by cutting key interest rates for the fourth time since January. The...
JAPAN
Apr 21, 2001

Researchers decode genome of highly-resistant bacterium

Japanese researchers said Friday that they have produced the world's first complete genetic sequencing of a bacterium which is a major source of human infection and one of the most resistant organisms in hospital-acquired infections.
JAPAN
Apr 21, 2001

Contorted system spells short-term leaders

Unless one is a political analyst or blessed with an excellent memory, it is close to impossible to correctly rattle off the names of Japan's prime ministers since the late 1980s. There have simply been too many in that time.
BUSINESS
Apr 21, 2001

Small firms failing to expand through IT

Despite the steady spread of information technology among smaller companies, firms are failing to utilize IT to expand their business and create new opportunities, according to a government report released Friday.
JAPAN
Apr 21, 2001

Compensation deal reached with incinerator firm

The government has agreed to pay an industrial waste disposal company near the U.S. Atsugi Naval Air Facility in Kanagawa Prefecture some 5.2 billion yen in compensation for halting the operations of its incinerators, which have been linked to high levels of dioxin, officials said Friday.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 21, 2001

China faces a dilemma in ties with U.S.

HONG KONG -- In the end, China released those 24 members of the crew of the U.S. EP-3E reconnaissance plane just in the nick of time. The end of the crew's detention -- plus China's decision not to put any of the crew on trial, as some hardliners had advocated -- came just in time to undercut a growing...
JAPAN
Apr 21, 2001

Sogo shareholders file suit against ex-chairman, auditor

OSAKA -- Eight shareholders of Sogo Co. filed a lawsuit Friday against the former chairman of the collapsed department store chain and the company's auditor, seeking some 8 million yen to cover losses from the sharp drop in the firm's stock price.
JAPAN
Apr 21, 2001

Koreans weigh merits of gaining Japan citizenship

Staff writer One Hokkaido resident is too proud to give up his South Korean nationality despite the disadvantages it brings while living in Japan.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Apr 21, 2001

Speaking in tongues for a national day of prayer

At 82, and a spirited minister to world leaders, Harald Bredesen may be forgiven his excesses. Not only does he have a gift of the gab, but an enthusiasm for quoting so loudly from Scripture in public places that it turns heads. (In our hotel coffee shop, he has to be thrice shushed.)
BUSINESS
Apr 21, 2001

Chiyoda Life returns as AIG unit

Failed insurer Chiyoda Mutual Life Insurance Co. started anew Friday as AIG Star Life Insurance Co., with regaining customer confidence as the first order of business.
COMMENTARY
Apr 21, 2001

Koizumi takes an early lead

Political turmoil is brewing as the governing Liberal Democratic Party gears up to elect its next president April 24. Whoever is elected will replace the unpopular Yoshiro Mori as prime minister.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Apr 21, 2001

Jane Best Cooke

In Queen Elizabeth II's New Year's honors list, Jane Best Cooke was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire. She was awarded this distinction in recognition of her contribution to the promotion in Japan of British culture, and to a wide range of charitable and international friendship activities....
BUSINESS
Apr 21, 2001

Cheap leek imports from China seen as a problem Japan helped to create

Last summer, Toichi Ubukata stood aghast before vast fields of leeks in the village of Shalingzhen in Shandong Peninsula, about 500 km southeast of Beijing.
COMMENTARY
Apr 21, 2001

U.S. must seek three-way balance in Asia

LOS ANGELES -- China is about to get a new U.S. ambassador. But will it get a new U.S. China policy?
BUSINESS
Apr 20, 2001

Mitsubishi Motors changing gears under new three-year turnaround plan

Mitsubishi Motors Corp. is banking on a three-year restructuring effort to change its traditional corporate culture and become a more market-oriented company.
JAPAN
Apr 20, 2001

LDP's Tokyo politicians voice dissent

They are closely watching the Liberal Democratic Party presidential race. In fact, they will be the first to receive the verdict of voters on the party under its new leader.
JAPAN
Apr 20, 2001

Teen arrested over counterfeit cash

A 16-year-old Tokyo high school student was arrested Tuesday for using a counterfeit 10,000 yen bill at a lottery booth in the Shibuya district, police alleged Thursday.

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’