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COMMUNITY
Mar 31, 2002

War of the words

Ah, Nihongo. Of all foreign languages, this is the one that keeps you on your toes. An Occidental beginner might suspect that the Japanese did it on purpose -- sowed their language with mines and pitfalls to thwart non-native penetration. To 16th-century European missionaries, Japanese was the devil's...
COMMUNITY
Mar 30, 2002

Making music less than a job, more than a hobby

Donna Burke and Bill Benfield deserve to be sitting pretty. Just married (Dec. 28, in Australia), they live in a large apartment in Tokyo's Azabu-juban with three cats, and a flock of sparrows lined up on the balcony waiting to be fed every morning.
LIFE / Language / KANJI CLINIC
Mar 29, 2002

Seize the reins and blaze your own kanji-learning trail

Dear Dario Simunovic,
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Mar 24, 2002

A greener shade of gray

Ever since Adam and Eve were banished from the Garden of Eden, people have been trying to climb back over the fence, because, whatever the attractions of city living, there is nothing like a garden to refresh both body and soul.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Mar 24, 2002

The past made perfect

THE POLITICS OF RUINS AND THE BUSINESS OF NOSTALGIA, by Maurizio Peleggi. Studies in Contemporary Thailand, No. 10, forward by Craig J. Reynolds. Bangkok: White Lotus Press., 2002, 100 pp., 450 baht (paper) Now that Kyoto is to all intents "Kyotoland," it might be instructive to turn to other countries...
ENVIRONMENT
Mar 21, 2002

Blooms tell curious tale of two cities

Ninet years ago, on March 27, 1912, passersby on the northern bank of the Tidal Basin in Washington, D.C. may have been surprised to see two elegant ladies digging holes. They may have been even more surprised had they known that the women were Helen Taft, wife of U.S. President William Howard Taft,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 17, 2002

Meditations on a master disciple

Sonny Fortune wears his John Coltrane influence proudly. And well he should since he is one of the few sax players working today confident enough -- and good enough -- to follow in his footsteps.
COMMUNITY
Mar 17, 2002

Yokohoma vs. Kobe: bright lights, big beacons

Yokohama and Kobe have much in common. Busy ports, both have swanky shopping streets named Motomachi, Chinatowns, Western-style houses on the hill and monument-dotted former foreign settlements. Tweedledum and Tweedledee? Some think so.
BUSINESS
Mar 12, 2002

'Economy watchers' see rise in business

Sentiment on the front lines of the workforce improved for the fourth month in a row in February, although pessimistic workers continue to outnumber those with an optimistic outlook, according to a government report released Monday.
BUSINESS
Mar 11, 2002

Airline consolidation taking off

BANGKOK -- The lingering impact of Sept. 11 is prompting airline companies to "integrate deeper and quicker" into the safety of alliances, and these groups will form the basis of future competition in the industry, a top airline executive said in a recent interview with Japan Times.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Mar 10, 2002

All you can eat and then some

L ately, there has been a lot of news about a certain Japanese politician who profited personally from his interest in Russia. Tonight, on Nippon TV's newsmagazine "Document '02" (12:25 a.m.), we get to see the opposite: Russians who profit from their interest in Japan.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Mar 10, 2002

Can common sense penetrate the food market?

You don't have to be paranoid to conclude that the recent series of food-labeling scandals represents the tip of the iceberg. With the Japanese market continually opening itself wider to food imports, and the government still unable or unwilling to untangle the tight, complicated interrelationships that...
BUSINESS
Mar 6, 2002

Yoshinoya to open up in Shanghai

Fast-food chain operator Yoshinoya D&C Co. said Tuesday it and Shanghai's Xinya group will launch a joint venture early next month to run a "gyudon" restaurant chain.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Mar 6, 2002

Of life's mystery and joy

He lived through the best and worst of times. His life spanned a century of tremendous change, as Japan's focus shifted from rural to industrial, from East to West, from peace to war. He experienced poverty and success, respect and recrimination. He was Taikan Yokoyama (1868-1958), one of Japan's most...
SOCCER / World cup
Feb 28, 2002

Asia must earn extra spot: Blatter

If Asia wants an extra automatic berth to future World Cups, then it will have to earn it, FIFA president Sepp Blatter told the Japanese media on Wednesday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 28, 2002

Workshops for mentally ill feel fenced in

A newspaper article that called attention to the May 1981 opening of the Aoi Mugi No Ie workshop for the mentally ill, mainly schizophrenics, in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, sparked a 15-year campaign by local residents to drive the facility away.
LIFE / Travel
Feb 26, 2002

The other treasures of Angkor

SIEM REAP, Cambodia An enormous complex located on a vast wooded plain, Cambodia's spectacular Angkor was built between the ninth and the 14th centuries by the Khmers as an administrative and religious center. From here, the early Khmer kings ruled over a vast territory that extended from what is now...
LIFE / Travel / NATURE TRAVEL
Feb 26, 2002

Beauty in the land of blood and bones

Angola is not a tourist destination for the faint-hearted. In fact, it's probably fair to say that it's not a tourist destination at all. Period.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 20, 2002

Onward klezmer voyager

Like people, music travels. How else could a handful of Japanese musicians have come to embrace klezmer, a centuries-old Eastern European folk music historically associated with traditional Jewish weddings?
BUSINESS
Feb 19, 2002

DoCoMo signs i-mode deal with German firm

NTT DoCoMo Inc. said Monday it has signed an agreement licensing Germany's E-Plus Mobilfunk GmbH & Co. KG to use its patents and technology for i-mode in Germany.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 18, 2002

Taiwan, mainland jockey for influence

PALO ALTO, Calif. -- What is going on across the Taiwan Strait and within Taiwan becomes more of a puzzle with each passing day.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 18, 2002

Moving beyond the Kashmir problem

MADRAS, India -- Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf's recent visit to Washington began with a plea for third-party intervention in Kashmir, which is claimed by both India and Pakistan.
MORE SPORTS
Feb 17, 2002

Japan living in 'Third World' in tennis terms

Naoko Sawamatsu had no intention of offending anyone in Japanese tennis, but when asked about her take on the future of women's tennis in this country, her usually smiling face stiffened. She sat still for a few seconds, her eyes unfocused and hands toying with her cell phone straps.
JAPAN
Feb 16, 2002

Antiwar campaigners to donate documents to Vietnamese museum

Members of a Japanese group that campaigned against the Vietnam War will visit Ho Chi Minh City later this month to donate materials and documents detailing their activities in the 1960s and 1970s to the state-run War Remnants Museum.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Feb 15, 2002

Pilgrims taking the long and winding road to ramen heaven

One mind-boggling feature of Japan's media is its sheer, singleminded dedication to and passionate obsession with food. This especially applies to the genre known as menrui (noodles). From somen and soba to Vietnamese pho and supa (spaghetti), the Japanese have always had an inordinate love for nagai...

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji