Search - about-us

 
 
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Feb 13, 2000

Nicola Cerrone

The warmth and blue skies of Italy and the sunshine and freshness of Australia make a winning combination. These elements come together in Nicola Cerrone, young, winsome and friendly.
ENVIRONMENT
Feb 13, 2000

Confrontation not the answer on environmental problems

During the World Trade Organization meeting in Seattle last year, they trashed a Starbucks and other brand-name stores.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 13, 2000

Theft runs rampant in Russian military

VLADIVOSTOK, Russia -- Weeks after the theft of radioactive material from a nuclear submarine, military prosecutors in the remote Kamchatka region have admitted the theft and added that theft of army equipment is an increasingly serious problem.
CULTURE / Stage
Feb 13, 2000

'Seasons' marks 35 years of Tokyo Ballet

On Feb. 4-5, the Tokyo Ballet premiered a new ballet by John Neumeier of the Hamburg Ballet in Germany. "Seasons -- The Colors of Time" was the latest in the company's series of commissioned works to celebrate the 35th anniversary of its establishment.
COMMUNITY / How-tos
Feb 13, 2000

Decision-making

A gentleman set out on a full-day quest in Akihabara with a Japanese friend acting as interpreter ("with a patient and flexible persistence which is the hallmark of your column's advice," he adds) looking for an iMac computer with an English-language operating system installed. The end result: a long...
MORE SPORTS
Feb 12, 2000

The life and times of a sumo giant

Continuing The Japan Times' exclusive interview with yokozuna Akebono, 30, in which he talks about his life and relationships in sumo.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 12, 2000

The right kind of justice for East Timor

The quest for justice in East Timor gathered momentum last week with the submission of reports from two separate investigations into the rampage that occurred last September after the province voted for independence. But the stir raises profound questions of how to deal with transitional justice, pitting...
EDITORIALS
Feb 11, 2000

NTT shirks its responsibilities

The Japanese and U.S. governments are at odds over access charges for NTT networks. The Japanese side is balking at a U.S. demand for a deep and prompt price cut, on the grounds that it will have a crippling effect on NTT operations. As things stand, it is unclear whether an agreement can be reached...
COMMENTARY
Feb 11, 2000

Diet imbroglio over at last

The Diet returned to normal Feb. 9, two weeks after the opposition forces started boycotting all proceedings to protest against the ruling bloc's handling of a controversial bill to reduce Diet seats. The turmoil started when the three-party governing coalition passed the bill for cutting Lower House...
COMMUNITY
Feb 11, 2000

Words and eras to build character

Kanji is also prone to fashion. During the Meiji Era, the mods were chu (loyalty), kun (lord), ai (love) and koku (nation). Politics were condensed into four characters: fukokukyohei (rich nation, strong army). Kind of taps right into the psyche of the period, doesn't it. And the Taisho Era which marked...
JAPAN
Feb 11, 2000

'Greedy' Myanmar requests $1.45 billion

Staff writer How greedy Myanmar's cash-strapped military regime is! It is trying to wheedle Japan, the world's largest aid donor, for a huge amount of money that it probably would not be able to digest. The Myanmar military regime, struggling to survive deep economic trouble amid continued isolation...
MORE SPORTS
Feb 11, 2000

Akebono, in his own words

Akebono is one of the biggest sports stars in Japan, both literally and figuratively. The 30-year-old followed in the footsteps of his oyakata (stablemaster) Azumazeki (ex-sekiwake Takamiyama) and former ozeki Konishiki in making the transition from the backwaters of Hawaii to the rarified heights of...
JAPAN
Feb 11, 2000

More Japanese urged to join international student forum

The International Students' Committee, organizers of the annual International Management Symposium in St. Gallen, Switzerland, is urging more Japanese business leaders and students to take part in the gathering. Organizers say the symposium has become one of the prime occasions for leaders and top students...
CULTURE / Music
Feb 11, 2000

G. Love and Gomez have got them blues and got 'em new

Every 15 years or so we seem to get another blues revival. Revivals imply something dead being brought back to life, which means the blues isn't considered a living, breathing musical form, but something frozen in time, and each successive generation that revives it is further removed from the cultural...
JAPAN
Feb 11, 2000

Turnout low at Founding Day ceremony

Diet members and foreign dignitaries on Friday attended a ceremony to celebrate National Founding Day at the Hibiya Public Hall in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward. Yet, despite the efforts of organizing officials to emphasize the historical significance of the ceremony, the occasion was marked more by the prevalence...
JAPAN
Feb 11, 2000

Economic seminar ends in split over IT emphasis

KYOTO -- The 38th annual Kansai Economic Seminar ended with participants recognizing the importance of information technology but divided on how much it should be embraced by firms whose traditional business is manufacturing. "Information technology is important for economic growth. But Japan needs...
EDITORIALS
Feb 10, 2000

The IRA must break the stalemate

The Northern Ireland peace process is in danger of breaking down. The Irish Republican Army's fierce resistance to surrendering any of its weapons has forced Protestant politicians to question the group's commitment to peace. In the absence of genuine good will between the parties to the conflict, gestures...
COMMUNITY
Feb 10, 2000

Psychic knowledge to a degree

Housewife Utako Ando (not her real name), 41, has been interested in fortunetelling for a long time. One day, a fortuneteller told her that her home would be robbed, and when she came back from vacation she found the prediction had come true. "That really surprised me," she says. "I believe fortunetellers...
JAPAN
Feb 10, 2000

NPA admits defeat in Glico-Morinaga case

Prior to Saturday's expiration of the statute of limitations on the last crime in the Glico-Morinaga extortion case, the National Police Agency conceded defeat Thursday to the extortion ring. The 15-year statute of limitations on the crime runs out midnight Saturday. It will be the first time the NPA...
COMMENTARY
Feb 10, 2000

Democracy under attack

When I first read that the Japanese coalition government had decided to force through a bill to reduce the number of seats elected by proportional representation, my first thought was, since they had a majority of votes in both Houses for this measure and as democracy generally implies majority rules,...
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
Feb 10, 2000

Olympics strike out with baseball format

In last week's installment of Sports Scope, my esteemed colleague David Picker took Orix BlueWave star center fielder Ichiro Suzuki to task for showing no interest in going to the 2000 Olympics. Well, I'm with Ichiro.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Feb 10, 2000

Back streets in not-so-far towns

One of the great joys of sake tippling, especially after having searched the town for a while, is finding a new gem of a place. Just when you think you've seen just about any manifestation a sake pub could take, you stumble on something charming and warm, wondering how it could have escaped your attention...
JAPAN
Feb 10, 2000

Ivanov reaffirms direction on Japan-Russia peace quest

Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi and visiting Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov, reaffirmed Thursday that Japan and Russia will enhance ties to advance their peace treaty negotiations.
JAPAN
Feb 10, 2000

Economic seminar ends in division over infotech

KYOTO -- The 38th annual Kansai Economic Seminar concluded Thursday with participants recognizing the importance of information technology, but divided on how much it should be embraced by firms whose traditional business is manufacturing. "Information technology is important for economic growth. But...
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 10, 2000

Japan ill-served by its whitewash of wartime crimes

At the dawn of the new millennium, many nations continue to grapple with the historic and moral implications of World War II. In Berlin, the German government broke ground for a new Holocaust Memorial, and in Stockholm 40 heads of state joined with historians, educators and Jewish survivors of the Nazi...
JAPAN
Feb 10, 2000

M-5 rocket fails to reach orbit; satellite feared lost

UCHINOURA, Kagoshima Pref. -- In another serious blow to Japan's space program, an M-5 rocket carrying an astronomical observation satellite failed Thursday to reach its expected orbit. The rocket was supposed to reach an orbit of between 270 km and 550 km from Earth after lifting off at 10:30 a.m....
LIFE / Food & Drink
Feb 10, 2000

Filling up an empty month with wine

Bring out the wine! It's National Foundation Day! (Well, tomorrow.) Are any of Japan's official nation-builders building reputations as wine connoisseurs? If so, I've yet to hear of it, but I did notice that on a state visit to Mexico a few years ago the then-Prime Minister Toshiki Kaifu had no idea...
JAPAN
Feb 10, 2000

International student forum needs more Japanese

The International Students' Committee, organizers of the annual International Management Symposium in St. Gallen, Switzerland, is urging more Japanese business leaders and students to take part in the gathering. Organizers say the symposium has become one of the prime occasions for leaders and top students...
JAPAN
Feb 10, 2000

Obuchi defends aide accused of swindling stock

Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi rejected allegations Thursday that his close aide swindled a man, now deceased, out of shares currently worth about 2.3 billion yen. "I understand that he did nothing wrong," Obuchi said during an Upper House plenary session , adding that he himself was not involved in the...
EDITORIALS
Feb 9, 2000

Austria calls Europe's bluff

The formation of a coalition government in Austria that includes the rightwing Freedom Party headed by Mr. Joerg Haider is a potential nightmare for Europe. The prospect of an extremist party joining the Cabinet in Vienna has forced other members of the European Union to examine their own past. It has...

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’