Search - about-us

 
 
COMMUNITY / How-tos / GETTING THINGS DONE
Jul 14, 1999

Substitutes

A woman tells us she is a vegetarian in the real sense -- no meat, fish or animal byproducts, even gelatin. In England she could buy dried mixes that could be reconstituted by adding water and then used to make sausages (Sosmix) and burgers (Veggie Burger Mix). She wonders if there are any similar products...
LIFE / Travel
Jul 14, 1999

Getting into hot water in Fukushima

The sleepy town of Kitakata in northwest Fukushima hasn't much to interest tourists. The ramen is famous, but once you've seen the lacquer museum and some of the old storehouses, you may be stuck for ideas. The locals are rather proud of their Daibutsu, an 11th-century golden Buddha, but it is hardly...
EDITORIALS
Jul 13, 1999

Hard questions for Hong Kong

It has been a bitter two years for Hong Kong. On July 1, 1997, the British Crown Colony reverted to the mainland amid an outpouring of pride and Chinese nationalism. The celebrations were short-lived. The very next day, the Thai baht imploded, launching Asia on a downward economic spiral from which it...
COMMENTARY
Jul 13, 1999

Break deadlock on base issues

U.S. President Bill Clinton expressed hope June 25 that all pending issues concerning U.S. military bases in Okinawa, including the issue of the Marine Corps Futenma Air Station, will be resolved before he attends a Group of Eight summit there in July 2000. "I don't want to go over there and have all...
CULTURE / Music / MUSIC NOMAD
Jul 13, 1999

Cuban music revolution heats up airwaves

Within the world music genre, success -- in terms of sales -- doesn't compare with the likes of mainstream pop and rock categories. What world music successes there have been have had a rather short shelf life, and were mainly cultivated by the major record companies.
EDITORIALS
Jul 10, 1999

From the Rhine to the Spree

The German government was on the move this week, busily shipping desks and files 600 km east to its new home in the former capital of Berlin. On July 1, Parliament sat in Bonn for the last time. On Monday, the trucks and trains started rolling. By September, most of the federal ministries should be up...
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 10, 1999

Tasting the politics of food

LONDON -- There are international trade disputes about steel or telecommunications, but as the gathering debate about trade in genetically modified food makes clear, there is nothing quite as intense as an argument about food. Similarly, there are domestic political scandals about money or sex, but as...
EDITORIALS
Jul 9, 1999

New Komeito's role

New Komeito will be holding a party convention July 24 that will surely be closely watched by politicians of all stripes, as well as by the public. If the party decides to join the LDP-LP coalition, it will give a major fillip to the government's legislative capacity. Together, the three parties control...
COMMENTARY
Jul 9, 1999

National symbols deserve legal recognition

The percentage of those who approve the performance of Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi's government has been rising, reaching 47.8 percent according to one of the media's opinion surveys. Compared to a similar survey taken at the time of the inauguration of the government, the percentage those who do not...
EDITORIALS
Jul 8, 1999

Living without fear

The toll from natural disasters is increasing. Since the 1960s, the economic cost of catastrophes has increased nine times. Last year, over 700 "large loss" disasters caused nearly $100 billion in economic losses. Were that the only price to be paid. According to the International Federation of Red Cross...
COMMUNITY
Jul 8, 1999

Lepidoptera farming for fun and profit

SEATTLE -- In 1994, Lt. Sheri Moreau took early retirement from the navy and put to the test her belief that "your goal in life should be to figure out what you most love to do, then figure out a way to make a living doing it." With a goal of connecting with nature and wildlife, she began her second...
LIFE / Food & Drink / NIHONSHU
Jul 8, 1999

Oasis of serenity found in rowdiest Roppongi

One of Tokyo's greatest charms, and one of its greatest oddities, is its occasional lack of congruency. Like architectural hiccups, you often see a building where you would least expect it, completely unrelated to everything around it. Aburaya in Roppongi is like that, albeit it is more a matter of atmosphere...
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jul 8, 1999

'Wabi-sabi' with a modern edge

Wasabiya epitomizes the very 1990s genre that has come to be known in Japanese as "dining bars." That means you can treat it as a restaurant, as an izakaya or even as a kind of designer drinking hold; it just depends on how hungry or thirsty you are.
EDITORIALS
Jul 7, 1999

Toward a debate on national security

The Democratic Party of Japan, the largest opposition group, has so far lacked a clear-cut security policy. The reason is clear. As a "scratch team" put together by breakaways from various parties, including the Liberal Democratic Party and the former Japan Socialist Party, the DPJ has found that its...
JAPAN
Jul 7, 1999

Sony quits North America cell phone market

Sony Corp. announced Wednesday it will withdraw from the cellular phone business in North America, citing dwindling market share and profits due to intensifying competition.
JAPAN
Jul 7, 1999

Economic progress hoped for at China summit

Staff writer
JAPAN
Jul 7, 1999

Will wiretapping hurt the news?

Staff writer
JAPAN
Jul 7, 1999

Japan an eavesdropping paradise

Staff writer
LIFE / Digital / CYBERIA
Jul 7, 1999

Technoborrrring

With rare exceptions, no one likes being called a Luddite. Steve Talbott, the thoughtful, somewhat skeptical philosopher who writes the Netfuture e-mail newsletter, for example, takes offense at being labeled "pessimistic." I thought it was a fair beef, but he devoted considerable space in his last missive...
JAPAN
Jul 6, 1999

Setouchi Special: Bridge-linked isles hope for tourist blitz

Staff writer
JAPAN
Jul 6, 1999

Ailing prefecture wants city to share teacher pay

OSAKA -- Faced with critical financial difficulties, Osaka Prefecture will request the central government to have the city of Osaka share the burden for salaries of public elementary and junior high school teachers, it was learned Tuesday.
JAPAN
Jul 6, 1999

Setouchi Special: Sand, fruit and fun beckon in Ehime

IMABARI, Ehime Pref. -- Residents in Ehime Prefecture have long referred to their area as the "Orchard of Japan."
JAPAN
Jul 6, 1999

Setouchi Special: Museum a journey into Hirayama's art

SETODA, Hiroshima Pref. -- A museum dedicated to one of Japan's most prominent artists, Ikuo Hirayama, traces the artistic growth of the famous native and his travels throughout the world.
JAPAN
Jul 6, 1999

Pakistan's version of Kashmir conflict

The conflict over the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir is only a small incident of the overall problem in Kashmir, Pakistani ambassador Touqir Hussain said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Jul 6, 1999

Time up for Malaysian ambassador

Malaysian Ambassador Tan Sri H.M. Khatib is leaving for home at the end of July with a sense of reassurance that his country is important to Japan.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Jul 6, 1999

From combat to sport and art

ARMED MARTIAL ARTS OF JAPAN: Swordsmanship and Archery, by G. Cameron Hurst III. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1998, 244 pp., with b/w photos. Though people today are more inclined to study the martial arts of Japan than such culturally expected forms as tea ceremony and flower arrangement, books...
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 6, 1999

Chinese nuclear threat is real

After years of delay, China signed the Comprehensive Test-Ban Treaty in 1996, stirring speculation about its motives. Some pundits said China yielded to international pressure for nuclear nonproliferation in the post-Cold War world. Oth ers said China took into account Japanese moves for partial suspension...
CULTURE / Film
Jul 6, 1999

Going for more than two dimensions

While most films out there these days prostrate themselves before the altar of entertainment, there are still a few that dare to set different goals. "Under the Skin," the debut feature by U.K. director Carine Adler, is one such work, a cathartic rhapsody of sex and grief that is based in messy reality,...
CULTURE / Books
Jul 6, 1999

Glimpses of Indonesia after Suharto

THE POLITICS OF POST-SUHARTO INDONESIA, edited by Adam Schwarz and Jonathan Paris. New York: Council on Foreign Relations, 1999, 120 pp.. $17.95 MILITARY DOCTRINES AND DEMOCRATIC TRANSITION: A Comparative Perspective on Indonesia's Dual Function and Latin American National Security Doctrines, by Jun...
CULTURE / Music / FUZZY LOGIC
Jul 6, 1999

How to get your teenage kicks in the 'teahouses' of Tokyo

I'm not one to hang around kiddies' playgrounds (honestly!), but when I strolled into Shimokitazawa's Shelter last week I was instantly teleported into a school disco, and it kinda felt good. But keep that to yourself, OK.

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