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ENVIRONMENT
May 16, 2002

Home sweet Nagoya Port home

It would probably come as a surprise to most Nagoya residents to learn that a sizable population of finless porpoises resides in the dark, extremely polluted waters of Nagoya Port -- even in its busy heart near Kinjofuto, the Meijo Bridge, the shipbuilding dock and among the enormous ships that carry...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 15, 2002

Japan's modern master of 100,000 brush-strokes

If, as the Chinese adage goes, a journey of 1,000 miles begins with a single step, then for Japanese artist Morio Matsui, a masterpiece of 100,000 brush strokes begins with the first sweep of the bristles on canvas.
COMMENTARY / World
May 13, 2002

Unilateralism is not the way

CANBERRA -- As the sole remaining superpower, not only does the United States have no peer competitor, its dominance is unmatched across a whole range of issues and areas of activity in world affairs.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
May 12, 2002

Poetry that's music to the ears of millions

POEMS OF THE GOAT, by Chuya Nakahara, translated by Ry Beville. American Book Company, Richmond, VA, 2002, 77 pp., $15/2500 yen (paper) Why do some writers get translated and others -- better, more deserving -- remain obscure? This is a question that Ry Beville, a young Virginia native, asked himself...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
May 11, 2002

Takanao Muramatsu

Bright and bouncy Harajuku in Tokyo has been good to a lot of people. Takanao Muramatsu published a book, "Harajuku Success Story," for which he interviewed more than a hundred people who succeeded in business in Harajuku. The trendy district has been good to Muramatsu too. He commemorated the name in...
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
May 9, 2002

Welcome to a new page, welcome to a new column

Welcome to a brand new new weekly column that will provide a forum for readers to help one another, and for myself and Ken Joseph, of Japan Helpline, to help you. We will be printing your letters, offering personal input and bringing in experts on a regular basis to help answer your queries on living...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 8, 2002

The intoxication of Maurice Utrillo

Paris is a city of the mind. In addition to its reputation for intellectualism, it is one of the few cities of which almost everyone has some mental picture. And even though these images sometimes prove to be romanticized, Paris is nevertheless indisputably picturesque.
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM MOSCOW
May 5, 2002

Adventurer's death touches Russia's soul

MOSCOW -- One does not have to be a pop singer or a movie actor to have loyal fans all over the globe. Occasionally even a scholar can become an international star, as the recently deceased Norwegian Thor Heyerdahl demonstrated. A remarkable thing about his popularity, however, was that Russia was one...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
May 5, 2002

Kids these days

What is wrong with kids today?
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
May 5, 2002

When the people put pen to paper

DEAR GENERAL MACARTHUR: Letters From the Japanese During the American Occupation, by Sodei Rinjiro. Rowman & Littlefield; Lanham, Maryland, 2001, 306 pp., $29.95 (cloth) It boggles the mind that Gen. Douglas MacArthur received some 500,000 letters from Japanese from all walks of life during his tenure...
LIFE / Digital
May 2, 2002

IMAX 3-D puts outer space in your face

The astronauts are playing with their food.
EDITORIALS
Apr 30, 2002

Rough going awaits postal reforms

The Diet is set to debate legislation that incorporates Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's cherished plans to privatize the postal services (mail, savings and life insurance). At stake is a set of four reform bills. Two were introduced by the government last week. One will create an umbrella postal corporation;...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Apr 28, 2002

Change was in the air

For Peggy Hayama, recalling the Occupation brings to mind a secret affair with the radio. Each night, the Tokyo teenager would listen to the armed forces station and the seductive sounds of jazz and big band swing. She was entranced by Glenn Miller, Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Apr 27, 2002

Let's celebrate nature at Disneyland

Monday is Greenery Day, a national holiday. Let's hear it for plants! But the question on everyone's mind is: Do plants really need a day off? Let's find out with some roving in-the-pot interviews.
BUSINESS
Apr 25, 2002

Insurer likely to be rapped for unauthorized sales

The Financial Services Agency is expected to punish Nichido Fire & Marine Insurance Co. for allegedly selling car insurance policies without obtaining official approval, sources said Wednesday.
LIFE / Digital / NAME OF THE GAME
Apr 25, 2002

Crash livin' large on Advance

The Crash Bandicoot games may only have been best sellers in Japan, but in the United States these were the games that defined the Sony PlayStation.
SOCCER / World cup / EXCERPTS FROM PHILIPPE TROUSSIER'S BOOK
Apr 22, 2002

Media drove me to hell

"Passion" is the story of Japan soccer team coach Philippe Troussier, his struggle to make it as a player and manager and his travels around France, Africa and Japan. In the book, Troussier also details his philosophy and thinking as he prepares for the World Cup in June. In this, the sixth of 10 exclusive...
COMMENTARY
Apr 22, 2002

Role remains for British royalty

LONDON -- On March 31, the Saturday before Easter Sunday, Elizabeth, the queen mother, passed away peacefully at the age of 101.
Japan Times
JAPAN / WEEKEND WISDOM
Apr 21, 2002

Small Akita town's mayor fights for elderly residents' rights

AKITA -- A remote town nestled among the cedar-covered mountains of Akita Prefecture was suddenly in the spotlight recently due to its unique efforts to protect the rights of its senior citizens.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Apr 21, 2002

Tireless fighters and flightless invaders

Truth may not be stranger than fiction, but it's usually more dramatic, as proven in a series of best-selling memoirs by Mayumi Takeda. The 32-year-old writer has lived what some people have described as a "roller-coaster life," and Monday night on Nippon TV's "Super TV" documentary program, this life...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Apr 21, 2002

And don't come back another day

ARTHRITIC JAPAN: The Slow Pace of Economic Reform, by Edward J. Lincoln. Washington, D.C.:Brookings Institution Press, 2001, 247 pp., $18.95 (paper) Japan's agonizingly slow attempts to resuscitate its ailing economy have left many observers bewildered. The policy failure is plain: the lowest growth...
COMMENTARY
Apr 18, 2002

Turkey's Mideast peace role

LONDON/ISTANBUL -- The only possible way of exerting outside influence on the ever-worsening conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians is through a visibly balanced approach.
COMMENTARY
Apr 17, 2002

Politicization of charity

WASHINGTON -- There seems to be no bill for which U.S. taxpayers are not responsible. Charity as well as welfare has become a government responsibility.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Apr 17, 2002

Musical works in progress

In the world of contemporary rock and dance music, everything old ultimately becomes new again. The plucky three-chord anthems of Green Day are fresh for youngsters exploring safety pins and green hair as fashion statements for the first time, but for many over the age of 30, they are all too familiar....
SOCCER / World cup / EXCERPTS FROM PHILIPPE TROUSSIER'S BOOK
Apr 14, 2002

We mustn't forget our humanity

"Passion" is the story of Japan soccer team coach Philippe Troussier, his struggle to make it as a player and manager and his travels around France, Africa and Japan. In the book, Troussier also details his philosophy and thinking as he prepares for the World Cup in June.
COMMUNITY
Apr 14, 2002

Off on the road of laughs

Paul Betney is perpetually in motion. It's the first thing that everyone notices about him. To put it bluntly, he shakes. Sometimes he looks like he's going to rattle himself apart, but then he arches his eyebrows and says, "Can you imagine me at airports?" and the audience is in fits.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Apr 14, 2002

Pop stars set an example for us all

The permanent five-day school week that goes into effect this month has given rise to a great deal of discussion in the government and the media as to whether or not Japan can afford to cut back on classroom time. This discussion, however, has not addressed the question of what education is supposed...

Longform

An illustration features the Japanese signs for "ganbare" (good luck) and the Deaflympics, which will be held between Nov. 15 and 26.
A century of Deaf sport finds its moment in Tokyo