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Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 18, 2004

New Komeito torn between two masters

A two-party political system involving the now ruling Liberal Democratic Party and the Democratic Party of Japan might not be far off, given the DPJ's strong gains in recent elections.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Nov 17, 2004

Satire booms in dark dramatic fantasies

Darwin tells us that mutation is the motor of evolution, and in the theater world the young playwright Martin McDonagh and the dramatist Matsuo Suzuki are each bringing a completely new approach to their art in Britain and Japan respectively.
JAPAN
Nov 15, 2004

Princess Nori to marry Tokyo metro bureaucrat

Princess Nori, the only daughter of Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko, will marry Yoshiki Kuroda, an official in the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, a senior Imperial Household Agency official said Sunday.
COMMENTARY
Nov 14, 2004

Asia won't go back to being an also-ran

HONOLULU -- I am often asked why our think tank is located in Hawaii. Apart from the sun, sand, sea and surf, there is a very good reason: The world looks very different from Honolulu. We're parked in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Tokyo is a lot closer than Washington, D.C. When we look out over the...
EDITORIALS
Nov 8, 2004

Signpost to cooperation

As the world's leader, postelection America faces two challenges: One is to regain its reputation as a nation that is respected abroad; the other is to establish an enduring system of cooperation with the international community.
Japan Times
Features
Nov 7, 2004

Love her or hate her...

Nahoko Takato became famous on the night of April 8 this year, when the Arab satellite broadcaster Al-Jazeera aired video footage of her and two other Japanese held blindfolded at gunpoint in Iraq.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Nov 7, 2004

Kodo

Taiko ensemble, Kodo, know how to take the show on the road: according to their newsletter, the troupe has performed over 2,600 concerts in 42 countries since their 1981 debut (do the math). A wellspring of fresh ideas and aspiring young talent help explain why they grow stronger, year after year, but...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Nov 6, 2004

Marsha Rosenberg

For 20 years now, Marsha Rosenberg has worked as a speech and language pathologist in Tokyo's international community. She says that from the beginning, when she was first deciding upon a career, she knew she was going to be a language pathologist. "I knew I wanted something to do with educating children,...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Nov 6, 2004

Lunch menu -- the pillage of the day

When you come to Japan as a "gaijin," it seems there is always a Japanese person who adopts you. This person makes sure you have all the things you need, informs you of important events and perhaps even takes you sightseeing. I've had several people take on this role during my time in Japan, and I'm...
JAPAN
Nov 6, 2004

Obituary: Neal Henry Lawrence

Neal Henry Lawrence, a Benedictine monk who served in several important posts, including president of the Asiatic Society of Japan and board member of the Harvard Club of Japan, died Wednesday at a hospital in Fujimi, Nagano Prefecture. He was 96.
JAPAN
Nov 5, 2004

Jenkins calls his sentence for desertion 'very fair'

Former U.S. Army Sgt. Charles Jenkins believes his conviction and sentence to 30 days in jail for desertion after nearly 40 years in North Korea is "very fair," his military counsel said Thursday.
JAPAN
Nov 4, 2004

Timeline of Jenkins saga

A timeline of events leading up to accused U.S. Army deserter Charles Jenkins' surrender and court-martial:
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Nov 3, 2004

Brisk overseas sales offset Fuso's domestic slide

MAKUHARI, Chiba Pref. -- Scandal-tainted Mitsubishi Fuso Truck & Bus Corp. will be able to weather a plunge in domestic sales with brisk overseas sales, in terms of volume, for the year ending next March, Fuso President Wilfried Porth said Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Nov 2, 2004

Kanebo announces new president

Kanebo Ltd. announced Monday that a 43-year-old former bureaucrat has replaced Akiyoshi Nakajima as president as part of the company's rehabilitation efforts.
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Nov 1, 2004

Japan now must ponder extending SDF mission

The tragic end to the Shosei Koda hostage crisis may influence Japan's policy of deploying its ground troops in Iraq, especially as their one-year mission will soon expire, officials and analysts say.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Oct 31, 2004

At-home dads

Kazuyuki Yamamura is a tall, good-looking man in his 30s, who was also good at his job. In fact, not so long ago he bought a house for himself, his wife and their kindergarten-age daughter in a leafy suburb of Tokyo. Then, unexpectedly, his company found itself in choppy financial waters -- and he was...
EDITORIALS
Oct 30, 2004

Mr. Tsutsumi's lack of accountability

To the dismay of many people, the stock scandal involving Seibu Railway Co. has exposed a cloistered corporate culture. Seibu -- which went public more than half a century ago -- allegedly filed a false securities report to the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE). It is also suspected of illegal insider trading....
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Oct 29, 2004

Nagoya takes on Osaka

Psst! Heard about the hottest "new" place in Japan? The city that's rapidly gaining a national reputation for being at the cutting edge of women's fashion and is, perhaps, the country's most vibrant economic center?
JAPAN
Oct 29, 2004

State aims to boost sales of soccer lottery tickets by lowering the odds

The Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry will try to boost sales of soccer lottery tickets by increasing the chances of winning and selling tickets on the Internet, beginning April 2006.
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Oct 26, 2004

Gaijin: good or bad?

Near criminal As a Japan vet, I say "Yes" to both good and bad connotations. More important than terminology, though, is the actual treatment of non-Japanese regarding important employment issues. What happens on a near daily basis is often criminal.
COMMENTARY
Oct 25, 2004

China reconstructs past to chart future

NEW DELHI -- How folklore guides Chinese foreign-policy interests was brought out by Beijing's recent spat with South Korea over the ancient kingdom of Koguryo, which was founded in the Tongge River basin of northern Korea and, at its height, included much of Manchuria.
Japan Times
Features
Oct 24, 2004

Kitty collector plans afterlife together as well

Some have ridiculed her taste. Others have called her infantile. Yet Asako Kanda, a 31-year-old receptionist at a crafts and culture school in Tokyo, has never had any qualms about her long-running love affair with Hello Kitty.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Oct 23, 2004

Hiring, firing by the book in nicest possible way

Tom Nevins, a leading expert on Japanese rules of employment and personnel policy and practices, must have the busiest "meishi" in business. Not only does it open up, offering four sides of information, but contains a discount card for the many books he has written. A name card within a name card, so...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Oct 23, 2004

Thi Diu Nguyen

The ancient Dong Son period in Vietnam left a treasured legacy of artistic and cultural accomplishments. Two years ago when Tokyo artist Dr. Frederick Harris was setting up a foundation to benefit Vietnamese art students, he gave it the significant name Dong Son. He invited Thi Diu Nguyen to be art adviser...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 22, 2004

New school in Tokyo opened amid rise in number of Indian residents

An explosion in the number of Indian workers here has prompted a long-term Indian resident of Tokyo to open a school that offers her compatriots' children an opportunity to learn about their cultural heritage.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / NEW ART SEEN
Oct 20, 2004

Stuff of nightmares

Dear Reader,
COMMENTARY
Oct 20, 2004

Help wanted for promoting democrac

MANILA -- A myriad of organizations from North America and Europe operate in various parts of the world with the objective of advancing democratic governance. While their strategies may differ, these "democracy-assistance foundations" hold the common belief that promoting democracy essentially promotes...
COMMENTARY
Oct 18, 2004

Balancing work with other ways of life

LONDON -- Alan Milburn, the British secretary of state for health, resigned last year to "spend more time with his family." This excuse has often been used to cover some misdemeanor or a falling out with colleagues, but in this case it seems to have been genuine.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 15, 2004

China's ASEAN strategies

SINGAPORE -- The world's attention has been focused on China's smooth political transition at the last Chinese Communist Party plenum, the possible overheating of the Chinese economy and its impressive haul of 32 gold medals at the Athens Olympics. But little has been said of Beijing's strategy for its...

Longform

A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.
If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami