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EDITORIALS
Aug 13, 2002

Defense report lacks substance

This year's government report on defense, the first since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States, devotes much space to the terror-related events. That was only to be expected, considering that they have changed the contours of the international community, particularly the global security...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Aug 11, 2002

Chill out in Tokyo's favourite haunts

Sites of assassinations, murders and suicides; dark, dank tunnels and creepy old abandoned buildings; weird creatures, the stuff of legends whose origins are lost in the mists of time . . . Tokyo harbors dozens -- perhaps even hundreds -- of "ghost spots" where inexplicable, sinister phenomena have reputedly...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT
Aug 11, 2002

Old Edo's many-splendored glories

The Tokugawa Shogunate may have been crumbling, and Commodore Perry's "Black Ships" may have been tearing aside the veil behind which Japan hid from the world for more than 200 years . . . but the commoners of eastern Edo were preoccupied with other matters: A craze for potted plants was sweeping the...
COMMUNITY
Aug 11, 2002

One god to rule them all

All new regimes know their enemies. Having swept away the forces of the shogunate, the architects of the 1868 Meiji Restoration found themselves facing another foe. This fifth column was invisible: Its ranks were made up of yokai (ghosts) and bakemono (monsters), kappa (water sprites) and tengu (goblins)....
JAPAN
Aug 7, 2002

Hiroshima mayor's message: reconciliation, not retaliation

The following is the full text of Hiroshima Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba's peace declaration Tuesday at the memorial ceremony marking the 57th anniversary of the atomic bombing of the city Aug. 6, 1945:
COMMENTARY
Aug 6, 2002

Koizumi safe amid instabilit

The long Diet session has come to an end, and politicians have gone on summer vacation. The first half of the latest session was marred by a number of political scandals; during the second half, legislators were busy deliberating on a number of important bills. A sense of vanity, though, pervades the...
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 4, 2002

Japan playing a vital role in Myanmar

Aung San Suu Kyi has completed two successful and delightful long-distance inland political journeys since her release from a second house arrest about 10 weeks ago. The State Peace and Development Council, or SPDC, the military regime, has provided full security for her travels in Mandalay and Mon states....
LIFE / Food & Drink / NIHONSHU
Aug 4, 2002

The sweet, soft option

Fukuoka sake, in general, hovers just below the surface of mass attention. You don't hear about it too much, and it doesn't have an image of overall style in the minds of most folks. But this belies its historical significance and, more importantly, ignores the fact that great sake can be found in Fukuoka....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / THE SECOND ROOM
Aug 3, 2002

Solstice weekend under the fog; Camping with the aliens

I knew it was going to be an interesting weekend the moment my press armband arrived in the mail marked No. 13, though I'm not superstitious enough to turn my back on an event like the Solstice Music Festival.
COMMUNITY
Aug 1, 2002

TV news move boosts campaign to secure international channel

On July 25th, in a stunning about face, News Corporation announced the continued broadcast of the 24-hour news channel, Foxnews.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jul 31, 2002

Joan Miro: Reflections on the renewal of Spain

No artist's life and work -- not even Picasso's -- better represents the modern history of Spain than that of Joan Miro (1893-1983), whose early work from 1918 to 1945 is now on display at the Setagaya Art Museum.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jul 31, 2002

Modern Paintings of Mongolia: taking great steppes

Dividing his massive empire between his sons, Genghis Khan's grand legacy to the eldest was all the land from the Aral Sea westward "as far as the hooves of Mongol horses have reached."
COMMENTARY
Jul 27, 2002

U.S. policies compel criticism

LONDON -- It is not anti-American or wimpish to criticize U.S. President George W. Bush's policies.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 27, 2002

Gov. Davis goes where Bush fears to tread

LIMASSOL, Cyprus -- A remarkable event occurred this week in California -- one that should cheer environmentalists around the world who were angered by the Bush administration's rejection of the Kyoto treaty on global warming.
COMMENTARY
Jul 24, 2002

Chirac sets out to win voters' hearts

PARIS -- Once again, some 150,000 people lined the Champs Elysees on July 14 to watch the Bastille Day parade. At noon, President Jacques Chirac received 6,000 guests at the traditional party held in the palace gardens. At 1 p.m., as he has always done since his first election in 1995, he gave an interview...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / NEW ART SEEN
Jul 24, 2002

Contemporary art that digs deep

There are several contemporary art shows worth seeing before most Tokyo galleries close for a summer break.
COMMENTARY
Jul 23, 2002

Musharraf challenged on several fronts

ISLAMABAD -- In its eagerness to intensify its fight against domestic terrorism, the government of Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf has scored important gains recently.
JAPAN
Jul 23, 2002

TSE rallies after early volatility

Tokyo stocks survived an early scare Monday, with the key Nikkei average sliding below 10,000 for the first time in five months, before recording a mixed bag of results in response to Friday's plunge on Wall Street.
COMMENTARY
Jul 22, 2002

Tokyo, Seoul narrowing gap

The Japanese people's sense of Japan-South Korea friendship has heightened following the World Cup soccer tournament cohosted last month by the two countries. After South Korea advanced to the semifinals, many Japanese cheered the team on to an extent that puzzled some South Koreans.
JAPAN
Jul 21, 2002

Elephant trumpets 50 years of Japan-India ties

An Indian cultural festival opened Saturday at Tokyo's Ueno Zoo to mark the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Japan and India, with an elephant presented by India making a public appearance.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Jul 21, 2002

A rollicking romp through ancient Edo

THE PILLOW BOOK OF LADY WISTERIA, by Laura Joh Rowland. St. Martin's Minotaur: New York, 2002,292 pp., $24.95 (cloth) While sports fans' attention is focused on Ichiro Suzuki of Seattle Mariners baseball fame, the exploits of Ichiro Sano, the Tokugawa shogunate's "Most Honorable Investigator of Events,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / THE SECOND ROOM
Jul 19, 2002

S.U.N Project's 'Sexperimental' wonder; Delta captures Ebisu; Fuji calls

As their legend grows, it becomes more and more natural to recite the tale of S.U.N. Project in storybook form, which might go something like this:
JAPAN
Jul 17, 2002

Chinese bamboo encroaching on Japan's forests

Mount Udo, straddling the cities of Shimizu and Shizuoka in central Shizuoka Prefecture, is known for its beautiful views of Mount Fuji. But it is also being "polluted" by bamboo thickets.
JAPAN
Jul 13, 2002

Isle faces other uses after '08 Olympics rejection

OSAKA -- A report issued Friday by the city of Osaka advocates turning Maishima, a man-made island off Osaka that was the centerpiece of the city's failed bid for the 2008 Olympic Games, into a business, academic and recreation center.
BASEBALL / MLB
Jul 13, 2002

Tigers dominate at All-Star Game

As George Arias rounded the bases, he was pumped, thrilled, excited. But he showed no exuberance, trotting back to the dugout in a cool, soothing manner like the picture of the Kirin Beer ad he had just hit with a monstrous 147-meter blast at the Tokyo Dome.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 12, 2002

By-elections give Abdullah chance to prove his mettle

SINGAPORE -- For Malaysia's deputy prime minister, Abdullah Badawi, the sequence of two fast-moving events late last month could not have been more timely -- and dramatic.

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