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MORE SPORTS
Apr 13, 2003

SARS can't stop world of rugby's grand wake for fallen mates

Thursday, March 28, 2003, and noted Australian commentator Chris "Buddha" Hardy asks for quiet from the players and spectators gathered at the Hong Kong Football Club for its annual tens tournament.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 23, 2003

U.S. must rethink North Korea strategy

MONTEREY, Calif. -- On the eve of South Korean President Roh Moo Hyun's swearing-in ceremony, North Korea lobbed a land-to-ship cruise missile into the Sea of Japan. This provocation took place as the world's dignitaries -- among them U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Feb 23, 2003

Men among monsters in deep Yamagata

When it comes to ski resorts, Japan has virtually everything you could want. For serious powder, there are the wonderlands of Niseko in Hokkaido or Hachimantai in Iwate. For those looking for Western-style apres-ski, there's the posh Arai Mountain and Spa. And for the day-trippers from Tokyo, there are...
CULTURE / Music / J-POPSICLE
Jan 19, 2003

Independent music was the smart alternative in '02

2002 was not a vintage year, to put it mildly, for the Japanese music industry. Sales of CDs were down for the fourth straight year, and just one single -- female vocalist Ayumi Hamasaki's "H" (Avex) -- topped the million-sales mark during the year, compared with five in 2001.
MORE SPORTS
Dec 31, 2002

'Sappu' phenomenon captures imagination of Japanese public

A beast will send chills down the spine of the bravest of men.
EDITORIALS
Dec 17, 2002

Check the spread of missiles

The seizure and release of a North Korean ship carrying Scud missiles bound for Yemen highlights two serious international issues: Pyongyang's readiness to export destabilizing weapons and the proliferation of ballistic missiles. The ship and its cargo were released because there was no apparent violation...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Nov 17, 2002

Threads bared: Tokyo's Spring/Summer collections

Think Zen: the spirit of darkness; the essence of white. This was one of the main themes from Tokyo's fashion designers, who have just presented their Spring/Summer 2003 collections.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Oct 27, 2002

Passionate Cortes back with live 'flashback'

Joaquin Cortes -- the "dancer of passion" -- has cast his spell on audiences around the world with his exotic moves and the passionate Latin personality he oozes while in the spotlight. In November, he is back on stage in Japan to perform his most recent creation, "Live."
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Oct 6, 2002

Down on the farm with the Tokio boys

According to research, currently the only TV show that men over age 45 can stomach, other than NHK's "Project X," is "The Tetsuwan Dash" (Nippon TV, Sundays, 6:55 p.m.). In the show, the boy band Tokio -- collectively and individually -- embark on large, time-consuming projects involving agriculture,...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Jul 17, 2002

MLB crisis: What can the market bear?

Man, Major League Baseball is really in a mess now. Following the All-Star tie-game fiasco last week in Milwaukee, MLB Commissioner Bud Selig was quoted as saying one big-league club may not be able to meet its payroll this week, and another team is sick with Tennessee Ernie Ford disease: "Another day...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / JAZZNICITY
Jul 14, 2002

Skip the jazz club, it's festival season

Most jazz people are night owls who don't get much sun, so summer festivals give the music, players and fans all a good airing out.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / J-POPSICLE
Jul 10, 2002

A card-carrying regular guy

One interesting aspect of Japanese meishi (name-card) etiquette is that entertainers never give them out. It took me a while to figure out that one. Several interviews with musicians I thought had begun inauspiciously when I handed the artist my meishi only to receive nothing in return.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / CERAMIC SCENE
Jun 26, 2002

Bringing the tabletop into the gallery

On the cover of the catalog for an exhibition now at the National Museum of Modern Art in Tokyo is -- ready for this? -- a shoyusashi (soy-sauce bottle). I find that quite odd, as the museum houses the hallowed arts of painting, sculpture and the like. A shoyusashi? Come on now, it just doesn't seem...
JAPAN
May 11, 2002

Kawaguchi sorry for scandals

In a highly unusual arrangement, Foreign Ministry scandals and reform plans were at the fore of the so-called diplomatic Blue Book for 2002, released on Friday, with Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi expressing resolve to regain trust in the ministry.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / J-POPSICLE
Apr 10, 2002

In a sentimental mood

For Westerners of a certain age, the '60s were an era of social and cultural ferment, when the Vietnam War, the Pill, rock music, drugs and the sexual revolution shook the foundations of society. In Japan, however, a "can-do" spirit prevailed as the postwar blahs were left behind and the country entered...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Apr 3, 2002

Slipknot unmasked!

For a big guy, the evil-looking Clown from the band Slipknot can move pretty fast. In a flash he leaps out of his seat, lunges at me with a stiletto blade and plunges it into my chest. "Nothing else means anything to me," he snarls, his face inches away from mine, his eyes burrowing to the back of my...
JAPAN / Media / CHANNEL SURF
Dec 23, 2001

Remembering the year that was

It's the penultimate week of the year, which means regular variety shows get to save a bit of money by looking back at the year's highlights. "Sanma's Karakuri TV" (tonight at 7, TBS), a mix-and-match assembly of out-of-studio comedy skits hosted in-studio by Osaka funnyman Sanma Akashiya, presents an...
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Dec 13, 2001

Global warming: WWF expert tells it like it is

Have difficulty getting your head around global warming? Join the club.
JAPAN
Dec 8, 2001

Draft of Justice Ministry human-rights plan focuses on vulnerable groups

The Justice Ministry has compiled a draft of the government's basic human rights plan, calling for special efforts to protect the rights of vulnerable groups in Japan.
CULTURE / Art
Nov 7, 2001

Putting the regions back in the spotlight

There is cultural life thriving outside Kanto and Kansai. As proof of this, if proof were needed, the new Iwate Museum of Art in Morioka City opened to the public last month. Its core collection -- of 20th-century prints, paintings and sculptures by artists born, trained or resident in the region --...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / GARDENS FOR ALL
Nov 1, 2001

A wonderland wrought from one man's vision

In June this year I had the pleasure of visiting three wonderful gardens in California -- all of which I would strongly recommend for a leisurely and enjoyable visit. I will cover one apiece in this and two following articles.
CULTURE / Music / JAZZNICITY
Oct 14, 2001

Keep on jamming in the free world

One of the ironies of jazz is that it is now more popular in Europe and Japan than in its country of origin. While the fanatic obsession of overseas fans made jazz an important cultural export for the United States after the Second World War, now there is a substantial corps of non-American players no...
CULTURE / Art
Sep 26, 2001

Portrait of an enigma

In the broad galaxy of modern French artists, we can easily spot Raoul Dufy's lightly glittering star. He was renowned as a painter of colorful scenes at St. Tropez on the Riviera. The one who designed fashion fabrics. The one who popularized modern art with glamorous subjects and a carefree brush.
JAPAN
Sep 24, 2001

Out and About

English seminar covers quake preparedness Tokyo Emergency Language Supporters, or TELS, a volunteer group based in Setagaya Ward, will hold a free seminar Oct. 6 in English on earthquake disaster information and preparedness.
JAPAN
Aug 29, 2001

Coast guard report now easier to read

The Japan Coast Guard released its annual white paper Tuesday featuring a more detailed and easy-to-read format, coast guard officials said.
CULTURE / Art
Jun 27, 2001

Right here, right now: a London-Tokyo jam

If the bulk of London's Japan 2001 Festival revisits traditions past and present, "JAM: London Tokyo" at the Barbican Gallery was designed to predict the future.
BUSINESS
May 17, 2001

Promise chief invited to share wisdom at Harvard University

Harvard Business School last month invited Hiroki Jinnai, president of major Japanese consumer moneylender Promise Co., to field student questions in a forum on the firm's growth strategy.
BUSINESS
May 5, 2001

DoCoMo's 3G service delay raises more questions

Last week's decision by NTT DoCoMo Inc. to scale back the introduction of third generation (3G) mobile phone services confirmed the skepticism of many observers about its launch date. But it proved the company was willing to cut prices to allow more consumers to access its richer, higher-speed content....
CULTURE / Music / MUSIC NOMAD
Dec 12, 2000

The best of the year that was

The concert scene in Japan tends to slow down a bit in the winter months, so this week I'll present my pick of this year's Japanese releases, and in my next column, releases from around the world.
CULTURE / Music
Aug 27, 2000

Maestro Comissiona bows to talent of Asian youth

When Sergiu Comissiona was invited to take over as conductor of the Asian Youth Orchestra in 1993, one of his first concerns was whether he could take the heat.

Longform

Once smoky, male-dominated spaces, today's net cafes, like Kaikatsu Club, are working to make their operations more attractive to women customers.
The second life of Japan's net cafes