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Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jan 29, 2003

And this year's ceramics winners are. . .

Awards. We all love them, whether they are for movies, music, or for sports personalities. The art world here in Japan is no different, and there are many awards to honor those who have excelled in their respective art forms.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Jan 26, 2003

Stories about the storytellers

FIVE MODERN JAPANESE NOVELISTS, by Donald Keene. New York: Columbia University Press, 2003, 144 pp., $24.50 (cloth) In this new book, the doyen of Western scholars of Japanese literature introduces the writing of five novelists with whom he has worked and reminisces about his relationships with them....
LIFE / Travel
Jan 26, 2003

A warrior's hometown goes prime-time

Ohara, a tiny village nestled in the mountainous region of northern Okayama Prefecture, is usually pervaded by a sense of tranquillity. Its landscape is one of rice fields punctuated by gently rising hills and the infrequent sound of a passing train.
COMMENTARY
Jan 26, 2003

Still time to rewrite script ending in war

WASHINGTON -- The U.N. inspectors in Iraq have suddenly taken front stage. But the process is a sideshow. The real issue is whether an invasion is necessary to protect the West.
BUSINESS
Jan 25, 2003

Daihatsu, FAW Huali tie up on compact SUV production

OSAKA -- Daihatsu Motor Co. said Friday it has agreed to provide technology to China's FAW Huali (Tianjin) Motor Co. to manufacture Daihatsu's Terios compact sport utility vehicle.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Jan 23, 2003

Chips with everything makes for a hi-tech mess

If you think that your computer, being such a modern, hi-tech device, is -- or surely must be -- environmentally friendly, then think again.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 22, 2003

Toyota to sell cars that know they are about to have a crash

A new car safety feature from Toyota Motor Corp. doesn't wait for a crash to happen.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 22, 2003

On a personal journey with the koto

While visiting Tokyo recently, saxophonist and composer John Zorn praised Michiyo Yagi, saying, "She's an example of a new kind of musician that can play all different styles of music in her own personal way."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jan 22, 2003

This 'Pilgrim' is hardly progress

After the bubble economy burst in 1991, disillusionment and emptiness were felt throughout Japan. When "Pilgrim" was first performed in 1989 by The Third Stage Theater Company, however, most people foresaw only continuing prosperity, fueled by rising stock and property prices and the strengthening yen....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Jan 22, 2003

Roy Haynes: "Love Letters"

With his steady stream of work stretching back nearly six decades, it's hard to think of a jazz figure drummer Roy Haynes has not played behind. He started out with Lester Young, then switched over to Charlie Parker. After that, he played with Stan Getz and Sarah Vaughan. Then from the '60s through the...
BASEBALL / MLB
Jan 21, 2003

Matsui works out in Kawasaki

Hideki Matsui had his first workout before the media Sunday after being introduced as a New York Yankee last Tuesday following the signing of a three-year, $21 million free-agent deal.
EDITORIALS
Jan 21, 2003

Tasks for the newly opened Diet

Economic revival is the main theme of the 150-day regular Diet session that opened on Monday. One of the first items to be discussed is a supplementary spending package for fiscal 2002 designed to shore up the sluggish economy. Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's policy speech, scheduled for delivery...
EDITORIALS
Jan 20, 2003

Shenzhen's promise for China

Twenty-two years ago, the sleepy southern Chinese city of Shenzhen became the test case for China's future. It was designated a "special economic zone," a laboratory for economic reforms that would transform the nation. Today, Shenzhen is again in the forefront of change in China. This time, the city...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Jan 18, 2003

Rachel Walzer

The play now in rehearsal for a Tokyo presentation "reflects in its crudeness the state of our world today," Rachel Walzer said. Preparing for her role in "What the Butler Saw," she has "strong opinions about this farce. In it, nothing is sacred, and it seems to offend everyone under the sun. Yet beneath...
BUSINESS
Jan 18, 2003

Clamor for consumption tax hike getting louder

Cabinet ministers and business leaders have begun calling for a consumption tax hike to cover rising social security costs stemming from the aging population.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jan 18, 2003

Starting the year with a 32-person cold

It's January, when you see many Japanese people wearing surgical masks. No they are not doctors on call. Those people have "pulled the wind," as the Japanese say: They have caught a cold. They wear the masks either to contain their germs and avoid spreading them to others, or, more likely, to hide their...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 17, 2003

Nakamura to trade Diet seat for jail cell

The Supreme Court has turned down an appeal by former Construction Minister Kishiro Nakamura against an 18-month prison term for bribery, a decision that will remove him from his seat in the House of Representatives.
JAPAN
Jan 17, 2003

LDP expresses support for Koizumi's war on deflation

The Liberal Democratic Party, holding its national convention Thursday in Tokyo, sounded a note of support for Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's determination to battle deflation.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 16, 2003

100,000 yen alternative to anonymous burial offered by temple

If someone dies whose name is not known, or who leaves behind no money or known kin, the person's ashes may end up in an anonymous grave with other "muen botoke" remains.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 15, 2003

You've got to give a little

Tamao Kubota, the founder and lead singer of Apple Beat, has a powerful, slightly husky voice and carries herself with an attractive air of unself-conscious defiance. She sounds as good belting it out like an impassioned R & B singer as she does slow, quiet and personal.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Jan 15, 2003

The Sea and Cake

Post-rock seems to have been born a genre already approaching middle age. While rock 'n' roll swaggered and screamed, this reticent cousin of indie-rock purposefully strode away from the testosterone. Post-rock's aim was a departure from rock's basic instincts, placing mood and texture over guitar hooks...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 15, 2003

Koizumi stirs diplomatic row with surprise Yasukuni visit

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi made a surprise visit to Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo on Tuesday afternoon, a move that is likely to rekindle anger in South Korea and China -- countries in pivotal positions at a time of mounting concerns over North Korea.
COMMENTARY
Jan 13, 2003

Contain the nuclear genie

HONOLULU -- Some people are scratching their heads over the standoff over North Korea's clandestine nuclear-weapons development program. They point out that by the early 1990s, it was thought that Pyongyang already had one or two nuclear warheads. They note that the fundamental strategic calculus has...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 13, 2003

Renowned director Fukasaku, of 'Battle Royale' fame, dies

Renowned Japanese film director Kinji Fukasaku, known for such works as the yakuza movie series "Jingi Naki Tatakai" ("War Without a Code"), died of prostate cancer Sunday at a Tokyo hospital, his family said. He was 72.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jan 12, 2003

Drinking in the delights of men

It was after 2 a.m. and I was on a mission in Kabukicho. The assignment involved two things: alcohol and men. As dangerous a combination as that is, what woman could resist such temptation? Certainly not this one.

Longform

Dangami House is a 180-year-old former samurai residence of the Kato clan, who ruled over Ozu, Ehime Prefecture, until the Meiji Restoration.
A house, a legacy and the quiet work of restoration in rural Japan