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COMMENTARY / World
Nov 1, 2002

A six-party process to clear up the Korean air

T he crisis over North Korea's attempted acquisition by stealth of a nuclear capability through enriched uranium processing provides a golden opportunity for institutionalizing a process of concerted multilateral diplomacy.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / THE SECOND ROOM
Nov 1, 2002

Gathering closes summer's curtain

HIWADAKOUGEN, Gifu Pref. -- I was inside my tent changing from damp clothes to dry when the whooshing thuds of a low-flying helicopter took the campsite by surprise. I thought little of it until the commotion started. News travels fast in a village of nylon walls. Clearly something was amiss.
EDITORIALS
Oct 31, 2002

Low-key polls mirror political reality

Just as expected, no change whatsoever. That is the prevailing impression of the by-elections held on Sunday in five Lower House constituencies and two Upper House districts. The by-elections ended in an overwhelming victory for the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, whose candidates scored five wins....
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 28, 2002

Critically ill Japan can't depend on assistance from G7 doctors

Japan's economic woes and North Korean issues, including the abductions of Japanese nationals and Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program, will be the two main topics in the extraordinary Diet session that opened on Oct. 18.
EDITORIALS
Oct 27, 2002

At last, a move to cut down on popups

Sometimes you have to wonder what advertising gurus use for brains. For decades now, we've watched them fail to grasp the simple truth that television commercials repeated ad nauseam can actually drive viewers to boycott products rather than buy them. In recent years, though, it has been the idea of...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Oct 27, 2002

Romantics, reporter go far away, so close

In Japan, there's a commonly held romantic notion that people who really want to pursue certain kinds of ambitions have to go abroad to do so. Only by immersing oneself in an environment that offers no distractions from the goal can one truly master a discipline.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Oct 27, 2002

Grazing between East and West

The dining-bar is a strange concept, one that is quite peculiar to Japan. Unlike at regular bars, food is a central part of the experience -- not just beer nuts, but real sustenance. Unlike a proper restaurant, though, you are not expected to order a whole meal from starter through to main course and...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Oct 26, 2002

Getting clubbed to keep up with the Satos

I have often thought I should "level up" my "life communication space" by joining one of the various clubs in my community, such as the pottery club or stained glass-making club. Although I would like to interact with my island community more, I hesitate because of the commitment. In Japan, people pursue...
Japan Times
Uncategorized
Oct 25, 2002

China's environmental problems pose opportunities

Smoke curls into the sky from power plants, home heaters, factories and cars, poisoning the air. Rain runs in sheets off slopes stripped of trees, eroding valuable topsoil, sedimenting rivers, causing raging floods downstream, and later, droughts as land loses its capacity to hold water.
COMMENTARY / WASHINGTON UPDATE
Oct 24, 2002

The final gasps of the 'do nothing' 107th Congress

WASHINGTON -- It isn't much of a surprise that the 107th Congress is ending without much of a record of accomplishment. It had a spurt of success in its early months, passing President George W. Bush's mammoth tax cut and pushing through a respectable education program, but little has been accomplished...
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Oct 24, 2002

Getting up close and personal with global issues

While studying and researching in England several years ago, Eno Nakamura was surprised to find that Japanese and English children had strikingly different views of the future. That contrast convinced her of a critical need for Japanese schools to put more emphasis on "the future," and to get their students...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Oct 23, 2002

Spirited away

QUEENSLAND, Australia -- Each August, ghosts who have no descendants pour through the Gates of Hell into the streets of cities and villages of Southeast Asia. During the full moon, the most dangerous time of the year, the earth teems with hordes of these creatures, lusting for ribald entertainment and...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Oct 20, 2002

Sommeliers ride high on Japan's wine wave

The last five years have seen an explosion in the number of certified sommeliers in Japan. Certain high-profile Japanese sommeliers have even achieved an almost rock star-like status, an unexpected development in a country where the title of sommelier did not even exist 30 years ago. Despite its lack...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Oct 20, 2002

Turning into Japan's Everyman in a Nobel way

People who get selected to compete on Japanese trivia-based TV quiz shows are always getting asked questions about Japan's Nobel prizewinners. It's not as difficult as it sounds. Until two weeks ago, there were only 10 of them.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Oct 20, 2002

When romancing medieval Japan, why stop at one?

ACROSS THE NIGHTINGALE FLOOR: Tales of the Otori (Book One), by Lian Hearn. Riverhead Books, 2002, 304 pp., $24.95 (cloth) For over a century, Asia has been a rich and enduring source of inspiration for fantasy and science fiction writers. Since James Hilton created the fantastic Himalayan utopia of...
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Oct 18, 2002

Eriksson latest victim of kiss-and-tell fast sell

LONDON -- After two months it is about time this column came up with a world exclusive. Apologies for the delay but I hope it was worth waiting for.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / JET STREAM
Oct 18, 2002

Conducting a whole tradition of music

When symphony conductor Stefan Nedyalkov first visited Tokyo as a child in 1977, he had a premonition. He awoke in his hotel room one morning, convinced that he would return to Japan someday and live here. He was 11 years old at the time and a member of the children's choir of Bulgarian National Radio....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Oct 17, 2002

'Tis a pity she's the leading actress

Contemporary theater in Japan existed as something akin to an underground cult in the 1960s and '70s. In the '80s, with bubble money swilling around everywhere, many of these youthful, looselyknit groups came in from the cultural margins and formed theater companies. Led by experimental directors such...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Oct 16, 2002

Tale of honor that'll run and run

This October, the Kabukiza is anticipating the 300th anniversary of the famous act of revenge accomplished by 47 ronin (masterless samurai) on Dec. 14, 1702 by staging one of kabuki's most celebrated dramas, "Kanadehon Chushingura (The Forty-seven Loyal Retainers)." Selections from this epic work are...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / THE WAY OF WASHOKU
Oct 13, 2002

Ni-mono is a many-splendored comfort food

When we first eat outside of the family kitchen, we realize that there is a whole different world of flavors out there. Most of the time, however, the flavors we end up longing for are the comforting tastes of the hearth that nurtured us. It's funny that even when we encounter the same dish, in new versions...
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 12, 2002

Success of globalization rests on good business reputations

These are not good times for business ethics in the industrialized nations. In spite of a carefully honed reputation for professionalism and honesty, businesses in the United States, Japan and Europe have seen scandals and problems. In the U.S. it has been the overstatement of profits by and exorbitant...
LIFE / Language / KANJI CLINIC
Oct 11, 2002

Kanji power unlocks the secret room of Japanese literature

Surely many of you, including overseas readers of The Japan Times online, live within 100 km of a Japanese-language bookstore or a university with a collection of Japanese books. Japanese literature is available, but confronting the sheer volume of offerings can be overwhelming.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Oct 11, 2002

What's a working mom to do with her kids in Tokyo?

Childcare An entrepreneur in central Tokyo, is up in arms. One of her Japanese assistants is about to have a baby and wants to continue working afterwards. But so far her assistant has been unable to find public child-care facilities for children under the age of 2.
COMMENTARY
Oct 10, 2002

Small Mideast release valve

BAHRAIN -- Here in this little island kingdom just off the coast of Saudi Arabia, all the complexities and contradictions of the Middle East and the Arab world seem to come together.
MORE SPORTS
Oct 10, 2002

Tatsuyoshi eyes comeback fight

bantamweight champion Joichiro Tatsuyoshi is set for a return to the ring after a three-year hiatus, with a comeback fight slated for December. Tatsuyoshi, who announced his retirement after a loss to champion Veeraphol Nakonluangpromotion of Thailand in August 1999, is scheduled to face an as-yet-unnamed...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Oct 6, 2002

Postmodern tales of the unexpected

"NEW JAPANESE FICTION," The Review of Contemporary Fiction, Summer 2002: Vol. XXII, No. 2. 262 pp., $8. Japanese literature, at least as it is known to those of us who cannot read it in the original, is in a position similar to that of Western classical music. Just as classical music lovers are likely...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Oct 2, 2002

Arto Lindsay: He bangs

Arto Lindsay steps onto the stage. In his late 40s, he still retains the gawkiness of an adolescent boy, all long arms and legs. The image of a geek is completed by large horn-rimmed glasses and a pale complexion.
BASEBALL / MLB
Oct 1, 2002

Cabrera tees off against Lotte

TOKOROZAWA, Saitama Pref. -- Brian Sikorski offered a loud warning to every Pacific League pitcher: Watch out -- Seibu's Alex Cabrera is red hot.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 29, 2002

Empress goes to Switzerland to attend kids' book congress

Empress Michiko left Saturday for Switzerland to attend a jubilee congress in Basel to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the International Board on Books for Young People.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / NIHONSHU
Sep 29, 2002

How to gain flavors and influence yeasts

When looking at what makes sake special, one thing that comes up often is koji mold. It is the heart of the sake-making process -- no beverage in the world uses koji in its production the way that sake does. Of all factors involved in sake brewing, the addition of koji exerts the most influence on the...

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