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Japan Times
BUSINESS / INTERNATIONAL RATIONALE
Apr 11, 2002

Domestic, foreign insurers engaged in turf war

The deregulation of Japan's insurance sector last year has set domestic and foreign-affiliated companies squarely against each other in the cancer and medical insurance battlefield.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Apr 11, 2002

NGOs and odd bedfellows point the way

Back in the 1960s, plastics were the future. As a result, a significant part of that future will be spent cleaning up after the past. So here is a tip for those of you making plans to help save the Earth: Consider a career in environmental economics. And if you're already working as an environmentalist,...
SOCCER / World cup / EXCERPTS FROM PHILIPPE TROUSSIER'S BOOK
Apr 8, 2002

Bridging the generation gap

"Passion'' is the story of Japan soccer team coach Philippe Troussier, his struggle to make it as a player and manager and his travels around France, Africa and Japan. In the book, Troussier also details his philosophy and thinking as he prepares for the World Cup in June. In this, the fourth of 10...
COMMENTARY
Apr 8, 2002

A system to match the times

In 1998, then-Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi launched the Economic Strategy Council as his advisory group. The council, headed by Hirotaro Higuchi, honorary chairman of Asahi Breweries Ltd., came up with a package of policy proposals in its February 1999 final report. The report deserves praise for the...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Apr 7, 2002

Ex-foreigner on a Diet 'mission'

In February, Marutei Tsurunen made political history when he became the first Westerner to take a seat in the Diet. This was as much of a surprise to him as anyone. After being first reserve in the proportional representation list of Minshuto (Democratic Party of Japan) after last July's Upper House...
COMMUNITY
Apr 7, 2002

Ishihara gambles on casinos

"Building a casino will create employment for 10,000 people."
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Apr 7, 2002

Art in the service of empire

WAR, OCCUPATION, AND CREATIVITY: Japan and East Asia -- 1920-1960, edited by Marlene J. Mayo and J. Thomas Rimer with H. Eleanor Kerkham. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2001. 406 pp., with 66 b/w plates and numerous photos and drawings. $60 (cloth); $29.95 (paper) "No art, however pure, can be...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Apr 7, 2002

Behold that golden glow

It's almost here . . . my favorite week.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Apr 7, 2002

A profitable day at the races

The year was 1948: Japan was still recovering from the ravages of war. Bombed-out bridges needed rebuilding, cratered roads needed repaving and railroads had to be relaid. It would cost a fortune, but who would foot the bill?
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Apr 7, 2002

Did NHK balk at covering war tribunal?

It was indicated last week that the International Criminal Court, a permanent judicial body with the power to try individuals and groups accused of war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity, will soon be formally established. So far, 56 nations have ratified the Rome Statute of 1998, which states...
BUSINESS
Apr 5, 2002

Visa-free travel for APEC business people slated for '03

In a long-awaited move, Japan plans to introduce the APEC Business Travel Card program early next year to facilitate visa-free travel for business people from Japan and other APEC member economies, government sources said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Apr 5, 2002

Myanmar meeting to discuss blueprint for future ASEAN partnership

Japan and the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations will hold their highest-level talks ever in Myanmar next week to discuss Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's recent proposal to forge a "comprehensive economic partnership."
SOCCER / THE BALD TRUTH
Apr 2, 2002

Poland and reality are Poles apart

Is Jerzy Engel completely deranged? Who on earth is Jerzy Engel, you are probably wondering? (Sigh) I used to talk about muffins and naked grandparents in these columns.
SOCCER / World cup / EXCERPTS FROM PHILIPPE TROUSSIER'S BOOK
Apr 1, 2002

Breaking the inferiority complex

"Passion" is the story of Japan soccer team coach Philippe Troussier, his struggle to make it as a player and manager and his travels around France, Africa and Japan. In the book, Troussier also details his philosophy and thinking as he prepares for the World Cup in June. In this, the third of 10 extracts...
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 1, 2002

Risks in waiting on Koizumi

When he debuted as prime minister, Junichiro Koizumi pledged economic and political reforms, saying there will be "no economic recovery without structural reforms." To implement the reforms, Koizumi said he was ready to overhaul the governing Liberal Democratic Party. I have supported Koizumi's determination,...
EDITORIALS
Mar 31, 2002

Wal-Mart, Sprawl-Mart

Two weeks ago, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. announced a deal with local supermarket chain Seiyu that would give the U.S. cut-price retail colossus a foothold in the Japanese market: a 6.1 percent share in Seiyu now, with an option to increase its stake to two-thirds by the end of 2007. The announcement has been...
COMMUNITY
Mar 31, 2002

Speaking in tongues with many a twist

A long time ago, in a university far, far away, I began studying Japanese with a text that our well-meaning instructors told us was standard Japanese, the kind of Japanese that could be used anywhere in Japan.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Mar 31, 2002

How to teach the teachers to teach?

To Doreen Simmons, who for more than 20 of her 28 years in Japan has been an editor in the International Affairs Department of the Diet, the idea of Japan adopting English as its second official language sounds "totally unrealistic."
BUSINESS
Mar 29, 2002

DoCoMo set to post appraisal losses

NTT DoCoMo Inc. said Thursday it may, if necessary, post appraisal losses on its overseas investments for the 2001 business year due to stock price movements.
COMMENTARY
Mar 26, 2002

Getting tough on bid rigging

Japanese newspapers are awash with scandals over bidding for public works projects. Japan's construction industry, which accounts for more than 10 percent of the nation's employed workers, is the world's largest. It is unconscionable that this important industry has become a hotbed of collusion among...
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Mar 25, 2002

Lighthearted songs for the heaviest of times

NEW YORK -- My colleague Jeff passed on to me a writer's query posted on the Internet. As it happened, the inquiring writer was a novelist of whom I am a fan, and the subject on which he sought help was intriguing. He wanted to know about Japanese popular songs -- especially popular military songs --...
EDITORIALS
Mar 25, 2002

More needed than festive spirit

This year is a special one for Japan and South Korea. Not only does the World Cup kick off in two months' time, but 2002 has also been designated the "Year of People-to-People Exchange Between Japan and the Republic of Korea." The governments of both countries have high hopes that the successful cohosting...
COMMENTARY
Mar 25, 2002

There's more to a name than meets the eye

As someone who has crossed the Pacific Ocean over 450 times since 1956, I am constantly fascinated by the similarities and differences between the United States and Japan. Among the challenges facing someone who lives in both societies is that what is so positive in one country can often be so negative...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 25, 2002

Sumitomo, Mitsui Chemicals unite to weather tough times

As a global wave of consolidation sweeps through the chemicals industry, Sumitomo Chemical Co., Japan's second-largest chemicals maker, is trying to get a jump on its domestic rivals by merging with industry No. 3 Mitsui Chemicals Inc.
CULTURE / Books
Mar 24, 2002

De Ferranti opens the door to a musical Other

JAPANESE MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS, by Hugh de Ferranti. Oxford University Press, 2000, 104 pp., $13.95 (cloth) It would be perfectly possible for a foreigner to live in Heisei Japan for quite some time without ever becoming aware that Japan has an original music of its own, so low is the profile of "hogaku"...
CULTURE / Books
Mar 24, 2002

Shimoda sounds a literary lament

SAN FRANCISCO -- A foreigner in Japan is an outsider by default, a fact foreign residents have lamented for centuries in what is now a ritualized barstool grievance: "I've lived here for so long, learned the language, love my natto, but still . . . "
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 23, 2002

Target nonperforming loans, not deflation

While there is good reason to be concerned about the state of Japan's economy, analysts wrongly target deflation as the main villain in this tale. Contrary to received wisdom, Japan's economic slump is not the result of price deflation. Nor are aggressive expansions of fiscal and monetary policies the...
BUSINESS
Mar 23, 2002

Peru no longer a favored destination of Japanese ODA

Japanese official development assistance for Peru has plunged sharply amid a chill in diplomatic ties over the fate of Alberto Fujimori, the former Peruvian president of Japanese descent.
BUSINESS
Mar 23, 2002

U.S. airlines set to switch Narita slots

Transport minister Chikage Ogi indicated Friday that Japan will allow Delta Air Lines to transfer some of its slots to FedEx Corp. at Narita airport, as the United States has requested.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Mar 23, 2002

Personal agenda with Taisho feminist literature

Woken earlier in the day, Anne Sokolsky was so sleepy she assumed me to be a Japanese woman speaking bad English rather than the other way around. A rocky start dispelled by the wide-awake vivacity with which she approached me at Tokyo's Yotsuya Station midafternoon.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji