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COMMENTARY / World
Jul 2, 2001

French success has economists wondering

LONDON -- For Americans who work long hours, get only two weeks holiday a year, and live under a system that defines job security as a socialist vice, the apparent success of the French experiment is a puzzle and an affront.
JAPAN
Jun 30, 2001

Mbeki to get invitation for October visit

Reflecting a recent foreign-policy focus on Africa, Japan plans to invite South African President Thabo Mbeki as a state guest in early October, government sources said Friday.
JAPAN
Jun 28, 2001

No revisions expected after text review concludes in July

An ongoing diplomatic row with South Korea and China over some history textbooks could enter a new phase next month.
BUSINESS
Jun 28, 2001

Firms must pick and choose when pursuing western ways

As Japanese firms seek to adopt more elements of western-style business management practices and ideas, pressure appears to be mounting on corporate executives to increase shareholder value.
BUSINESS
Jun 27, 2001

Manufacturers hurt by lack of new blood

The nation's manufacturing industry is being threatened by the declining number of young workers in the sector and the transfer of manufacturing bases overseas, according to a report released Tuesday.
CULTURE / Art
Jun 27, 2001

The chrysanthemum and the rose

LONDON -- Anybody turning up at London's Hyde Park to walk their dog on the morning of Saturday, May 19, could have been forgiven for thinking they'd wandered into some kind of space and time warp. Instead of a few squirrels and strollers enjoying the pale, watery sunshine, they would have found a full-blown...
CULTURE / Music / J-POPSICLE
Jun 27, 2001

Love on the dance floor

Talk about good timing. Just as the enervating ennui of tsuyu set in, reggae singer Mikidozan released "Lifetime Respect," whose mellow vibe and infectious melody have taken it to the top of the charts. (It's No. 1 on the July 2 Oricon singles chart). With its loping, steady groove and positive message...
JAPAN
Jun 27, 2001

Cuban dancer teaches salsa to promote cultural exchange

Swinging in from half a world away, Alberto Romay, a Cuban dance instructor based in Tokyo, is bringing a taste of the Caribbean country's culture closer to the people of Japan.
SOCCER / THE BALD TRUTH
Jun 26, 2001

Japan's soccer prima donnas need a slice of wa

My girlfriend snores very loudly and dribbles on her pillow when she sleeps. By day, she transmogrifies from monster to model and is professional enough to keep both the dribbling and the chainsaw impersonation away from the catwalk.
SPORTS / TALK OF THE TIMES
Jun 26, 2001

Horan gives Japanese rugby a lift

His mates call him "trucky" because when he first hit the international scene he used to eat a truckers breakfast when everyone else would be eating a healthy pre-match breakfast of fruit and yogurt. Others call him "helmet" because of his immovable hair style, a 25-knot south-westerly blowing off Moreton...
JAPAN
Jun 25, 2001

Essays land students trip to U.N.

For children aspiring to become future diplomats, it may be the gateway to success.
COMMENTARY
Jun 25, 2001

Montagnards still paying for Vietnam War

LOS ANGELES -- It's understandable. Now 85, former U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, in his new book "Wilson's Ghost," is urging that America get involved in foreign crises only under the umbrella of multinational efforts. And you would take that view, too, if you had been the boss of the U.S....
COMMENTARY
Jun 25, 2001

Textbook criticism on target

China and South Korea are demanding revisions in Japanese history textbooks approved by the government for use at middle schools, arguing that they contain distortions of facts. In making the demands, China singled out a textbook compiled by the Society for History Textbook Reform; South Korea directed...
COMMENTARY
Jun 25, 2001

How to best honor Clinton? Forget him

WASHINGTON -- "Since Bill Clinton left office, we've been through a lot together," writes political consultant James Carville in his letter to me. But Clinton supporters "have much to be proud of." So please give to the William J. Clinton Presidential Foundation.
JAPAN
Jun 24, 2001

Kin of murdered students to get cash compensation

Each family of the eight children killed in the June 8 slaughter at the state-run Ikeda Elementary School in Osaka Prefecture will likely be paid 25 million yen in compensation by a governmental mutual aid provider, the provider said Saturday.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Jun 24, 2001

Condiment of champions

To celebrate its 50th anniversary, TBS will broadcast a 24-hour special, "Fight TV 24," starting at 8 p.m. Saturday.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jun 24, 2001

Help is on the way

At the mega-corporation Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd. there is a standing offer to all employees: the option of taking three months to two years of unpaid leave for "social welfare" volunteer activities.
JAPAN
Jun 24, 2001

Draft bans creating embryos for cloning

The science ministry has released draft guidelines for a new law that would ban the creation of embryos that could lead to human cloning but allow noncloning research on human and animal embryos.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Jun 24, 2001

Finding nature by design

JAPANESE DESIGN: A Collection. Photographs and text by Kenneth Straiton. Forward by Peter Grilli. Tokyo: Tuttle Shokai, 1999, 160 pp., copiously illustrated, 3,800 yen. Traditionally the Japanese are a patterned people who live in a patterned country, a land where the exemplar still exists, where there...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jun 23, 2001

Philosophy of languagelessness blows atomic mind

For someone who believes that internal silence is the key to peace and happiness and even God, professor Anil Vidyalankar talks a lot.
LIFE / Lifestyle / JET STREAM
Jun 22, 2001

Surviving to write about the JET program

When Englishman David Chandler arrived in Japan in 1995 he never imagined he'd publish an award-winning book. Neither did he foresee that one day he would be sitting in the office of Japan's prime minister discussing his JET experience.
JAPAN
Jun 22, 2001

Kids caught in latest cosmetics fad

Kyodo News While the nation's "kogyaru" teens, teetering through Tokyo's Shibuya district in their towering platform boots and outrageous makeup, have received their share of attention over the years, it may well be time to pass the torch — there are some new kids in town.
CULTURE / Music / J-POPSICLE
Jun 20, 2001

J-rap gets real

Most rap music leaves me cold. One reason is that, as a 42-year-old white Canadian male, I am culturally predisposed to dislike it. Another is that a lot of rap is crap: monotonous, rhythmically and melodically sterile, and full of violent, misogynistic, homophobic posturing.
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM MOSCOW
Jun 19, 2001

Putin plays the smile game

The first summit of U.S. President George W. Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin was shaped by an indigenous American principle, "Keep smiling." Bush said he had looked the man in the eye and found him to be "very straightforward and trustworthy." Putin said he was looking forward to "a constructive...
JAPAN
Jun 19, 2001

State schools, colleges incur huge debt

The government's special account for national universities and other state-run education facilities piled up 6.498 trillion yen in debt as of the end of fiscal 2000, according to a financial report compiled by the education ministry.
LIFE / Travel
Jun 19, 2001

Where the trade routes cross

Fifty years ago, travelers on American roads used to watch for trucks parked by roadside diners. Most people believed that truckers knew the best places to eat, and that any restaurant with trucks parked in front of it would serve good food.
JAPAN
Jun 18, 2001

Ministers split on system for mentally ill suspects

Government ministers were split Sunday over whether Japan should incorporate a new system under which suspects with psychiatric problems would receive hospital treatment at the advice of courts.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 18, 2001

China and ASEAN strive to improve ties

CHIANG MAI, Thailand -- For geographic and historic reasons, China has been and will always be a factor in Southeast Asia. Of course, the reverse is also true. And as emphasis shifts from bilateral relations to multilateral ties, the ASEAN-China dimension assumes a special meaning, whether viewed alone...

Longform

Rock group The Yellow Monkey played K-Arena Yokohama in June as part of a nationwide tour. Concerts are increasingly popular in the age of social media as users value in-person experiences.
Inside Japan’s arena boom: Sports, sound and city-building