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Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / THEN AND NOW
Dec 3, 2004

It's a stroll in a park to find the old Yoyogi

The town of Shinjuku dates from the late 17th century, when a post-station was set up there on the Koshu-kaido on the northwestern edge of Edo (present-day Tokyo). To the south, Yoyogi was then mainly sparsely populated hills that rolled on as far as the eye could see.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Dec 1, 2004

Liberate your mind and art

The conductor walks away. The crowd applauds. Beethoven's 5th? A moving rendition by the orchestra? Eric Satie? Closer, but wrong again. The performer is Ben Patterson and he's just completed George Maciunas' "Solo for Conductor." For this, he bent over to face the audience, placed his baton on the floor...
COMMENTARY
Nov 30, 2004

One voice on N. Korea issue?

Multilateral efforts to stop North Korea's nuclear-weapons program are gaining momentum. Leaders of the United States, China, Japan, South Korea and Russia, meeting bilaterally on the sidelines of the recent Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Santiago, Chile, agreed that six-nation talks...
EDITORIALS
Nov 29, 2004

Heading for higher taxes

The latest report from the government's Tax Commission has a sobering message: In the long run, taxes in Japan have nowhere to go but up. As the commission's chairman, Mr. Hiromitsu Ishi, points out, there is no way to avoid tax increases in order to put the nation's fiscal house in order.
EDITORIALS
Nov 28, 2004

Found in translation

I n the field of law, Japan certainly cannot yet be said to be sufficiently open vis-a-vis other countries. In order to improve this situation, a law-and-ordinance translation group set up within the government's Office for Promotion of Justice System Reform has unveiled a project to translate legislation...
JAPAN
Nov 27, 2004

Revised Child Welfare Law enacted

The Diet enacted a revised children's welfare law Friday that aims to upgrade the child-counseling system and bolster local-level efforts to address the growing problems of child abuse and juvenile delinquency.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 27, 2004

Challenges and opportunity

SINGAPORE -- As the first Indonesian president to be elected through direct universal suffrage, and backed by a mandate from a considerable majority of Indonesian voters, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is injecting new energy into the 10-member Association for Southeast Asian Nations. Furthermore,...
EDITORIALS
Nov 26, 2004

Lighten Iraq's debt load

I raq's future depends on the country finding its footing. The most important precondition is peace and stability. Free and fair elections, the foundation of a healthy democracy, are also vital. Ultimately, however, Iraqis must believe that they will have a better life. Without a functioning and growing...
JAPAN
Nov 26, 2004

Japanese-Latin American internees need redress: trio

Three U.S. activists assisting Japanese-Latin Americans interned during World War II urged Japan and public Thursday to heighten their awareness of the issue and support their quest for more redress from Washington.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / BEST BAR NONE
Nov 26, 2004

Where creative juices flow in Tokyo

Time Magazine recently proclaimed SuperDeluxe, a gallery and lounge space near Roppongi, as one of the best 100 spots in Asia. When it comes to Tokyo venues, I'd put it in my top three. But SuperDeluxe is no overnight sensation. It is a rare flower that has been skillfully nurtured since its seeds were...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 23, 2004

More effort urged to curb youth drug use

The man was 17 when he took speed for the first time, experimenting with a high school friend by inhaling the amphetamine in smoke form.
COMMENTARY
Nov 22, 2004

Limits of education control

The proposed trilogy of tax and fiscal reforms, aimed at giving more fiscal independence to local governments, is troubled by disputes over whether the state should continue paying for compulsory education. At issue is whether the education ministry or the local autonomies should be responsible.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 22, 2004

Kids of 'illegals' deserve their dream

SANTA MARIA, Calif. -- A student of mine was upset because children of illegal immigrants qualified for lower resident fees to attend college in California.
Japan Times
Features / WEEK 3
Nov 21, 2004

Stepping off the money-go-round

Being part of a worldwide grassroots "festivity" later this week comes at a price, of course -- but the price is no price at all, because Nov. 27 is "Buy Nothing Day," and all you have to do is spend no money.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Nov 21, 2004

Daring to break the rules: Japan's first modern novelists

TWO JAPANESE NOVELISTS: SOSEKI & TOSON, by Edwin McClellan. Tuttle, 2004, 166 pp., 1,500 yen (paper). Even if they do recognize the man, Natsume Soseki (1867-1916) for many non-Japanese is no more than the prim blue gent in the mustache that once peered out from the 1,000 yen bill. Yet Soseki is the...
EDITORIALS
Nov 18, 2004

Iran strikes another nuclear deal

I ran has agreed to suspend its nuclear programs while it continues negotiations with European nations on the future of those efforts. While the government in Tehran is pleased with the results of the discussions, other nations, worried about the possible proliferation of nuclear weapons, should be more...
JAPAN
Nov 16, 2004

Pro clubs back Daiei Hawks sale to Softbank

Representatives of professional baseball clubs accepted Monday a plan by retailer Daiei Inc. to sell its entire stake in the Daiei Hawks baseball club to Internet service provider Softbank Corp.
JAPAN
Nov 16, 2004

Inaugural science-technology forum urges help for developing countries

KYOTO -- Calls for broader scientific and technological support for developing countries as well as increased participation in scientific debate by the public resonated throughout the second day of the Science and Technology in Society forum Tuesday.
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Nov 16, 2004

Health care puzzles

Broad coverage? The Japanese health insurance system is designed to cover you anywhere in Japan, though prices vary from region to region.
COMMENTARY
Nov 16, 2004

Locals foot bill in sports stadium scam

WASHINGTON -- Not long ago Washington, D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams and the city's political elite held a triumphant press conference announcing the return of baseball. League officials began counting nearly a half billion dollars in public subsidies.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Nov 14, 2004

LDP crew want credit where credit isn't due

It's easy to believe that once a person becomes a politician, he tends to lose touch with everyday reality as it's lived by the majority of citizens since he's usually too busy looking after his own interests. Nevertheless, a recent remark by Tsutomu Takebe, the secretary general of the Liberal Democratic...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Nov 14, 2004

Onscreen breakthroughs

Picture Pikachu on a noir trip, popped loose of the 2-D plane.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Nov 13, 2004

Tsutomu Kasai

Dartmoor in southwestern England is an extensive national park of open skies and wild moorland. Granite rocks, peat bogs and heather characterize the land, where wild ponies run free. When Okehampton, a small town on the edge of Dartmoor, was planning a new hospital, garden designer Tsutomu Kasai of...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / THEN AND NOW
Nov 12, 2004

Shinjuku blossoms in many ways

Modern Shinjuku claims to be the new heart of Tokyo. With futuristic skyscrapers emerging as early as the 1970s, the town has been at the vanguard of Tokyo's urban renewal. City Hall has moved in and new hotels and new office buildings have mushroomed to accommodate the needs of businessmen from all...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 12, 2004

Yokota base joint-use plan irks residents

Ryuzo Fukumoto's house shakes and a roar can be heard overhead around 40 times a day on average -- sometimes even at night.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 11, 2004

More study of climate change needed: scientist

Studying the ozone layer is essential to curbing global warming, says a U.S scientist who has just been awarded the 2004 Blue Planet Prize.
EDITORIALS
Nov 11, 2004

Rationale for a carbon tax

Thanks to Russia's ratification, the Kyoto Protocol on global warming is set to take effect in February. The treaty requires industrially developed nations to cut their emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases by specified degrees from 1990 levels in five years from 2008 to 2012. Japan...
BUSINESS
Nov 11, 2004

EBC upset over bill to ban prepaid cell phones

The European Business Community in Japan on Wednesday criticized a plan by Japan's governing coalition to present a bill to the Diet, possibly during the current session, to ban the use and sale of prepaid mobile phones on grounds that they are often used in crimes.

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