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LIFE / Lifestyle / MATTER OF COURSE
Dec 16, 2004

Reflections on rich learnings we all shared

When I began writing this column, I thought it would be a one-year gig. My editors thought so too. But things went well, and for nearly four years now I've reported in this space about my children's experiences in Japanese school.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / THE SECOND ROOM
Dec 15, 2004

We mix you a Merry Christmas; stocking stuffers & party plans

"Drape the Messe in day-glo deco,
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Dec 12, 2004

Brewing emotions and desires

GREEN TEA TO GO: Stories from Tokyo, by Leza Lowitz. Printed Matter Press/SARU Press international, 177 pp., 2004, 1,500 yen (paper). Is there such a thing as women's literature -- books that authorize a unique take on life, as opposed simply to literature penned by women, work tinged with female sensibilities?...
JAPAN
Dec 11, 2004

'Send 'em off to war' quip puts Takebe in the hot seat

Tsutomu Takebe, secretary general of the Liberal Democratic Party, drew flak Friday over his remark the previous day that Japanese youths should serve in the Self-Defense Forces as part of educational reform efforts.
COMMENTARY
Dec 11, 2004

At last, Asia is taking shape

HONOLULU -- For generations, East Asia has been identified as a geographical entity -- it was a region on a map -- but it lacked a coherent identity beyond that. That is changing. East Asia is laying the foundation for an international presence that will rival that of the European Union. Last month's...
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Dec 11, 2004

Controversial Hoddle given one more chance by Wolves

LONDON -- "You and I have been physically been given two hands and two legs and a half-decent brain. Some people have not been born like that for a reason.
JAPAN
Dec 10, 2004

Takebe fires warning shot over postal reform bills

Tsutomu Takebe, secretary general of the Liberal Democratic Party, suggested Thursday that Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi should dissolve the House of Representatives if his postal reform initiative hits a snag in the Diet in January.
JAPAN
Dec 9, 2004

Tokyo lodges complaint over China ship in EEZ

Tokyo has lodged a protest with Beijing against unannounced research activities being carried out by a Chinese ship in Japan's exclusive economic zone around Okinotorishima Island, the nation's southernmost territory, officials in Tokyo said Wednesday.
EDITORIALS
Dec 8, 2004

To keep the SDF in Iraq or not

The government is set to extend Japan's troop deployment in Iraq beyond Dec. 14 for another year, although Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has not adequately explained why an extension is necessary. Nor has the Diet debated the question in detail. A joint opposition bill aimed at ending the dispatch...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Dec 8, 2004

Trading in a master for an agent

When Yasuo Kitai first attempted to introduce Japanese calligraphy into Western art markets, he discovered he was up against thousands of years of tradition.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Dec 8, 2004

Art stripped bare by mass produced ideas

The National Museum of Art, Osaka, relocated this year from Expo Park to elegant new premises in the commercial Nakanoshima district. The architect Cesar Pelli -- who is also responsible for the recent redesign of Haneda Airport in Tokyo -- resisted contesting the air space of the surrounding and soaring...
JAPAN
Dec 6, 2004

New runway at Kansai airport nears government approval

The government will give the go-ahead to construct a second runaway at Kansai International Airport, to be operational in 2007, government sources said Sunday.
COMMENTARY
Dec 6, 2004

Japan's response to threats

LONDON -- The appearance of a Chinese nuclear-powered submarine in Japanese coastal waters Nov. 10 underlined a potential threat to Japanese security.
COMMENTARY / WASHINGTON UPDATE
Dec 6, 2004

Battle looms over Supreme Court justices

WASHINGTON -- The recently announced illness of U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist confirms the prospect of turnover soon at the court. Rehnquist turned 80 last month and seems to have a serious, debilitating cancer. He continues to be absent from the court.
JAPAN
Dec 2, 2004

Crime victims may get key role in trials

The Justice Ministry is considering introducing legislation that would allow victims of crime to play a greater role in the trials of their accused offenders, ministry sources said Wednesday.
COMMENTARY
Dec 2, 2004

Risks to secular government

MANILA -- In the Cold War era, the global confrontation was basically ideological. Two radically different socio-political blueprints were pitted against each other: democracy and capitalism on one side, one-party-rule and communism on the other. The opponents, then, were two superpowers and their allies...
EDITORIALS
Dec 2, 2004

First step to an 'open door'

In another milestone move aimed at expanding economic ties with fast-growing East Asian nations, Japan and the Philippines agreed this week to sign a free-trade agreement (FTA). Increased trade and investment in this region is especially welcome at a time when multilateral trade talks under the auspices...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 1, 2004

The freaks that made good

End of the Century Rating: * * * * (out of 5) Director: Michael Gramaglia Running time: 108 minutes Language: English Currently showing [See Japan Times movie listings] My first introduction to The Ramones came, fittingly enough for a film critic, in a cinema . . . but, hey, they were...
EDITORIALS
Dec 1, 2004

Manufacturing still our lifeblood

Fifteen years after the collapse of the economic bubble, Japan's longer-term economic prospects look fairly promising. One reason for this is that Japanese banks, particularly big ones, are making good progress in their efforts to clear up their nonperforming loans. Another reason is that manufacturers...
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...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / NEW ART SEEN
Dec 1, 2004

Instruments of invention

It has been 91 years since Luigi Russolo published his manifesto "The Art of Noises," in which the Italian Futurist implored, "We must break out of this narrow circle of pure musical sounds and conquer the infinite variety of noise sounds."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 1, 2004

Mixing madness with magic music

De-Lovely Rating: * * * * (out of 5) Japanese title: Gosenfu no Love Letter Director: Irwin Winkler Running time: 126 minutes Language: English Opens Dec. 11 [See Japan Times movie listings] "You have a dazzling talent and a life to go with it. What can you possibly be afraid of?" says...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 1, 2004

Taking public pulse on Iraq mission turns up disturbing information gap

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has said he will take into account public opinion, along with various other factors, when he decides whether to extend the one-year Self-Defense Forces mission in Iraq, which expires Dec. 14.
EDITORIALS
Nov 30, 2004

Ms. Rice's nomination raises concern

Observers both here and abroad are worried that the second administration of U.S. President George W. Bush may assume a more unilateralist stance in foreign policy. Such concern stems mainly from the imminent resignation of Secretary of State Colin Powell, a firm believer in international coordination...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Nov 28, 2004

A clotheshorse for all seasons

"What will she be wearing?"
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 27, 2004

Koizumi an official at Yasukuni

The Thursday court ruling on Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's 2001 visit to Yasukuni Shrine indicates he may longer be able to continue to be ambiguous about the nature of his contentious visits, many scholars agree.
EDITORIALS
Nov 27, 2004

A revealing melee in Chile

It seemed like a sideshow at the time, but the incident in Santiago last weekend in which U.S. President George W. Bush intervened to "rescue" one of his Secret Service agents from a scuffle with Chilean police has been mushrooming all week. In retrospect, that melee -- and a dispute last Sunday involving...
JAPAN
Nov 26, 2004

NHK can skip correction, but not redress

Although it upheld a redress award against NHK for defamation, the Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed a 58-year-old woman's claim against the broadcaster, reversing a lower court ruling that had ordered it to air a correction to a 1996 program that referred to her divorce.

Longform

A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.
If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami