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COMMENTARY
Mar 29, 2005

The price of a clean project

On March 28, 2001, U.S. President George W. Bush declared that the United States would pull out of the Kyoto Protocol for two reasons: The protocol was imperfect because it did not require developing countries to cut their emissions of greenhouse gases, and it was detrimental to U.S. economic interests....
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Mar 27, 2005

A fully not-boring Indian adventure

SHANTARAM, by Gregory David Roberts. New York: St. Martin's Press, 2004, 936 pp., $24.95 (cloth). The lives that some people lead can put fiction to shame. One such example would be Australian novelist Gregory David Roberts, a former heroin addict who held up banks with a toy pistol. Apprehended and...
COMMENTARY
Mar 27, 2005

Who decides life and death?

WASHINGTON -- Last week the U.S. Congress voted to try to save, at least temporarily, the life of Terri Schiavo, who otherwise would slowly starve to death at the hospice in the state of Florida in which she is confined.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / JAZZNICITY
Mar 27, 2005

Swing is the thing for bassist Nakamura

Not many Japanese jazz musicians have played in front of a President of the United States, but Kengo Nakamura is one. After leaving his hometown of Osaka to study at Boston's esteemed Berklee College of Music in 1988, where he switched from electric to acoustic bass, and struggling for a while to find...
BASEBALL / MLB
Mar 26, 2005

Iwakuma determined to help Eagles soar in Sendai

Hisashi Iwakuma started playing baseball as an elementary school first grader at the age of 6, by throwing a ball against a wall in a game of catch with himself and dreaming of becoming a professional. Now, at age 24, he is arguably the best pitcher in Japanese pro baseball.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Mar 26, 2005

On catching your spouse's culture

There's this lady I know who has one major gripe about life in Japan.
BASEBALL / MLB
Mar 26, 2005

Dragons favored to book return trip to Japan Series

The following is a team-by-team analysis of the 12 teams in Japanese pro baseball this season:
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Mar 25, 2005

Classless Chelsea, Mourinho facing yet another day in the dock

LONDON -- Another day, another charge.
COMMENTARY
Mar 24, 2005

Northern Territories dispute highlights flawed diplomacy

Japan is now in serious territorial disputes with all of its neighbors -- Taiwan, China, South Korea and Russia. True, this could prove there is something wrong with all of Japan's neighbors. But it could also prove that there is something wrong in the way Japan handles territorial problems with its...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Mar 20, 2005

Who says you can't teach old baseball teams new tricks?

"New" is the watchword for Japanese baseball in 2005.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / NATURE TRAVEL
Mar 20, 2005

One man's vision is a paradise of plants

Tim Smit, still in his 30s but already a millionare record producer for artists including the Nolan Sisters and Barry Manilow, moved from London to "retire" in rural Cornwall, south-west England in 1987. He had the vague idea of opening a recording studio. Or a rare breeds farm. Or something.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Mar 20, 2005

The undeniable legacy left after Japan wreaked havoc

RACE WAR! White Supremacy and the Japanese Attack on the British Empire, by Gerald Horne. New York and London: New York University Press, 2004, 407 pp., 4,478 yen (cloth). Racism is a particularly dirty issue of World War II in Asia that is often swept under the carpet. Tokyo's claim that Japan stood...
Japan Times
Features / WEEK 3
Mar 20, 2005

Can machines can care

Whether selling Scarab beetles for kids or punctuating the path up Mount Fuji, vending machines are one of Japan's most idiosyncratic features. Although some question the "waste" of energy involved in the ubiquitous mechanized retail outlets -- about 2.6 million alone are hawking beverages -- their onward...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Mar 20, 2005

Training men in sex education is the key to unlock women-only cars

On the same day that now former Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Kazuyoshi Nakanishi was arrested for indecent assault in Roppongi there was a similarly themed news story buried in the back of the dailies that put his misdemeanor in perspective. Officials of JR East Japan announced that they are planning...
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 19, 2005

Roh publicly belittles alliance with U.S.

HONOLULU -- In a little noticed speech, President Roh Moo Hyun of South Korea has once again disparaged his nation's alliance with the United States and cast doubt on whether this partnership should continue. Roh told graduating cadets at the Korean Air Force Academy that South Korea was fully capable...
EDITORIALS
Mar 18, 2005

Russia-Japan thaw not in sight

The deadlock in Japan-Russia relations shows no signs of ending anytime soon. A Tokyo visit by President Vladimir Putin -- which had been expected early this year -- is up in the air now that an advance trip by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, initially set for earlier this month, has been postponed indefinitely....
Japan Times
Reference / SO WHAT THE HECK IS THAT
Mar 17, 2005

Tails of alley cats

Dear Alice,
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 17, 2005

Pyongyang under EU's wing

PALO ALTO, Calif. -- The European Union is increasingly showing a new independent stance on foreign-policy issues as the logic of its industrial and economic integration plays out in the international arena.
COMMENTARY
Mar 17, 2005

Bet your bottom dollar on financial jolt

LOS ANGELES -- Fasten your seat belts -- and get ready for a major test of the core stability of the global financial system. How do we know that a jolt is coming? Just consider that:
MORE SPORTS
Mar 16, 2005

Arakawa, Ando, Suguri strive to continue Japan's world reign

MOSCOW -- Heading into the World Figure Skating Championships in Moscow, Japan's women skaters, once so dominant, are now a question mark.
EDITORIALS
Mar 15, 2005

New leadership in Hong Kong

Hong Kong's chief executive, Mr. Tung Chee-hwa, resigned last week. His departure was in keeping with his entire term as chief executive: confused, messy and ultimately damaging to his office and Hong Kong itself. His replacement must break that tradition and restore the luster to Hong Kong's image....
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Mar 13, 2005

Out of the darkroom

JAPAN 1945 -- A U.S. MARINE'S PHOTOGRAPHS FROM GROUND ZERO, by Joe O'Donnell, foreword by Mark Selden, afterword by O'Donnell and Richard Lammers. Nashville: Vanderbilt University Press, 2005, 88 pp., 80 b/w photos, $39.95 (cloth). In September 1945, Joe O'Donnell, a 23-year-old U.S. Marine Corps photographer...
COMMENTARY
Mar 12, 2005

Opium again driving Afghan economy

ISLAMABAD -- This month's warning by the United Nations' main drug-monitoring watchdog that Afghanistan is in danger of becoming a narcotics-driven state should hardly come as a surprise.
EDITORIALS
Mar 10, 2005

Last chance for Daiei's survival

Daiei Inc., Japan's ailing supermarket operator, is ready to make its third -- and final -- attempt at rehabilitation. On Monday, the state-run Industrial Revitalization Corp. of Japan (IRCJ) formally selected trading house Marubeni Corp. and investment fund Advantage Partners as Daiei's business sponsors....
COMMENTARY
Mar 10, 2005

Avoiding sham democracy

LONDON -- There is all the difference in the world between democracy and constitutional democracy.
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
Mar 9, 2005

Legal action gives new definition to 'The Meaning of Ichiro'

Well, I must say, this one really takes the cake.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Mar 8, 2005

Creating laws out of thin air

With terrorists striking fear into governments worldwide, Japan too is currently considering its own version of America's Patriot Act, to be passed in a year or two.
COMMENTARY
Mar 7, 2005

Let taxes spur carbon cuts

On Feb. 16, the Kyoto Protocol, aimed at curbing the air pollution blamed for global warming, took effect. To become valid, the accord had to be ratified by at least 55 countries, including developed countries that accounted for at least 55 percent of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gas emissions...
COMMENTARY
Mar 7, 2005

Japan and U.S. up the ante on Taiwan

HONG KONG -- China's relations with Japan, already strained because of territorial disputes and differing perceptions of history -- in particular, because of Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's repeated visits to Yasukuni Shrine, Japan's memorial to its war dead, including Class A war criminals...

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