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Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 14, 2004

Shooting at the top

Another reason to love Sofia Coppola: She had the good sense (and stubbornness) to refuse to do any more interviews while in Japan. Judging by her news-conference comments, she is better at making her films than talking about them -- no crime, that -- so it was a smart move to delegate the explaining...
COMMENTARY
Apr 13, 2004

Pakistani military tightens grip on power

ISLAMABAD In a year when Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf has promised to step down as head of the military and continue only as a civilian president, his decision to back the Parliament's approval of a new national security council, or NSC, raises fresh concerns over the future of democracy....
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Apr 11, 2004

The struggle to find a collective identity

JAPAN UNBOUND: A Volatile Nation's Quest for Pride and Purpose, by John Nathan. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2004, 271 pp., $25 (cloth). In this engaging book, largely based on extensive interviews, John Nathan probes the pathologies, contradictions and search for identity in contemporary Japan. He ranges...
EDITORIALS
Apr 11, 2004

Turn off the television

Of all the modern technological conveniences, the one that gets the worst press -- worse even than the cell phone -- is the television. The ubiquitous box has been accused of destroying traditional cultures, contributing to the breakdown of community, fragmenting family life and promoting obesity and...
Japan Times
Features
Apr 11, 2004

Women in noh

Backstage at a noh theater in downtown Tokyo, the play was about to begin.
JAPAN
Apr 10, 2004

Abductees' kin want SDF out immediately

Relatives of the three Japanese civilians held captive in Iraq by apparent terrorists asked the government Friday to withdraw the Ground Self-Defense Force troops from Iraq in line with the kidnappers' demand.
EDITORIALS
Apr 9, 2004

Putting Yasukuni in its place

Do Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's visits to Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo violate the constitutional separation of state and religion? It is a tricky question, legally and otherwise, that in the past has eluded a clear-cut judiciary answer. On Wednesday, however, the Fukuoka District Court ruled that...
BUSINESS
Apr 8, 2004

Industry split widens over beef import ban

A split between supermarket and restaurant chain operators over Japan's import ban on U.S. beef widened Wednesday after a group of midsize supermarket operators asked the government not to compromise in its efforts to make the United States test all cattle for mad cow disease.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Apr 7, 2004

Monumental is beautiful

The young woman seated in front of McDonald's, her massive haunches spread wide underneath her, looks at first glance like a cautionary tale on the perils of fast food. It would have taken a McBreakfast, a McLunch and a McDinner every day from birth to get her this big -- all of them super-size, just...
COMMENTARY
Apr 5, 2004

Peace mission in full swing

The humanitarian aid and reconstruction activities of the Self-Defense Forces in Iraq have gone into full swing following the deployment of 550 ground troops in Samawah. A year after the Iraq war started, Japan has now deployed a total of about 1,000 Ground, Maritime and Air SDF personnel in the country....
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Apr 4, 2004

A responsible attitude needed toward 'privacy'

Everybody knows what they mean when they say "privacy," but when it's used in a legal context the word turns squishy and slippery. For instance, it's difficult to grasp why Barbra Streisand sued a photographer last year for invasion of privacy because her estate appeared in two aerial pictures he took...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Apr 4, 2004

Oppressive flag of Pan Asian liberation

TENSIONS OF EMPIRE: Japan and Southeast Asia in the Colonial & Post-Colonial World, by Ken'ichi Goto. Ohio University Press, 2003, 349 pp., $24.95 (paper). The media has devoted considerable coverage to the Dr. Feelgoods of Japanese history who have vainly struggled to assert a vindicating and exonerating...
JAPAN
Apr 3, 2004

Contentious magazine to remain unsold

Publisher Bungeishunju Ltd. said Friday it will not sell the remaining copies of a controversial edition of a weekly magazine, after the Tokyo High Court on Wednesday overruled a lower court's injunction barring publication of an article in the edition.
EDITORIALS
Apr 3, 2004

Nurturing the sprouts of recovery

Japan's economic recovery, supported chiefly by large, export-oriented manufacturers, is spreading to other sectors, according to the Bank of Japan's quarterly survey on business sentiment. However, it is premature to conclude that the economy is headed for a self-sustaining recovery led by domestic...
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Apr 3, 2004

F.A. gives Eriksson new deal, but how long will he stay?

LONDON -- "Ladies and gentlemen, we got him."
JAPAN
Apr 2, 2004

Koizumi pledges passage of pension reform bills

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Thursday reiterated his determination to have government-sponsored pension reform legislation enacted during the ongoing Diet session.
BUSINESS
Apr 2, 2004

Japan Post fetes first anniversary

Japan Post marked its first anniversary with an air of satisfaction Thursday because its biggest management target over the past year -- eliminating a deficit in mail delivery operations -- has probably been met.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 2, 2004

Does 150 billion yen Diet project mean capital staying put?

Diet members' dream of spacious new offices will soon come true.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 1, 2004

Death prompts revolving-door closures, safety inspections

Building owners in major cities around the nation are suspending use of revolving doors and checking them for safety following the death last week of a 6-year-old boy at the Roppongi Hills complex in Tokyo and revelations that 32 similar accidents have taken place at the site since it opened last April....
JAPAN
Apr 1, 2004

Senkaku spat scuppers sea-treaty talks

Japan and China have canceled bilateral talks on a U.N. maritime treaty after Beijing reacted angrily to Japan's arrest of seven Chinese on a disputed island in the East China Sea last week, Japanese government officials said Wednesday.
Events
Mar 31, 2004

South Korean economy bedeviled by serious woes: writers

While Japan's economy may finally be bidding farewell to the "lost decade" of the stagnant 1990s, growth in South Korea, once noted for its rapid recovery after the 1997 Asian crisis, is slowing down amid serious problems like mounting household debts.
COMMENTARY
Mar 31, 2004

Madrid attack redefines EU

LONDON -- The bomb outrage and mass slaughter of train commuters in Madrid on March 11 has changed the face of European politics in more ways than one.
Japan Times
Events
Mar 31, 2004

Journalists cautious on FTA talks

Is Japan ready to become a leader of Asia by opening its market to the rest of the region in ways commensurate with its status?
JAPAN
Mar 29, 2004

Japan, U.S. agree on troop crime suspects

Japan and the United States have agreed in principle to allow U.S. officials to be present as part of the investigators' side when Japanese police question U.S. military personnel suspected of a crime, diplomatic sources said Sunday.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Mar 28, 2004

Zen and the art of Beatnik haiku

JACK KEROUAC: Book of Haikus, edited and with an Introduction by Regina Weinreich. Penguin USA, 2003, 240 pp., $13.00 (paper). Jack Kerouac (1922-69), the King of the Beats, started writing haiku with the belief that this short poetic form was an avatar of Zen, and he pursued both haiku and Zen to his...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 26, 2004

Japan grills isle intruders; China demands their release

Police on Thursday questioned seven Chinese activists who landed on disputed territory in the East China Sea the previous day and plan to hand them over to prosecutors for allegedly violating immigration laws.
EDITORIALS
Mar 25, 2004

A bullet tips Taiwan's ballot

Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian won last weekend's national election by a sliver. A mysterious assassination attempt on the eve of the ballot may have provided the margin of victory. The protests and charges of misconduct that followed the announcement of the results were predictable. It will take time...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / THE SECOND ROOM
Mar 25, 2004

System rebooted: 2004 is about to get cool

By the looks of things, I'm not the only one who's been a little busy this winter.

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