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JAPAN
Feb 10, 2004

State to keep mum on terror targets

Which takes precedence: freedom of the press or the safety of potential targets of terrorist attacks?
EDITORIALS
Feb 8, 2004

Over-exposed in Houston

Say this for U.S. President George W. Bush: He might have wrong-footed the question of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, but he struck just the right note when asked to comment on the flap over singer Janet Jackson's risque performance in the Super Bowl halftime show in Houston the night before. Mr....
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Feb 7, 2004

Two Myers-Briggs analysis sessions change lives

Californian-born Terri Nii of KNT Co. appears to have found a most agreeable and satisfying balance in her life.
BUSINESS
Feb 6, 2004

Government to help firms issuing bonds in Southeast Asia

The government plans to establish a new guarantee system to help domestic companies issue bonds in local currencies in Southeast Asia, a government official said Thursday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 4, 2004

Under the skin of Gollum

Many have remarked that the most memorable performance in the "Lord of the Rings" films is given by a computer-generated character, Gollum. But let's not forget the man behind the critter, British screen and stage actor Andy Serkis, seen in films like Mike Leigh's "Topsy Turvy" and Michael Winterbottom's...
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Feb 3, 2004

Tenant rights and health care for foreigners

Tenant rights Two years ago, I rented an apartment through a realtor, and paid lots of money -- two-months deposit, one-month thank you money, and realtor fee -- thinking that after two years, we could renew our contract and somehow use the place longer to compensate for the initial payments we had...
EDITORIALS
Feb 2, 2004

The dollar's dangerous path

A stronger yen, or a weaker dollar, is a drag on Japan's export-led economic recovery. Trying to stem the tide, the government often steps into currency markets on a massive scale. Market players, however, worry that these dollar-buying, yen-selling interventions could be putting the Japanese and U.S....
COMMENTARY
Feb 2, 2004

Chirac faces mixed fortunes

PARIS -- Poll ratings have suddenly begun to substantially improve for both French President Jacques Chirac and Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin. That said, a wide gap still separates the two men. While 56 to 58 percent of those polled have a favorable view of Chirac, Raffarin's confidence rating...
COMMENTARY
Feb 2, 2004

Setbacks have Chen scrambling for win

HONG KONG -- Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian has encountered unexpected setbacks in recent weeks that have slowed down his re-election campaign even though, at this point, the race between him and Kuomintang chairman Lien Chan is still neck and neck.
EDITORIALS
Feb 1, 2004

Japan and that gold statuette

Japan received two nods when the latest Oscar nominees were announced in Los Angeles last Tuesday (two and a half, if you count Sofia Coppola's quirky comedy, "Lost in Translation," in which a version of Tokyo stars right alongside best-actor nominee Bill Murray). Ken Watanabe was nominated for his supporting...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Feb 1, 2004

The answers without the questions

ZEN SAND: The Book of Capping Phrases for Koan Practice, by Victor Sogen Hori. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2003, 764 pp., $37.00 (cloth). Back in 1947 when I was sitting with Dr. Suzuki Daisetsu, he gave me my first and last koan -- the one about Nansen Fugan's cat. The eminent Zen master Nansen...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Feb 1, 2004

Entertaining the idea of surrogate mums

Last week, the health ministry decided not to recommend revisions to current guidelines regarding fertility treatments. This disappointed the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, which has been advocating the legalization of such controversial procedures as the use of surrogate mothers because they say they...
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 31, 2004

Mad cow disease: a blessing in disguise

Mankind's history is rife with examples of natural phenomena radically changing its existence, the ice ages and small pox to name two. HIV has had a profound effect on sexual behavior the world over. Now, a mysterious protein -- a prion -- is about to change the eating habits of many people in the West...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 30, 2004

DPJ axes Koga over false academic claims

The Democratic Party of Japan expelled House of Representatives member Junichiro Koga from its ranks Thursday over his false academic claims, rejecting his earlier move to leave the party voluntarily.
EDITORIALS
Jan 30, 2004

Paper chase fandango

Japanese society values diplomas -- even if not as much as before. This may be part of the reason why Mr. Junichiro Koga, an up-and-coming Lower House member of the Democratic Party of Japan, made false claims about his educational background in November's general election. The scandal broke about a...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 29, 2004

Currency intervention raises eyebrows

Japan's repeated attempts to check the dollar's fall against the yen by intervening in the currency market is raising concerns among some economists.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language
Jan 29, 2004

Japan is learning to love (and loving to learn) Chinese

Every day, it seems, more and more Japanese want to communicate -- in Chinese. One million Japanese, says Web magazine ChinaGate, are learning Mandarin and other Chinese dialects. At Japanese universities and schools, Mandarin has overtaken French and German to become the most popular language after...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 28, 2004

On a not-so-sentimental journey to 1947

Born in Osaka in 1958, Junji Sakamoto has set many of his 13 feature films, including his award-winning 1989 debut "Dotsuitarunen," in his native Kansai. He arrived for our interview at the Takanawa Prince Hotel looking dapper in a retro-style suit that he later told me had been worn by an actor friend...
EDITORIALS
Jan 28, 2004

Come clean on Iraq

Recent admissions by top U.S. officials that Iraq might not have had weapons of mass destruction, or WMD, demand an explanation. Questions must be answered and the damage done to both U.N. and U.S. credibility must be repaired.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / NEW ART SEEN
Jan 28, 2004

A love/hate relationship set in concrete

In the classic 1971 British action film "Get Carter," Michael Caine plays a small-time criminal who avenges the death of his brother by tossing one of the gangsters responsible (played by Brian Mosely) off the top of a multistory car park in the gritty northeast England town of Gateshead. From what I...
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 28, 2004

Troubles cast a shadow on EU future

LONDON -- Europe's currency has never been stronger. The European Union has been portrayed as a "post modern" association of states that have moved beyond the use of force to a more rational organization of their relations. Though still hobbled by inflexibilities, its economies are forecast to show stronger...
EDITORIALS
Jan 27, 2004

Defuse the debt bomb

Japan's public debt continues to swell ominously, yet there is no reassuring long-term scenario for deficit reduction. The government's latest medium-term outlook for economic and fiscal reform amounts to a tacit admission that the balanced budget is, at best, a distant goal.
JAPAN
Jan 25, 2004

26 billion yen set aside for hospitals in Iraq

Japan plans to provide a maximum of 26 billion yen in grants to renovate and rebuild 13 hospitals in Iraq it helped construct in the 1980s.
SOCCER / J. League
Jan 25, 2004

Japan trio doubtful

Japan coach Zico, who is gearing his side up for a match against Oman in the preliminary round of the World Cup Asian qualifiers, cast doubt on the readiness of injured Feyenoord midfielder Shinji Ono and other top players for the Feb. 18 fixture at Saitama Stadium 2002.
EDITORIALS
Jan 25, 2004

Mr. Chen's 'peace' referendum

Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian may have defused some of his critics Friday by announcing the wording of two referendum questions that will be put to voters in March. This move should end some speculation about the referendum, but questions about Mr. Chen's long-term intent remain.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 25, 2004

Ties that bound Seoul's foreign minister

SEOUL -- Foreign Minister Yoon Young Kwan's resignation Jan. 15 grabbed headlines in Seoul with South Korean-American relations at the heart of it. Although his successor and career diplomat, Ban Ki Moon, has promised to clean house, this won't be easy.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Jan 23, 2004

Saha saga just goes to show what a funny old game soccer is

LONDON -- "Read my lips -- Louis Saha is not for sale" -- Fulham owner and chairman Mohamed Fayed.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 23, 2004

U.S. rules out testing all cows

The United States will not test all slaughtered cattle for mad cow disease as Tokyo requests, but may consider some "procedures" specifically for the Japanese market, a visiting U.S. delegation examining Japan's beef import ban said Thursday.
COMMENTARY
Jan 22, 2004

Keep Indo-Pakistani talks in public eye

ISLAMABAD -- The emerging Indo-Pakistani peace process is set to face its first political test in the next two months as India conducts national elections, creating an opportunity for hardliners to question the aims set out at this month's meeting between Indian Prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and...

Longform

Figure skater Akiko Suzuki was once told her ideal weight should be 47 kilograms, a number she now admits she “naively believed.” This led to her have a relationship with food that resulted in her suffering from anorexia.
The silent battle Japanese athletes fight with weight