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BUSINESS
Apr 12, 2002

Zoellick proposes WTO ministerial talks

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick told Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi on Thursday that a four-way ministerial meeting should be held next month in Paris under the World Trade Organization, according to a ministry official.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / JET STREAM
Apr 12, 2002

The man who gave the JET program liftoff

The JET program marks its 15th anniversary this year. Today the country's largest teacher-exchange program, it all started from the simple dream of a young British banker called Nicolas Maclean.
JAPAN
Apr 12, 2002

Top court rejects wine poisoner's sixth appeal

The Supreme Court has turned down a 76-year-old death row inmate's sixth appeal for a retrial in a 1961 wine-poisoning case in which five people were killed.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Apr 11, 2002

NGOs and odd bedfellows point the way

Back in the 1960s, plastics were the future. As a result, a significant part of that future will be spent cleaning up after the past. So here is a tip for those of you making plans to help save the Earth: Consider a career in environmental economics. And if you're already working as an environmentalist,...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 10, 2002

Africa aid forum searches for solutions

In an attempt to find solutions to Africa's persistent poverty and low economic growth, regional leaders and experts recently met in Tokyo to discuss ways to remedy the continent of its problematic governments.
JAPAN
Apr 10, 2002

Japan, South Korea, United States welcome thaw with Pyongyang

Japan, South Korea and the United States on Tuesday welcomed the results of a recent visit to North Korea by a South Korean envoy, in which Pyongyang agreed to resume dialogue with the three countries.
EDITORIALS
Apr 9, 2002

The OIC's blind eye to terror

Defining terrorism should be easy. Innocent people should not be made targets for political purposes. Otherwise, none of us are safe. Yet some individuals -- and sadly, some governments -- continue to accept that "one person's terrorist is another's freedom fighter." That makes them complicit in the...
COMMENTARY
Apr 8, 2002

The 'corporate governance' debate

Over the past decade, "corporate governance" has come to replace "industrial policy" and "Japanese-style management" as the key factor to explain Japanese business performance.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 7, 2002

Caregivers derive strength from their charges: professor

OSAKA -- People with disabilities may be considered weak, but they are often the ones giving comfort and strength to their caregivers, according to Kiyokazu Washida, a philosophy professor at Osaka University's graduate school.
COMMUNITY
Apr 7, 2002

A dicey history

The earliest reference to gambling in Japan -- found in the eighth-century, 31-volume "Nihon Shoki (Chronicle of Japan)" -- states that in 685 AD, Emperor Temmu passed the time playing a dice game similar to backgammon called sugo-roku (double sixes). Once his successor Empress Jito assumed the throne,...
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 6, 2002

Bush's foreign aid revolution

WASHINGTON -- Just as U.S. President Richard Nixon was able to use his conservative credentials to fend off critics and go to China, President George W. Bush has just announced a policy change that Republicans have opposed for years, but that is long overdue. Over a period of a few years, Bush would...
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / MATTER OF COURSE
Apr 5, 2002

No more Saturdays, no more cappuccino

When the new school year begins on April 8, all Japanese public schools will be on a five-day school week for the first time ever. For my kids, that means no more school on Saturdays. For me, it means no more cappuccino.
COMMENTARY
Apr 4, 2002

Forecasts of an early exit fade

LONDON -- Those who said the war in Afghanistan was over have had to eat their words.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 4, 2002

Group targets family ties via storytelling

As soon as the men would arrive on their big black bikes, children would cheer, set aside their toys and swarm around them even before they began sounding their wooden clappers. A signature large wooden box with openings and drawers was mounted on the back of their bicycles.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 4, 2002

U.S. lawmakers see close midterm races

While President George W. Bush continues to enjoy extremely high popular support, the U.S. midterm elections later this year will be hard-fought and could swing the narrow balance of power in Congress, according to a group of U.S. lawmakers who gathered at a March 26 symposium in Tokyo.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 3, 2002

Seeing Sharon's killing field for what it is: state terror

TEL AVIV -- If we understand the difference between state terrorism and individual terrorist acts, we'll understand the evilness of U.S. policies in the Middle East and the forthcoming disasters.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 1, 2002

Risks in waiting on Koizumi

When he debuted as prime minister, Junichiro Koizumi pledged economic and political reforms, saying there will be "no economic recovery without structural reforms." To implement the reforms, Koizumi said he was ready to overhaul the governing Liberal Democratic Party. I have supported Koizumi's determination,...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 1, 2002

Beijing's WTO entry seen as start of Asia 'axis of virtue'

SINGAPORE -- China's entrance into the World Trade Organization does not represent a threat to the economic well-being of either Japan or the ASEAN countries. Rather, it marks the beginning of an axis of virtue in East and Southeast Asia and trade and investment opportunities for all.
COMMUNITY
Mar 31, 2002

War of the words

Ah, Nihongo. Of all foreign languages, this is the one that keeps you on your toes. An Occidental beginner might suspect that the Japanese did it on purpose -- sowed their language with mines and pitfalls to thwart non-native penetration. To 16th-century European missionaries, Japanese was the devil's...
CULTURE / Books
Mar 31, 2002

The human face of migration to Japan

FOREIGN MIGRANTS IN CONTEMPORARY JAPAN, by Hiroshi Komai, translated by Jens Wilkinson. Melbourne: Trans Pacific Press, 2001, 230 pp., AU$44.95 (paper) The Japanese economy has been in all but permanent recession for more than a decade. Yet, the number of foreign migrants has not diminished. What seemed...
EDITORIALS
Mar 30, 2002

Reading the tea leaves in Myanmar

The venerable science of Kremlinology is flourishing in Myanmar. The country's ruling elite is a clubby and secretive group, and the exercise of power and influence is shrouded in mystery; reliable information is hard to come by. No wonder then that the last few weeks have been busy ones for Myanmar...
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 29, 2002

Davos themes dazzle with Webcasting

SEOUL -- If you missed Davos in New York last month, you have a rain check coming via the miracle of Webcasting. The more important panels will be broadcast at the World Economic Forum's Web site ( www.weforum.org ), starting Monday. Don't pass up this intellectual cyberfest for the netizen!
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Mar 28, 2002

Kill your television

"I know murder is a bad thing to do to society, but it was something I needed to experience."
EDITORIALS
Mar 27, 2002

Developing a new perspective

In an era of unprecedented prosperity, it is important to remember how unevenly this vast wealth is spread. More than 1 billion people -- one-fifth of the world's population -- must live on less than $1 a day; nearly half the population survives on twice that amount. There has long been agreement that...
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 25, 2002

A method to nuclear madness?

HONOLULU -- We were shocked and dismayed to learn that the Pentagon has allegedly been instructed to develop contingency plans calling for the use of nuclear weapons to deter or respond to a chemical or biological attack on the United States. We say "allegedly" because we are relying on (at best) secondhand...
EDITORIALS
Mar 24, 2002

One book, one city

Imagine a whole city reading the same book at the same time, then getting together at libraries and museums, in local community centers and suburban living rooms, to talk about it. In a civic experiment that has blossomed into a national trend in the past couple of years, Americans from Seattle to Washington,...

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