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COMMENTARY
Jan 13, 2003

Dealing with multiple crises

The world faces a double threat posed by Iraqi and North Korean weapons of mass destruction and missiles, a peril no less serious than the terrorist scare following the 9/11 attacks. According to the Chinese zodiac, this is the year of the sheep, a nonviolent animal, but past years of the sheep have...
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 12, 2003

Closest point to bridging an ethnic divide

PYLA, Cyprus -- Maksim Restaurant sits on the United Nations "green line," which separates the Greek and Turkish sides of this divided island, but it's a popular stop for members of both ethnic groups.
BUSINESS
Jan 12, 2003

Daiei to scrap tie-up with electronics discounter

Daiei Inc. said Saturday it will scrap a sales tieup with Yamada Denki Co., a move that will force the troubled retail giant to review its strategy for increasing slumping sales of household appliances.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Jan 12, 2003

Living on the edge and acting the part

There's an article in the current issue of Shukan Bunshun lambasting the "foolishness of no-talent celebrities" on all those overblown New Year's TV specials. But what's more annoying than the specials themselves is that they pre-empted the few shows that were worth watching, like "The Tetsuwan Dash!"...
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 11, 2003

Anti-Americanism rises in Asia

SINGAPORE -- The United States has been perceived differently by Asian countries since President George W. Bush took over the helm in Washington. Asian governments have noticed a fundamental shift toward a more "unilateralist" stance in U.S. foreign policy -- a trend that became even more accentuated...
MORE SPORTS
Jan 10, 2003

Takahashi setting sights on another Olympic gold in 2004

This is the second and final installment of an exclusive interview with Naoko Takahashi, the gold medalist in the 2000 Sydney Olympic women's marathon.
BUSINESS
Jan 10, 2003

Aozora chief angry over allegation

Aozora Bank confirmed a media report Thursday that it provided customer information to U.S. investment fund Cerberus Group, one of its top shareholders, on request between January and February 2002.
EDITORIALS
Jan 9, 2003

Don't play into Pyongyang's hands

The International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N. nuclear watchdog, has given North Korea one last chance to halt its nuclear weapons programs. Pyongyang should seize this opportunity and agree to negotiate. On Monday, the IAEA passed a resolution calling for North Korea to put its nuclear facilities...
SUMO
Jan 7, 2003

JSA head may call for steroid tests

Japan Sumo Association chairman Kitanoumi said Sunday he may call for tests for steroid use in sumo due to a recent spate of injuries to wrestlers in the sport.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 7, 2003

Maker of stylus-free record player has got his groove back

SAITAMA -- His friends backed him up 15 years ago when he left his lofty position at one of the world's largest electronics makers and ended up at a small audio manufacturer. But when he decided to pursue a piece of analog equipment seemingly destined to die in an increasingly digital world, they wrote...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 7, 2003

Slump has silver lining: Cosmo chief

The economic slump offers unprecedented opportunities for new firms looking to carve out a niche in Japan, according to Kumi Sato, president of Cosmo Public Relations Corp., a Tokyo-based marketing consulting firm.
COMMUNITY
Jan 7, 2003

Is crime taking the place of a political opposition?

The irony screamed -- so did I.
EDITORIALS
Jan 6, 2003

Prevent runaway human cloning

A n American cloning company associated with the Raelian religious sect has announced the birth of a human clone. We will have to wait until the results of tests to see whether the baby girl really is a clone, but the company says that another four baby clones are scheduled to be born in the next couple...
LIFE / Lifestyle / ON THE BOOK TRAIL
Jan 6, 2003

"Human Body Revealed," "The DK Guide to the Human Body," "Eyewitness Pirate," " 'Slowly, Slowly, Slowly,' Said the Sloth"

"Human Body Revealed," Sue Davidson & Ben Morgan, Dorling Kindersley Limited; 2002; 38 pp. "The DK Guide to the Human Body," Richard Walker, Dorling Kindersley Limited; 2002; 64 pp. "Eyewitness Pirate," Richard Platt & Tina Chambers, Dorling Kindersley Limited; 2002; 72 pp. Ever wanted to look up...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Jan 5, 2003

Staging stellar shows at bargain prices

As the commercial networks wind up their holiday offerings of low-budget blooper specials and celebrity-heavy quiz shows, regular programming slowly returns. However, things don't really get back to "normal" until next week.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jan 5, 2003

You saw it! The gongs and goofs of 2002

Media Personalities of the Year: Koichi Tanaka and Tama-chan
JAPAN
Jan 4, 2003

EU challenge drags exclusivity of press clubs into spotlight

The European Union may have challenged one of Japan's toughest barriers to free trade when it called for the abolition of the nation's "kisha" press club system.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jan 4, 2003

Banish bad habits with hypnotherapy and healing

Erik Bragg had said to look for a beard and a big blue coat. And here he is, though not quite as hirsute as imagined, and wearing an anorak rather than the more theatrical style somehow envisaged. He has traveled in from Kashiwa, in Chiba Prefecture, where he practices as a certified clinical hypnotherapist...
JAPAN
Jan 4, 2003

North Korea abductees to be made eligible for financial help

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi is to officially recognize 15 Japanese -- including the five people who returned to Japan on Oct. 15 -- as victims of abduction by Pyongyang, it was learned Friday.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 3, 2003

'Dear Leader' no madman

CAMBRIDGE, England -- When I was in Beijing the week before Christmas, the topic of North Korea came up several times in conversations with friends and colleagues. Several of them referred to North Korean leader Kim Jong Il as a madman. Kim's state of mind is quite an important question at a time when...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 1, 2003

Humanoid robots: companions or just costly toys?

In the 1950s, Astro Boy drew on his 100,000 horsepower and hip-mounted machineguns to fight evil-doers. Despite his supposed April 7, 2003, birthday, however, the creation of robots the likes of Astro will probably remain a superhero pipe dream forever.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / NEW ART SEEN
Jan 1, 2003

So you thought '02 was good? Well, there's Mori to come

It looks, at first glance, like a refreshing case of "out with the old, and in with the new": In late 2002 the Tokyo art community bade a teary goodbye to its Mecca, when the falling-down old Sagacho building, home for years to some of Japan's most progressive gallery spaces, finally closed its doors...
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Dec 30, 2002

Pomp, ceremony and the U.S. presidency

NEW YORK -- A new book by Christopher Anderson is called "George and Laura: Portrait of an American Marriage." Andersen, who also wrote "Jack and Jackie" and "Bill and Hillary," may not always be "respectful," to quote a reviewer, toward America's First Couples, but the appearance of his latest book...
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 29, 2002

Modernization model for Islamic nations

HONOLULU -- With all due respect to his office, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad of Malaysia got it wrong when he suggested in Tokyo in mid-December that the Japanese help Americans and Europeans to understand Islam.
EDITORIALS
Dec 27, 2002

Resuscitate local economies

Japan's economy for 2003 poses inevitable questions. Will deflation get worse or better? How far will banks go to shed their dud loans? If the United States goes to war with Iraq, how will it affect the economy? In these increasingly uncertain times, forecasting is a tricky business. Offering stock answers...
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 27, 2002

ASEM painfully short on substance

CHIANG MAI, Thailand -- ASEM, the Asia-Europe meeting process, was born in a climate of general euphoria in 1996 in Bangkok. The idea to bring together the combined potentials of the European Union and of several important Asian players looked promising and, fundamentally, it is still valid today.
COMMENTARY
Dec 26, 2002

Marketing matters in foreign policy

HONOLULU -- Call me a cynic, but I've long believed that one of the greatest foreign-policy advantages the United States has enjoyed is the ineptness of the governments it has confronted. It's always good to have right on your side, but sometimes that isn't enough. Nor is might the answer: The reality...
EDITORIALS
Dec 25, 2002

A bridge from science to life

The government's Biotechnology Strategy Council deEfines biotechnology as a pillar industry of the 21st century along with information technology. This perception, expressed in the council's "outline of bioEtechnology strategy" issued last week, should serve as an important guide for Japan. Such a national...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Dec 22, 2002

Trial judge completes the vicious circle in curry-poisoning case

Exactly four years ago in this column, I wrote that, egged on by the media, which had already tried and convicted Masumi Hayashi for murder in the Wakayama Curry Poisoning Incident even before she was arrested, "the police . . . proudly announced that they have enough circumstantial evidence to convince...

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