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COMMUNITY
Jun 23, 2002

Relieving yourself of worldly cares

Freudians would consider French culture to be "oral" due to its emphasis on food and wine, while Swiss culture appears "anal" because of its obsession with time, cleanliness, money and order. So, what do Freudians make of Japan, whose culture has elevated both its oral and anal aspects to the level of...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jun 23, 2002

Arts of the essential

It is one of those wonderful historical coincidences that Zen Buddhism arrived in Japan at a time when political, economic and social forces converged in such a way as to foster outstanding achievements in the arts.
JAPAN
Jun 22, 2002

Book offers anecdotal glimpse at those on the bench

Few Japanese outside the legal community may be able to name even a single Supreme Court justice. Lower court judges are equally anonymous.
COMMUNITY
Jun 20, 2002

Pedal pushers cop a load on Yasukuni Dori

I hail from Sapporo, and since I travel a lot around Japan on business, one of my pastimes is borrowing a bicycle from local friends and seeing the sights.
BASEBALL / MLB
Jun 20, 2002

Timing seems to be right for Lions import Evans

Not every American in this part of the world was celebrating Monday afternoon when the United States upset Mexico 2-0 in the World Cup.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / J-POPSICLE
Jun 19, 2002

What's the real problem behind music file sharing?

Share and share alike -- that's what we were taught when we were kids.
JAPAN
Jun 18, 2002

Diagnostic options seen skewed by dearth of autopsies, probes

Recent controversy over a diagnosis of sudden infant death syndrome has exposed deep-rooted divisions among Japan's SIDS researchers.
SOCCER / J. League / ON THE BALL
Jun 18, 2002

Japan team giving nation soccer fever

SENDAI -- Have the Japanese people ever been so excited before?
JAPAN
Jun 18, 2002

Suzuki concession eyed in bid to end Diet boycott

Opposition parties on Monday indicated they might be ready to discuss an end to their Diet boycott following a request by prosecutors to strip lawmaker Muneo Suzuki of his parliamentary immunity from arrest.
JAPAN
Jun 18, 2002

Prosecutors seek warrant for Suzuki

Prosecutors sought an arrest warrant Monday for lawmaker Muneo Suzuki for allegedly taking a 5 million yen bribe from a Hokkaido lumber firm in 1998.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Jun 16, 2002

Soldiers who fought for their honor on two fronts

THE LAST FOX: A Novel of the 100th/442nd RCT, by Robert H. Kono. Eugene, Oregon: Abe Publishing, 2001, 322 pp., $14.95 (paper) Shortly after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941, the American government interned people of Japanese ancestry, two-thirds of them American citizens, in camps. Families who...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jun 16, 2002

Nodaiwa: Why put off eel you can eat today?

Who says you have to wait till the dog days of midsummer to enjoy unagi? Ignore the media hype: There are no rules that say when you should (or should not) eat your eel. But if you are only going to dine on unagi once a year, then make it somewhere special. And you will not find anywhere in Tokyo that...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jun 16, 2002

When the World Cup runneth over

How do you say "stereotype" in Portuguese? Every day during the World Cup, an industry association of commercial broadcasters places an ad in newspapers promoting the games that will be shown on TV that day. The matches on June 8 were Italy vs. Croatia and Brazil vs. China. The copy read, "Entranced...
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 15, 2002

No winners in Shenyang case

CAMBRIDGE, England -- Now that a little time has gone by, and peoples' attention is distracted by the World Cup, it is time for a little quiet thinking about the implications of the Shenyang incident. This was the incident in which Chinese police forcibly removed five North Koreans from the Japanese...
JAPAN
Jun 15, 2002

Nakatani says he takes full responsibility for Diet furor

Defense Agency head Gen Nakatani said Friday he is taking full responsibility for the turmoil in the Diet following the suspected attempt by senior ruling party members to withhold a report of a probe into the information disclosure scandal.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 15, 2002

Suzuki faces arrest over lumber bribe

Public prosecutors may question senior lawmaker Muneo Suzuki next week on allegations he received 5 million yen in bribes from a Hokkaido lumber firm when he was deputy chief Cabinet secretary in 1998, and seek his arrest, law enforcement sources said Friday.
JAPAN
Jun 13, 2002

Nonnuclear policy to stay as is: Koizumi

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi reiterated Wednesday that his administration will never change the nation's nonnuclear weapons policy.
COMMENTARY
Jun 13, 2002

Wounds of flawed partition remain raw

HONG KONG -- Once again, Indo-Pakistani relations are seen to be teetering on the brink of potentially calamitous conflict. Yet too little attention is being paid to the possible solutions that could diminish the sustained Indo-Pakistani cold war with its proven tendency to occasionally become hot.
JAPAN
Jun 13, 2002

Yamasaki suppressed defense report

Taku Yamasaki, secretary general of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, effectively admitted Wednesday that he instructed the Defense Agency to withhold its full in-house report on how the agency systematically compiled private data on individuals seeking public information.
JAPAN
Jun 13, 2002

VDT electromagnetic field exposure said less than stoves

The uncertainties regarding the link between electromagnetic fields and human health are a source of confusion for electric appliance manufacturers and have in some cases led to inconsistencies in product safety standards.
EDITORIALS
Jun 12, 2002

Unsure sign of recovery

The latest government report on Japan's gross domestic product -- that the economy in the first quarter of this year expanded 1.4 percent from the previous quarter, or at an annual rate of 5.7 percent -- has met with some skepticism. The general feeling appears to be that it is too good to be true. In...
COMMENTARY
Jun 12, 2002

Focus on military power overlooks crucial issues

ISLAMABAD -- Months of rising friction followed by recent signs of an easing of tensions between India and Pakistan have sent analysts scrambling for fresh assessments of the military balance between South Asia's two nuclear powers.
BUSINESS
Jun 12, 2002

Shiokawa to fill in G7 on tax-cut plans

Finance Minister Masajuro Shiokawa said Tuesday that he will tell Japan's Group of Seven partners that the nation is ready to bolster its fragile economy by cutting taxes and accelerating the disposal of bad loans held by Japanese banks.
JAPAN
Jun 12, 2002

Keeping data on info seekers OK: probe

Storing data on individuals seeking information disclosure by the Defense Agency and Air and Ground Self-Defense Forces does not pose any legal problems, according to an in-house investigation made public Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Jun 12, 2002

Ogi hits plan to use gas tax for environmental protection

Transport minister Chikage Ogi balked Tuesday at a proposal by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to spend part of 2.8 trillion yen in gasoline tax revenues on measures to safeguard the environment.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 11, 2002

Flaws in Japan's nuclear-arms debate

The ongoing debate in Japan on nuclear arms lacks sophistication. On May 31, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda said if the international situation were to change, public opinion might favor a nuclear-armed Japan. He was commenting on the government's long-standing three nonnuclear principles of not...
COMMENTARY
Jun 10, 2002

Peculiarities that give pause

More than a year after Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi debuted under the "structural reform" slogan, its real meaning remains vague. The pivotal question is, what aspects of the Japanese structure (systems and practices) should be changed, and how?
COMMENTARY / JAPAN IN THE GLOBAL ERA
Jun 10, 2002

Going 'international' is a matter of trust

Fifteenth in a series

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