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COMMENTARY / JAPAN IN THE GLOBAL ERA
Jan 20, 2003

Intellectual alienation spawns hazy polic

WASHINGTON -- The main purpose of my visit to Washington at the beginning of 2003 was to carry out discussions on U.S. perspectives, policies and strategies for the Doha Development Round, in particular, and global economic policy in general. Meetings were held with U.S. government departments, foreign...
JAPAN
Jan 17, 2003

Earthquake evacuees hold gathering

KOBE -- Some 30 people who were forced to leave Kobe and other parts of Hyogo Prefecture after the 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake gathered here Thursday for the first time to share their experiences during and after the temblor.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 17, 2003

Photo tour shows Kobe before the quake

KOBE -- Pointing to photos posted along a quiet street in the Mikura district of Kobe's Nagata Ward, the head of a local community council explained how the area was once a shopping arcade.
JAPAN
Jan 1, 2003

New university to join bioscience race

KYOTO -- Although the government is aware that bio-related businesses are important for revitalizing the economy, this field has yet to develop in Japan at the level seen in other countries.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Dec 22, 2002

The Christmas business

Japanese marketers are well aware that Christmas ranks second in popularity only to New Year's -- above even the Bon holiday in August, when people flock back to their hometowns to pay respect to their ancestors.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 30, 2002

Car-sharing gears up to find a foothold

SEIKA, Kyoto Pref. -- Sonoko Umemura, an official at the Kansai Economic Federation in Osaka, reserves a car by mobile phone when she travels to Kansai Science City so that she can drive to research centers scattered across an area not well served by the public transportation system.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / NEW ART SEEN
Nov 20, 2002

Getting emotional as the Sagacho closes its doors

Last Friday evening, as a waxing moon arced low across a clear autumn sky, more than 600 people made what for most would be their final pilgrimage to the Mecca of Tokyo's contemporary art scene. Alone or in clans -- some boisterous, others silent -- they crossed the Sumida River, wound their way through...
Japan Times
JAPAN / WEEKEND WISDOM
Nov 17, 2002

Despite years of experience, nature still fascinates weaver

KYOTO -- Fukumi Shimura has been weaving kimono from naturally dyed thread for 47 years, but she is continually surprised by the mysteries of nature.
Japan Times
JAPAN / KANSAI BEAT
Nov 15, 2002

University-business tieup breathing life into crafts

KYOTO -- Kimiko Oike, a professional maker of "mizuhiki," or decorative strings, knows she has a lot to learn from amateurs.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Nov 10, 2002

Getting up close with photojournalism

When a photojournalist sets out to document the human condition and aims the camera's lens at another person, he or she breaches the membrane of privacy that surrounds us all. It's a lot like joining in a dance -- but being (almost always) uninvited.
Japan Times
JAPAN / KANSAI BEAT
Nov 2, 2002

Pollution-weary Amagasaki pitches potato patches

AMAGASAKI, Hyogo Pref. -- It's hard to believe that the smoggy, traffic-laden industrial zone stretching from the Hanshin Line's Amagasaki Station to the shores of the Inland Sea was once a thriving sweet-potato belt.
Japan Times
Uncategorized
Oct 26, 2002

Japan shares its antipollution expertise

The city of Kitakyushu has moved ahead of other municipalities in transferring Japan's industrial knowledge and technology -- including measures to combat pollution -- to developing countries.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Oct 6, 2002

Postmodern tales of the unexpected

"NEW JAPANESE FICTION," The Review of Contemporary Fiction, Summer 2002: Vol. XXII, No. 2. 262 pp., $8. Japanese literature, at least as it is known to those of us who cannot read it in the original, is in a position similar to that of Western classical music. Just as classical music lovers are likely...
Japan Times
JAPAN / ENERGY EQUATION
Sep 21, 2002

Public role key to green-energy foothold

OSAKA -- While nuclear power provides about one-third of Japan's electricity, the government's goal for raising the share of alternative energy sources is a modest one -- from the current 1.2 percent to a mere 3.2 percent by 2010.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / NEW ART SEEN
Sep 18, 2002

Two dimensions good, three dimensions better

I got some positive feedback on my review last week of the Doug Aitken show at the Tokyo Opera City Gallery. My remark, "I just don't like visiting galleries to sit on the floor and watch videos," struck a chord with a number of readers. Not that I don't like video and new media art, but most galleries...
JAPAN
Sep 17, 2002

Blind lawyer founds network to fight disability prejudice

KYOTO -- Blind lawyer Yoshiki Takeshita has spearheaded the creation of a legal network that aims to eliminate discrimination and human rights abuses against disabled people.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 11, 2002

NPO tries to make Afghans' lives livable

KYOTO -- Although international aid has flowed into Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban regime last October, Afghan people living far from Kabul are still suffering from malnourishment and a poor living and education environment, according to a Kyoto-based nonprofit organization.
CULTURE / Books
Sep 8, 2002

Is life but a walk in the park?

The latest winner of the prestigious Akutagawa Prize for promising new writers of literary fiction, Shu'ichi Yoshida (born 1968), is being lauded for his light touch in portraying the loneliness and isolation of urban life today. At the Akutagawa Prize press conference, Yoshida said that he wanted to...
Japan Times
JAPAN / KANSAI BEAT
Sep 6, 2002

Diet library to boost Web access

SEIKA, Kyoto Pref. -- The Internet age is offering libraries a chance to shed the image of musty rooms lined with overflowing shelves and endless reference materials.
JAPAN
Aug 27, 2002

Efforts afoot to protect whistle-blowers

OSAKA -- Recent years have seen more and more whistle-blowers come forward to expose corporate wrongdoing, often to their own personal career detriment.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 19, 2002

Puppet show spotlights victims

OSAKA -- The sudden news that a couple's teenage daughter had been murdered in the street by a stranger was the beginning of the destruction of a family's happy life.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 15, 2002

Disaster victims unite, reach out

KOBE -- Survivors of the 1995 Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake, which destroyed much of Kobe and its adjacent areas, have exhibited a great sense of solidarity with disaster victims worldwide.
JAPAN
Aug 9, 2002

'Eco-city' title elusive in Japan

KYOTO -- Nagoya may have taken the No. 1 spot in a recent contest ranking the nation's municipalities on their environmental initiatives, but its overall score illustrates that many hurdles remain before any Japanese city can truly be called eco-friendly.
Japan Times
JAPAN / KANSAI BEAT
Aug 1, 2002

Time for Japan to face up to AIDS threat

KOBE -- For many Japanese, AIDS has long been regarded as someone else's problem.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jul 31, 2002

Joan Miro: Reflections on the renewal of Spain

No artist's life and work -- not even Picasso's -- better represents the modern history of Spain than that of Joan Miro (1893-1983), whose early work from 1918 to 1945 is now on display at the Setagaya Art Museum.
JAPAN
Jul 14, 2002

Expert predicts patients' rights will come slowly to Japan

KYOTO -- It is often the case in Japan that the decisions of the family are more respected than those of the individual when considering someone's personal affairs.
Japan Times
JAPAN / KANSAI BEAT
Jul 12, 2002

Traditional industries adapting to stay afloat

KYOTO -- Tango Orimono Kogyo Kumiai, an association encompassing the traditional textile industry in Kyoto's Tango district, has tasted success with its foray into the skin-care products sector.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Jun 16, 2002

Life's a bitch and then some

This week, Fuji TV will begin airing the entries in its Eleventh Annual FNS Documentary Grand Prix, a contest that honors video documentaries submitted by Fuji network affiliates. The winners are eventually selected by a panel of media experts.

Longform

Ichiro Suzuki, one of the most iconic players in NPB and MLB history, was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame with 99.7% of the vote.
With Hall of Fame induction, Ichiro makes himself heard loud and clear