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SOCCER / World cup
Jun 12, 2006

England meek in opener

FRANKFURT -- England labored to an unconvincing 1-0 win against Paraguay in its Group B opener in Frankfurt on Saturday.
Rugby
Jun 12, 2006

Italy crushes Japan in test match

Japan fell to its second big defeat in a week in a 56-6 drubbing by Italy in a rugby test match on Sunday.
COMMENTARY
Jun 12, 2006

A tenable vision of efficiency

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's structural reforms for creating a "simple, efficient government" have entered the final phase. In late May, the Diet enacted the administrative reform promotion law and four related bills aimed at continuing Koizumi's reform programs after he steps down in September...
SUMO
Jun 12, 2006

Ozeki Hakuho rules the day

Mongolian ozeki Hakuho disposed of countryman Asasekiryu in the final to claim his first victory at a single-elimination tournament on Sunday.
EDITORIALS
Jun 12, 2006

If you can't trust the elevators

It is taken for granted by most people that an elevator moves only after its doors are securely closed and not while the doors are open. But events on the evening of June 3 at a 23-story condominium building in Tokyo's Minato Ward have betrayed this trust.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 12, 2006

Arms race widening in Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia's return to prosperity since the financial crisis of 1997 has brought a regionwide splurge on new weapons. Most Southeast Asian countries are, indeed, now busily modernizing their armed forces. So far, most have done so without compromising their autonomy in security matters. But with...
JAPAN
Jun 12, 2006

Filmmaker retraces footsteps of Palestinian thinker

"Fighting the jihad with the pen is the same as dying for the jihad," says Mahmoud, a young Lebanese man in a new documentary dedicated to Edward Said, the Palestinian-American intellectual and advocate for the Palestinian cause.
COMMENTARY
Jun 12, 2006

Needed: new energy sources

LONDON -- Naturalist and broadcaster Sir David Attenborough used to be skeptical about how far climate change could be ascribed to human actions. He has now declared he is convinced that what we are doing or failing to do has had seriously damaging effects on the climate, and he has been demonstrating...
SPORTS / MULLY'S MISSIVES
Jun 11, 2006

Ron puts on a show in Bonn

BONN -- The Japan national team received a boost this week with the arrival of unofficial mascot Rommel the dog.
SOCCER / World cup
Jun 11, 2006

World Cup opens amid pageantry

MUNICH -- The 2006 World Cup got under way with a dazzling opening ceremony at Allianz Arena on Friday afternoon.
SPORTS / E-LIST
Jun 11, 2006

Fun in kitchen with half-baked Central League

The Central League's other shoe finally hit the floor.
SOCCER / World cup
Jun 11, 2006

Klose-range win for Germans in opener

MUNICH -- Birthday boy Miroslav Klose scored twice as Germany beat Costa Rica 4-2 in a record-breaking World Cup curtain raiser in Munich on Friday.
EDITORIALS
Jun 11, 2006

Whither the newspaper?

What does the future hold for newspapers? It all depends on what you think a newspaper is and where on the planet you are standing. If you are a literal-minded type who considers the concept inseparable from actual newsprint and your view is restricted to, say, North America or Japan or Australia or...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Jun 11, 2006

It's a mechanical kind of love

LOVING THE MACHINE: The Art and Science of Japanese Robots, by Timothy N. Hornyak. Tokyo/New York: Kodansha International, 2006, 160 pp., profusely illustrated, 2,800 yen (cloth). One of the most popular mysteries of 18th-century Europe was the Chess-playing Turk, a robot-like automaton that won all...
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Jun 11, 2006

Can art be judged apart from its creator?

Last month the Comedie Francaise, France's sole state theater, made a momentous decision. "Voyage to the Sonorous Land, or the Art of Asking" by Austrian playwright Peter Handke had been scheduled for production in January 2007 at their second venue in the Latin Quarter. But in early May, theater administrator...
JAPAN
Jun 11, 2006

Activists hold Tokyo rally to protect Article 9

About 1,500 people from diverse citizens' groups across the country gathered Saturday in Tokyo and pledged solidarity to block efforts to revise the war-renouncing Article 9 of the Constitution.
Japan Times
LIFE
Jun 11, 2006

Preparing for 'people's courts'

For more than 60 years since its last form of a jury system was suspended, Japan's courts have been the preserve of a largely unseen elite. Now, though, regular citizens are set to take part again too, and 'mock trials' like those popular in America may play a key role in preparing for this momentous...
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 11, 2006

Ready for global discussion on migrants

NEW YORK -- Ever since national frontiers were invented, people have been crossing them -- not just to visit foreign countries, but to live and work there. In doing so, they have almost always taken risks, driven by a determination to overcome adversity and to live a better life.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jun 11, 2006

Stick-thin, gay, or preferably both -- a television career awaits

Truth in advertising has never been strictly enforced in Japan, especially with regard to health-related claims. Breweries can get away with promoting "low-calorie" beers as weight-loss aids, while pharmaceutical makers sell vitamin supplements that claim to do everything from clear up your skin to help...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Jun 11, 2006

Nihon TV's "Antenna 22" digs in to Shibuya's Center-gai culture and more

For 20 years the crucible of teen girl fashion and attitude has been Shibuya's Center-gai street in Tokyo.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Jun 11, 2006

Gaijin superstars nothing foreign to Sanyo All-Star Series

Continuing here from last week's column about Japan's upcoming Sanyo All-Star Series, this time with the focus on foreign players. There is a limit to how many gaikokujin can be included on the 28-man Central and Pacific League rosters, but with a bit of leeway.

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