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COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jun 12, 2004

The one-man national yacht movement

On my planet, the U.S., people change things at the grassroots level. In Japan, the root of the blade is often an "obaa-san" or "ojii-san," a single person out to change things. You can find these individuals all over Japan, conjuring up their own ways of making a difference in this country. I ran into...
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM MOSCOW
Jun 11, 2004

Simple visionary hastened Soviet collapse

MOSCOW -- Former U.S. President Ronald Reagan, who died last week after a long and dehumanizing struggle with Alzheimer's disease, will be remembered by most as one of the last great figures of the 20th century.
EDITORIALS
Jun 10, 2004

Iraqi people's trust will be decisive

The people of Iraq may have mixed feelings about the interim government that came into existence last week, for it is an unelected government assembled ostensibly under the aegis of the United Nations but actually under the influence of the United States. Nevertheless, it is set to take over power from...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Jun 10, 2004

Snout butterfly

* Japanese name: Tengucho * Scientific name: Libythea celtis * Description: This butterfly with a wingspan of 19-29 mm is easily recognized: The upper sides of the wings are brown with large bright-orange and smaller white patches. The back edges of the forewing are deeply toothed. The Japanese name...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 10, 2004

Educator hopes to revive sister school in Scotland

"The function of a child is to live his own life — not the life that his anxious parents think he should live, nor life according to the purpose of the educator who thinks he knows best," wrote British educator A.S. Neill.
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jun 8, 2004

Hidden plight of detainees

'What did I do to the Japanese people," asks Merdem Yousif. "I came to Japan because I thought the people would be warm-hearted. It was my big mistake. I should have gone to another country."
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Jun 6, 2004

"Kaiteki Sumaeru Navi" on TV Tokyo and more

The new series, "Kaiteki Sumaeru Navi (Comfortable Living Navigation)" (TV Tokyo, Monday, 10 p.m.), satisfies its viewers' hunger for information about better residential spaces than the ones they occupy by visiting five gorgeous or unusual private homes. This week's menu:
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 6, 2004

Superpower-in-the-making faces hurdles

SINGAPORE -- The enlargement of Europe on May 1 was another historic milestone for the world's only "federal" entity of sovereign states sharing a common currency and an increasing number of foreign-policy and security attributes. Today's Europe stands at 25 nations with a combined population of 455...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Jun 6, 2004

Village Vignettes: Insiders seen from the outside

VILLAGE VIGNETTES, by Michael Smithies, illustrations by Uthai-Traisiwakul. Bangkok: Orchid Press, 2004, 168 pp, $17.99 (paper). Michael Smithies, the well-known scholar and eminent historian of 17th-century Siam, lives in northeast Thailand, near the village that he describes in these sketches of its...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jun 5, 2004

Glitzy city jars journeyer to 'real' Japan

"We are having a gale all night and a beauty too. The waves are lashing about us at a desperate rate, even against my window at times away up on the upper deck, but they can't drive us off our course. I go to bed at night, I fully expect to find myself on the floor in the morning. Please have a cradle...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / THEN AND NOW
Jun 4, 2004

Down by Edo's lost canal

The landscape in the accompanying 1830s woodblock print depicts the valley of the Kandagawa River.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OLD NIC'S NOTEBOOK
Jun 3, 2004

Our woodland's magic is a joy to behold

A very kind Japanese man who has served for more than 30 years in children's homes told me recently that 70 percent of the youngsters in his care nowadays have been abused or seriously neglected by their parents. Early in his career, he said, such abuse was very rare indeed. And, he assured me sadly,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 2, 2004

Just a tinkle on the keys to heaven

Tengoku no Honya - koibi Rating: * * 1/2 (out of 5) Director: Tetsuo Shinohara Running time: 111 minutes Language: Japanese Opens June 5 [See Japan Times movie listings] Ever since "Ghost" -- that 1990 Jerry Zucker weeper better known now as the sexiest ceramics-instructional film ever...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jun 2, 2004

Out of the 'hood

Pop music has become hip-hop, which dominates the charts in practically every country that has charts. It's become so ubiquitous that some American presidential candidates went out of their way to show they dig it. Dennis Kucinich employed a rap in his campaign song, Howard Dean used Wyclef Jean, and...
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 2, 2004

China threatens Hong Kong's freedoms

When China resumed sovereignty over Hong Kong in 1997 after 150 years of British rule, the "one country, two systems" formula for this special administrative region of China promised that Beijing would leave Hong Kong's free-wheeling capitalist way of life untouched for at least 50 years.
COMMENTARY / World
May 31, 2004

Elites out of touch on Iraq

CLAREMONT, California -- America's ability to play a positive role in the world, especially with regard to supporting its allies and friends, depends significantly on achieving its wartime aims in Iraq. While it is common to speak of the United States as the world's only remaining superpower, at best...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
May 30, 2004

TV Asahi's animated family comedy "Atashin'chi" and more

Monta Mino, look out! Comedian Shinsuke Shimada is looking to overtake you as the most popular emcee on TV. Unlike you, Shimada can't be seen every single night of the week, but some nights he can be seen more than once.
JAPAN
May 29, 2004

LDP election pledges to criticize Koizumi

In a rare move, the Liberal Democratic Party's campaign pledges for the upcoming House of Councilors election will feature criticism of the decentralization efforts of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, according to party sources.
JAPAN
May 29, 2004

Japan to cover cost of Soga's family reunion

The government will pay travel and other expenses for repatriated abductee Hitomi Soga to reunite in a third country with her American husband and their two daughters, who are now in North Korea, a top spokesman said Friday.
EDITORIALS
May 29, 2004

Reinstating a jury system

Japan is set to introduce a new criminal trial system by the end of this decade, in which professional and lay judges will deal with major cases on an equal footing. A judicial reform bill calling for the creation of the saiban-in (citizen judge) system passed the Upper House last week, making it certain...
JAPAN
May 29, 2004

LDP election pledges to criticize Koizumi

In a rare move, the Liberal Democratic Party's campaign pledges for the upcoming House of Councilors election will feature criticism of the decentralization efforts of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, according to party sources.
JAPAN
May 29, 2004

Japan to cover cost of Soga's family reunion

The government will pay travel and other expenses for repatriated abductee Hitomi Soga to reunite in a third country with her American husband and their two daughters, who are now in North Korea, a top spokesman said Friday.
EDITORIALS
May 28, 2004

Banks and their 'debt of gratitude'

It appears that most of Japan's top banks are making good progress toward cleaning up their nonperforming loans. They may not be out of the woods yet, but their latest financial reports indicate that they are on track to meeting a government target for bad-debt reduction in fiscal 2004, which ends March...
BUSINESS
May 28, 2004

Nintendo blames yen for low profit

Nintendo Co. said Thursday its net profit plunged during the previous fiscal year due to a sharp rise in the value of the yen against the dollar.
Japan Times
JAPAN / BY THE NUMBERS
May 28, 2004

Inconvenience of 2,000 yen bills keeps them a novelty

How often do you come across a 2,000 yen bank note?
JAPAN
May 28, 2004

Alien animal, plant species targeted

The Diet enacted a new law Thursday that bans the import and breeding of designated nonindigenous animals and plants that damage Japan's native ecological systems and agricultural crops.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
May 27, 2004

Wood-boring beetle

* Japanese name: Ubatamamushi * Scientific name: Chalcophora japonica * Description: This beetle belongs to a group called the Buprestids. They are bullet-shaped and are often metallic-colored, though this species has brown and black stripes running the length of the body, which is flecked with gold....

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