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EDITORIALS
Jun 26, 2005

Filipinos lose a moral force

The death of Cardinal Jaime Sin is a grievous loss to the Philippines. Cardinal Sin was a spiritual and moral force in a country that often seemed to lack that authority. He provided comfort and wisdom to the Philippine people, and legitimacy to the popular movements that toppled two governments. He...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Jun 26, 2005

Divorces among elderly couples the topic of TV Tokyo's "Monday Entertainment" and more

For as many reasons as there are old people, the number of divorces among elderly Japanese couples who had been married for many years rose steeply during the 1990s. However, in the last several years the number has leveled off. Apparently, the stabilization of the divorce rate of seniors has little...
Features
Jun 26, 2005

Learning to fly

He had been looking for someone to commit suicide with for a long time. Now that he had found the right person, Ken had traveled half the way around the world in order to carry out his plan. He was nevertheless surprised to find himself standing on a familiar-looking train platform with his hands tucked...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jun 26, 2005

The Damned

The Damned's 1977 debut, produced by Nick Lowe for Stiff Records, has often been called the first British punk album, but the distinction is merely a technical one. The Sex Pistols and The Clash were already around, so by the time those groups released LPs, The Damned already sounded passe. In retrospect,...
JAPAN
Jun 26, 2005

Latest case comes as no surprise to Japan's scientists

Japanese experts said Saturday they are not surprised a second case of mad cow disease has been confirmed in the United States, and probably the first involving an American-born cow, saying they already knew about the danger of contamination in the country.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Jun 26, 2005

Opportunities go begging as the blind follow dissembling blind

Japan and Australia are natural partners.
EDITORIALS
Jun 26, 2005

A taxing matter

The nation's income tax revenue, which stood at about 27 trillion yen in 1991, is expected to dwindle to slightly more than 14 trillion, yen according to a fiscal 2005 budget estimate. The drop is due to a series of tax-reduction schemes put into place over the past decade to revive the sagging economy....
Japan Times
Features
Jun 26, 2005

What price is heritage?

Landmark one day, parking lot the next -- that is the fate that seems about to befall an early 20th-century stone building in the heart of historic Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Jun 26, 2005

The Red emperor's new clothes

MAO, THE UNKNOWN STORY, by Jung Chang and Jon Halliday. Jonathan Cape, 2005, 814 pp., £25 (cloth). It is savagely ironic that just when China is viciously attacking Japan for trying to rewrite its history, here is a book that claims that the whole official history of the revered founding father of Communist...
CULTURE / Music
Jun 26, 2005

Art Brut: "Bang Bang Rock & Roll"

Vocalist Eddie Argos can't sing. His band, Art Brut, prove more tuneful, but none of this matters on "Bang Bang Rock & Roll,' the London quintet's fantastic debut album. Instead of singing, Argos simply raises his voice, rambling with the articulate, impulse-driven zeal of someone who planned to use...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Jun 26, 2005

Intriguing mix of loose ends and aimless youth

THE METHOD ACTORS, by Carl Shuker. Washington, D.C.: Shoemaker & Hoard, 2005, 512 pp., $16 (paper). There has been a great deal of discussion and debate about where literary modernism ends and postmodernism begins. The confusion arises in part because, far from being something entirely different than...
JAPAN
Jun 26, 2005

State, religion must not mix if Japan is to shed negative prewar legacies

Prime ministers must not visit Yasukuni Shrine if the constitutional principle of separation of state and religion is to be observed, according to an expert on Yasukuni issues at the University of Tokyo.
COMMENTARY
Jun 26, 2005

The beginning of empathy?

HONOLULU -- The strains in the Japan-South Korea relationship are far too deep-rooted for any single summit meeting to assuage. Rather, the objective of any summit should be setting the proper tone for bilateral relations. By this yardstick, the meeting Monday between Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi...
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 26, 2005

Call them illegal, but they're also heroic

SANTA MARIA, Calif. -- "Being that you are an alleged expert in language, you should know the difference between legal and illegal," the reader stated in his e-mail, as he reacted angrily to one of my articles on immigration.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Jun 26, 2005

Hokusai: From East to West and back again

HOKUSAI AND HIS AGE: Ukiyo-e Painting, Printmaking and Book Illustration in Late Edo Japan, edited by John T. Carpenter. Amsterdam: KIT Publishers/Hotei Publishing, 2005, 357 pp., 227 color & 126 b/w photos, $125 (cloth). The West first discovered the art of the Japanese woodblock print. Though popular...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jun 26, 2005

Japan gets a life and finally drags its heels into Live 8

There used to be a common expression that money used to send men to the moon could better be spent on feeding people down here on Earth. As if in response, funding for space exploration was eventually cut and more money was channeled into so-called development aid, the ultimate aim of which, we were...
COMMENTARY
Jun 26, 2005

New deal between Beijing, Hong Kong

HONG KONG -- Almost two years ago, on July 1, 2003, well over half a million people marched through the streets of Hong Kong to protest against a national-security bill that they feared threatened their rights and freedoms. The massive demonstration shook the Hong Kong government to its foundations and...
JAPAN
Jun 26, 2005

Voting to be held on Miyake Island for first time in five years

Residents of Miyake Island will vote in the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election July 3, the first balloting there since a major volcanic eruption forced a total evacuation five years ago.
JAPAN
Jun 26, 2005

Stopping now would be caving in to China, making Japan look weak

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi should continue his annual visits to Yasukuni Shrine, to avoid giving the wrong impression that Japan will cave in to China's heavy-handed tactics, according to Mineo Nakajima, president of Akita International University.
CULTURE / Music
Jun 26, 2005

Full House: "Champagne Taste"

The title of Full House's first release, "Champagne Taste," has a touch of irony to it. The group, led by trumpeter Jim Rotondi and keyboardist David Hazeltine, does have a sleek, bubbly feel, however, it's one mixed with funky grooves and a potent electric sound. Instead of snobbery, their style of...
JAPAN
Jun 26, 2005

Beijing, Seoul frown on fusion perks for Japan

China and South Korea are less than pleased with the perks Japan is reportedly getting for giving up on its bid to host the multibillion-dollar international nuclear fusion project known as ITER, government sources said Saturday.
Japan Times
Features
Jun 26, 2005

A great way to start

Ever since the first edition of the monthly photojournalism magazine Days Japan was published just over a year ago, the same motto has appeared in the corner of every glossy cover: "A single photograph has the power to change the course of a nation."
MORE SPORTS
Jun 25, 2005

Japanese women outspike Poles

Ai Otomo scored a game-high 11 points as Japan outclassed Poland for a straight-sets victory Friday in their opening preliminary-round match of the World Grand Prix tournament in women's volleyball.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Jun 25, 2005

Agents continue making huge sums for doing very little work

LONDON -- The following story is, I promise, absolutely true, but you will understand why I have not used the names of the player, agent, club or manager concerned.
MORE SPORTS
Jun 25, 2005

JOC wants Japan to host 2020 Games

The Japanese Olympic Committee on Thursday set the ambitious goals of bringing a summer Olympic Games to the country by 2020 and breaking into the top three in the Olympic medals standings.

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