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CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Aug 15, 2004

Butoh dance with and of death

KAZUO OHNO'S WORLD: From Without and Within, by Kazuo Ohno and Yoshito Ohno, translated by John Barrett, introduction by Toshio Mizohata. Middletown: Wesleyan University Press, 2004, 344 pp., 154 b/w photos, $34.95 (paper). The spotlight focuses on an old woman, presumably a member of the audience, as...
Japan Times
Features
Aug 15, 2004

Lanvin cuts a new dash

Only a couple of years ago, no self-respecting fashionista would have been caught dead in Lanvin. A brand stuck in the past, it had plenty of pedigree -- but was about as chic as white socks and sandals.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 15, 2004

A defiant Suzuki raps Koizumi's reform policies

Junichiro Koizumi's structural reform drive may have the backing of voters in big cities, but people in Hokkaido and other rural regions feel abandoned by the prime minister.
COMMUNITY
Aug 15, 2004

A towering test for the tongue

Tall, cool, slim and graceful: Meet Millecre's Tokyo Tower 333, the gorgeous new face on the ice-cream block.
JAPAN
Aug 15, 2004

Privatized Japan Post to be watched over by three agencies

Units of a privatized Japan Post are expected to come under the jurisdiction of three separate government agencies to ensure equal competition with the private sector, government sources said Saturday.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Aug 15, 2004

A pair of terrifying glances back in time

THE TOKYO ZODIAC MURDERS, by Soji Shimada, translated by Ross and Shika Mackenzie. Tokyo: IBC Publishing, 2004, 252 pp., 2,400 yen (cloth). THE SPECIAL PRISONER, by Jim Lehrer. New York: Random House, 2000, 230 pp., $23.95 (cloth).
CULTURE / Music
Aug 15, 2004

Live: Jesus Chucho Valdes

Though many of the best Cuban musicians have immigrated to the United States over the past couple decades, virtuoso pianist and bandleader Jesus Chucho Valdes has remained in Cuba. Whether that's a political or musical stance, or just personal preference, Valdes has found plenty to do at home. Quite...
Japan Times
Features
Aug 15, 2004

A towering test for the tongue

Tall, cool, slim and graceful: Meet Millecre's Tokyo Tower 333, the gorgeous new face on the ice-cream block.
Japan Times
Features
Aug 15, 2004

Barbed organ of delights

"Whereas women were created solely for amusement of men it ill becomes them to emancipate themselves," begins an article in an 1873 edition of Japan Punch. "As our slaves they are the most delightful of animals, but when they attempt to assume airs of superiority, then they become hateful."
Features
Aug 15, 2004

Serendipity with suds

Forget that Kanto has a GDP bigger than Italy's. What really fills me with a sense of civic pride is the knowledge that my Tokyo is home to the only museum in the world dedicated to laundry.
CULTURE / Music
Aug 15, 2004

Free spirit moves between jazz and classical

Jazz pianist Makoto Ozone has spent the last 20 years moving between Japan and the United States, so it is perhaps no surprise that his most recent release, New Spirit, moves comfortably between two musical worlds classical and jazz. Though Ozone could rest on a remarkable career in jazz, becoming one...
CULTURE / Music
Aug 15, 2004

Recorded: Rogue Wave: "Out of the Shadow"

Rogue Wave"Out of the Shadow" (Subpop) Indie-pop outfit, Rogue Wave, should consider themselves lucky. Ever since the Subpop label re-released their overlooked debut, Out of the Shadow, the gushing reviews keep pouring forth. Critics compare them to everyone from the Beach Boys to Elliot Smith. That's...
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM MOSCOW
Aug 15, 2004

Life in a Russian namesake

MOSCOW -- To be a namesake of a celebrity is a curse. A person who bears the same name as a baseball star or a TV anchorman invariably finds himself a target of countless unkind comments that demean his intellect, looks and savings account, and even make fun of the car he drives. No matter how hard he...
JAPAN
Aug 14, 2004

North gets 150 questions regarding 10 abductees

Japan has requested that Pyongyang provide full answers to 150 questions about the fate of 10 Japanese citizens whom Tokyo believes were abducted to the North, government sources said Friday.
JAPAN
Aug 14, 2004

Spa-drilling may sink metropolis?

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government will regulate drilling for new hot springs in the capital, alarmed that a recent rush by developers to build spas might cause the water supply to dry up and the land to sink.
BASEBALL / MLB
Aug 14, 2004

Sasaki changes tune, decides to play on

Yokohama BayStars closer Kazuhiro Sasaki has changed his mind about retiring and decided to continue pitching for the Central League club, at least until the end of the season.
JAPAN
Aug 14, 2004

'Gender-free' roll calls may be axed

The Tokyo board of education might ban schools under its control from holding student rolls by alphabetical order and order a return to the old way of calling the roll by gender, board officials said Friday.
JAPAN
Aug 14, 2004

Pyongyang defector to testify in Diet

The Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives said Friday it will invite high-ranking North Korean defector Hwang Jang Yop to Japan in mid-September to give Diet testimony on issues concerning North Korea.
JAPAN
Aug 14, 2004

0.4% GDP rise rains on parade

Japan's economy expanded 0.4 percent in the April-June quarter from the previous quarter, sharply slowing on lackluster corporate investment and consumer spending, Cabinet Office data showed Friday.
JAPAN
Aug 14, 2004

UNHCR petitioned to aid Kurd asylum-seekers

Two Kurdish families seeking asylum in Japan and their supporters submitted more than 3,000 signatures Friday to the Tokyo office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees seeking support for their plea.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 14, 2004

Top parodist serves anti-Koizumi camp

People not in positions of authority might feel they can do little to change a political situation they disagree with, but for one of the nation's leading parodists, the answer is simple: ape those in positions of power in an unflattering way.
JAPAN
Aug 14, 2004

North gets 150 questions regarding 10 abductees

Japan has requested that Pyongyang provide full answers to 150 questions about the fate of 10 Japanese citizens whom Tokyo believes were abducted to the North, government sources said Friday.

Longform

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