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ENVIRONMENT / OLD NIC'S NOTEBOOK
Oct 3, 2002

A tale worth telling of (our) nature in the raw

I've been away in sunny climes for a while, and now I'm back at my desk in Kurohime. Actually, it is sunny and fine here as I write this, too, but there is a chill in the air, and flocks of small birds are twittering through the trees, migrants, coming down from higher up the mountain. Looking over my...
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 3, 2002

Tibet: a bridge between India and China

MADRAS, India -- The issue of Tibet has plagued relations between India and China for well over four decades. When China annexed the small Himalayan nation in the 1950s, New Delhi found itself in a difficult position, given its special ties with the Tibetan people: India had an open border with Tibet,...
COMMENTARY
Oct 3, 2002

Iraq, yes -- but why now?

LONDON -- Everyone seems agreed that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein is a very nasty piece of work, a brutal tyrant with homicidal tendencies who cannot be trusted one inch.
BASEBALL / MLB
Oct 2, 2002

Guzman sinks Carp

Domingo Guzman tossed his second shutout game of the year and helped his own cause with a single and an RBI double as the Yokohama BayStars blanked the Hiroshima Carp 4-0 at Hiroshima Stadium on Tuesday.
EDITORIALS
Oct 2, 2002

High-stake games on the Peninsula

For North and South Korea, the Asian Games that opened on Sunday in the South Korean port city of Pusan are not only an arena of competition, but also an opportunity for reconciliation. Following an earlier decision by Pyongyang to join the games, their teams paraded together under a single flag at the...
COMMENTARY
Oct 2, 2002

Once-cool Britannia begins to boil

WASHINGTON -- Britain split along three rift lines last week and it's hard to see where they might meet again. Perhaps only an Anglo-American attack on Iraq could unite the nation against such mind-boggling folly and terrifying, costly megalomania.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 2, 2002

Saving the banking system

The Bank of Japan announcement that it would purchase part of the stakes that banks hold in listed companies has raised question marks among investors.
BASEBALL / MLB
Oct 2, 2002

Fighters may hire foreign manager

The Nippon Ham Fighters on Monday appeared ready to ask American minor-league manager Trey Hillman to guide the Pacific League club next season.
MORE SPORTS
Oct 2, 2002

Suzuki storms past No. 10 seed Gambill

With a typhoon swirling around Tokyo, Takao Suzuki served up a storm of his own in the first round of the AIG Japan Open at Ariake Colosseum on Tuesday, blowing out 10th-seeded American Jan-Michael Gambill 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.
SUMO
Oct 2, 2002

Asashoryu captures national title

Ozeki Asashoryu shoved out rank-and-filer Takanowaka in the championship final of the All-Japan Rikishi tournament Monday and picked up 2.5 million yen for his first triumph in the single-day event.
CULTURE / Music / J-POPSICLE
Oct 2, 2002

Glay strikes the right chord with Chinese leader Zemin

No word on whether Chinese President Jiang Zemin will embark on a new career as a rock star after the members of Japanese pop-rock band Glay presented him with an electric guitar at his official residence in Beijing on Sept. 10.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Oct 2, 2002

John Zorn: "Film Works XII"

John Zorn is not afraid of saturating the market with his film scores -- nor should he be; on each new release, the composer invites us into yet another exquisite little world. "Film Works XII" presents the scores to three documentary films and the music is as varied as the films themselves.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Oct 2, 2002

Arto Lindsay: He bangs

Arto Lindsay steps onto the stage. In his late 40s, he still retains the gawkiness of an adolescent boy, all long arms and legs. The image of a geek is completed by large horn-rimmed glasses and a pale complexion.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / NEW ART SEEN
Oct 2, 2002

Oppai -obsessed oeuvre that isn't well-rounded

I'm often asked the question: "What characterizes Japanese contemporary art?" At the risk of over-generalizing, I usually reply that two qualities recur among artists at the vanguard of this country's creative culture -- an obsessiveness vis a vis the subject, or an obsessive attention to detail in the...
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Oct 2, 2002

Marcus Printup: "The New Boogaloo"

The current jazz world has become suspicious of the trend of young players managing to get great record deals early -- some would say too early -- in their careers. At times it seems any youngster capable of keeping a beat and looking good in a cover photo gets recorded. At first glance, Marcus Printup...
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Oct 2, 2002

Cowtown: "Ghost Train"

The fusion of jazz and country music may seem new, but what is now called western swing first took root more than 60 years ago. It was then that Bob Wills and his band, The Texas Playboys, fused cowboy twang with the big band sensibilities of the era, becoming one of the most popular groups in 1940s...
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Oct 2, 2002

Sparta

When the hyper art-punk band At the Drive In announced an indefinite sabbatical last year, the members amicably split into two groups.
EDITORIALS
Oct 1, 2002

UNESCO's second chance

Eighteen years after withdrawing in a huff, the United States is rejoining the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. The move, announced by U.S. President George W. Bush in his recent U.N. speech, is a victory for the world and for Mr. Koichiro Matsuura, the Japanese diplomat...
BASEBALL / MLB
Oct 1, 2002

Cabrera tees off against Lotte

TOKOROZAWA, Saitama Pref. -- Brian Sikorski offered a loud warning to every Pacific League pitcher: Watch out -- Seibu's Alex Cabrera is red hot.
EDITORIALS
Oct 1, 2002

A baffling Cabinet reshuffle

When Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi launched his Cabinet on April 26, 2000, he made a public pledge to the effect that he would not shuffle his Cabinet for an unjustifiable purpose. On Monday, he carried out his first Cabinet change allegedly for the purpose of accelerating structural reforms -- the...
JAPAN
Sep 30, 2002

Few Cabinet changes expected but Yanagisawa's fate in the air

Most of the main Cabinet ministers are expected to retain their posts in Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's reshuffle Monday, coalition sources said Sunday.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Sep 30, 2002

Immediate revamp of securities tax holds cure for ailing stock market

The stock market remains mired in a slump. On Sept. 3, the benchmark Nikkei average in Tokyo plunged to yet another post-Bubble low.
JAPAN
Sep 30, 2002

DPJ power struggle to continue

A former acting secretary general of the opposition Democratic Party of Japan said Sunday he will call for replacing party head Yukio Hatoyama in January if the re-elected leader fails to live up to expectations.
MORE SPORTS
Sep 30, 2002

Believe captures Sprinters Stakes

NIIGATA -- Believe, it's what all racing fans do when they put their money down on a horse for the win and Sunday the money was well-placed on a filly by that very name.

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