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BASEBALL / MLB
Mar 16, 2003

Forget about soccer -- baseball No. 1

The 2002 World Cup had limited effect on boosting the popularity of soccer in baseball-mad Japan, according to a survey by Japan's largest newspaper.
Events
Mar 16, 2003

KANSAI: Who & What

Children's art depicts New York, Afghanistan: Drawings by children from New York and Afghanistan are being displayed at Sakaimachi Gallery in Nakagyo Ward, Kyoto, until March 23. The pictures will also be shown at the Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art, in the city's Sakyo Ward, from Friday to March 23.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 16, 2003

U.S. risks danger of 'global overstretch'

SINGAPORE -- Although U.S. President George W. Bush appears determined to rid Iraq of President Saddam Hussein, the world is deeply divided. On one hand, Hussein has been ruthless, even with his own people, and may have hidden weapons of mass destruction and sponsored al-Qaeda terrorists. On the other...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Mar 16, 2003

Weapon of wonder: The craft of katana and the art of killing

Yokota, at the foot of Mount Sentsuzan in the Izumo region of Shimane Prefecture, is home to one of Japan's best-known mythological tales.
JAPAN
Mar 16, 2003

Koizumi congratulates China's leader

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Saturday sent a congratulatory message to new Chinese President Hu Jintao on his promotion earlier in the day, government officials said.
EDITORIALS
Mar 16, 2003

Overcoming the water crisis

The world faces serious water shortages, yet the crisis is often overlooked because it seems so mundane. It is an urgent problem that must be tackled just as aggressively as other grave crises that threaten the future of humanity. The World Water Forum, which will meet in Japan for eight days from today,...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Mar 16, 2003

Modern-day swordsmith forges perfection

Yoshindo Yoshihara is not looking forward to his trip to the United States this month. Ever since Sept. 11, Yoshihara, a master swordsmith, has had difficulty checking his baggage through U.S. airports. For security reasons, United Airlines has insisted that his chest of four swords, each one worth about...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Mar 16, 2003

Sitting here in limbo

This week, commercial television networks enter that twilight zone between seasons where they trot out the same variety standbys: real-life police documentaries, musical impersonation contests, blooper shows, etc.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Mar 16, 2003

Style police

The advertising executive for a multinational soft-drinks company gasps in horror as the gorgeous celebrity he has hired as the face of his multimillion ad campaign turns up for the photo shoot in a ketchup-stained T-shirt and jeans. No panic, though, because he's hired someone who earns a living making...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Mar 16, 2003

Staring death in the eye

We sat motionless opposite each other. I was suspicious of the man opposite me, but bowed, as protocol required. And then, with lightning quickness, I loosened my sword from its scabbard and in one swift movement cut down my enemy. The blow delivered, I focused my entire attention on the lifeless form...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Mar 16, 2003

Hard-hitting Bangkok PI knows how to Thai one on

ASIA HAND, 1992, 277 pp.; COLD HIT, 1999, 330 pp.; MINOR WIFE, 2002, 297 pp.; by Christopher G. Moore. Heaven Lake Press, Bangkok (all three books priced at $11.95) Canadian novelist Christopher G. Moore, a former law instructor from British Columbia, has been described as "The Hemingway of Bangkok."...
JAPAN
Mar 16, 2003

Plans drawn up to react to Iraq war

The Japanese government has drawn up an outline of measures it will take at home and overseas in the event the United States goes to war with Iraq, according to government sources.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / NATURE TRAVEL
Mar 16, 2003

Prison for some, refuge for others

Second of two parts Robben Island is more than a world-famous symbol of racial reconciliation. On the insistence of Nelson Mandela, who was imprisoned here for 18 years, Robben is also "a monument to [ecological] preservation."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Mar 16, 2003

A struggle against tyranny

Composed more than 2,000 years ago and first devised for performance in religious festivals, the dramas of Ancient Greece have never lost their powerful relevance. When, for example, a pair of New York-based actresses hit on the idea of a global theatrical protest against war with Iraq, they devised...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Mar 16, 2003

'Bogus' theme parks becoming the last resort

On Jan. 23, Tokyo Disneyland held a preview event for the media in anticipation of the park's 20th anniversary, which will be celebrated April 15. About 1,400 celebrity guests showed up trailed by 50 camera crews, all from domestic television stations, which means that most of them were from outside...
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 16, 2003

Post-1945 order may have run its course

LONDON -- It is unlikely that the split over whether to go to war with Iraq will do Iraqi President Saddam Hussein much good, as U.S. President George W. Bush appears intent on unleashing hostilities however widespread the opposition to conflict. But it will certainly do the new world order which was...
JAPAN
Mar 16, 2003

51% of workers in union doing unpaid overtime

More than 50 percent of unionized workers in Japan work an average of 29.6 hours overtime per month without pay, according to a survey conducted by the Japanese Trade Union Confederation (Rengo) and released Saturday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 16, 2003

Kindred spirits on a journey into sound

The angelic voice of Canadian chanteuse Jane Siberry has graced a stunning series of CDs over the past 20 years. Since the early 1980s, she has released her own recordings and contributed songs to numerous compilations. Perhaps most famously, the lovely "Calling All Angels" was included on the soundtrack...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Mar 16, 2003

Pictures of peace

VISIONS OF BUDDHIST LIFE, photographs and text by Don Farber, forward by Huston Smith, Berkeley: University of California Press, 2003, 240 pp., 116 color photos, 36 quadtone photos, $39.95 (cloth) The photographer Don Farber has made his domain (in the words of his publisher) "the beauty and diversity...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Mar 16, 2003

Yoji Yamada

A director since 1961, with 77 films to his credit, Yoji Yamada, 71, is a Japanese film industry icon. His "Tora-san" series, about a wandering peddler who is forever falling in love, but never gets the girl, generated 48 hit installments -- and made Yamada the most successful Japanese director of his...
JAPAN
Mar 16, 2003

Water activists gather ahead of Kansai forum

KYOTO -- Representatives of citizen's groups in Japan and abroad gathered here Saturday to raise awareness of worldwide water issues before the start of the Third World Water Forum, which begins Sunday at three venues in Kansai.

Longform

Once smoky, male-dominated spaces, today's net cafes, like Kaikatsu Club, are working to make their operations more attractive to women customers.
The second life of Japan's net cafes