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COMMENTARY
Nov 15, 2001

The dilemma at Doha: balancing security and commerce

HONOLULU -- Terrorism is very much on the minds of trade ministers meeting since the weekend in Doha, Qatar, to discuss a new round of global trade talks. Some are worried about personal safety: Many received security briefings from their national intelligence services on the possibility of a terror...
JAPAN
Nov 6, 2001

Economy-class syndrome has struck 44 since '93

Since 1993, 44 Japanese are believed to have developed economy-class syndrome, a potentially fatal condition characterized by poor blood circulation and breathing difficulties caused by the strain of long flights in cramped seats.
JAPAN
Sep 19, 2001

Public housing strategy at the crossroads

National housing policy is set for change with the reformist Koizumi Cabinet having launched a political battle to abolish or privatize all unprofitable semigovernmental corporations.
COMMENTARY
Aug 10, 2001

Noblesse oblige in short supply

The immediate task for Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi is to wrap up a specific reform package. While his slogans — "Structural reform with no sacred cows" and "No economic recovery without structural reform" — are basically supported here and abroad, stock prices have continued to fall.
CULTURE / Film
Aug 8, 2001

'Louise (Take 2)'

Rating: * * * * Director: Siegfried Running time: 110 minutes Language: FrenchOpens Aug. 18 at Shibuya Cinema Society 'Louise (Take 2)" is a "road movie" in the most truthful, undiluted sense of the term. And yet it is far, far removed from the liberating buoyancy of ordinary road movies in which...
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 19, 2001

Biased history helps feed U.S. fascination with Pearl Harbor

SAN FRANCISCO -- Why does America continue to nurture a deep preoccupation with Pearl Harbor, 60 years after the Japanese attack on the U.S. naval base in Hawaii? The makers of Disney's blockbuster $135 million film "Pearl Harbor" said the movie is primarily a love story, but its title, climax and cinematic...
EDITORIALS
Jul 6, 2001

Face-lift won't solve CCP's problems

The Chinese Communist Party, which celebrated its 80th anniversary on July 1, is giving itself a face-lift. In a speech marking the event, President Jiang Zemin said the party will grant membership to private business managers. That should come as no surprise, however, given that the CCP has been campaigning...
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Jun 28, 2001

Unraveling the nature of the beast

Nurture got a poke in the eye from nature last week, with the publication of a wide-ranging study of identical and fraternal twins that showed differences in certain attitudes are partly due to genetic factors.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jun 24, 2001

Help is on the way

At the mega-corporation Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd. there is a standing offer to all employees: the option of taking three months to two years of unpaid leave for "social welfare" volunteer activities.
JAPAN
May 26, 2001

Koizumi, coalition to be tested in July

Although Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and his Cabinet continue to enjoy record-high public approval ratings, the real test for the new administration will come in the July House of Councilors election.
JAPAN / STAGING A COMEBACK
May 16, 2001

Can 'e-Japan' make leap from paper to reality?

The economic slump over the past decade has crushed Japan's confidence and raised fundamental questions about the government's ability to turn things around.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
May 5, 2001

Nagashima lets you have your cake, and be it too

You will have heard of print club. But how about print cake?
CULTURE / Film
May 2, 2001

Artcore

There's a scene in "Boogie Nights" in which porno director Jack Horner, played by Burt Reynolds, spells out his life dream: to make a "real movie" with hardcore action, something with a story that would make people want to stay beyond the money shot to find out how it ends.
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Mar 7, 2001

That strange creature is mammalian kin

Therians: They may sound as if they come from a far-off planet, but these are no alien creatures. Found in nearly every corner of the Earth, they count a surprising range of species among their ranks: the next-door neighbor's pet pooch, alpacas in the Andes, aardvarks in Africa, and even you and me....
CULTURE / Books
Jan 30, 2001

When does a faith become a cult?

FALUN GONG'S CHALLENGE TO CHINA: Spiritual Practice or "Evil Cult," by Danny Schechter. Akashic Books, 2000, 225 pp., $24 (cloth). Last year about this time, I visited Tiananmen Square, mingling with tourists and day-trippers enjoying the warmth of the midday sun. As I reminisced about this historic...
JAPAN
Jan 5, 2001

Changing diet brings rising food concerns

The traditional Japanese diet of rice, grilled fish and vegetables has long been heralded as among the healthiest a culture has produced -- just witness Japan's long life spans.
LIFE / Travel
Dec 20, 2000

Rapt in the spell of a castle town

There's something exotic about a castle town, and Kumamoto is no exception. Kumamoto Castle's enormous fortifications and steps give an immediacy to the thrills and spills of history, and tower knowingly above its surrounds today.
COMMENTARY
Nov 4, 2000

Getting beyond gridlock

LONDON -- The recent rail crash near Hatfield, north of London, that resulted in the deaths of four people was caused by a cracked rail. The crash occurred almost a year after the even more serious crash near London's Paddington Station. These accidents have once again highlighted the need for higher...
CULTURE / Art
Oct 29, 2000

The painting of Zen: Seeing the funny side of it all

In art as in philosophy, Zen revels in contradiction. The picture of an ant running endlessly round a grindstone is a comment on futility. A priest, on the brink of spiritual discovery, is not in elegant robes or mystic postures but wearing a battered straw raincoat, resting on a walking stick.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 28, 2000

What price NATO's new philosophy?

CAMBRIDGE, England -- While you were on the beaches of Hawaii or Hainan or wherever else you spent the summer, the secretary general of NATO, or U.S.-led NATO as Beijing calls it, spelled out the new philosophy of that organization, as it was expressed in the Kosovo war. Referring to Kosovo in a speech...
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 23, 2000

No German blueprint for the two Koreas

SEOUL -- The relationship between local autonomy and unification is becoming an increasingly hot topic in South Korea, as more and more local authorities aspire to an active role in the process of rapprochement with the North. It is clear that this nation is passing through a historic moment. Hardly...
COMMUNITY
Sep 10, 2000

East-West cooking talent stirs with a clipping from Chives

My first day back in London, on the Food and Drink page of The Evening Standard, a headline caught my eye: Keep Jun and Beautiful. Below, a color photograph of -- it has to be said -- a truly dishy Japanese 29-year-old clad in whiter than whites with a long striped apron.
BUSINESS
Sep 4, 2000

Japanese seen embracing a risky future

At 30, Tetsushi Nakamura is a seasoned stock investor. The system engineer from Hibarigaoka, Saitama Prefecture, got his hands on stocks when he was in his fourth year of elementary school, buying shares of a construction company on his dad's advice.
JAPAN
Jul 15, 2000

Hail a cab in Naha now and they'll all come quick

NAHA, Okinawa Pref. -- It is said there is a reliable litmus test to gauge the state of Okinawa's economy: Stick out your hand and see how long it takes to hail a taxi.
ENVIRONMENT
Jun 28, 2000

Nature's playground welcomes kids of all ages

Located on low hills (67 meters above sea level) in Yokohama's Minami Ward, the Yokohama Children's Botanic Garden opened to the public in 1979 (the Year of the Child) with an area of 4 hectares. Since then, many of the trees have matured, creating a woodland atmosphere.
BUSINESS
Jun 15, 2000

Miyazawa advocates reserve budget

Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa said Wednesday that the 500 billion yen reserve budget should be used to shore up the economy soon after the June 25 general election, bolstering the ruling coalition's joint campaign pledge.
JAPAN
May 9, 2000

NTT to buy U.S. Net firm

NTT Communications Corp. announced Monday that it will acquire Verio Inc. of the United States, a major Internet service provider, in order to become a "full-service player" in Asia, Europe and the U.S.
LIFE / Style & Design / BEAUTY EAST AND WEST
May 4, 2000

How to hang on to luscious locks

Rakugami, kuzume: When you're happy, your hair grows; / when sad, your fingernails -- Japanese proverb
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 25, 2000

Kim unscathed in parliamentary vote

SEOUL -- South Korea's 16th general election for the National Assembly held two weeks ago was hardly a mandate for President Kim Dae Jung's ruling Millennium Democratic Party. Although it forced Kim to reach out to the opposition Grand National Party, it has not impaired his ability and authority to...
BUSINESS
Mar 25, 2000

All 47 prefectures in the red in '98 for first time

The financial situation at prefectural and municipal governments continued to worsen in fiscal 1998, according to a government white paper released Friday.

Longform

A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.
If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami