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EDITORIALS
Dec 16, 2001

Would you believe? e-mail@30

When Alexander Graham Bell sent the first telephone message on March 10, 1876, he was not only well aware of the date, he had someone on hand to record his words ("Mr. Watson, come here. I want you.") The man knew he was making history.
COMMENTARY
Dec 16, 2001

Film focuses again on Japan's war guilt

Japan's war guilt gets yet another airing in the Japanese-made film "Riben Guizi (Japanese Devils)" (reviewed on Dec. 5). The film provides on-camera interviews with 14 former Japanese soldiers who committed atrocities during the 1937-45 war with China. Its two hours of horror have an honesty that, like...
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 16, 2001

Heading off hooligans at 2002 World Cup

The 2002 soccer World Cup draw was a confusing and nerve-racking affair for the national team coaches and officials attending the ceremony in Pusan, South Korea, and for the many fans watching on television all over the world. For Japanese soccer officials, the collective sigh of relief never happened....
COMMUNITY
Dec 16, 2001

From 'shashin' to snapshots

Shashin, the Japanese word that came to mean "photograph," was used quite differently when it first entered everyday language here. Derived from the two characters for "reflect" and "true," it arrived in the early Edo Period from China, where it was used to refer to portraits that were thought to express...
SOCCER / World cup
Dec 16, 2001

Troussier remains quiet on Scotland's approach

Japan manager Philippe Troussier has left the door open regarding a possible move to manage Scotland after the 2002 World Cup, describing it as "a great challenge."
COMMUNITY
Dec 16, 2001

Photography classes available for non-Japanese speakers

Non-Japanese speakers wanting photography tuition may care to check out one of the following options:
COMMUNITY
Dec 16, 2001

Great photos all in the beholder's eye

Determined and enthusiastic, you pack up your camera and set off to a favorite spot to immortalize a perfect day. Then you drop the film off to be developed. But by the time you return to pick up the photos, something's gone wrong. The ones the lab hands you are blurred and badly framed.
COMMUNITY
Dec 16, 2001

Photography provides new angles on art

Maybe the world of painting seemed too old-school, too much turpentine-and-sweat -- or maybe the impatient daughters of the bubble era simply wanted a quick, easy expressive medium. Whatever triggered the phenomenon, there was an unprecedented surge in the number of young women entering the photography...
COMMUNITY
Dec 16, 2001

Wright's modern masterpiece comes back to life

All too often in this country, modern buildings of architectural and historical value are bulldozed to make way for new commercial development. The "lucky" ones may be granted a stay of execution, if only to survive as unused and lifeless monuments.
COMMUNITY
Dec 16, 2001

From pinholes to pixels, photgraphy keeps evolving

The camera on a tripod outside Edward Levinson's countryside home in Chiba Prefecture is deceptive in its simplicity. It has no lens or viewfinder, no focusing dial, and no shutter-release button.
BUSINESS
Dec 16, 2001

Nomura research unit to join TSE

Nomura Research Institute Ltd., the economic research and consulting arm of Nomura Securities Co., will make its debut Monday on the First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
JAPAN
Dec 16, 2001

65% worried or uncertain about their lives: survey

About 65 percent of Japanese people are worried or feel uncertain about their lives, the highest rate on record, apparently due to the continuing sluggish economy, according to a Cabinet Office survey released Saturday.
JAPAN
Dec 16, 2001

250 billion yen shifted from tax for roads

The government will divert some 250 billion yen in revenue from the car weight tax, currently funneled into road construction, to other purposes in fiscal 2002, government sources said Saturday.
JAPAN
Dec 16, 2001

Nepalese man awaiting murder ruling sees wife for first time in eight years

Many foreign workers head for Japan with the promise of a better life. But for Govinda Prasad Mainali the dream turned to tragedy as he awaits a ruling by the Supreme Court over a murder charge.
LIFE / Food & Drink / THE WAY OF WASHOKU
Dec 16, 2001

Tazukuri: an acquired taste worth acquiring

The o-sechi foods of the New Year exemplify traditional Japanese cuisine, utilizing the fruits of the mountains and the bounty of the ocean to celebrate all of the gifts that nature provides. Nowhere is this land-and-sea pairing more evident than in the classic sanshu-zakana triumvirate of black beans...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Dec 16, 2001

The final downfall of a hard-boiled harridan

Just audible under the cheers that greeted the birth of the new princess was the tip-tapping of bored fingers coming from the direction of the "wide shows," where smiling faces and mandatory keigo barely masked acute impatience. Nine months of being forced to keep quiet about the crown princess's pregnancy...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Dec 16, 2001

Japan's maverick monk

LETTING GO: The Story of Zen Master Tosui, translated and with an introduction by Peter Haskel. Honolulu: Hawaii University Press, 2001, 168 pp. with woodcuts, $45 (cloth), $19.95 (paper) Tosui Unkei, the beloved and eccentric 17th-century Zen master, was, like Ikkyu Sojin 200 years before him, a decided...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Dec 16, 2001

Young Japanese struggle to find their way

As another year comes to an end, the Japanese media continue to wonder at the new generation at school and at work. The term "shinjinrui" (new species) seems to have fallen out of use but the prevailing attitude is still one of bemusement and even dismay.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Dec 16, 2001

Bringing young and old together

GENERATIONS IN TOUCH: Linking the Old and Young in a Tokyo Neighborhood, by Leng Leng Thang. Cornell University Press, 2001, 209 pp., paper ($39.95) As Japan's traditional three-generation households go nuclear and fewer young couples have children, the care of the nation's elderly has become an increasingly...
LIFE / Food & Drink / VINELAND
Dec 16, 2001

If you're going to pop the cork, do it in style

Recently, we asked professionals from the Tokyo restaurant-and-wine scene to share their tips for worthy holiday wine splurges and to tell us their favorite dishes to match. Their ideas may inspire the right present for a wine aficionado. You might also consider sampling these top picks in a New Year's...
JAPAN / Media / CHANNEL SURF
Dec 16, 2001

Living life to the fullest in fields of dreams

This week's "Sunday Big Special" (TV Tokyo; tonight, 7 p.m.) revisits six families it has featured in the past on its occasional "Back to Nature" specials. These programs explore the burgeoning self-sufficiency movement by profiling families that have given up the rat race and moved to isolated rural...
COMMUNITY
Dec 16, 2001

Photo-news loses its focus

Last August's demise of Shinchosha's weekly photo newsmagazine Focus marked a major publishing milestone in Japan.
CULTURE / Music / PLAY BUTTON
Dec 16, 2001

Japan gets into the swing of things

The swing revival never really got going in Japan. Maybe it was an age thing. Though Japanese young people cotton on to nearly every American trend, swing wasn't quite a product of youth culture. Instead, it was championed by folks who listened to Nirvana or the Red Hot Chili Peppers as teenagers and...
CULTURE / Music / HOGAKU TODAY
Dec 16, 2001

A voice echoing years of history

Imagine yourself in Edo (old Tokyo) during the mid-18th century. The streets bustle with activity -- almost all of which is accompanied by song: carpenters sing while working wood; mothers lull their babies to slumber; farmers till their paddies to rice-planting songs; and the boatmen's rhythmic melodies...

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