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COMMENTARY / World
Sep 12, 2002

For Arabs, a year of growing darkness

CAIRO -- There is no better place to take the pulse of Arab and Muslim sentiment than Cairo, pioneer or hub of the two great movements that have swept the region in recent times: the pan-Arab secular nationalism of which President Gamal Nasser was the champion and the "political Islam" that came into...
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Sep 12, 2002

Words on Apple, more on pets and culture vultures

Last Apple bite As promised last time, Apple-man Anthony Walter of Caliburn responds to queries about Macintosh computers in Japan.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / CERAMIC SCENE
Sep 11, 2002

A dream of living pots

Koichi Takita looks more like a Zen monk than a world-renowned ceramic artist. His shaven head and glowing demeanor exude the sense of a man who has attained enlightenment while playing with mud.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Sep 11, 2002

As fresh as a girl -- age 82, and male

This month the Kabukiza is staging two masterworks by Shinshichi Kawatake III (1842-1901), a disciple of the renowned 19th-century kabuki playwright Kawatake Mokuami. Not only are these two fine dramas treats in themselves, but one offers the chance to see the legendary onnagata (female role specialist)...
Japan Times
JAPAN / EMBASSY ROW
Sep 11, 2002

Ambassador embarks on drive to put Aussie beef back on grill

Australian Ambassador to Japan John McCarthy is spearheading a campaign to get Australian beef back on Japanese dinner plates by taking part in a series of forums across the nation this week.
CULTURE / Music
Sep 11, 2002

Jon Cleary: "Jon Cleary and the Absolute Monster Gentlemen"

When it comes to funk, few other current bands do it half as well as Jon Cleary and the Absolute Monster Gentlemen. You can take Cleary to task for plenty of things -- being born in England (instead of funk-capital New Orleans), trying to play too many instruments (piano, organ, dobro, mandolin, bass...
EDITORIALS
Sep 10, 2002

The return of al-Qaeda

Afghan President Hamid Karzai escaped yet another assassination attempt last week. Other Afghans were not as lucky: They were killed when bombs exploded in the capital city of Kabul. The attacks are another reminder of the fragility of the peace in that country. Although the military is "mopping up"...
Japan Times
SUMO
Sep 8, 2002

Last hurrah for Takanohana?

Yokozuna Takanohana has definite plans to compete in the Aki Basho at Tokyo's Ryogoku Kokugikan. It will be his first appearance on the dohyo since May 2001; he has been absent for a record (for a yokozuna) seven consecutive tournaments.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / JAZZNICITY
Sep 8, 2002

Tokyo Jazz 2002: The hybrid of a new generation

Though Herbie Hancock may not have the fancy footwork of the heroes who usually play Tokyo Stadium, as director of Tokyo Jazz 2002, he still managed to draw over 37,000 people to the soccer pitch the weekend of Aug. 24. This attendance alone would rank the festival, the first in a planned annual series,...
COMMUNITY
Sep 8, 2002

London's black-cab elite

My Tokyo taxi driver loses the ability to speak for a second or two, then gushes: "They're simply the best. They're professionals. They do that test . . ."
CULTURE / Books
Sep 8, 2002

Is life but a walk in the park?

The latest winner of the prestigious Akutagawa Prize for promising new writers of literary fiction, Shu'ichi Yoshida (born 1968), is being lauded for his light touch in portraying the loneliness and isolation of urban life today. At the Akutagawa Prize press conference, Yoshida said that he wanted to...
COMMENTARY
Sep 7, 2002

Moral obligation to war victims remains

HONG KONG -- More than half a century after World War II ended, relations between China and Japan are still marred by wartime events.
EDITORIALS
Sep 6, 2002

A blip on the economic screen?

Japan's latest GDP figures appear to support the government's view in last month's economic report that "signs of recovery are discernible in some sectors." In the April-June quarter, total output of goods and services increased 0.5 percent from the previous quarter, or 1.9 percent annually. It is the...
LIFE / Language
Sep 6, 2002

The cultural compromise tango

Our family is cosmopolitan. My marriage is a union of Britain and Japan; my brother's wife is from Colombia; and my sister-in-law's husband is Italian. When cultures come together, life is never boring. But international marriages also need skillful dancers to master the steps of the "cultural compromise"...
COMMENTARY / WASHINGTON UPDATE
Sep 5, 2002

Unions build political power

WASHINGTON -- U.S. President George W. Bush spent Labor Day just like he did last year. He attended a union picnic in Pennsylvania. The difference is that last year he was courting the steelworkers. This year it was the carpenters. He and his advisers seem intent on improving his showing among union...
Japan Times
JAPAN / LEGACIES OF 9/11
Sep 5, 2002

Post-9/11 aid push highlights Japan ODA conundrum

In the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States, the world's major donor economies have increased their aid budgets in an effort to address a perceived link between terrorism and poverty.
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Sep 5, 2002

Soon we could all be Spiderman

Picture the scene: Athens, 350 B.C., and Aristotle is reclining in his chair in Plato's Academy. Leaning back to scratch his unruly beard, Aristotle notices a large pink-spotted gecko on the marble ceiling above him. The gecko scampers away faster than 1 meter per second, leaving Aristotle wondering...
Japan Times
JAPAN / LEGACIES OF 9/11
Sep 4, 2002

Iraq issue casts shadow on post-9/11 solidarity

After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States, two things crossed the mind of Shotaro Yachi of the Foreign Ministry: Japan must join the international community in condemning the acts, and must do everything possible to help the anticipated U.S. military response.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / J-POPSICLE
Sep 4, 2002

X Japan pianist/drummer is now a global commodity

If you've walked by the Laforet building in Harajuku recently, you might have noticed a huge banner that draped the structure's exterior featuring a masked character, looking something like a pro wrestler, poking his head out of what appears to be a body of water.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 4, 2002

No fear of flying

"There's no such thing as improvisation," the Grateful Dead's Jerry Garcia once said. "There's only composition. Only you do it quickly; you're composing on the spot."
CULTURE / Art
Sep 4, 2002

Designed to dazzle: a lacquerware celebration

The quintessential Japanese aesthetic is that of wabi sabi, a beauty associated with things that are simple, rustic, unpolished or even plain rundown. It is perhaps surprising, then, that this aesthetic is so little in evidence at an extensive exhibition at the Tokyo National Museum of one of Japan's...
BUSINESS / ON MANAGEMENT
Sep 3, 2002

Big raise, big head: Save the new executive from himself

A flattering article on an up-and-coming executive appeared in the business pages, followed by copycat stories in other media. When I complimented the boss on cultivating what seemed to be an extraordinary young talent, she looked me straight in the face and shook her head. "A major, major mistake. I...
JAPAN
Sep 3, 2002

Summit should move toward people-based action: official

The World Summit on Sustainable Development currently under way in Johannesburg must move beyond rhetoric and commit to action if the global environment is to improve, according to a Foreign Ministry official knowledgeable about Africa.
JAPAN
Sep 1, 2002

Bill on SDF deployment to have wording altered

The government plans to make key amendments to the wording of a bill that dictates how the Self-Defense Forces will deal with a military attack in the hope that it will be enacted during the extraordinary Diet session expected to be held in the fall, informed sources said Saturday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Sep 1, 2002

Tigers drop Swallows

Tetsuro Kawajiri pitched a three-hitter with 10 strikeouts for his first complete game in two years as the Hanshin Tigers snapped the Yakult Swallows' unbeaten streak with a 4-1 victory in the Central League on Saturday.
SOCCER / J. League
Sep 1, 2002

Jubilo starts well

IWATA, Shizuoka Pref. -- Seeking the J. League's first-ever title sweep, the first stage champion Jubilo Iwata got off to a good start by beating Vissel Kobe 1-0 with substitute forward Nobuo Kawaguchi netting the winner in the second half on Saturday night, the opening day of the Division One second...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / NIHONSHU
Sep 1, 2002

How much do you really need to know?

The choice of yeast in sake brewing exerts marvelous leverage on the aroma and style of the final product. And, while creativity and diversity lead to better sake over time, things can indeed get out of hand. Today, there are so many different yeasts -- and ways of combining them -- that it almost ceases...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Sep 1, 2002

'Seven Samurai' 101

SEVEN SAMURAI: The Ultimate Film Guides Series, by Roy Stafford. London: Longman/York Press/Pearson Education, 2001, 91 pp., 6.99 pounds (paper) "Would you be willing to do what is right, regardless of the consequences? To see good triumph over evil and use your strength and heroism to protect the lives...
JAPAN
Aug 31, 2002

Alleged abductees' kin hopeful, skeptical

Families of those believed to have been abducted to North Korea welcomed Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's plan to visit the Stalinist state next month as an opportunity to make some headway on the thorny issue.

Longform

Totopa in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward was picked by consultants TTNE as the best sauna of the year.
Japan’s sauna movement: Relax, refresh, repeat