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COMMENTARY
Dec 14, 2004

Bush's term to test Koizumi

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi will be required to fine-tune Japan's diplomatic strategies to deal with the reshuffle of U.S. President George W. Bush's administration. There is growing speculation that hardliners will gain more power in the second Bush administration following the departures of Secretary...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Dec 12, 2004

The short and the sweet of popular Japanese theater

A GUIDE TO THE JAPANESE STAGE: From Traditional to Cutting Edge, by Ronald Cavaye, Paul Griffith and Akihiko Senda. Foreword by Nomura Mansai. Tokyo: Kodansha International, 2004, 388 pp., many illustrations. 2,310 yen (paper). A convenient, pocket-size volume, this entertainment guide recommends "plays...
EDITORIALS
Dec 12, 2004

Shift in security policy

Japan's security policy is likely to change significantly under the new National Defense Program Outline, which lays out guidelines for improving the nation's defense capabilities over the next 10 years. The main feature of the outline, approved by the Cabinet on Friday, is that it is aimed at meeting...
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Dec 7, 2004

The guy, tax worries and cops

The guy Reader David has a question for "the guy who answers them for the foreign community."
JAPAN
Dec 4, 2004

Would permanent UNSC seat beget more responsible Japan?

OSAKA -- Becoming a permanent member of an expanded United Nations Security Council could force Japan to become a more responsible international player.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 1, 2004

Fun with a gentleman

Kevin Kline is every inch the professional. Unlike many other Hollywood notables he arrived on the dot for the press conference to promote "De-Lovely." He answered each question with succinct sincerity and was dressed in an immaculate suit very much like the ones he wore as Cole Porter (designed by Giorgio...
EDITORIALS
Nov 17, 2004

The nuclear power challenge

Japan's nuclear power industry today holds a very large amount of spent nuclear fuel that has accumulated over 38 years of nuclear energy production. The question is what should be done with this radioactive waste? There are two basic options: One is to recycle spent fuel through reprocessing; the other...
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Nov 5, 2004

Robben could leave Man United ruing day it passed on him

LONDON -- The Premiership has a new star.
COMMENTARY
Nov 1, 2004

We're all in this mess together

LONDON -- Comparisons are often made between Japan's relations with the United States and Europe's trans-Atlantic relationship. In practice, though, the two links are quite different and seem to be getting more so.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 1, 2004

Linking Islam to terror spawns hatred

MADRAS, India -- Sadly, since Sept. 11, 2001, much of the world, in particular the United States, has equated Islam with violence and death.
EDITORIALS
Oct 30, 2004

Mr. Tsutsumi's lack of accountability

To the dismay of many people, the stock scandal involving Seibu Railway Co. has exposed a cloistered corporate culture. Seibu -- which went public more than half a century ago -- allegedly filed a false securities report to the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE). It is also suspected of illegal insider trading....
EDITORIALS
Oct 22, 2004

The bounds of the security treaty

The United States is reviewing the role of its military bases in Japan in line with its plans for global troop redeployment (or "force transformation" as the U.S. Defense Department calls it). This is raising concerns that some realignment plans involving U.S. forces stationed here might exceed the geographical...
COMMENTARY
Oct 20, 2004

Help wanted for promoting democrac

MANILA -- A myriad of organizations from North America and Europe operate in various parts of the world with the objective of advancing democratic governance. While their strategies may differ, these "democracy-assistance foundations" hold the common belief that promoting democracy essentially promotes...
EDITORIALS
Oct 19, 2004

Prioritizing aid for Iraq

Last week's Iraqi donor conference in Tokyo provided an "opportunity to reaffirm solidarity between the international community and the Iraqi people," as the chairman declared in his concluding statement. In practical terms, however, the meeting produced few results. With violence still prevalent in...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Oct 9, 2004

Sisterly reporting from Catholic feminist view

It comes as quite a surprise when Joan Chittister opens her hotel room door. All photos seen to date suggest a rather fearsome individual. Here instead is a smiling roly-poly figure in a casual two-piece summer suit. All she needs is a large white apron and she could be a merry farmer's wife instead...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Oct 9, 2004

When stumped, real English teachers 'goflibberate'

The other day I had coffee with a foreign friend who bore the fizzled hair and drooping face of long years of English teaching in Japan. It looked like the blood had been sucked from his skin and bicycle-pumped into his eyeballs.
COMMENTARY
Oct 4, 2004

Staying on path of resistance

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi defines the aim of his new Cabinet as "privatizing the postal services." The new executive lineup of the Liberal Democratic Party, of which he is president, attests to the importance he attaches to postal privatization as the mainstay of his "structural reform" agenda....
EDITORIALS
Sep 30, 2004

Plug loopholes in political funds law

The Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office has indicted former Chief Cabinet Secretary Kenzo Muraoka over a political-donation scandal involving the Liberal Democratic Party's largest faction. This seems to confirm the widespread public suspicion that a number of influential members of the faction...
EDITORIALS
Sep 24, 2004

Elaboration needed on UNSC bid

I n New York this week, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has focused his diplomatic efforts on Japan's bid for permanent membership in the United Nations Security Council. At the Japan-U.S. summit meeting on Tuesday, Mr. Koizumi sought President George W. Bush's active support for this quest. What he...
EDITORIALS
Sep 20, 2004

Updating the defense program

The government is stepping up efforts to revise the 1995 Defense Program Outline, which sets guidelines for the buildup of the Self-Defense Forces. A revision is considered necessary in light of recent changes in the security environment surrounding Japan. Beyond adjusting to reality, though, it is essential...
EDITORIALS
Sep 15, 2004

Division casts shadow over DPJ

The Democratic Party of Japan has formed a new executive team and a new shadow Cabinet, but one man of great influence is conspicuously absent: Mr. Ichiro Ozawa, the former acting president. His refusal to take up any post, apparently reflecting an ongoing dispute with the party president, Mr. Katsuya...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 15, 2004

In the company of wolves

The worst (read best) rock 'n' roll animals never grow up. They act like idiots and we let them get away with it because they make great music. In rock 'n' roll it's always better to burn out than fade away into "maturity" -- i.e. making tame and crappy music.
MORE SPORTS
Sep 10, 2004

Pats looking Super with Dillon

The NFL is set to kick off the 2004 season with a rematch of last season's AFC Championship Game -- the Indianapolis Colts at the New England Patriots -- on Thursday night. The defending Super Bowl champion Patriots, who are shooting for their third NFL title in four years, are the team to beat. The...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 8, 2004

Catching up with the 24-hour filmmaker

I sat down with English director Michael Winterbottom at the tail end of what was obviously a long, hard day of back-to-back interviews. Rather than my trying to get him discuss the same points of "Code 46" one more time, we instead kicked back with some beers and had a wide-ranging discussion covering...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Sep 5, 2004

Bottoms up to those misfiring weather forecasters

Liberal Democratic Party honcho Ryutaro Hashimoto needs all the positive PR he can muster to counteract the bad press he's received since his alleged acceptance of a bribe from the Japan Dental Association came to light.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 4, 2004

Line being drawn in East Asia's waters

HONOLULU -- In East Asia today, a line is gradually being drawn in the water, starting in the sea between Japan and the Korean Peninsula, and running south through the East China Sea and the Taiwan Strait into the South China Sea.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Sep 1, 2004

Bringing the outsiders onto the stage

"Who are we?" and who are "the others"? And how should "we" associate with "them"? Written in 1996 by Hideki Noda, Japan's leading contemporary dramatist, this is one of the central themes of "Red Demon." It premiered in Japan with English actor Angus Burnett in the title role, before being staged in...
EDITORIALS
Aug 28, 2004

Crucial challenge of Najaf

The situation in Iraq remains volatile as fighting continues in the holy city of Najaf. Shiite militia fighters loyal to radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr have been holed up in the Imam Ali mosque for three weeks now, putting up fierce resistance against U.S. troops and Iraqi security forces.
EDITORIALS
Aug 16, 2004

North Korea must move first

It is deeply disappointing that last week's working-level talks in Beijing between Japan and North Korea produced no substantial progress on the question of whether Japanese abductees remain in North Korea. Pyongyang should reverse its backward-looking attitude and sincerely work to settle this issue....
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 16, 2004

Challenging Canberra's march to war

On Aug. 8, a group of 43 former top Australian officials -- department heads in foreign affairs and defense, military chiefs, ambassadors -- published an open letter calling for "truth in government." This was without precedent in Australia, although it follows earlier British and American examples....

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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