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Japan Times
JAPAN
May 13, 2004

Ozawa undecided about taking DPJ helm

Ichiro Ozawa, deputy head of the Democratic Party of Japan, gave a guarded response Wednesday to a formal request that he assume the party's presidency following the resignation of DPJ leader Naoto Kan over his failure to pay mandatory pension premiums.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
May 13, 2004

Mudskipper

* Japanese name: Tobihaze * Scientific name:Periophthalmus sp. * Description: Mudskippers are fish with eyes on the top of the head (not at the sides like in most other fish) and with front (pectoral) fins that are more like legs than fins. They are olive-brown in color, have sharp teeth and large...
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 13, 2004

Ozawa undecided about taking DPJ helm

Ichiro Ozawa, deputy head of the Democratic Party of Japan, gave a guarded response Wednesday to a formal request that he assume the party's presidency following the resignation of DPJ leader Naoto Kan over his failure to pay mandatory pension premiums.
JAPAN
May 13, 2004

Bulletin Board

Tokyo, Kobe study-abroad fairs slated
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 12, 2004

Ozon playing God

Just a few years back director Francois Ozon was one of France's enfants terribles, his films like "Sitcom" (1998) or "Criminal Lovers" (1999) often mentioned in the same breath as those of Gaspar Noe or Catherine Breillat. These days, though, Ozon is better known for his sensitive, subtly perceptive...
CULTURE / Film
May 12, 2004

Jeonju film fest spotlights indies

The fifth Jeonju International Film Festival, held April 23-May 2, was again distinguished by an innovative and eclectic array of contemporary cinema. Held in the Korean provincial capital of Jeonju (Cheonju), it continues to offer opportunities for viewing a variety of international films not seen elsewhere....
EDITORIALS
May 12, 2004

Kan, and DPJ, pay for mistakes

Once again the Democratic Party of Japan is in disarray. Mr. Naoto Kan, the head of the largest opposition party, has resigned over his failure to make mandatory contributions to the national pension fund. In a reversal of the leadership contest that put Mr. Kan back in the saddle in December 2002, the...
JAPAN
May 12, 2004

Militant bomber's sentence stands

The Tokyo High Court on Tuesday upheld a 20-year prison term for former militant Yukiko Ekita for attempted murder and violation of the explosives law in a series of bombings targeting large companies in the 1970s.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / CERAMIC SCENE
May 12, 2004

The Emperor's phantom porcelain set

Rarely, if ever, has a dinner set taken on such a mysterious aura as the maboroshi (phantom) porcelain service made by the late Yoshimichi Fujimoto (1919-92). Used only once and then, for reasons that remain enigmatic, hidden away for years, it comprises 230 pieces, enough to serve 15 diners. Only two,...
JAPAN
May 12, 2004

Militant bomber's sentence stands

The Tokyo High Court on Tuesday upheld a 20-year prison term for former militant Yukiko Ekita for attempted murder and violation of the explosives law in a series of bombings targeting large companies in the 1970s.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 12, 2004

War criminals' poems uncovered

The themes found in a newly uncovered collection of traditional Japanese verse would be familiar to any reader here: the melancholy passing of the seasons, fleeting beauty, the inevitability of death.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 12, 2004

Where everybody can be a jury member

Who are film festivals for, really? The biggest of all, Cannes, is strictly for industry professionals (or rather, anyone with enough connections to wangle accreditation). But many other festivals have turned in a more populist direction, as indicated by the ubiquity of audience awards, which make anyone...
Japan Times
JAPAN / POLITICS IN FOCUS
May 11, 2004

Lawmakers now looking to make laws

Liberal Democratic Party member Ichita Yamamoto felt he had done his job when the Diet enacted legislation earlier this year to allow Japan to impose unilateral economic sanctions on North Korea.
Japan Times
JAPAN / POLITICS IN FOCUS
May 11, 2004

Lawmakers now looking to make laws

Liberal Democratic Party member Ichita Yamamoto felt he had done his job when the Diet enacted legislation earlier this year to allow Japan to impose unilateral economic sanctions on North Korea.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / A GAIJIN'S TALE
May 11, 2004

Bus stop

It was a typical day and I was making my usual commute home.
JAPAN
May 11, 2004

Dog malpractice death fetches 810,000 yen

Two veterinarians accused of malpractice that led to the death of a pet dog were jointly ordered to pay approximately 810,000 yen Monday in compensation to the dog's owners.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
May 9, 2004

"Nanmon Kaiketsu" on NHK and more

The word motodoru refers to female celebrities who were "idols" in their youth. However, it also means "getting value for one's money," and is usually associated with housewives.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
May 9, 2004

Terrorism in its most serious form

WAR AND STATE TERRORISM: The U.S., Japan and the Asia-Pacific in the Long Twentieth Century, edited by Mark Selden and Alvin Y. So. Rowman & Littlefield, 2004, 293 pp., £22.95 (paper). This provocative examination of state terrorism asks readers to reconsider their assumptions about who are the "bad...
COMMENTARY / World
May 9, 2004

Seat China at the top table

Can China successfully take the steam out of its overheating economy without causing a collapse, or more appropriately, given the steam metaphor, a meltdown? The question is not an academic one, but very real — and not just for the 1.3 billion people in China.
Japan Times
Features
May 9, 2004

Simultaneously interpreting both language and culture

Nelson Mandala, Eisaku Sato, Margaret Thatcher, Kakuei Tanaka and Bill Clinton are different in so many ways, but these leading politicians all have one thing in common -- their interpreter, Tatsuya Komatsu.
EDITORIALS
May 7, 2004

Oil for favors at the U.N.?

Allegations of corruption and mismanagement in the oil-for-food program administered by the United Nations in Iraq during the 1990s are not new. The attention that is being devoted to them today is. The scrutiny is long overdue. The world needs to know how Saddam Hussein manipulated this humanitarian...
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 7, 2004

Troubled kids find caring for animals good therapy

Problem and abused kids are on the rise and need help from many quarters, not just professional, to turn their lives around, and animals can and do play a therapeutic role to this end, according to an American expert in the field.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
May 7, 2004

SE Asian classic makes itself at home

Chicken rice. The entire bird, simmered whole then sliced with a cleaver, arranged on a plate with a mound of steamed rice, garnished with sprigs of coriander and anointed with dabs of thick soy and piquant ginger sauce. And served with a bowl of light, fragrant broth -- chicken bouillon, of course....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 5, 2004

'Kill Bill: Vol. 2': Back into the pit of vipers

True originality is a many-splintered thing. Let us recall that Shakespeare was indebted to Marlowe, Picasso drew inspiration from African totems and Van Gogh dug ukiyoe prints. Then this thing called postmodernism gave artists carte blanche to quote, sample, appropriate, reinterpret -- you name it,...
JAPAN
May 5, 2004

Chinese here feel sting of prejudice

Huang Tianshu came to Japan from China five years ago, hoping to learn more about the language and culture of her peers at a China subsidiary of a Kobe-based car navigation system manufacturer, where she worked for six years after graduating from college.
JAPAN
May 5, 2004

Chinese here feel sting of prejudice

Huang Tianshu came to Japan from China five years ago, hoping to learn more about the language and culture of her peers at a China subsidiary of a Kobe-based car navigation system manufacturer, where she worked for six years after graduating from college.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 5, 2004

Comic magazine looks for revival via serious, timely topics

Cults, capital punishment, teenage pregnancies and North Korean abductions may not represent the light fare generally associated with "manga" comic magazines, but one such publication is hoping its new focus on serious current issues will spark its revival.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 5, 2004

Suffering for her r'n'r art

Rock 'n' roll is an extreme sport and can seriously damage your health. Just ask Eri Shibata, who's fast becoming one of Japan's most celebrated "rock chicks." At a bar in Shibuya she pulls back the collar of her blouse to reveal a 10-cm scar running down from the nape of her neck.

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