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CULTURE / Books / THE BOOK REPORT
Sep 11, 2003

Naoki Prize winner asks Japan to put more faith in the young

For the past several years, the Japanese public has been wringing its hands over the new phenomenon of 13- and 14-year-old killers. However, an evocative portrayal of a group of ordinary, young boys, "4teen," by Ira Ishida, was selected as cowinner of this year's Naoki Prize, showering money and fame...
JAPAN
Sep 10, 2003

Silk Road TV journey to continue

will coproduce a documentary series depicting the life and culture of people along the Silk Road, the Japanese broadcaster said Tuesday. NHK Deputy Executive Director General Mamoru Morohoshi and CCTV Vice President Wang Gengnian reached an agreement in Tokyo to jointly produce a followup to NHK's popular...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 10, 2003

Mount Fuji ascent shows climber Japan's two faces

A man who refuses to see limits in life had one unexpectedly plunked down in front of him last week.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 10, 2003

Music of the spheres

Acid Mothers Temple and the Melting Paraiso U.F.O. is arguably one of the most influential Japanese bands in the world at this moment.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / NEW ART SEEN
Sep 10, 2003

Enjoying the view from up on high

Last Wednesday, in the early evening, a tremendous thunderstorm crashed through Tokyo. There were blackouts, the lightning started fires, even the rain-or-shine Yamanote Line was shut down for three hours. Meanwhile, Yumiko Okui was putting up her show at the Kenji Taki Gallery in Shinjuku.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 10, 2003

Winds of pragmatism blow in Beijing

LONDON -- Like many religions, communism does not admit that it -- or those that represent it at the head of governments -- can make mistakes. Historical inevitability means that the party must be correct. To acknowledge anything else would be to undermine the basic certainties upon which Marxism rests....
Japan Times
BUSINESS / INTERNATIONAL RATIONALE
Sep 9, 2003

Hello Kitty, Pokemon, Doraemon battle for global supremacy

A number of U.S. celebrities have been spotted toting Hello Kitty paraphernalia in the past year or so, leaving officials of Sanrio Co., the maker of the long-selling character, scratching their heads.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 9, 2003

Using the right words in Kosovo

When it comes to media access, Kosovo's population is spoiled for choices. No apartment block is complete without its symmetrical rows of white satellite dishes scanning the heavens for news and entertainment. One estimate has it that 75 percent of the population has media access. BBC and MTV are just...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / CLOSE-UP
Sep 7, 2003

Freedom at his fingertips

Yosuke Yamashita is one of the rare Japanese jazz musicians who is a household name in his native land. Despite his uncompromisingly avant-garde style, he is also one of the few to establish himself as a well-respected jazz pianist in Europe and the United States.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Sep 7, 2003

Searching individuality

JAPANESE WRITERS AND THE WEST, by Sumie Okada. Hampshire: Palmgrave Macmillan, 2003, 216 pp., £45, (cloth). Though not nearly as inclusive as the title suggests, Professor Sumie Okada's small but earnest book does contain an amount of interpretation not elsewhere found.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Sep 6, 2003

James E. Hoare

LONDON --When diplomat Dr. James E. Hoare was head of post at the British Embassy in the DPRK, he often went to the airport. Speaking impressive Korean -- "but I am not a linguist," he protested -- he was on hand to help welcome visitors to North Korea.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Sep 5, 2003

Rise of new Roman empire truly amazing

LONDON -- There are only 86 more non-shopping days until the transfer window opens again on Jan. 1. You can almost imagine Roman Abramovich counting the days, like a prisoner awaiting release from jail.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 5, 2003

Miyake evacuees sold short by government

Having spent three years away from their homes, many Miyake Island residents forced to evacuate due to volcanic eruptions in 2000 are suffering amid a lack of financial support from the government.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Sep 5, 2003

The little town with a big name

You've hauled your bags off the conveyor belt onto the cart, you've skulked through Customs and you're staring blankly at an electronic board, trying to fathom which Limousine Bus is going where. You've heard that there is another Narita apart from this one dedicated to air travel, but somehow you've...
JAPAN
Sep 4, 2003

Death row inmate who sought retrial dies

An 86-year-old death row inmate who had been appealing for a retrial for decades died early Wednesday at the Tokyo Detention House, officials said.
EDITORIALS
Sep 3, 2003

Deteriorating job environment

The unemployment rate in Japan remains at a disturbingly high level of more than 5 percent, although the overall economy shows some signs of recovery. Particularly hard hit are workers in their 40s and 50s, who continue to bear the brunt of corporate restructuring. Once out of work, those who have passed...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Sep 3, 2003

POLA star shines bright in Hakone

The POLA Museum of Art is celebrating its first anniversary, and its excellent exhibition -- "Paris, City of Artists" -- capitalizes on the museum's fine standing collection, proving just what an asset the POLA is to the the hot-spring resort area of Hakone in Kanagawa Prefecture.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Sep 3, 2003

Abdul Tee-Jay and Palm Wine A-Go-Go

Sierra Leone might be most closely associated with blood diamonds and gruesome images of civil war, but it is also the home of palm wine music, a happy, bubbling style of guitar picking. Palm wine music, or maringa, as it's known inside the country, combines calypso with local melodies and rhythms and...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Sep 3, 2003

World domination: Let's do it again

Many a country has enjoyed its time in the sun -- a period of dominance when the world (often quite literally) seemed to be at its rulers' feet. It's a difficult trick to repeat, though. Italy's Renaissance, glorious though it was, never recaptured the heyday of the Roman Empire, and Mussolini's attempts...
JAPAN / AFTER 2 1/2 YEARS
Sep 3, 2003

Was 'reform without sanctuaries' an empty pledge?

When Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi took office in April 2001, he told the public that pain was a necessary evil in the process of rehabilitating the corporate sector and achieving financial stability.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / A GAIJIN'S TALE
Sep 2, 2003

Charisma Man's revenge

When I came to Japan, after a dateless college life, I was very popular with the ladies in my town, regularly going on "group dates" of just me, and 3-4 young women.
COMMENTARY
Aug 31, 2003

France's long, hot summer

PARIS -- Fifty-three thousand deaths in August against 40,000 the same month in 2002: This has every chance of being the minimum toll of the unprecedented heat wave France has known this summer, with daytime peaks of more than 40 degrees Celsius vs. a seasonal norm of 27 degrees.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / J-POPSICLE
Aug 31, 2003

Buffalo Daughter's deeper grooves

It's usually not a good idea to go into the recording studio without having some idea of what you're going to record. Most artists have a demo or a written score to work from; some even have full-fledged arrangements down on paper before they start recording.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Aug 30, 2003

Scones, fresh lemon curd and cream teas, anyone?

Glen Taylor is on a mission. He wants to help dispel the notion that English food is terrible. "Forget any negative image. I'm out to prove it's easy to make, tastes terrific and is very healthy."
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 29, 2003

Aussies discover cost of being Big Brother

SYDNEY -- No good deed goes unpunished, says the cynic. And that's the way it's looking for Australia's efforts to bring peace and stability to the South Pacific.

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