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JAPAN
Jul 8, 2004

Delegates at Kyoto talks push Security Council expansion

KYOTO -- A two-day conference on reforming the United Nations ended here Wednesday with participants agreeing that the number of Security Council seats should be expanded to better meet threats to global security.
Japan Times
JAPAN / ELECTION '04
Jul 7, 2004

Net-based campaigning still long way off

Candidates vying for House of Councilors seats in Sunday's election will not have the luxury of updating their positions or activities via the popular medium of the Internet.
JAPAN
Jul 4, 2004

Independent voters growing in power

Former Tokyo Gov. Yukio Aoshima still believes in the power of independent voters.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 28, 2004

Deflate tension with dialogue

HONOLULU -- Recent events confirm that maritime territorial disputes in the South China Sea remain an issue for East Asian governments. Ownership of the Spratly Islands is claimed, in whole or in part, by Brunei, China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jun 27, 2004

A feast of culture on Hokkaido menu

Modernization and industrialization have ensured that the traditional lifestyle of the Ainu has been destroyed as thoroughly as the traditional customs of their Japanese neighbours.
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
Jun 15, 2004

Coach Baxter making a name for himself in world soccer

"Stuart who?"
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Jun 13, 2004

Things as they are, not how they seem

HAIKU ACTIVITIES: Asian Arts and Crafts for Creative Kids, by Patricia Donegan, illustrations by Masturzh Jeffrey. Boston, Tokyo: Tuttle Publishing, 64 pp., 2003, $9.95 (cloth). Though intended for young readers, this is a clear explication from which those of any age may learn. Indeed, the mature reader...
BUSINESS
Jun 12, 2004

Government still upbeat about economy: Takenaka

Economic and fiscal policy minister Heizo Takenaka indicated Friday that the government will maintain its upbeat assessment of the economy in its monthly report for June, due out next week.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Jun 10, 2004

Snout butterfly

* Japanese name: Tengucho * Scientific name: Libythea celtis * Description: This butterfly with a wingspan of 19-29 mm is easily recognized: The upper sides of the wings are brown with large bright-orange and smaller white patches. The back edges of the forewing are deeply toothed. The Japanese name...
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 8, 2004

Power of LDP support groups waning

About 5,000 people gathered in Sapporo on May 23 to attend a convention of the national association of special post office chiefs, a longtime supporter of and the biggest vote-gathering machine for the Liberal Democratic Party.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jun 6, 2004

RJD2: "Since We Last Spoke"

Any DJ worth his wax knows there's more to hip-hop than beats, bravado and samples extracted from R&B vinyl. On "Since We Last Spoke," the Def Jux label's star spinner, RJD2, strays further from the medium's usual rap/soul axis and delves into arena rock, circa 1984 (Van Halen reference intended). Some...
COMMENTARY
Jun 5, 2004

Badawi: A kinder Mahathir?

KUALA LUMPUR -- Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi is proving to be a kinder, gentler, but no less candid, thoughtful and thought-provoking version of his mercurial predecessor.
COMMENTARY
Jun 4, 2004

A celebration and reckoning

PARIS -- The European Union should figure heavily in the headlines this month. To start with, U.S. President George W. Bush, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, French President Jacques Chirac, Russian President Vladimir Putin and many other heads of states, including German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder,...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jun 1, 2004

'No sex please, you're teachers'

"I feel offended that anyone would tell me who I can or can't hang out with," says Brendan (not his real name), one of 6,000 foreign language instructors employed by Nova Corp. in Japan.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
May 30, 2004

Shōchū: The spirit of the times

All it takes is a whiff and a sip of shōchū  to realize it is markedly different from the more common nihonshu (which Westerners call "sake," although in Japanese, sake is a catchall word for all alcoholic drinks).
BUSINESS
May 29, 2004

FTC warns Citibank, Shinsei over unclear ads

The Fair Trade Commission warned Citibank and Shinsei Bank on Friday over misleading newspaper advertisements for time deposits in Australian and New Zealand dollars, FTC officials said.
BUSINESS
May 29, 2004

Kamei wary of beef-safety changes

Yoshiyuki Kamei, agriculture, forestry and fisheries minister, expressed reservations Friday about changing Japanese safety standards on beef and beef products in connection with mad cow disease.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / ON THE BOOK TRAIL
May 27, 2004

"The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time," "Fergus Crane"

"The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time," Mark Haddon, Random House; 2003; 272 pp. You know from the first paragraph that this is no ordinary book.
COMMENTARY
May 27, 2004

China can narrow the divide

TAIPEI -- Chen Shui-bian clearly heard the warnings issued by Washington and, less subtly, by Beijing before his inauguration for a second term as the democratically elected president of Taiwan. Beijing warned that it would "crush their schemes thoroughly at any cost" if Taiwan's leaders continued their...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
May 16, 2004

Spring, summer, fall and winter haiku

HAIKU: A POET'S GUIDE by Lee Gurga, Illinois: Modern Haiku Press, 2003, 170 pp., $20 (paper). HAIKU: The Poetic Key to Japan, selected & introduced by Mutsuo Takahashi, photographs by Hakudo Inoue, design by Kazuya Takaoka, translated by Emiko Miyashita & Lee Gurga. Tokyo: P.I.E., 2003, 400 pp....
JAPAN
May 15, 2004

Prince's gripe said not with Yuasa

Crown Prince Naruhito has noted that his unusually candid remarks Monday about the condition of his wife, Crown Princess Masako, were not directed at the present Imperial Household Agency leadership of Grand Steward Toshio Yuasa, the prince's top aide said Friday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 5, 2004

Re-presenting the modern by any means

"So what's modern art all about?" is a question I am often asked. It's about as easy to answer as "What is the meaning of life?"
BUSINESS
Apr 29, 2004

BOJ says Japan will 'continue its recovery'

The Bank of Japan said Wednesday in a semiannual economic outlook report that the nation's economy will "continue its recovery" in fiscal 2004.
EDITORIALS
Apr 21, 2004

Wanted: an honest broker

An Israeli-Palestinian peace settlement is looking more like a will-o'-the-wisp as a cycle of retaliatory violence continues unabated. Last week's assassination by the Israeli military of the new Hamas leader, Mr. Abdel Aziz Rantisi -- less than a month after the killing of the Hamas founder and spiritual...
CULTURE / Music
Apr 18, 2004

Rovo with Buffalo Daughter and Goma

With nary a Jerry Garcia reference in sight, neither Rovo nor Buffalo Daughter fit the jam band stereotype. Yet both tend toward complex, improvised songs that revel in their own sprawl. They may not be jam bands, but they certainly jam.
BUSINESS
Apr 17, 2004

Daiei exceeded earnings target for 2003

Struggling retailer Daiei Inc. said Friday it beat its earnings target for the year that ended Feb. 29, helped by sales campaigns cashing in on its professional baseball team's national championship.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / VINELAND
Apr 9, 2004

A glass act that's proved hard to follow

A brief stint as an apprentice glassblower on Sado Island in the late '80s left me with a great appreciation of the aesthetics of a well-made wineglass. The weight, the balance, the cut of the lip, the curve and thinness of the bowl -- and the subtle ring after a toast -- are all factors that, when they...
JAPAN
Apr 8, 2004

Pyongyang reportedly keen to know 'criteria' for resolving abduction issue

North Korea appears eager to find out Japan's "criteria" for resolving Pyongyang's abductions of Japanese nationals in the late 1970s and early 1980s, government sources said Wednesday.
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Apr 6, 2004

Otaku proud of it

I wouldn't be offended if someone called me an otaku," says Koichi Nakayasu, ". . . because I am."

Longform

Professional cleaner Hirofumi Sakurai takes a moment to appreciate some photographs in a Gotanda apartment whose occupant died alone.
The last cleanup: Life and death in a lonely Japan