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COMMENTARY
Dec 30, 2003

Loose threads of democracy

MANILA -- After analyzing the transition of some 30 countries from nondemocratic to democratic systems in the late 20th century, Samuel Huntington wrote "The Third Wave." Asia had emerged as a significant player in the tide of global democratization that began with the overthrow of the military dictatorship...
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 30, 2003

China, like Japan, using wrong antidote

GUATEMALA CITY -- Just when it seems that China was escaping the economic disasters typical of the bad old days of communism, it is succumbing to the theories of warmed-over Keynesianism. Beijing is giving up class struggle and central planning for discredited tools designed to manage aggregate demand....
MORE SPORTS
Dec 29, 2003

First Japanese world champ dies

Yoshio Shirai, the first Japanese boxer ever to be crowned a world champion, died of pneumonia Friday, his family said Sunday.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Dec 28, 2003

If truth be told . . .

There was once a Chinese emperor who abolished time. Wei Ming decreed that day broke when the dawn sky flushed the color of his pet bullfinch's breast. Nighttime began whenever he retired from the audience chamber with his concubines, and was consequently rather longer.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 27, 2003

Prefectures' satellite shops let Tokyoites tour Japan for lunch

Prefectural governments are offering busy Tokyoites a chance to experience their local products and cuisine -- if only for an hour or so -- and hope to encourage tourism in the process.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 26, 2003

The image of Japan in ASEAN's dream

CHIANG MAI, Thailand -- The Japan-ASEAN Summit on Dec. 11-12 has already been broadly analyzed and generally hailed as a kind of embryonic con- ceptualization of the long-term goal of creating an "East Asian Community." So what could one possibly add to this debate by comparing the reactions between...
JAPAN
Dec 25, 2003

Japan, Germany, France to train Iraq cops

Japan will help train fledgling Iraqi police forces jointly with Germany and France, particularly in the area of criminal investigations, and will dispatch a team of experts to Germany in January.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Dec 24, 2003

Kazuo Matsui dropped the Big Egg for the Big Apple

Kazuo "Little" Matsui is set to be the next Japanese star to make a huge splash in the major leagues and become the latest toast of the town in New York.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 24, 2003

Emperor turns 70, greets well-wishers

Emperor Akihito greeted the public Tuesday on his 70th birthday, waving to crowds of well-wishers from an Imperial Palace balcony together with members of the Imperial family.
COMMENTARY
Dec 24, 2003

Ball now in China's court on Taiwan independence

HONG KONG -- With the Taiwan presidential election less than three months away, the behavior of the incumbent, President Chen Shui-bian, and that of the opposition Kuomintang candidate, Lien Chan, shows just how much things have changed in the last decade.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / FRONT-RUNNERS
Dec 23, 2003

The sky is just one limit for Toray's foray into carbon fibers

Toray Industries Inc, a major maker of textiles and plastics, is expanding its carbon fiber line, wooing airplane and car manufacturers in the process.
BUSINESS
Dec 22, 2003

Consumer-loan firms find eager allies

Switch on the television, and soon enough you'll see a commercial in which a famous comedian playing a hotshot young businessman screams every time his girlfriend orders expensive items in stores or restaurants. Then all his problems go away when the name of a consumer-loan firm pops into his mind, and...
MORE SPORTS
Dec 21, 2003

Secom's escape is Sanix's heartbreak

Rugby fans in Tokyo found out on Saturday what Tongans and New Zealanders have known for years -- just how inspirational a player Inoke Afeaki is.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / NATURE TRAVEL
Dec 21, 2003

Of death and glories

The stench! That was what got me first as I pushed my bike up the steep, narrow lane: the reek of burning hair, bones, hooves and flesh.
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
Dec 21, 2003

Olympic champ really was the full Monti

The news that Eugenio Monti had committed suicide on Dec. 1 at the age of 75 (brought about by his battle with Parkinson's disease) probably didn't raise too many eyebrows, but for those in the know the Italian was the very epitome of sportsmanship.
EDITORIALS
Dec 20, 2003

Captive of a democracy

Following the seizure of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein eight days ago, some riveting discussions took place among politicians and pundits of all stripes about how such a catch should be treated -- not just in the coming weeks and months, but from the first minutes of the deposed leader's detention....
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Dec 20, 2003

Colin Brown

Colin Brown says he is a lifelong rail fan. He has a strong personal interest additionally in "trams," the English term he uses for streetcars. His twin passions have brought him twice a year for the last six years to Japan. He praises especially "the discipline, smartness, courtesy and dedication of...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Dec 19, 2003

Candy firms jump on CD bandwagon

Giveaways attached to packets of candies and chocolate are nothing new in Japan. Recently these omake have commonly taken the form of wonderfully detailed little toys and figurines in themed, collectable sets such as animals, anime characters, dinosaurs, birds, cars or motorbikes.
BUSINESS
Dec 19, 2003

3G phones to boast music, animation

Animation attachments for e-mail, complex role-playing video games and Hollywood film cuts as screen savers will be some of the features offered in new third-generation cell phones from Japan's top mobile carrier.
COMMENTARY
Dec 19, 2003

Bush rightly responded to Chen's tactics

SINGAPORE -- U.S. President George W. Bush got it just about right last week when he publicly criticized Taiwan's leader during Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's visit to Washington. Accusations from "friends of Taiwan's democracy" notwithstanding, Bush was not kowtowing to China; he was merely expressing...
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 19, 2003

Canberra's silly season of politics

SYDNEY -- Midsummer madness is already upon us. Australians can always tell when the silly season strikes by the antics of Canberra politicians. This time it's come early -- and they're playing their games with comic vengeance.
BASEBALL / MLB
Dec 19, 2003

Tuffy set to sign with Giants

Former Kintetsu Buffaloes slugger Tuffy Rhodes has agreed to sign with the Yomiuri Giants, officials of the Central League team said Thursday.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Dec 19, 2003

'Tis the season to eat, drink -- and be opinionated

'Tis the season again when the Food File anoints itself as demiurge, handing out gongs and accolades, winnowing the worthy from the weak, and pronouncing unashamedly subjective opinions about the past 12 months. So here's our annual toast to all those restaurants and stores -- most of them new, but also...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 17, 2003

Samurai drama airs 1,000 times but plot thins

The popular samurai TV drama "Mito Komon," which debuted in 1969, has become the nation's first such program to air 1,000 episodes.

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