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Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Apr 28, 2002

They came, they saw, they democratized

"Bataan," the C-54 transport carrying Gen. Douglas MacArthur, the Supreme Commander of Allied Powers (SCAP), landed at Atsugi, Kanagawa Prefecture, at 2:05 p.m. on Aug. 30. The general, wearing sunglasses and puffing on a corncob pipe, struck a dramatic pose near the top of the ladder for the more than...
COMMENTARY
Apr 26, 2002

Le Pen's success is no shock

BRUSSELS -- Last Sunday's results from France saw Jean-Marie Le Pen, leader of the extreme-right Front National, finish just behind French President Jacques Chirac, eliminating Socialist Prime Minister Lionel Jospin from the May 5 second round of voting and prompting him to retire from politics. Yet...
COMMENTARY
Apr 25, 2002

Regret on the morning after

PARIS -- Until last Sunday, the campaign for the French presidency seemed to be the dullest ever. But when the returns of the first round were made public at 8 p.m., commentators were shocked by an earthquake that President Jacques Chirac's wife, Bernadette, had been, according to her husband, the only...
Japan Times
JAPAN / KANSAI BEAT
Apr 25, 2002

Marist Brothers school hits 50 years in Kobe, regains its prequake stride

KOBE -- Marist Brothers International School in Suma Ward here celebrates its 50th anniversary this month.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 25, 2002

IWC factions set for annual showdown

Government delegates and experts from prowhaling and antiwhaling nations have gathered in the traditional whaling town of Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture, for the Thursday start of the International Whaling Commission's 54th annual conference.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 25, 2002

Australia moves closer to approving research using human embryo cells

SYDNEY -- Like a newborn baby, it's a miracle. At least, that's what cynics are calling Australia's political approval of state-supervised destruction of human embryos for stem-cell research.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Apr 25, 2002

Japan: A land gone to the dogs?

Alex Kerr loves Japan as much as anyone, but he knows much more about it than most. With the publication April 25 of "Inu to Oni" (Kodansha) -- a translation of his book "Dogs and Demons" (Hill and Wang, 2001) -- Japanese, too, will be able to share his insight. As it says on the cover of "Dogs and Demons,"...
EDITORIALS
Apr 24, 2002

The earthquake in France

Take nothing for granted. That is the message French voters sent in the first round of presidential elections held Sunday. In a stunning rebuke to the established order, Mr. Jean-Marie Le Pen, a rightwing extremist, came in second, edging out Prime Minister Lionel Jospin to win the right to challenge...
JAPAN
Apr 24, 2002

Nabbed prosecutor now probed for tax evasion

OSAKA -- The prosecutor arrested Monday on suspicion of fraud owns 16 real estate properties but has not declared at least 5 million yen in rent revenue, informed sources alleged Tuesday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Apr 24, 2002

Mixed messages follow love at first sight

Love is complex enough at the best of times, but when it crosses cultural borders, things can get really confusing. Opening April 24 at the Shimokitazawa Geki Shogekijo is "John-kun and Yoko-chan," a play co-written by American Michael Naishtut and Japanese Yoko Narahashi that takes a seriocomic look...
EDITORIALS
Apr 23, 2002

Mr. Gusmao's next fight

East Timor has its first president. To no one's surprise, Mr. Xanana Gusmao won last week's election by a landslide. He will need every bit of that popularity as his country deals with the difficult times ahead. East Timor starts from scratch; it will need the help and patience of the world, and the...
COMMENTARY
Apr 22, 2002

Role remains for British royalty

LONDON -- On March 31, the Saturday before Easter Sunday, Elizabeth, the queen mother, passed away peacefully at the age of 101.
BUSINESS
Apr 22, 2002

Japan's deflation a puzzling issue for Europeans

BRUSSELS -- Viewed from Europe, there are some signs that the Japanese economy might be starting to emerge from its 10-year slumber, but it remains essential that Tokyo focus on far-reaching structural reforms and antideflation measures rather than short-term policy lurches if the economy is to avoid...
MORE SPORTS
Apr 22, 2002

Schumacher crash halts testing

MUGELLO, Italy -- World champion Michael Schumacher was forced to cut short his testing program at Mugello on Saturday after crashing his Ferrari in the morning session.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 21, 2002

ASEAN's time to strengthen Indian ties

CHIANG MAI, Thailand -- In a series of previous articles on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, a certain vacuum has been noted: Although this regional organization has managed through the years to establish meaningful connections with various countries of the world, its links with...
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 21, 2002

Koizumi trade pitch misses

CAMBRIDGE, England -- At the Baoa Forum for Asia that met on Hainan Island in China earlier this month, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi made yet another proposal for a greater economic cooperation agreement for East Asia. This time Japan's focus is on an ASEAN-plus-five formula, as announced...
Japan Times
JAPAN / WEEKEND WISDOM
Apr 21, 2002

Small Akita town's mayor fights for elderly residents' rights

AKITA -- A remote town nestled among the cedar-covered mountains of Akita Prefecture was suddenly in the spotlight recently due to its unique efforts to protect the rights of its senior citizens.
COMMUNITY
Apr 21, 2002

Abode of the gods

An indentation on the peak of Sri Pada, a mountain in central Sri Lanka, is reputed by some to have been made when Buddha first set foot on Earth. The mountain is also said to be the place where butterflies go to die. Another legend has it that the world's highest mountains, the Himalayas, are inhabited...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Apr 21, 2002

Getting on the right track

JAPAN BY RAIL, by Ramsey Zarifeh. Trailblazer Publications, 2002, 416 pp., $18.95/2 yen,900(paper) "Perfect timing," I thought when I picked up this guide book, barely two weeks before a trip I was planning out of Tokyo. I flipped to the index to look for my destination: Mashiko, a pottery town close...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Apr 21, 2002

A superstar rises to the advertising occasion

I guess it's supposed to set up a connection between athleticism and potency, but I was still slightly taken aback last week while watching a broadcast on NHK of a major league baseball game. Behind home plate there was an advertisement for Viagra.
SOCCER / World cup
Apr 20, 2002

JFA sets bonuses for World Cup wins

Each of Japan's World Cup players will pocket a tournament bonus of 5 million yen if they get through the first round and 30 million yen if they win the quadrennial tournament, the Japan Football Association confirmed Thursday in Tokyo.
JAPAN
Apr 20, 2002

Afghanistan faces isolation relapse: nurse

Japan and the rest of the world must stay engaged with and support Afghanistan's long-term reconstruction, according to a Japanese nurse who recently returned from the war-torn country.
COMMENTARY
Apr 19, 2002

West's terror goes unpunished

Call me old-fashioned, but was not the deliberate use of force by one nation against another nation once labeled as aggression? And was not aggression once seen as a war crime? Certainly a large number of Japanese and German leaders once were hanged for just that kind of behavior. Yet today's U.S. and...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 18, 2002

Restructuring has Imperial Hotel ready to strike

As foreign hoteliers invade the Tokyo market, the prestigious Imperial Hotel Ltd. is busy planning a counteroffensive.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Apr 17, 2002

Celebrate the living legacy of Japan's great onnagata

The Kabukiza theater in Tokyo is dedicating its April programs to Utaemon Nakamura VI, the 20th century's most distinguished onnagata (female-role specialist), who died on March 31 last year at age 84. Leading the performances are Utaemon's two adopted sons, Baigyoku Nakamura, 55, a tachiyaku (male lead),...
CULTURE / Art
Apr 17, 2002

As time goes by

From cityscapes to country roads, Edward Levinson captures even the smallest movements of nature through the eye of his pinhole camera.

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