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COMMENTARY / World
Jan 21, 2001

Avoiding generalizations about ASEAN

CHIANG MAI, Thailand -- Recent days have seen the emergence of a number of cliches in the press with reference to policies and trends in Asia and particularly to ASEAN. Among the most common are the following:
CULTURE / Music
Jan 21, 2001

Smells like a significant odor

To tell you the truth, I'm not really a fan of this "new metal," or whatever you want to call it. I have nothing against rap — Will Smith sounds pretty bitchin' after six or seven Coronas — but metal is special. You don't mess with a perfect art form. Call me a purist, but that's just the way I am....
COMMUNITY
Jan 21, 2001

Taking cloisonne art to city walls

Twenty years ago, walking through Tokyo, Atsuko Kitamura suddenly became aware of a blank wall rearing up in front of her, high into the sky. "The building was so ugly. This is when I decided cityscapes needed cheering up, beautifying. The problem was, how? My usual medium, paint, wouldn't last long....
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Jan 21, 2001

Belenda Ryan

Belenda Ryan calls her career so far her "rambling life."
CULTURE / Film
Jan 20, 2001

Do you really wanna know?

So it's said that Freud's dying words were: "What do women want?" Whether any female on the premises answered: "I'll tell you, only if you'll give it to me," is unknown, but the point is, women are a mystery. Even to the greatest of minds, not to mention our own.
BUSINESS
Jan 20, 2001

Manulife Century to assume control of Daihyaku Mutual

Following months of delicate negotiations, the failed Daihyaku Mutual Life Insurance Co. agreed Friday to transfer its operations to Manulife Century Life Insurance Co.
JAPAN
Jan 19, 2001

Mori-Putin talks pushed back a month

Russia has asked to postpone until March a summit between Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori and Russian President Vladimir Putin that had been set for late February, Foreign Minister Yohei Kono said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Jan 19, 2001

Skynet seeks Tokyo-Miyazaki flights

MIYAZAKI -- Skynet Asia Airways, a small airline based in Miyazaki, plans to apply to the government by September for approval to open a route between Tokyo and Miyazaki, airline officials said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Jan 19, 2001

DoCoMo announces moves in Europe

Cellular giant NTT DoCoMo announced Thursday two separate deals to expand its presence in Europe, agreeing with local carriers to launch Internet services similar to DoCoMo's i-mode on smart cellular phones in the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium and Italy.
COMMENTARY
Jan 18, 2001

Bush faces an expectation gap

The emergence of George W. Bush as winner in the 2000 U.S. presidential election is creating an "expectation gap" between Japan and the United States.
JAPAN
Jan 17, 2001

Teen held in stabbing of older lover

URAWA, Saitama Pref. (Kyodo Saitama Prefectural Police arrested a high school student Tuesday for allegedly stabbing and wounding a 32-year-old housewife he had dated after getting acquainted on a Web site.
JAPAN
Jan 17, 2001

IT helping doctors keep tabs on asthma patients

Leaps in information technology are making it possible for doctors and nurses to use telephone lines and mobile phones to monitor the condition of asthma patients in their homes.
CULTURE / Film
Jan 16, 2001

A living, dancing tradition

Stories may be universal, but story-telling, as a performance art, just doesn't travel well. Kabuki is universally known among the educated in the West, at least by name, while rakugo remains obscure to all but scholars and a handful of devotees. This is an unfortunate, but seemingly intractable position....
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Jan 16, 2001

A lesson for our swollen egos

SOUTHERN SILK ROAD: In the Footsteps of Sir Aurel Stein and Sven Haedin, by Christoph Baumer. Bangkok: Orchid Press, 2000, 152 pp., profusely illustrated with color plates, drawings, maps, $35 soft cover. This is the revised and expanded English edition of Baumer's "Geisterstaedte der Suedlichen Seidenstrasse...
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 15, 2001

No wonder Seoul's politicos get no respect

SEOUL -- Some days ago I received a telephone call from the Office of the Chief Spokesman of the National Assembly. A friendly public-relations officer invited me to write an article for the National Assembly Review with personal observations regarding the challenges for parliamentary politics in South...
COMMENTARY
Jan 15, 2001

Calling off all bets on Japan

Predictions can be dangerous when Japan is involved.
JAPAN
Jan 14, 2001

Thai firms must lead reform

KOBE -- The Thai government should encourage Thailand's private sector to forward financial reform rather than create a national corporation to help banks out of the mire of massive bad loans, Thai Finance Minister Tarrin Nimmanahaeminda said Saturday.
BUSINESS
Jan 13, 2001

Hiranuma welcomes Zoellick nomination

Japan's minister of economy, trade and industry on Friday hailed President-elect George W. Bush's decision to name Robert Zoellick as his nominee for U.S. trade representative.
CULTURE / Art
Jan 13, 2001

New gallery seen as artist launchpad

Bleak economic times at the cusp of the millennium saw the closure of Tokyo's Sagacho Exhibit Space after 17 years due to lack of funding. But there is still hope for young exhibitors. Coinciding with Sagacho's demise was the opening of the showrooms and gallery for design agency H.A. Deux.
CULTURE / Film
Jan 13, 2001

Holy mother of threesomes!

Actor Edward Norton has only been in the business four years, but he makes you think that he's been there forever.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 13, 2001

Fates of Estrada, Philippines hang on trial

MANILA -- President Joseph "Erap" Estrada is in the battle of his political life as his lawyers fight corruption charges in an impeachment trial.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 12, 2001

India paying dearly for its bully image

NEW DELHI -- Although world attention is invariably riveted on India-Pakistan hostility, New Delhi's ties with its other neighbors have been uneasy in the best of times.
EDITORIALS
Jan 11, 2001

Uranium munition in the cross-hairs

NATO is coming under increasing pressure to investigate possible health risks associated with the use of depleted-uranium ammunition. A number of "Balkans Syndrome" cases have raised fears that the munitions exposed soldiers and civilians to unsuspected danger. Thus far, the threat is more imagined that...
JAPAN
Jan 10, 2001

Huge windfall seen if Japan builds its own new SDF planes

The defense industry expects the government's project to domestically develop a new generation of antisubmarine patrol and transport aircraft would generate more than 1 trillion yen in demand.
JAPAN
Jan 10, 2001

Women tackle stalking menace head-on

Exercise combining aerobics and self-defense skills is the latest craze among young women in Tokyo, where the number of reported stalking cases is also on the rise.
LIFE / Digital
Jan 10, 2001

Asian news and connections

atimes.comAlmost immediately after the Asia Times added Western standards to Asian journalism back in 1996, it was pushed under by the debt it took on to launch, becoming one of the first bankruptcies of the region's financial meltdown. Now it's back, at least online, and although it's still a mere shadow...

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