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CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Sep 26, 2000

Welcome return of four classics

THE IZU DANCER, by Yasunari Kawabata, translated by Edward Seidensticker. THE COUNTERFEITER; OBASUTE; THE FULL MOON, by Yasushi Inoue, translated by Leon Picon. Singapore, Boston: Tuttle Publishing, 2000, 144 pp., $14.95. Here is a new, reset quality-paperback edition of one of the staples of modern...
COMMUNITY
Sep 24, 2000

Harry Potter in the Middle Kingdom

BEIJING -- He's your average, 11-year-old Muggle. An only child, prone to mischief whenever possible, he prefers computer games to books. Or at least he did, until he became a guinea pig for 300 million other children.
CULTURE / Music
Sep 24, 2000

Grand old men give grand concerts

Hiroshi Wakasugi, 65, recently conducted a presentation of Benjamin Britten's opera "A Midsummer Night's Dream," sumptuously staged by the Nikikai Opera. Hiroyuki Iwaki, 68, recently conducted Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa in a brilliant program opening with a clever arrangement by Yuzo Toyama, 69, of...
CULTURE / Art
Sep 24, 2000

The powerful influence of Japan

Western artists of the mid-19th century were both entranced and distracted by their turbulent times. Many sought fresh ways to see the world around them, "savoir voir" as distinct from "savoir faire."
COMMENTARY
Sep 23, 2000

Politicians face a busy fall

The 72-day extraordinary Diet session opened Thursday. It will last until Dec. 1, which is unusually long for an extra session. The political schedule will be very tight in December: The government will compile a fiscal 2001 budget and lay the groundwork for the reorganization of the central bureaucracy...
CULTURE / Art
Sep 16, 2000

Pointing a laser at a detached future

Marcel Duchamp, the supreme artist's artist, was often asked about his role in the making of art. The line of inquiry was inspired largely by the enigmatic Frenchman's series of "ready-mades," store-bought objects such as shovels or coat racks he exhibited under his name.
CULTURE / Music / HOGAKU TODAY
Sep 16, 2000

Japanese music millennium: new music for the Heisei Era

As the days grow shorter and evenings cooler, the hogaku season begins to pick up. September, October and November are the best months for experiencing the arts in Japan as the creative impulses, stifled by the summer's oppressive humidity, break forth in an array of interesting concerts, recitals and...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Sep 15, 2000

Ever-unfashionable Akutagawa

JAPANESE SHORT STORIES, by Ryunosuke Akutagawa, translated by Takashi Kojima, foreword by John McVittie. Singapore: Tuttle Publishing, 1981, 240 pp. with 15 illustrations, $14.95. THE ESSENTIAL AKUTAGAWA, by Ryunosuke Akutagawa, edited by Seiji Lippit, foreword by Jorge Luis Borges. New York: Marsililio...
COMMENTARY
Sep 15, 2000

Looking for Mori's successor

A couple of weeks ago, Koichi Kato, former secretary general of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, appeared at a news conference at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo. Kato is receiving growing public attention as a potential contender for the post of prime minister to replace unpopular Yoshiro...
COMMUNITY
Sep 14, 2000

Part-timers reshaping Japan's work ethic

Yoshinori Ogawa, 27, is a bassist in the rock band Dusty Rose. He considers himself a professional musician, but like many other would-be musicians or thespians, he has not yet reached the point where he can support himself on his music alone.
JAPAN
Sep 13, 2000

Three Shimizu execs receive suspended terms for bribery

The Tokyo District Court sentenced three former executives of the major construction firm Shimizu Corp. to suspended prison terms Tuesday for their involvement in the 1992 bribery of then Ibaraki Gov. Fujio Takeuchi over a prefectural construction project.
CULTURE / Art
Sep 10, 2000

A philosopher behind the video camera

Hitherto, people confronted by "video art" would mentally steel themselves to be bored by an alienating experience that excluded rather than included. This is the reason why an artist such as Pipilotta Rist, originally a rock-video director, has gained such enormous popularity for being the easy and...
COMMENTARY
Sep 9, 2000

Parties plan for the 2001 vote

A new political season begins in Japan when an extraordinary Diet session starts later this month.
EDITORIALS
Sep 4, 2000

Budget reform, not budget tricks

The government budget for fiscal 2001 is shaping up now that the Finance Ministry has received requests from all ministries and agencies. Their estimates, which include debt payments and revenue transfers to local governments, total about 84.8 trillion yen, down 0.2 percent from the initial budget for...
CULTURE / Music / HOGAKU TODAY
Sep 2, 2000

Historic Sogakudo still a home for music

At the edge of Ueno Park sits an elegant Victorian-style building. Designed by the pioneer Japanese architect Hanroku Yamaguchi, who studied at the Ecole Politechnique in Paris, the Sogakudo was constructed in 1890 as the first hall for the performance of Western music in Japan.
JAPAN
Aug 24, 2000

Agency bill would force polluters to clean up soil

The Environment Agency is planning to draft a bill that would oblige polluters to remove toxic chemicals and heavy metals from polluted soil, according to agency sources.
JAPAN
Aug 22, 2000

Policymakers visit Yoshino dam site

LDP policy chief Shizuka Kamei leads a ruling coalition mission on an inspection of the planned site of a dam along the Yoshino River. TOKUSHIMA (Kyodo) Policymakers from the Liberal Democratic Party, New Conservative Party and New Komeito on Monday inspected the planned site for a controversial project...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Aug 22, 2000

Soseki never dreamed of this

TEN NIGHTS' DREAMS, by Natsume Soseki. Translated by Takumi Kashima, Kyoko Nonaka, Hideki Oiwa, Horikatsu Kawashima and Katsunori Fujioka. London: Soseki Museum in London, 2000. 64 pp., unpriced. In 1908, and already an established popular writer, Natsume Soseki turned to more experimental forms of...
CULTURE / Art
Aug 20, 2000

Lessons in transforming space

Mukojima, two stops out from Asakusa, would appear on one's first visit to be the boondocks. Nonetheless, this suburban Tokyo backwater has been the location this year of two site-specific architecture and art projects.
COMMENTARY
Aug 19, 2000

Labor challenges for Japan

Since the end of the Cold War -- symbolized by the collapse of the Berlin Wall on Nov. 9, 1989 -- "globalization" has become the world's most controversial subject. But what does "globalization" mean?
COMMUNITY
Aug 13, 2000

Women! Enhance your lifestyles with Webgrrls

Talking with American Khristine (Khris) Schaffner lowered the heat in Tokyo's Nishi-Shinjuku by several degrees. She has that kind of tall, willowy, pale blonde beauty that acts as a psychological cooler even if she is talking 10 to the dozen and making a complete fool of herself over a Starbucks chocolate...
BUSINESS
Aug 11, 2000

All must help clean the pork barrel

The government is planning to introduce a policy appraisal system in January in a move apparently aimed at cutting wasteful spending.
COMMUNITY
Aug 10, 2000

Have lifestyle, don't need kids

Kazumi Kato has been married for 15 years. When she got married at the age of 22, she planned to have a baby once she turned 26 or 27. But when she reached that age, she still did not feel like becoming a mother, and decided to wait until she was 30. When she turned 30, however, she still did not feel...
EDITORIALS
Aug 7, 2000

Information law loaded with perils

A government panel is now fleshing out a blueprint for basic legislation designed to protect personal information held by public and private organizations -- information that makes it possible to identify the individuals involved, such as depositors lists held by banks. It is, in principle, necessary...
JAPAN
Aug 1, 2000

Disneyland offers gays chance to come out in the sun

As is always the case at weekends during summer vacation, Tokyo Disneyland was packed by tens of thousands of visitors Sunday.
COMMENTARY
Jul 24, 2000

Ethical void damages Japan

The political ethics issue confronts the new administration of Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori. The question at stake is whether Japan will be able to put an end to the politics of patronage.
JAPAN
Jul 22, 2000

New warrant served on Nakao for bribery

The Tokyo District Public Prosecutor's office on Friday served former Construction Minister Eiichi Nakao with a new arrest warrant on suspicion of receiving 30 million yen in bribes from Wakachiku Construction Co. between June and September 1996.

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