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COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Nov 15, 2003

Did Godzilla roar? Or simply growl?

Let's see . . . our world is writhing through some of its worst turmoil ever, the Japanese economy continues to stumble about like a man on uneven stilts, crime is up, jobs are down and the ozone layer has begun to resemble Swiss cheese without the cheese.
JAPAN
Nov 15, 2003

Nakasone still a believer in LDP, Japan

Although he is still smarting from his enforced retirement before last Sunday's election, former Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone still backs the Liberal Democratic Party and the Junichiro Koizumi administration.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Nov 8, 2003

Keiichi Kurosawa

"English music in its most primitive form was essentially group music. The old divisions were church, secular and concert music. . . . The madrigal flourished best in the Tudor period. Henry VIII and Queen Elizabeth I composed madrigals."
COMMENTARY
Nov 3, 2003

Britain's institutions fall on hard times

LONDON -- The world I grew up in was dominated by the Tory Party, which had governed for as long as any child could remember, by its icon the royal family, which smiled serenely from every magazine, and by the Church of England, which hosted every major national occasion and ritually adjured us to respect...
BUSINESS
Nov 1, 2003

Deflation to slow in 2004, economy will continue slow recovery: BOJ says

While deflation will slow, the economy is unlikely to move forward beyond a snail's pace through fiscal 2004, the Bank of Japan said Friday.
JAPAN
Oct 29, 2003

Road panel seeks legislative draft before coalition debate on matter

A key advisory panel on the privatization of expressway operators urged Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Tuesday to have his government present the panel with a draft of relevant legislation before consulting with ruling coalition leaders on the matter later this year.
JAPAN
Oct 28, 2003

Bomb threat, shot directed at Japan Teachers Union

An object apparently designed to look like a crude bomb was found at the Japan Teachers Union headquarters Sunday night, and someone appeared to have shot at a local JTU office in western Tokyo, according to police.
COMMENTARY
Oct 27, 2003

Resuscitating Japanese labor

Following a protracted economic slowdown, the labor movement in Japan is in the doldrums. The unionization rate has fallen to about 20 percent due to stepped-up corporate restructuring and widespread worker distrust of unions. The nation's top labor federation, the Japanese Trade Union Confederation,...
EDITORIALS
Oct 26, 2003

Discord over LDP's retirement age

Age seems to matter in politics as well. With the Liberal Democratic Party having set a 73-year age limit for candidates running for Lower House seats under the proportional representation, or PR, system, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Thursday asked two elder politicians -- former Prime Ministers...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Oct 26, 2003

The Road Ahead

The heat built up as our five-hour bus ride from Delhi took us toward the searing Thar Desert. Then, after clocking up 260 km heading south on the national highway, buildings began to grow as we approached Jaipur, capital of the state of Rajasthan. Our journey may have been equivalent to traveling between...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 22, 2003

Outside watchdog needed to monitor prisons: U.N. expert

An independent entity comprising nongovernmental organizations and experts is needed to monitor human rights conditions in prisons, according to Dr. Ole Rasmussen of the United Nations Committee Against Torture.
BUSINESS
Oct 17, 2003

BOJ Policy Board members in a flap over yen's rapid rise, minutes state

Some members of the Bank of Japan Policy Board voiced concern at a Sept. 11-12 meeting that the yen's recent rise could hurt Japanese exports, according to minutes released Thursday.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Oct 1, 2003

Tigers' pennant forced Giants skipper to fall on his sword

That was a shocker. Talking here about the resignation of Yomiuri Giants manager Tatsunori Hara on Sept. 26. Sure, it had been rumored for days, but I for one did not expect it would really happen.
COMMENTARY
Sep 30, 2003

Cooperative Ukraine left out in the cold

WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration continues to press for assistance from other nations in Iraq, but without notable success. Both Germany and Russia now indicate a willingness to help, but not with troops. Said Russian President Vladimir Putin in advance of his summit with his American counterpart...
JAPAN
Sep 27, 2003

Tainted Shigeie made ambassador

The government appointed Toshinori Shigeie as ambassador to South Africa on Friday -- despite his alleged involvement in the Foreign Ministry meddling of disgraced lawmaker Muneo Suzuki.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 23, 2003

Takenaka, Kawaguchi retain posts as dust settles after Cabinet reshuffle

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi retained Financial Services Minister Heizo Takenaka and Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi after reshuffling his Cabinet on Monday, defying calls for their ouster from within the Liberal Democratic Party.
COMMENTARY
Sep 23, 2003

LDP factions losing clout

The Liberal Democratic Party is an assemblage of factions. Since it has held the reins of government almost continuously, the LDP has derived much of its vitality from factional power struggles for the party presidency and the prime ministership.
COMMUNITY
Sep 21, 2003

Build a wicket and they will come

In 1996, a young bowler playing against the Bangladesh national cricket side dismissed two batsmen with consecutive balls -- the first delivered with his right arm, the second with his left.
JAPAN
Sep 20, 2003

LDP election contenders struggle on despite forecasts of Koizumi victory

The three contenders facing off against incumbent Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi in the Liberal Democratic Party presidential race battled on Friday, the final day before the vote, despite widespread forecasts that they would lose by a wide margin.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Sep 14, 2003

Standing up to the loan sharks

On the morning of Aug. 13, a 70-year-old Yokohama man hanged himself in his home -- driven over the edge by debt. In total, he owed 17 million yen to banks, consumer-loan companies and even his children and relatives. In addition, 1,120,000 yen of his debt was to eight yamikinyu (loan sharks).
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Sep 14, 2003

The money hole

Kumiko Morita looked down at her cell phone as it began to ring. With reluctance she picked it up and answered it. After listening to the caller, she began to speak -- not in her usual soft-spoken way, but in a loud, forceful voice.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Sep 14, 2003

Poetry: a language without borders

KIYOKO'S SKY: The Haiku of Kiyoko Tokutomi, translations by Patricia J. Machmiller & Fay Aoyagi. Illinois: Brookes Books, Decatur, 2002, 128 pp., $16 (paper). SELECTED HAIKU, by Takaha Shugyo, translations by Hoshino Tsunehiko & Adrian Pinnington. Tokyo: Furansudo, 2003, 108 pp., $16 (paper). These two...
JAPAN
Sep 12, 2003

LDP poll committee baffled by some yahoo

The Liberal Democratic Party has learned that the totally unexpected can sometimes happen in the high-tech age.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 11, 2003

Official receives bomb threat

Police found a bomb early Wednesday at the Tokyo home of Deputy Foreign Minister Hitoshi Tanaka, the key official for negotiations and policymaking on North Korea, after being alerted by news organizations that received suspicious calls, police officials said.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 10, 2003

Mount Fuji ascent shows climber Japan's two faces

A man who refuses to see limits in life had one unexpectedly plunked down in front of him last week.

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