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COMMENTARY / World
May 21, 2004

Gandhi a double winner

NEW DELHI -- The upset election result in India has come with an unparalleled spectacle of the winning alliance leader deciding, on second thoughts, to be the kingmaker rather than the king.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
May 15, 2004

Cow Island and a naked bath in the sky

Perhaps the best part about sailing through the Seto Inland Sea is stopping along the way at the islands. The Inland Sea has over 150 islands, and each one has a different atmosphere. After passing under the Seto Ohashi Bridge, we stopped at a small island called Ushi Shima. The name of the island (Cow...
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
May 4, 2004

Transit visas, flowers and massage

U.S. transit visa A cautionary tale from Omar, who several weeks ago went to Narita to take a flight back to Mexico City via the U.S. Having spent most of his remaining yen, he was told he could not leave without a transit visa under the Visa Waiver Program from the U.S. Embassy.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 25, 2004

Fear and loathing of the private sector

GUATEMALA CITY -- Citing Microsoft's dominance in the personal-computer industry, European Union regulators imposed tough sanctions, including a record fine of 497 million euros (about $596 million). Following the arguments of this ruling, South Korean authorities have taken their own actions. Meanwhile,...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Apr 24, 2004

Man who watched tide come in goes out

I held the "fude" calligraphy pen and watched the paper absorb the first dab of ink as the tip of the pen touched the envelope. In my best possible "gaijin kanji," I wrote "gokoryou" along with my name in "katakana" at the bottom. Into this envelope I put a 5,000 yen bill.
JAPAN
Apr 23, 2004

Beltway ruling backs residents

The Tokyo District Court on Thursday backed claims by residents in western Tokyo that the expropriation of their land for the construction of a new expressway was illegal, ruling that the project will not generate the public benefits touted by the government.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Apr 21, 2004

Canadian noh drama is East meets West Coast

How can a contemporary long poem by a Western writer be transformed into a drama for one of theater's oldest forms, Japanese noh?
COMMENTARY
Apr 19, 2004

Push Japan's good intentions

The lesson from the abduction and subsequent release of five Japanese civilians in Iraq is that the government should send a strong message to the Arab world that it is actively pushing humanitarian assistance and reconstruction in the war-torn country.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Apr 18, 2004

Media favors Al-Jazeera over government

In his new book, "The Unconquerable World," Jonathan Schell explains how "people's war" came to be the dominant form of international conflict in the nuclear age. People's war subordinates all aspects of warfare to politics, because only through politics can the strength of the people be harnessed to...
BUSINESS
Apr 15, 2004

Asia, Oceania central banks plan local currency bond fund

East Asian and Oceanian central banks are set to launch by as early as the end of the year a fund that will invest in Asian currency-denominated government bonds, international financial sources said Wednesday.
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Apr 15, 2004

Fungal alchemists snatch bodies to live

Step back in time a mere 1,000 million years and the three great domains of the Plantae, Animalia and Fungi shared a common ancestor.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 14, 2004

Coen bros.' latest just makes the cut

In the Cut Rating: * * (out of 5) Director: Jane Campion Running time: 119 minutes Language: English Currently showing [See Japan Times movie listings] Intolerable Cruelty Rating: * * * 1/2 (out of 5) Director: Joel Coen Running time: 102 minutes Language: English Currently...
EDITORIALS
Apr 13, 2004

Little hope for Sri Lanka

Thirty years of civil war have done irreparable harm to Sri Lanka. The fight by the island's Tamils to secure a homeland has claimed more than 60,000 lives and deeply fractured the nation. A peace process appeared to be making progress, but divisions among Sri Lanka's Sinhalese majority derailed those...
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Apr 13, 2004

No room for 'outsiders'

In "The Japanese," Japanologist and former U.S. ambassador to Japan Edwin O. Reischauer wrote that "no people have committed themselves more enthusiastically to internationalism than the Japanese or have so specifically repudiated nationalism."
EDITORIALS
Apr 9, 2004

Putting Yasukuni in its place

Do Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's visits to Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo violate the constitutional separation of state and religion? It is a tricky question, legally and otherwise, that in the past has eluded a clear-cut judiciary answer. On Wednesday, however, the Fukuoka District Court ruled that...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 7, 2004

We love a woman in uniform

View From the Top Rating: * * 1/2 (out of 5) Director: Bruno Barreto Running time: 87 minutes Language: English Currently showing [See Japan Times movie listings] "View From the Top" should really be called "Airport! (Just Kidding)" or "Yikes at JFK" but after 9/11, jokes about flying...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Apr 3, 2004

John Berg

This month a respected and well-loved Englishman leaves Japan. Known for his humor, humanity and quick wit, the Rev. John Berg is retiring from Yokohama Christ Church, where he has been rector since 1968. Three years ago, he retired from Yokohama's Mission to Seamen, where he was concurrently chaplain....
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Apr 2, 2004

Warriors setting up Musselman as scapegoat for poor season

NEW YORK -- Golden State Warriors President Robert Rowell, whoever this faceless, dubiously qualified phantom may be, was quoted last week contending his team has "under-achieved."
JAPAN
Apr 1, 2004

Pension reform debate could turn into a battle for the ages

Diet deliberations on government-sponsored pension reform bills appear headed for turbulence, with the ruling and opposition parties locking horns over remarks by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi just days ahead of the Thursday start of debate on the contentious legislation.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Mar 25, 2004

The bento -- a scrumptious expression of love

As the season of hanami (cherry-blossom viewing) comes upon us, it's timely to reflect on the single most important aspect of hanami -- the o-bento (boxed meal). I say this because I grew up in a family in which the creation of the hanami bento was so elaborately planned, heatedly discussed and lovingly...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 24, 2004

Columbine, sanitized for your protection

Elephant Rating: * (out of 5) Director: Gus Van Sant Running time: 81 minutes Language: English Open March 27 at saison Shibuya [See Japan Times movie listings] Gus Van Sant's latest film is called "Elephant," and no, it's not about Babar, or Hannibal's epic crossing of the Alps. It...
JAPAN
Mar 23, 2004

Instability hampers assistance, business

Whenever the government or Diet discusses the security situation in Iraq, it is usually related to the safety of the Ground Self-Defense Force troops deployed to the southern Iraqi city of Samawah.
JAPAN
Mar 17, 2004

How scared should we be? Some bird flu facts at a glance

The following are answers to basic questions concerning bird flu:
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 17, 2004

Ghosts in the machines

Japanese science-fiction animation, from Katsuhiro Otomo's seminal "Akira" (1988) on, often points toward a post-apocalyptic, post-human future. For all the blasts 'n' babes, the curvy heroines in Spandex pouring thousands of rounds into clanking foes, the essential vision is dark -- more "Blade Runner"...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Mar 17, 2004

A 'kitchen sink' filled deep

Strange, but true: These days, the chance of seeing a quality Japanese "kitchen sink" (domestic) drama about ordinary people's everyday lives is rarer than the opportunity of watching yet another reworking of Shakespeare, Chekhov or Tennessee Williams. Now, though, and until the end of the month, theatergoers...
COMMENTARY
Mar 14, 2004

Elections are not enough for democracy

MANILA -- In most countries, elections attract enormous public attention. This is not surprising as these political exercises constitute the heart of democratic order. Translated into English, the originally Greek word "democracy" means "rule of the people."
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 13, 2004

The obstruction to Sri Lanka's evolution

CHIANG MAI, Thailand -- The continuous conflict between Sri Lanka's two main leaders has been covered from nearl every angle. What have been largely ignored, though, are the complications and contradictions arising on that beautiful island from a political system of "cohabitation." At present, public...
JAPAN
Mar 13, 2004

Disgraced Sato worth 100 million yen

The bank accounts of Kanju Sato, a former home affairs minister accused of defrauding the state, and his wife have a combined balance of more than 100 million yen, according to investigative sources.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Mar 6, 2004

Steve Tootell

"You have got to see it. It is really amazing. It has pushed all my technical knowledge to the limit."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Mar 3, 2004

Realist master on the prowl

Photographs capture the moment -- a second in time frozen on film. And yet, unless you're a Magnum hotshot, this most "real" of media can produce images that seem lifeless, flat and unmoving. As all visual artists know, portraying three-dimensional figures in a two-dimensional medium is extremely difficult....

Longform

Professional cleaner Hirofumi Sakurai takes a moment to appreciate some photographs in a Gotanda apartment whose occupant died alone.
The last cleanup: Life and death in a lonely Japan