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COMMENTARY
Jul 19, 2003

Hong Kong's democratic hopes vs. authoritarian fears

HONG KONG -- July 1, 2003 -- when at least 500,000 Hong Kongers marched in nonviolent protest -- will live long in memory, provided that Hong Kong remains an oasis of freedom set in China's authoritarian sea. But it was also a day that will almost certainly be expunged from the Chinese collective memory...
COMMENTARY
Jul 17, 2003

Sino-Indian ties could benefit Pakistan

ISLAMABAD -- The recent visit to China by Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee is seen as the first step toward a turning point in relations between Delhi and Beijing following India's acceptance of China's sovereignty over Tibet. The emerging warmth in Sino-Indian ties is also viewed in Pakistan...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jul 16, 2003

It's an absurd, absurd world

Theatrical experiences don't get much more intimate than at the Umegaoka Box in Tokyo's Setagaya Ward. The room-size home of the Rinko Gun theater company is barely four meters from front to back (including the floor-level acting area) and 15 meters across, meaning there's no place for either the 40...
EDITORIALS
Jul 13, 2003

Music and (some) words by Bob Dylan

Speaking of inspiration -- the creative kind -- people have long wondered where it comes from and how it works. Maybe the American composer Aaron Copland came closest to an answer when he said, "Inspiration may be a form of superconsciousness, or perhaps of subconsciousness -- I wouldn't know. But I...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jul 6, 2003

The rich visit the poor to teach us a lesson

The fate of the Japanese economy may still be up in the air, but one thing is certain: We are living in an age of reduced expectations. Regardless of what happens to the GDP and unemployment rates, the public does not believe that things can only get better.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Jul 6, 2003

The linden city turns over a new leaf

LEIPZIG, Germany -- German cities, even the larger ones, are associated with -- among other things German -- linden trees. In addition to the memory of Frankfurt's linden-lined streets, I remember a joyous summer evening in the city a few years ago when I had supper out in the courtyard of a local restaurant,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Jul 2, 2003

Burnt Sugar: "The Rites"

"I had come up with the idea of adapting motifs from 'Le Sacre du Printemps' for a series of improvisations," says Burnt Sugar's Greg Tate. "Given how many sick bass lines there are in his writing, Stravinsky makes perfect sense for a band that loves to vamp as much as we do."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jul 2, 2003

Two European time-and-emotion studies

It's my pleasure to introduce two plays you really must see this month, if not today. Well, one today, and one tomorrow, perhaps, so as not to be too greedy.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 2, 2003

U.S.-style law schools to offer practical approach

More than five years of study -- at cram schools, not universities -- has been the norm to pass Japan's extremely competitive bar exam.
JAPAN
Jul 1, 2003

Foreigners' war-redress battles rage on

For many elderly foreigners who were victims of Japanese prewar and wartime aggression and occupation, the fighting continues.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Jun 30, 2003

Devolution trinity needs more than a moniker to succeed

Fewer subsidies, less transfers, more taxing power. Thus goes Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's "trinity" of local government reforms.
COMMUNITY
Jun 29, 2003

Going it alone 'to lift the gloom'

Reiko Togo has been very dissatisfied with Japan's magazine industry for a very long time. "Magazines have become just vehicles for advertisements, and there are none I want to read," she says.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Jun 23, 2003

Fallout from Iraq war loosening dollar's global stranglehold

Until recently, the euro has been moving consistently higher against the other major currencies, at one point hitting highs of $1.20 and 140 yen. But its rise appears to have slowed now, with the new unified currency now stuck in the $1.17-$1.18 range.
BUSINESS
Jun 19, 2003

Pet stores doing well despite fears of disease, odors

A growing trend among Japanese to keep dogs, cats and other animals as companions has turned the pet industry into a 1 trillion yen behemoth.
EDITORIALS
Jun 3, 2003

Russo-Chinese courtship continues

Moscow and Beijing's efforts to build stronger bilateral ties continued apace last week as Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted his Chinese counterpart, Mr. Hu Jintao, in St. Petersburg. The two men had plenty to talk about. Their countries share common international interests and concerns. Yet it...
EDITORIALS
May 28, 2003

Why not a parliamentary faction?

The Democratic Party of Japan and the Liberal Party see each other as partners in a future government. Yet their on-and-off merger talks, which began half a year ago, seem to have produced no meaningful progress. Prospects for their unification receded further into the background Monday when Liberal...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
May 21, 2003

David Murray Big Band: "Now is Another Time"

Boundary crossing and genre mixing are no longer a big deal in jazz, but few do them with the raw power and awe-inspiring glee of David Murray. His list of musical projects reads like a postmodern smorgasbord: Guadaloupian vocals and percussion; Caribbean instrumentation; a musical tribute to Picasso;...
COMMENTARY
May 19, 2003

Strengthen Japan's deterrent

The ruling coalition and the top opposition party, the Democratic Party of Japan, have agreed to amend a package of government-sponsored war contingency bills, marking a turning point in Japan's security policy.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
May 18, 2003

Tama-chan's secret link to white-robed cultists

You have to hand it to Tama-chan. The superstar bearded seal has caused some lively public discussion about important social issues. Because of Tama-chan, people have started talking about the disgusting state of the country's rivers, the cavalierly cruel treatment of animals, the impact that rubber-stamped...
BUSINESS
May 16, 2003

Mizuho action won't affect ratings

Standard & Poor's said Thursday that Mizuho Financial Group Inc.'s new corporate revitalization project will improve the soundness of the group's loan portfolio but will not trigger any immediate ratings action on its subsidiary banks.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
May 14, 2003

Papa John DeFrancesco: "Jumpin"'

After Joey DeFrancesco's Hammond B-3 organ became a favorite with a new generation of soul-jazz fans in the '90s, part of the spotlight fell on Joey's teacher -- his father, "Papa" John.
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
May 12, 2003

Jordan has nothing to complain about

LOS ANGELES -- This is all you need to know about Michael Jordan's latest career move: Nixon left Washington with more credibility.
COMMENTARY / WASHINGTON UPDATE
May 12, 2003

Flush with victory in Iraq, Bush sets his sights on defending the White House in 2004

WASHINGTON -- President George W. Bush last week became the first American president since Franklin D. Roosevelt to declare victory in a foreign war. FDR named May 8, 1945, V-E Day for victory in Europe, and Aug. 14, 1945, V-J Day for victory over Japan. Bush proclaimed May 1, 2003, V-I Day, in grand...
COMMENTARY
May 4, 2003

Rare chance for U.S. to fix tort lottery

WASHINGTON -- Trial attorney and U.S. Sen. John Edwards is well-liked by the plaintiff's bar. Too well-liked perhaps, since the Justice Department is investigating apparently illegal contributions to his presidential campaign -- which have since been returned -- from an Arkansas law firm. Although Edwards...
COMMENTARY / World
May 2, 2003

U.S. sets the bar high in N. Korea talks

SEOUL -- The United States and North Korea finally have begun talking again. Or have they? Are they talking to each other, at each other or past each other? Although the two sides agreed to keep the diplomatic channels open, it's going to take a lot more meetings to get out of this crisis in one piece....
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Apr 28, 2003

Lakers getting a little help from their friends

LOS ANGELES -- If I was David J. Stern, commissioner of the NBA beat, I would give serious thought to calling one Mr. Glen Taylor, owner of the Minnesota Timberwolves and pledge to return all draft choices and fine money from the Joe Smith affair several years ago. In fact, I would even throw in bonus...
COMMENTARY
Apr 28, 2003

Mixed marks for the Iraq war

LONDON -- The removal of the evil despotism of Saddam Hussein in Iraq is an important benefit for the peoples of Iraq and the world in general. The ending of his regime will be welcomed by some neighboring countries that felt threatened by Iraq. It should in the long run be beneficial to the Arabs as...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / PLAY BUTTON
Apr 27, 2003

The wandering laptop minstrel

With his long black hair pulled back in a tight, neat ponytail and his pale complexion, electronica musician Nobukazu Takemura has an otherworldly quality somewhere between a computer geek and a monk.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Apr 23, 2003

German sonic explorers off the beaten path

Jaki Liebezeit and Burnt Friedman, two of Germany's foremost exponents of experimental music from two different generations, will be performing together this week in Japan for the first time.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Apr 23, 2003

Shaking up the cityscape

Tadao Ando is not afraid to say what he thinks. More than that, when the Osaka-based architect has an idea about what life in cities should be like, he isn't afraid to radically alter the world to make his visions a reality. After the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake of 1995, he felt that it was important...

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