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BUSINESS
Apr 21, 2004

Waseda gives doctorate to Stiglitz

Waseda University on Tuesday conferred its honorary doctorate of laws on Joseph Stiglitz, a Columbia University professor who won the 2001 Nobel economics prize.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 21, 2004

Hostages released into storm of criticism

Two days before her daughter was freed Thursday night by her captors in Iraq, 65-year-old Kyoko Takato was apologizing to the public, using words more befitting of the parent of a criminal.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 21, 2004

The best gift a son could give

Les Invasions barbares Rating: * * * * (out of 5) Director: Denys Arcand Running time: 99 minutes Language: French Open April 24 [See Japan Times movie listings] In "Les Invasions barbares (Barbarian Invasions)," a dying father pulls his grown-up son to his chest and says, "When you...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Apr 21, 2004

Artist and model, framed

The girl with a pearl earring, whoever she may be, is safely at home in the Netherlands. There, she's the centerpiece of the Mauritshuis collection in The Hague, although her identity is as much of a mystery as ever -- art history favored one of Vermeer's daughters, until Tracey Chevalier wrote her best-selling...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 20, 2004

Tama-chan battles flab, sassy new rival

A year has passed since the bearded seal nicknamed Tama-chan moved to the Ara River in Saitama Prefecture from Tama River in Yokohama.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 20, 2004

Cost, language barrier still keeping tourists away

Independent tourists pride themselves on being able to plot out and partake in adventures of their own design -- rising to challenges known and unknown.
BUSINESS
Apr 20, 2004

Groups agree on e-commerce standardization

A nonprofit body hoping to create a standardized base for electronic commerce transactions in East Asia said Monday it has signed an agreement with a state-run Chinese organization for joint research and development activities.
COMMENTARY
Apr 20, 2004

Hong Kong protesters roll up their sleeves

HONG KONG -- The April 11 protest against Beijing's decision to interpret the Basic Law's provisions in a way that makes it impossible for the Special Administrative Region, or SAR, to initiate moves toward universal suffrage marks the first large protest against the central government since the handover...
JAPAN / TALKING SHOP
Apr 19, 2004

Samsung exec taps Japan insights to cut through the verbiage

Kim Jong Shin learned Japanese while hauling fish to market part time, stewing in hot springs and touring 350 historical sites in all 47 prefectures.
EDITORIALS
Apr 18, 2004

A political quake in South Korea

Parliamentary elections last week have transformed politics in South Korea. The Uri Party -- which did not exist a year ago -- has won an absolute majority in the National Assembly, giving President Roh Moo Hyun control of the legislature for the first time since he was elected a year and a half ago...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Apr 18, 2004

"Sekai Ururun Taizaiki" on TBS and more

Learning is often called a lifelong process, but what is the meaning of education to someone whose days are known to be limited? This is one of the questions addressed in the new drama series "Denchi ga Kireru Made (Until the Battery Runs Out)" (TV Asahi, Thursday, 9 p.m.).
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 18, 2004

Seoul should offer Bush a dose of reality

WASHINGTON -- "A friend in need is a friend indeed," a saying goes. South Korea's decision on April 2 to send some 3,600 troops to Iraq is a fitting illustration of the adage. The deployment will make South Korea the largest U.S. coalition partner in Iraq after Britain.
CULTURE / Music
Apr 18, 2004

A spiritual journey that begins within

What is the sound of the universe? What does one hear? These are questions that crossed David Sylvian's mind prior to the making of his most recent album "Blemish," the debut release of his Samadhi Sound label last year. Talking over the phone from London last week, the singer/songwriter and frontman...
COMMENTARY
Apr 18, 2004

Death of Deng's triangular relationship

HONG KONG -- One certainty emerges amid the democratic turmoil in Taiwan and Hong Kong and amid the authoritarian turmoil in the higher reaches of the Chinese Communist Party, which is skilled at concealing its innate factionalism: The triangular relationship between China, Taiwan and Hong Kong, as envisaged...
EDITORIALS
Apr 17, 2004

Hostage release no peace gesture

The three Japanese taken hostage in Iraq have been set free. The joy felt at their release has been tempered by news that two other Japanese have been seized, the savage murder of an Italian security guard by his kidnappers and the knowledge that nearly 20 other foreigners are still being held in Iraq....
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Apr 17, 2004

Old folks at the steering wheel of fortune

On a recent trip home to the U.S., I realized that Japan lacks something central to highway driving: old folks behind the wheel. Although Japan's population is aging fast, it seems like most of the old people here do not drive. I rarely see the sticker on cars that old folks must display to drive in...
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Apr 15, 2004

One day, Japan's 'losing dogs' will howl in unison

There's a new phrase out there and it's making a lot of people self-conscious. "Makeinu (losing dog)," which once meant nothing more than the literal translation, now indicates that swelling segment of the Japanese population: single people over 30.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 14, 2004

Interpreter's notes

Lost in Translation Rating: * * * * (out of 5) Director: Sofia Coppola Running time: 102 minutes Language: English, Japanese Opens April 17 at Cinema Rise [See Japan Times movie listings] The dialogue of "Lost in Translation" never sizzles, never gets out of line, doesn't really reveal...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 14, 2004

VIPs made to feel at home in the Hyatt's floating world

The Park Hyatt Tokyo is, as Coppola has described it, a quiet floating island 39 floors above the cacophony and chaos of Shinjuku. Occupying the top 14 floors of the 52-story Shinjuku Park Tower, the hotel exudes an aura of calm and comfort that has induced many CEOs and celebrities -- including Coppola...

Longform

Wealthier women in the prewar era had been the targets of various media-related health campaigns that mistakenly encouraged them to avoid everything from riding bicycles to reading novels when their monthly cycles came around.
Menstruation in Japan: Breaking the silence, slowly