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COMMENTARY
Sep 6, 2003

Only one way that the terrorists can win

SINGAPORE -- Terrorism and the world economy are heavy on the minds of Asia right now. Among many government officials, leading academics and others, Tokyo and Hong Kong -- not to mention this clean-as-a-whistle, well-run island city-state -- there is increasing agreement that future world geopolitics...
JAPAN / AFTER 2 1/2 YEARS
Sep 6, 2003

Koizumi hit over wishy-washy North Korea policy

In Pyongyang to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Il on Sept. 17, 2002, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi emerged from his government jet with an air of determination.
JAPAN / AFTER 2 1/2 YEARS
Sep 5, 2003

Koizumi support of U.S. a double-edged sword?

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi was offered two scripts by the Foreign Ministry ahead of the March invasion of Iraq by the United States.
EDITORIALS
Sep 4, 2003

Window dressing in Yangon

Nothing quickens the blood of political analysts like leadership changes in reclusive and secretive governments. The shuffle in the upper ranks of Myanmar's governing junta is no exception. The big question is the effect the changes will have on the fate of Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi, the imprisoned Nobel...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Aug 31, 2003

A better forecast for South Korea's Sunshine Policy

SUNSHINE IN KOREA: The South Korean Debate Over Policies Toward North Korea, by Norman D. Levin and Yong Sup Han. Rand Center for Asia Pacific Policy, 2002, 143 pp. (paper). Although Kim Dae Jung is no longer president of South Korea, his "Sunshine Policy" toward North Korea lives on. His successor,...
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Aug 28, 2003

The answer is blowing in the wind

Let me be honest from the outset: I'm a serious fan of wind power, and I'd love to see Japan become a world leader in wind-power generation. I'll admit, too, that my reasons are partly selfish.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Aug 26, 2003

Life imitates art for gaijin charmers

We had a fantastic response to our "Charisma Man" competition in last week's Community Page.
COMMENTARY
Aug 25, 2003

Japan's global security role

The most important feature of Japan's latest white paper on defense is that it gives new direction to the nation's defense policy. First, the report emphasizes that developing a missile defense system is a "matter of urgent importance for defense policy."
COMMUNITY
Aug 24, 2003

The curious afterlife of Ada Lovelace

Celebrity is a fickle thing, as Ada Lovelace's famous father, the poet Lord Byron, learned to his cost -- sexual scandals and seesawing public opinion drove him into exile and to his death. For his daughter, however, the ups and downs of fame have mostly been posthumous.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Aug 24, 2003

There's more to noh than meets the eye

FIGURES OF DESIRE: Wordplay, Spirit Possession, Fantasy, Madness and Mourning in Japanese Noh Plays, by Etsuko Terasaki. Center for Japanese Studies, University of Michigan, 2002, 329 pp., with monochrome plates, $60 (cloth). Noh texts are usually seen as mere aids for performance. They are routinely...
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 24, 2003

Japan again risking too little, too late

Last month Japan passed legislation that opened the door to sending the Self-Defense Forces on missions to Iraq. In principle, this was a very positive step forward for those who had hoped to see Japan play a greater role in international security affairs.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Aug 24, 2003

Should Japanese history be rewritten?

HARING THE BURDEN OF THE PAST: Legacies of War in Europe, America and Asia, edited by Andrew Horvat and Gebhard Hielscher. Tokyo: The Asia Foundation & Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, 2003, 341 pp., 1,000 yen (paper). The legacies of war continue to dog Japan and are divisive at home and in Asia. Despite the...
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 23, 2003

Bringing Alberto Fujimori to justice

Alberto Fujimori, Radovan Karadzic, Augusto Pinochet, Saddam Hussein, George W. Bush and Tony Blair all share a common, though dubious, distinction. All these heads or former heads of state have been charged with crimes against humanity.
COMMENTARY
Aug 22, 2003

Getting realistic on defense

LONDON -- Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's government has taken some sensible steps toward a more realistic defense policy. In particular there has been some easing in dealing with emergency situations. Japanese Self-Defense Forces can also now be sent to Iraq to support peacekeeping there, but they...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Aug 17, 2003

Adding color to pre- and postwar mentalities

During the ceremony to mark the 58th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba blasted the United States for "worshipping nuclear weapons as God" -- a statement that, understandably, received a great deal of media attention. And while U.S. President George Bush, who is advocating...
EDITORIALS
Aug 16, 2003

Time to reconfirm postwar values

It seems that the Showa Era (1926-89) -- a turbulent period best remembered for the Pacific War -- is fading fast into the past. Reinforcing that impression is the fact that a bill designating April 29 as "Showa Day," a national holiday dedicated to the memories of the Showa Era, passed the Lower House...
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
Aug 15, 2003

Kobe case sheds bad light on kids in NBA

Sometimes in life it is best to wait before passing judgment.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 10, 2003

Japanese nuclear arsenal looks unlikely

WASHINGTON -- Speculation is rife about whether North Korea's possession of nuclear weapons could drive Japan to develop a nuclear arsenal. Some opinion leaders have even suggested that America should exploit this prospect to scare China into resolving the North Korea nuclear crisis. However, the reality...
COMMENTARY
Aug 9, 2003

Political world prepares for fall showdown

The first half of 2003 was volatile both internationally and domestically. Severe acute respiratory syndrome hit China, other Asian countries and Canada at the beginning of the year and spread around the world. Then, in the Middle East, war broke out when the United States and Britain invaded Iraq, overthrew...
EDITORIALS
Aug 7, 2003

Renewing the nonnuclear vow

Wednesday marked the 58th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. Three days later, on Aug. 9, 1945, a second atomic bomb exploded over Nagasaki. This is the time for all of us to remember the tragedy and renew our vow to establish world peace and eliminate nuclear weapons.
EDITORIALS
Jul 31, 2003

'Preemptive' bailout system in doubt

For at least the past six months, the Financial System Council, an advisory panel to Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, has tackled a delicate question: Is it necessary to create a system for bailing out banks "preemptively" so that the government can supply cash to lenders with potential problems? The...
BUSINESS
Jul 29, 2003

Panel gives split opinion on bank bailout system

A government advisory panel on financial affairs approved Monday a subcommittee draft report on public fund injections for ailing banks and on banks' deferred tax assets.
JAPAN
Jul 28, 2003

Horiuchi voices conditional support for Koizumi in LDP race

Mitsuo Horiuchi, who heads one of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's major factions, said Sunday he will support Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's re-election as party chief if Koizumi changes his economic policies.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Jul 27, 2003

The art of redemption

YOSHIMASA AND THE SILVER PAVILION: The Creation of the Soul of Japan, by Donald Keene. New York: Columbia University Press, 2003, 10 illustrations, 224 pp., $29.95 (paper). In the appropriate volume of his monumental history of Japanese literature, Donald Keene only once mentions the eighth Ashikaga...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jul 27, 2003

Just go with the flow

You know the summer routine: The sun comes up, the mercury goes up . . . and the heat and humidity get you down, down, down.
COMMENTARY
Jul 26, 2003

Timing on dispatch of SDF turns up Koizumi weak spot

A couple of weeks ago I wrote that Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi was brimming with confidence after a bill proposing special measures to support the reconstruction of Iraq passed the House of Representatives in the National Diet. A likely political scenario for the fall -- one that anticipated a long-term...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Jul 23, 2003

Dodgers fan scores in 'Hideki Matsui Sweepstakes'

Former Tokyo attorney Russ Roten has won the Baseball Bullet-In "Hideki Matsui Sweepstakes" by coming the closest to guessing Matsui's home run, runs batted in and batting average statistics at the Major League All-Star break on July 14.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 21, 2003

Iraq's long-suffering people desperately need the international community's help

"From now on it is each man for himself." Having said that, our colleague from UNICEF Iraq quietly locked our car's doors. We had just passed the final checkpoint between Kuwait and Iraq.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Jul 20, 2003

Need to leave Japan?

YOU KNOW YOU'VE BEEN IN JAPAN TOO LONG . . . , by Bill Mutranowski. Tuttle Publishing, 2003, 120 pp., $14.95 (paper). Many foreigners will tell you that if you plan to stay in Japan long term then "for sanity's sake, get out of the country at least six times a year!" It is one of those warnings that...
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
Jul 18, 2003

Matsui at midseason: Top scout likes what he sees

With the second half of the major league season set to get underway on Friday, I thought now would be a good time to get an expert's opinion on the progress of the New York Yankees rookie outfielder Hideki Matsui.

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?