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COMMENTARY / World
May 25, 2003

Imagine there's convergence of religion

CHIANG MAI, Thailand -- In these turbulent times, when the term "religion" is so often hijacked by the proponents of its very antithesis -- namely, conflict and strife -- an academic initiative to discuss religious topics in the framework of globalization feels like a refreshing breeze. This welcome...
COMMENTARY
May 25, 2003

Clouds over Blair's parade

LONDON -- British Prime Minister Tony Blair is riding high these days. His popularity ratings have never been better, and he is about to receive U.S. government honors unparalleled by any non-American since British statesman Winston Churchill. World leaders flock to see him, and he moves among the people...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
May 25, 2003

Still stomping up a storm

Who needs drums when you've got a bucket and a broom? Who needs maracas when you've got a box of matches? Who needs cymbals when you've got garbage-can lids?
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
May 25, 2003

Time to examine different approaches toward education

The eradication of illiteracy throughout the world is an ongoing endeavor and a noble one. However, in countries where the vast majority of the population can now read and write, those populations did not, as the German poet-essayist Hans Magnus Enzensberger once said, learn to do so "because they felt...
COMMENTARY
May 24, 2003

A boost for Japan-China ties?

China has been attracting much attention in the international community of late for both positive and negative reasons. On the positive side, as the confrontation between the United States and North Korea intensifies, and the positions of Japan and South Korea remain delicate, China is playing the role...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
May 24, 2003

Steven Morgan

A pattern for life was set very early for Steven Morgan.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / VINELAND
May 23, 2003

Up there, where the grapes grow slow

An old quip in the wine trade asks, "What do you get when you combine grape juice, brown sugar, white spirits and a few extra-large dollops of oak flavoring?" The answer, which should be obvious to anyone who has trawled the bargain-bin section of Japanese wine shops in the last few years, is "Shiraz,...
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
May 23, 2003

Scottish Premier League title race set to go down to the wire

LONDON -- As Celtic flew home from Seville on Thursday after the UEFA Cup final against FC Porto (a 3-2 extra-time defeat) its preparations for what many believe is an even bigger game began immediately -- a league match away to Kilmarnock. The game may not have the romance of a European final but the...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 22, 2003

Capsule maker makes hay amid SARS panic

A Tokyo company that manufactures enclosed capsules used to transport infectious patients has been swamped with inquiries amid the SARS scare.
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
May 22, 2003

Mavs owner hatching plans

SAN ANTONIO -- Unless the Mavericks thoroughly disgrace themselves against the Spurs, we'll probably never be able to confirm what evil lurks in the heart of Mavs owner Mark Cuban regarding Don Nelson's coaching future in Dallas.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / NAME OF THE GAME
May 22, 2003

EA scores big time with 'MVP Baseball'

Who knows what burr got under Electronic Arts' saddle, but the biggest name in sports games is really sharpening its act. The publisher of such megahits as "John Madden NFL Football" and "FIFA Soccer," EA has always kind of stunk at baseball. Not anymore.
CULTURE / Books / THE BOOK REPORT
May 22, 2003

Book Off chief rolls with the blows as status quo publishers complain

The Japanese may love a hardworking and unassuming company man who out of nowhere wins the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, but they are still wary of the true entrepreneur who is willing to take risks and shake up long-established ways of doing things.
BUSINESS
May 21, 2003

Hitachi chip may be used in euro bills

The European Central Bank is considering adopting the world's smallest integrated circuit, developed by Hitachi Ltd., to prevent forgery of euro bills, according to Hitachi sources.
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM MOSCOW
May 20, 2003

Iraqi revival will cost Russia

MOSCOW -- It is a commonplace to say the war in Iraq was not only about former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein but also about oil. No matter how dangerous Hussein's regime was and how badly the White House needed an impressive victory for the 2004 elections, oil -- as today's key commodity -- was very much...
BUSINESS
May 19, 2003

C&W IDC chief upbeat about prospects in Japan

Phil Green makes no bones about it: he's an optimist.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
May 19, 2003

It's time to meet expectations by installing stock-market package

Japan managed to avoid the so-called March crisis as share prices picked up temporarily toward the end of the month. However, the stock market remained in a slump in April, with the Nikkei average dipping at one point to the 7,600 range.
COMMENTARY / World
May 19, 2003

Humor's role in war survives

After a lifetime as a student and teacher of international relations, I have been impressed by just how much of the essence of world affairs -- not to mention the attention span of students and audiences -- can be captured through pithy jokes. The recent Iraq war is no exception to this rule. (Although...
COMMENTARY
May 19, 2003

Manila failing to crush Muslim rebels

MANILA -- Political violence and terrorism have once more become a depressing routine in the southern Philippines. More than 80 people, many of them civilians, have been killed in bombings and indiscriminate fighting since early March.
COMMENTARY
May 18, 2003

Arms sales hinder S. Asian peace effort

ISLAMABAD -- U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Richard Armitage, concluding his visit to India and Pakistan, extended Washington's support for a new peace process between the two nuclear-armed neighbors without a direct role for the United States in settling the drawn out dispute over the divided Himalayan...
EDITORIALS
May 18, 2003

Washington and Seoul back on track

The United States and South Korea have found common ground. Last week's summit between U.S. President George W. Bush and South Korea's Roh Moo Hyun should allay concerns about a split between them. The two men reaffirmed their commitment to a peaceful resolution of the North Korean nuclear crisis while...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
May 18, 2003

Heavens above: a job from hell

Most reporters would have jumped at the assignment, with gusto.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / J-POPSICLE
May 18, 2003

Kei Ogura has still got a lot to celebrate

Once known as the "singing bank manager," these days Kei Ogura could be called the "singing recovering cancer patient."
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
May 18, 2003

Bees in the honey pot

In the nation's political epicenter -- Nagatacho, in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward -- cynics might be excused from regarding its most productive workers to be its honey bees.
EDITORIALS
May 17, 2003

Probing Pana Wave's nature

In the past few weeks, a mysterious caravan of white vehicles carrying white-robed people has been traveling around the country, causing disputes with residents along the way. The group calls itself Pana Wave Laboratory, a doomsday cult that evokes memories of crimes committed by members of the Aum Shinrikyo...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
May 17, 2003

New broom sweeps Seisen into the 21st century

Virginia Villegas was delighted to be asked to return to Japan last year to assist the then head of Seisen International School in Yoga, Tokyo. "When Sister Concesa Martin was elected to the General Council in Rome, I was asked to take over as headmistress," she explains, warm, direct and very perceptive....
EDITORIALS
May 16, 2003

Al-Qaeda's warning to Riyadh

The series of car-bomb attacks that devastated Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, earlier this week is a horrific reminder that victories in Iraq and Afghanistan are likely to have only a limited impact on the war against terrorism. More troubling is the likelihood of attacks intensifying in the weeks ahead. Although...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 16, 2003

LDP ready to aid life insurers

The ruling coalition is ready to endorse a controversial draft bill that would allow troubled life insurance companies to reduce payouts promised to policyholders, the Liberal Democratic Party said Thursday.
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
May 15, 2003

Perspective often a casualty after a big win or loss

LOS ANGELES -- Experience testifies it's not a particularly good idea to get bent out of shape by either alarming defeats or elating victories.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 15, 2003

Fast Retailing opens first food outlet

Fast Retailing Co., known for its Uniqlo brand of casual clothing, opened on Wednesday its first food outlet.

Longform

Atsuyoshi Koike, the president and CEO of Rapidus, says there is a “sense of urgency” when it comes to Japan’s efforts in manufacturing semiconductors. “We have to make sure we are successful,” he says.
Atsuyoshi Koike’s big game: Fourth down and 2 nanometers to go