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JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Apr 6, 2003

Selfishness and greed motor the American Dream

Watching the war in Iraq from the vantage point of Japan, you don't get as much of the propaganda-like white noise that accompanies the coverage if you're watching it from the United States or the Middle East. But that doesn't mean you get less information.
EDITORIALS
Apr 4, 2003

Diet turbulence likely in second half

As the Diet moves into the second half of its 150-day regular session, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's administration appears headed for more difficult times, politically and economically. The first half ended without a major hitch. The fiscal 2003 government budget -- the most important legislative...
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 3, 2003

Will war affect Asian vision?

SINGAPORE -- The Asian financial crisis of 1997-1998 was a defining moment for a majority of East Asian countries. It made them more aware of their individual vulnerabilities, and impressed upon them the need for regional stability to ensure continuous economic growth.
JAPAN
Apr 1, 2003

Resignation of farm minister could be a slow-burning fuse

The sudden resignation Monday of farm minister Tadamori Oshima is a further blow to Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, already fighting battles over public opinion and his handling of the economy.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 1, 2003

Miura case came to define sensationalism

In January 1984, more than two years after his wife was gunned down in a Los Angeles parking lot, a major weekly newsmagazine began a series of articles titled "Bullet of suspicion," suggesting Kazuyoshi Miura arranged his wife's murder for the insurance money.
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Mar 31, 2003

Modesty marked this great man of letters

NEW YORK -- Herbert Passin, whom I had the honor of knowing, died on Feb. 26. Like kabuki expert Faubion Bowers, whom I also knew, Passin was a top graduate of the Military Intelligence Service Language School, which was established in 1941 in preparation for the coming war with Japan. Both did wonderful...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Mar 30, 2003

An artist drawing on peace

Yoshitomo Nara is one of Japan's most popular contemporary artists, with admirers not only in Japan but also in Europe and the United States.
JAPAN
Mar 30, 2003

80% fear Japan will be involved in war

Looking apprehensive, Masaharu Ito sits on a bench beside an approach road lined with stalls leading to Kogan Temple in Tokyo's Toshima ward. He has just finished paying homage at the shrine.
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Mar 27, 2003

Moves by Clippers on free agents not as bad as they seem

NEW YORK -- Being that I like to consider myself a public-spirited citizen, every so often I feel duty-bound to call out some of those in the same virtuous vocation as yours truly.
BUSINESS
Mar 25, 2003

Business chief advocates splitting war costs

The chairman of the Japan Business Federation (Nippon Keidanren) said Monday that the private sector should cooperate with the government in the event that Japan shoulders part of the cost of the Iraq war and subsequent reconstruction efforts.
COMMENTARY
Mar 25, 2003

Weak tobacco pact reflects Japan's lukewarm attitude

The member-nations of the World Health Organization have recently approved a draft Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), putting an end to four years of negotiations. The draft is expected to be adopted at the general meeting of the WHO in May, and will take effect after 40 countries have ratified...
JAPAN
Mar 23, 2003

Ishihara's team fears war may affect Tokyo election

Aides and officials managing Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara's re-election campaign are concerned that the U.S.-led war in Iraq may adversely affect the Tokyo gubernatorial election, while his rivals see it as a good chance to promote their peace policies.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Mar 23, 2003

Practice makes perfect

COPYING THE MASTER AND STEALING HIS SECRETS, edited by Brenda Jordan and Victoria Weston, with an introduction by J. Thomas Rimer. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2003, 248 pp., 14 color plates, 52 monochrome photos, $50 (cloth) As Thomas Rimer writes in his introduction to this interesting collection...
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 23, 2003

U.S. must rethink North Korea strategy

MONTEREY, Calif. -- On the eve of South Korean President Roh Moo Hyun's swearing-in ceremony, North Korea lobbed a land-to-ship cruise missile into the Sea of Japan. This provocation took place as the world's dignitaries -- among them U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Mar 23, 2003

Japan's dumb leaders fail to exercise tongues

In the weeks leading up to the invasion of Iraq, it was common for reporters throughout the world to sample public opinion about it. As journalism, man-on-the-street interviews are more or less a sideshow, since, depending on the country, they offer little of substance in terms of information. Americans,...
EDITORIALS
Mar 22, 2003

A new kind of war

Now that the war has begun, the world hopes it will end swiftly with minimal casualties. But wars are almost always unpredictable. As U.S. President George W. Bush himself has warned, the conflict could be "longer and more difficult than some predict." There is also the possibility that, even if it ends...
JAPAN
Mar 22, 2003

Bush gives Koizumi big pat on back

U.S. President George W. Bush expressed his gratitude for Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's "courage and friendship" in supporting the war on Iraq during a telephone call Friday.
COMMENTARY
Mar 21, 2003

Perhaps society is the problem

Like a parrot, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has been repeating the same phrase: "There will be no economic growth without structural reform." At last he is being forced to make a policy turnaround to implement a package of antideflation measures to stimulate domestic demand. The reversal has been...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 20, 2003

Newcomers fan a breeze of change

With his goatee and buttoned-up, collarless shirt and jacket, Satoru Aiko blended in seamlessly with other young Japanese hanging out near JR Kamakura Station on Sunday evening. Except that Aiko stood perfectly still, ceremoniously erect.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 16, 2003

U.S. risks danger of 'global overstretch'

SINGAPORE -- Although U.S. President George W. Bush appears determined to rid Iraq of President Saddam Hussein, the world is deeply divided. On one hand, Hussein has been ruthless, even with his own people, and may have hidden weapons of mass destruction and sponsored al-Qaeda terrorists. On the other...
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 16, 2003

Post-1945 order may have run its course

LONDON -- It is unlikely that the split over whether to go to war with Iraq will do Iraqi President Saddam Hussein much good, as U.S. President George W. Bush appears intent on unleashing hostilities however widespread the opposition to conflict. But it will certainly do the new world order which was...
COMMENTARY
Mar 15, 2003

What drives the warmongers?

At last count we had been given six different reasons for invading Iraq, some of them false and the rest contradictory. The current favorite -- seeking to change an obnoxious regime -- might carry weight if it was not contrary to international law and if in the past both the United States and Britain...
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Mar 14, 2003

F.A. must stop overruling officials on discipline

LONDON -- As the governing body of the sport in England, the Football Association is supposed to protect the game, promote fair play and, to quote from its web site "ensure that football gets the match officials it deserves."
EDITORIALS
Mar 13, 2003

Greater patience could pay off

The world is holding its collective breath as the U.N. Security Council moves toward a crucial vote on a U.S.-British draft resolution laying the groundwork for war against Iraq. At the moment, the outcome of the vote is a matter of conjecture. Yet the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush...
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Mar 13, 2003

OK guys, it's payback time

Oh heck. It's that time of year again, the dreaded White Day that forces us males to dispense several mansatsu (10,000 yen bills) whether we're ready to or not.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 12, 2003

U.S. bears costs as U.N. is challenged

As the issue of Iraq comes to a head, the United Nations faces a grave challenge. The five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council are deeply divided; many governments -- British, Japanese, Spanish, Turkish -- are at odds with their own people; and the divisions have hardened since U.S. President...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / CERAMIC SCENE
Mar 12, 2003

The good, the great -- and the freaky

Japan, without a doubt, has the world's largest number of art museums devoted solely to pottery -- more than 500 venues, I've heard. That's a lot of beauty (or not) to take in.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 9, 2003

Glimpses of Indochina life 330 years ago

CHIANG MAI, Thailand -- Against the current drama of the Iraqi issue, other national and regional developments seem to fade out of focus. One such "minor event" that is heading toward oblivion concerns the tiny landlocked country of Laos. At the beginning of the year, unexpected news from there made...
JAPAN
Mar 9, 2003

Japan backs revised U.N. resolution against Iraq

Japan expressed support Saturday for a revised draft resolution submitted jointly by the United States, Britain and Spain to the United Nations Security Council that sets March 17 as the deadline for Iraq to rid itself of weapons of mass destruction.

Longform

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