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Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Dec 18, 2002

Asia, in a nutshell

In Douglas Adams' future dystopia novel "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy," a giant computer finally determines the answer to the meaning of life: 42. The joke was that nobody knew the question.
COMMENTARY
Dec 16, 2002

Britain braces for dilemma

LONDON -- At the speed of an express train, a formidable new dilemma is hurtling toward the British government: how to respond to the prospect of a written constitution that the leaders of the European Union are determined to have. Drafts are already being circulated and will be finalized in the next...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Dec 15, 2002

Chushingura Chushingura

Snow has been the backdrop to some of Tokyo's most colorful and epoch-making events.
COMMUNITY
Dec 15, 2002

Countdown to catastrophe

On Nov. 26, 1941, U.S. Secretary of State Cordell Hull submitted a note to Kichisaburo Nomura, Japan's ambassador in Washington, and special envoy Saburo Kurusu. Whether that note was an ultimatum that made it virtually certain Japan would wage war -- or whether it represented the latest U.S. effort...
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Dec 5, 2002

GM crops get good press? Surely not

Everyone from religious scholars to British lords seems to have an opinion on genetically modified foods -- whether it is that they are "Frankensteinian" or that they are creations revealing the promise of biotechnology in the service of humanity.
COMMENTARY
Dec 2, 2002

A 'liberal' disposition for creating wealth

MANILA -- Often I begin workshops or classes dealing with liberalism by asking participants to share their definition of that political concept by jotting catchwords on little cards that are then collected and pinned to a moderation board. Not only is this method, as I have come to learn, highly participatory,...
EDITORIALS
Dec 2, 2002

Rigorous, fair inspections first

United Nations-led inspections of areas where Iraq is suspected of developing weapons of mass destruction have resumed after a hiatus of four years. On the first day, last Wednesday, an 11-member team from the U.N. Monitoring, Verification and Inspections Commission, or UNMOVIC, as well as a six-member...
COMMENTARY / JAPAN IN THE GLOBAL ERA
Dec 2, 2002

Women's creativity waiting to be tapped

LAUSANNE, Switzerland -- Several months ago, I mentioned I would be addressing the gender question in a future article. I received several letters urging me to do so. A couple of correspondents, however, argued that the question of women is a purely domestic affair and not relevant to the theme of "Japan...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / CLOSE-UP
Dec 1, 2002

Writer on the borderline

Haruki Murakami is Japan's most important and internationally acclaimed living writer. "Norwegian Wood," his fourth novel, has sold more than 2 million copies since it was published in 1987. His latest, "Kafka on the Shore," has sold more than 200,000 copies since its publication in September, and has...
JAPAN
Nov 30, 2002

Japan must play greater role: ASEAN poll

Japan is not contributing enough to the international community relative to its economic power, according to a Foreign Ministry public opinion survey carried out in Southeast Asia.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / THE SECOND ROOM
Nov 30, 2002

The funkier side of Mike Maguire; new Antidote release; Domino at Fire

Somewhere standing off to the side of all the people who have claimed titles in electronic music -- the various kings, queens, godfathers and godmothers -- is Mike Maguire, marking his own beat, seemingly oblivious to the world.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Nov 29, 2002

Venables needs divine intervention at Leeds

LONDON -- Terry Venables has been in football long enough to know that his days at Leeds United are almost numbered before they have really begun.
MORE SPORTS
Nov 26, 2002

Duval puts personal stamp on golf in Japan

"He is an intense guy who is serious about his golf," I am briefed in a meeting held in a restaurant amid the spectacular setting of the Sheraton Grande Ocean Resort in Miyazaki. It is the morning of an exclusive interview with David Duval organized and set up by IMG Tokyo.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Nov 26, 2002

Asia emerging as economic dynamo, WEF says

As Japan remains trapped in its bad-loan mess and Southeast Asia struggles to regain competitiveness after a regionwide financial crisis five years ago, China may appear to be the only bright spot in Asia.
EDITORIALS
Nov 24, 2002

Picking on Tiger

There are some things that enlightened people nowadays pretty much agree are beyond dispute. A good example would be the view that it is wrong to discriminate against women. And then there are things that enlightened people find themselves arguing about quite heatedly. An example of this would be the...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Nov 24, 2002

'Dewy-eyed' U.S. no match for Japan's samurai values

BAMBOOZLED! How America Loses the Intellectual Game with Japan and its Implications for Our Future in Asia, by Ivan P. Hall. M.E. Sharpe: Armonk, New York, 2002, 324 pp., $26.95 (paper) For an enjoyable and stimulating read, one could do much worse than this thoughtful polemic on what ails bilateral...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Nov 24, 2002

Start at the base and work your way up

Jon Jerde is an architect, and he wants to change your life. The world has never been short of architects with ambitions to create a bold new future (designed in their signature style), but Jerde has actually done it -- it has been calculated that the buildings Jerde has designed collectively draw more...
COMMENTARY
Nov 24, 2002

Pyongyang's threat to peace

LONDON -- In North America and Europe the joint problems of Iraq and of al-Qaeda-inspired terrorism dominate the news. Only limited attention is given to the threat posed by North Korea. This is partly because North Korea seems far away and partly because there is no simple way of dealing with the threat....
JAPAN
Nov 24, 2002

Lawyers call for execution debate

The Japan Federation of Bar Associations agreed Friday to draft guidelines for legislation to place a moratorium on executions to provide an opportunity for public debate on the matter.
COMMENTARY
Nov 22, 2002

Koizumi deserves more time

The political situation is beginning to show signs of yearend tumult. At the beginning of the fall, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi was doing fine. In September he visited Pyongyang and managed to extract an apology from North Korean leader Kim Jong Il for the abduction of Japanese nationals in the...
JAPAN
Nov 21, 2002

Survey highlights lack of interest in disaster maps

Half of the 2,150 adults surveyed by the Cabinet Office in September said they have not seen or heard of disaster-prevention maps, while more than two in five said they don't know if there are disaster-prone areas in their neighborhoods.
BUSINESS
Nov 20, 2002

Tax panel gets early jump on fiscal 2003 reform plan

The Tax Commission on Tuesday proposed a reform plan for fiscal 2003 that would attempt to boost the economy by allowing tax cuts for corporate activity and to secure more revenue by reducing exemptions for individuals.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Nov 20, 2002

Tiger shrugs off rust in exhibition win over Choi

MIYAZAKI -- Some of the biggest names in golf Tuesday got their first taste of the conditions they are likely to face ahead of the Dunlop Phoenix Tournament starting on Thursday in Miyazaki when they competed in a light-hearted, made-for-TV exhibition match.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Nov 20, 2002

Expos evoke memories of Japan's 'gypsies'

There's a lot of speculation about what will happen to the Montreal Expos and where the team will play its home games during the 2003 season.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Nov 20, 2002

Painter and powerbroker to the shoguns

Throughout history, powerful regimes have used art to reinforce their control and shore up their claims to legitimacy.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 19, 2002

Protectionism threatens global economy

LONDON -- Japan's current row with China over steel exports is symptomatic of a growing retreat from the free trade aims that underpinned international growth in the last two decades of the 20th century. It is now a year since members of the World Trade Organization set themselves the task of reducing...
EDITORIALS
Nov 18, 2002

Good neighbors to diversity

Japanese are increasingly waking up to find that their new neighbors are foreigners who have settled in this country. What should be done to build an affluent multicultural society in Japan? The Sapporo District Court recently handed down a ruling that makes us think about this question. Three foreigners...
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 18, 2002

China's new peace strategy

As expected, U.S. President George W. Bush and Chinese President Jiang Zemin agreed at their Oct. 25 summit to strengthen bilateral cooperation. Cooperative relations between the two powers are becoming firmly established, a far cry from early 2001 when Washington viewed Beijing as a "strategic rival."...
COMMENTARY
Nov 16, 2002

Dark days for Britain's Tories

LONDON -- The once-mighty Conservative Party, which dominated the British political scene for most of the 20th century, has now fallen on very bad times.
Japan Times
SOCCER / World cup
Nov 7, 2002

Zico reveals his plans for Japanese team

In an exclusive interview with The Japan Times, Brazilian soccer legend and newly appointed Japan national team coach Zico aired his views on his philosophy and plans for the future of Japanese soccer.

Longform

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