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COMMENTARY
Dec 19, 2001

Door to constitutional change

Last June, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi created an advisory panel on his proposal aimed at empowering the public -- not lawmakers as at present -- to directly elect the premier. The group is expected to come up with recommendations on the plan by next summer.
CULTURE / Film
Dec 19, 2001

The revolution will be cinematized

Hikari no Ame Rating: * * * 1/2 Director: Banmei Takahashi Running time: 130 minutes Language: Japanese Now showing
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 18, 2001

Sowing the seeds of revolution

Does the end of Taliban rule mean that the people of Afghanistan can now look forward to a new era of peace and freedom? Not according to the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan, who believe that unless all fundamentalist groups in the country are disarmed, a repeat of the brutality...
JAPAN
Dec 17, 2001

Shiodome development to spruce up center of Tokyo

The southern half of central Tokyo is teaming with development projects aimed at reviving a city long criticized for its lack of space and greenery.
JAPAN
Dec 17, 2001

Human security panel kicks off two-day meeting

The Commission on Human Security, an independent body dedicated to exploring ways to reduce human suffering and insecurity, began a second two-day meeting Sunday in Tokyo, with panelists focusing on development and conflict prevention.
EDITORIALS
Dec 16, 2001

Would you believe? e-mail@30

When Alexander Graham Bell sent the first telephone message on March 10, 1876, he was not only well aware of the date, he had someone on hand to record his words ("Mr. Watson, come here. I want you.") The man knew he was making history.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Dec 16, 2001

The final downfall of a hard-boiled harridan

Just audible under the cheers that greeted the birth of the new princess was the tip-tapping of bored fingers coming from the direction of the "wide shows," where smiling faces and mandatory keigo barely masked acute impatience. Nine months of being forced to keep quiet about the crown princess's pregnancy...
EDITORIALS
Dec 15, 2001

End of the line for Mr. Arafat?

Violence in the Middle East has claimed many political careers, but throughout the long struggle that pitted Arab and Palestinian against Israeli, Mr. Yasser Arafat has been a survivor. He overcame internal factional struggles and Israeli assassination attempts to lead the Palestinian people within reach...
BUSINESS
Dec 15, 2001

Tax reform debate had nowhere else to go

Right up to the last minute, two conflicting philosophies dominated the ruling coalition's debate on tax reform for fiscal 2002 -- whether to levy taxes wherever possible to help ease the government's dire financial straits or avoid major hikes in light of the economic slump.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Dec 15, 2001

Merii Kurisumasu ando guddo naito

Dear Santa,
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 13, 2001

Asylum seekers' fates hang in balance

Refugees in danger of persecution, or migrants seeking work and wealth?
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Dec 13, 2001

Global warming: WWF expert tells it like it is

Have difficulty getting your head around global warming? Join the club.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 13, 2001

Target Iraq: easier perhaps, but riskier

With Osama bin Laden's Arab legions being hunted down in the mountains of Afghanistan, the endgame is approaching in the first stage of America's war on terrorism. Should Iraq be next?
COMMENTARY
Dec 12, 2001

Pyongyang's lure as a U.S. terror target

SEOUL -- The success of the U.S.-led military campaign in Afghanistan has triggered debates about the next target in the worldwide war against terrorists and their helpers. At the epicenter of this debate, which is not confined to opinion pages of the press, stands Iraq, whose regime many Americans perceive...
CULTURE / Art
Dec 12, 2001

The world according to Bucky

Naming himself "Guinea Pig B," Buckminster Fuller vowed that his whole life would be an experiment "to see what an unknown individual . . . might be able to do effectively on behalf of all mankind."
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 9, 2001

Jerusalem attacks benefit extremists on both sides

LONDON -- Hamas has had a very good weekend. The suicide bomb attacks that killed at least 25 people in Jerusalem and Haifa last Saturday and Sunday have driven any last remaining thoughts of a compromise peace settlement with the Palestinians out of the minds of most Israelis. Since the Islamic extremists...
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 6, 2001

Egypt: a mirror of what is wrong with U.S.-Arab relations

CAIRO -- In a workshop in the Khan Khalil bazaar in the heart of medieval Cairo, Atef Hamid unwraps three beautifully crafted copper plates, each with designs taken from ancient and famous mosques, on which his grandfather has been laboring.
JAPAN
Dec 5, 2001

Koizumi asks for restraint in Mideast

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi expressed concern Tuesday about the recent surge of violence in the Middle East and called on both Israel and the Palestinian Authority to exercise restraint and return to the negotiating table.
BUSINESS
Dec 5, 2001

Moody's downgrades Japan's domestic bonds

Moody's Investors Service Inc. on Tuesday lowered its rating on yen-denominated domestic securities issued or guaranteed by the government to Aa3 from Aa2 and maintained a negative outlook on these securities.
EDITORIALS
Dec 4, 2001

Looking for clarity on cloning

Last Sunday's announcement that scientists in Massachusetts had briefly succeeded in cloning human embryos was not exactly a surprise. Such a step had been anticipated in the global scientific community for several years. But it had the effect of a bombshell nonetheless, reigniting at a stroke the ethical...
BUSINESS
Dec 4, 2001

Drug firms Taisho, Tanabe won't merge after all

Taisho Pharmaceutical Co. and Tanabe Seiyaku Co. have given up their plan to integrate under a single holding company due to differences in corporate culture, the two companies said Monday.
COMMENTARY
Dec 3, 2001

Afghanistan: another tragedy in the making

First Kosovo, now Afghanistan. In Kosovo, the election victory of moderate ethnic Albanian leader Ibrahim Rugova shows the bankruptcy of the Western, mainly U.S., policymakers who had tried to impose their own solutions. Expect similar mistakes over Afghanistan.
JAPAN
Dec 1, 2001

Net poses major changes for news media

Does the advent of the Internet society spell the end of the news media as we know it? Will a new breed of reporters, represented by anonymous authors in online chat rooms, oust professional journalists from the public arena?
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 30, 2001

Mission Possible for Chen

TAIPEI -- Since Taiwan's long-ruling Nationalist Party (KMT) lost last year's presidential election to the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), the island has slid into its worst recession in decades.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 29, 2001

Lee Teng-hui on a mission to save his vision of Taiwan

NEW YORK -- Taiwan will hold an election Saturday to choose members of the national Parliament, mayors and county magistrates. The outcome will have a lasting impact on Taiwan's future -- in particular on its relationship with China.
COMMENTARY
Nov 26, 2001

Freedom in the line of fire

WASHINGTON -- The first priority for all our governments must be the elimination of terrorism, but in the process we must do what we can to preserve our basic freedoms and human rights.
MORE SPORTS
Nov 25, 2001

Kurofune outclasses field by seven lengths

The home team sent the foreign competition packing as it swept the top seven places in the second running of the Japan Cup Dirt at Tokyo Racecourse on Saturday. Favorite Kurofune continued to rewrite the books as he led the field of 16 over the wire by seven lengths in a record time of 2 minutes, 5.9...
JAPAN
Nov 24, 2001

Debate over female on throne muted as nation awaits baby

As Japan awaits the long-anticipated birth of a child to the Crown Prince and Princess, debate over revising the law to allow women to assume the Imperial throne remains somewhat subdued.
CULTURE / Art / NEW ART SEEN
Nov 21, 2001

It's bewildering and bewitching

Someone should tell Karen Kilimnik that when she changes the date of birth on her resume, she should also tweak the other dates listed there, lest she end up appearing to have graduated from university at age 14. This is the case with the bio provided by Gallery Side 2, where the enigmatic painter and...
JAPAN
Nov 19, 2001

12 governors for legalizing casinos; 15 against

Twelve governors support the idea of legalizing casinos to attract tourists to their prefectures and create new jobs, while 15 are opposed to such a move, a Kyodo News survey showed Sunday.

Longform

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