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CULTURE / Art
Apr 23, 2000

Collection shows Warhol's scope

Andy Warhol's death, 13 years ago, was an ignominious one: A man who had access to the best medical care, Warhol died after a routine but botched gall bladder operation.
CULTURE / Art
Apr 22, 2000

World of freeze-framed flowers at Mitsukoshi

Despite a long history dating back to the 16th century, when botanists in England and Italy began systematic collection of specimens, the art of flower pressing still tends to be treated as a mere hobby or handicraft in many countries. In Japan, too, although the number of oshibana (pressed flower) artists...
LIFE / Style & Design / BEAUTY EAST AND WEST
Apr 20, 2000

Ayurvedic delights for the face

Continuing on the topic of Ayurveda, here are some basic Ayurvedic principles for making your own simple beauty treatments. As detailed in my last column, the Ayurvedic system relies on a rather precise diagnostic system, and furthermore all diagnoses take into account the basic constitutional type of...
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
Apr 20, 2000

Loose lips can sometimes sink skips

After the New York Mets lost their season opener in Tokyo last month, a few players headed to Roppongi for some beers. On their way to hailing a taxi, one of the team's starting infielders turned to his teammates and said: "I'll tell you one thing about Bobby Valentine. He's the smartest mother (expletive)...
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 20, 2000

More than money needed to build a premier university

Not long ago, Singapore's education minister, Teo Chee Hean, articulated his government's long-held desire to build a "world class" higher education establishment as an underpinning for its "knowledge economy."
COMMENTARY
Apr 19, 2000

New language for a new world

The prestigious Trilateral Commission met here in Tokyo earlier this month, bringing together some 130 influential people from three continents to focus on key world issues and offer some advice to participants in the forthcoming Okinawa Summit of world leaders. The commissioners heard speeches from...
COMMENTARY
Apr 19, 2000

Skewed views of Obuchi par for the course

Memories are short. In 1998, most foreign media poured scorn on the choice of Keizo Obuchi to replace former Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto, who had been forced to resign because of the weak economy and an election setback.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / GETTING THINGS DONE
Apr 19, 2000

The first to go

The outlook for the economy may be brightening, but the glow is not apparent among museums. First to close was Seibu's museum in Ikebukuro, followed by the Roppongi Arts and Crafts Museum in 1998 and Mitsukoshi's Shinjuku museum which closed last year. Next will be Tobu's Ikebukuro museum, which will...
CULTURE / Music / FUZZY LOGIC
Apr 18, 2000

Heaven knows it's miserable with psyche-scarring Neurosis

Waking up to find Tokyo's governor is a racist pig is a little unnerving, especially if you are foreigner scum like me who at the first rumble of an earthquake will be out on the streets raping schoolgirls, pillaging sushi shops and torturing puppy dogs.
COMMENTARY
Apr 16, 2000

A challenge to democracies

Democracies pride themselves on their efficient transfer of power from one elected leader to the next. But death or disability can strike a leader and cause immediate crisis.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / GETTING THINGS DONE
Apr 16, 2000

The season

Last week I made a pilgrimage to my favorite places for "ohanami," cherry-blossom viewing. They were late this year. The cold weather and rain were enough to make us all but give up, but that day the sun came out and so did the blossoms. Once in a rare while, when they bloom while it is still cold, there...
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 15, 2000

Behind the good news, reasons for concern

The global economy is looking good, reports the International Monetary Fund in the latest issue of its World Economic Outlook. According to the IMF's biannual forecast, released earlier this week, growth will rise 4.2 percent. The pace is picking up: Only six months ago, the Fund projected a 3.5 percent...
CULTURE / Art
Apr 15, 2000

Paintings with lives of their own

Painter Michael Hofmann says his best work starts and finishes before he's even realized it.
EDITORIALS
Apr 12, 2000

A Korean dialogue at last

In a long-awaited development, the governments of North Korea and South Korea announced Monday that they would hold their first-ever presidential summit June 12 to 14 in Pyongyang. This meeting is a victory for the "sunshine" policy of South Korean President Kim Dae Jung and could fundamentally change...
LIFE / Travel
Apr 12, 2000

Follow the pilgrims' road to where past and present meet

When the warm spring winds riding the Kuroshio (Black Current) reach Shikoku, the island is at its best for visitors. Shikoku in the spring attracts both tourists and pilgrims. The pilgrims come to visit some or all of the island's 88 temples dedicated to Kobo Daishi, who introduced Shingon Buddhism...
CULTURE / Books
Apr 12, 2000

The wellspring of pacifism in Japan

PROPHETS OF PEACE: Pacifism and Cultural Identity in Japan's New Religions, by Robert Kisala. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 1999, 242 pp., $24.95 (paper). The so-called Peace Constitution is a defining feature of modern Japan. In the aftermath of World War II, Japan has perceived itself, and...
COMMENTARY
Apr 12, 2000

No sympathy for politicians

I have sometimes said to my wife about a prominent politician, "Poor old so and so! He must be exhausted keeping to such a hard schedule. It's a tough life being a peripatetic politician." My wife's invariable response has been, "Don't waste your sympathy on politicians. They didn't have to accept their...
COMMENTARY
Apr 12, 2000

Western media err on China and Taiwan

So Taiwan has elected an allegedly pro-independence candidate as president. But China has still not invaded.
CULTURE / Stage
Apr 11, 2000

Celebratory dance of 'women's noh'

Jiutamai dancer Yoh Izumo will present her 35th anniversary performance April 19, 7 p.m. at the National Theater. A classical form of Japanese traditional dance, jiutamai is considered a very intimate form of dance emphasizing a woman's innermost emotions, expressed through slow minimalist movements....
EDITORIALS
Apr 9, 2000

Stop to listen -- and to help

Those words of advice are intended for every member of the nation's police forces. The case of the three Saitama prefectural police officers just dismissed and expected to be indicted for falsifying documents is only the latest in a series of incidents suggesting that many police have forgotten, or never...
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 9, 2000

Peace's high price in Kosovo

I previously argued that to supporters, NATO cured Europe of the Milosevic-borne disease of ethnic cleansing. To critics, however, the NATO cure worsened the disease ("NATO in the Balkans: Between disaster and failure," April 1).
COMMUNITY / How-tos / GETTING THINGS DONE
Apr 9, 2000

At the top

There is little need to write what a wonderful city San Francisco is, how much there is to do. On the day I arrived, I could have joined a ghost hunt, had a tour of a teddy bear factory, heard a lecture explaining how California once was an island, seen an exhibition of Japanese "shibori" fabrics at...
CULTURE / Music
Apr 9, 2000

Conductors introduce some new stars

It is fair to assume that anyone reading this column is a music lover of some degree. Take a moment to reflect, though, that there was a time in your life when you had never heard a note of music. What was it that inveigled your innocent ear? When was it? Where were you? Who introduced you?
EDITORIALS
Apr 8, 2000

The game of the name

There are hints in the spring air of a diplomatic thaw: The Clinton administration is poised, they say, to let Libya out of the doghouse. Sanctions may be lifted, and Americans may once again vacation in Tripoli. Modest celebrations are in order, but there is one caveat. Washington should not let the...
CULTURE / Art / CERAMIC SCENE
Apr 8, 2000

Amber glow from the fires of Ohi

There are few glazes in Japan as captivating as Ohi-yaki's ame-yu. Its rich caramel color is most often seen on chawan (tea bowls) and mizusashi (water jars), and the depth and elegance of the hues draw the viewer into a very serene world.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Apr 8, 2000

Bicultural relations of the palate

FUKUOKA -- Think about how you enjoy red wine. With a tasty pasta dish or rich gamey stew, perhaps? Well, how about sushi? Few would answer yes to this one -- unless they were culinary ninja, as creative director Daisuke Utagawa of Washington, D.C.'s first sushi restaurant Sushi-Ko, describes himself....
MORE SPORTS
Apr 7, 2000

You've come a long way, baby

Their faces may be swollen and their noses might get bloodied, but Japanese female boxers have no intention of stepping out of the ring.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 7, 2000

India still hurts from Nehru's blunders

NEW DELHI -- It seems absurd that almost 53 years after India became a free country that it should remain without recognized borders with its most powerful neighbor, China.
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
Apr 6, 2000

MLB should think big after success of Japan games

Congratulations to Major League Baseball on the successful 2000 season-opening games between the Chicago Cubs and New York Mets at the Tokyo Dome last week. It was great to see the big boys finally playing regular-season games here in Japan.
EDITORIALS
Apr 5, 2000

After Mr. Obuchi's collapse

Worry, speculation and embarrassment have overwhelmed Japan's political world in the two days since Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi was incapacitated by a stroke on Sunday. As hopes vanished for his resumption of the nation's most responsible political post, the Obuchi Cabinet resigned en bloc on Tuesday...

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