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COMMENTARY / World
Sep 18, 2000

Who wants an all-white world, anyway?

LONDON -- "Whites will be a minority in Britain by the end of the century. . . . It would be the first time in history that a major indigenous population has voluntarily become a minority, rather than through war, famine and disease. Whites will be a minority in London by 2010."
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Sep 17, 2000

Fusing technology, arts in fabulous future shocks

Omote-sando's cafe-restaurant Las Chicas needs no introduction. But few realize that the two-floor building in which it is situated was once a consulate, designed to wrap around the central courtyard -- one of the nicest places to eat in town. Under the umbrella organization Vision Network, the complex...
CULTURE / Stage
Sep 16, 2000

A gentler, softer Dairakudakan

It is tempting to look at the new Dairakudakan production, "Kanzen-naru Hitobito (Complete People)," as being in some way connected to the title. Searching for meaning in butoh performances has always been a mad sport, though, and the premiere by the largest butoh company extant, at Tokyo's Art Sphere...
COMMUNITY
Sep 14, 2000

Part-timers reshaping Japan's work ethic

Yoshinori Ogawa, 27, is a bassist in the rock band Dusty Rose. He considers himself a professional musician, but like many other would-be musicians or thespians, he has not yet reached the point where he can support himself on his music alone.
OLYMPICS
Sep 14, 2000

Japan boss hoping for eight gold medals

SYDNEY -- Japan's Olympic officials have set the nation's athletes a goal of bringing home five gold medals and a total of 15 medals from the Sydney Olympics.
JAPAN
Sep 13, 2000

Reclamation project delayed again

A 50 billion yen-plus land reclamation project in Tokyo Bay was postponed for a second time Tuesday amid sea-borne protests by local fishing boat operators, who say the plan will destroy the last haven for gobies and other sea creatures in the metro area.
LIFE / Travel
Sep 13, 2000

Thunder god romps in Katmandu

For eight wild, magical and sometimes disconcerting days each September the great festival of Indrajatra turns Katmandu into a raucous celebration.
JAPAN
Sep 10, 2000

Shibuya residents furious with graffiti seen as art

Some call it the latest art trend, but others lambaste it as an ugly symbol of present-day Japanese society.
CULTURE / Art / CERAMIC SCENE
Sep 9, 2000

Putting no price on the beautiful

If all the pottery that I live with and use suddenly disappeared from my home, I would find myself quite blue. Those pieces, in their silent voices, spark my imagination and encourage me to live each day with grace and style; they are good friends. Someday I know I will have to part with them; that is...
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 9, 2000

Nationalism before the national interest

VLADIVOSTOK, Russia -- If you ever chance to fly in the wintertime to the disputed Northern Territories -- a cluster of volcanic islets claimed by both Russia and Japan, and known as the southern Kuril Islands to Russians -- be prepared to be stranded.
CULTURE / Art
Sep 9, 2000

Photographer, gallery meet at the edge of Shinjuku

You'd never suspect it to look at the polite 27-year-old German photographer, but a survey of David Steets' work can lead to no other conclusion: Here is a man who loves to live on the edge.
JAPAN
Sep 8, 2000

Storm halts phone service on Miyake

Torrential rain and thunderstorms hit Miyake Island early Thursday, interrupting telephone services, including mobile phone services, on the east side of the volcanic island some 200 km south of Tokyo, village officials said.
LIFE / ALTERNATIVE LUXURIES
Sep 7, 2000

Seeding philosophy in the rice paddies

The zapping racket of cicadas rising and falling, undulating in and out of sync wakes me up soon after sunrise. Although it's not yet 7 a.m., the thick, steamy heat pours in through the open window in waves, and seems fused into one substance with the yazz and clatter of the insects.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 4, 2000

Bloody birth of multicultural Europe

LONDON -- "What are you doing here in Germany," asked the three drunken youths when they ran into Alberto Adriano in Dessau one Saturday night in June. "I live here," Adriano might have replied, but he didn't get the chance. The three were still rhythmically kicking and stamping on his head with their...
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 3, 2000

Sydneysiders counting down

SYDNEY -- Scrubbed and polished, the Olympics city is looking good. Sydneysiders are all-welcoming as the world jets in for Olympic Games 2000. So why are we so worried?
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Sep 3, 2000

Kennedy gives answers with Tokyo Q online

Rick Kennedy loves Tokyo. He has been here for years, yet still can't get over the kindness of its citizens, the flawless attention to detail, the sensory feast to be partaken of at every twist and turn -- much of which can be eaten and drunk! So great is his enthusiasm that we missed our stop, Hamamatsucho,...
LIFE / Travel
Aug 30, 2000

Travel in the company of women

"The challenge is to myself and not to the mountain." -- "Clouds from Both Sides," by Julie Tullis
JAPAN
Aug 27, 2000

Cancer-causing chemicals found at Yokohama site

YOKOHAMA -- Just above the junction of the Tsurumi and Toriyama rivers lies a fenced-off area that looks like a simple abandoned lot.
CULTURE / Art
Aug 27, 2000

Dogs at Saatchi and Saatchi Gallery

The philosophy that primes Jun Fukukawa's work, a combination of painting and sculpture, is a blast from the recent past. Fukukawa is inspired by the writings of Carlos Castaneda, particularly the book "The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge" whose hallucinatory Indian mystical experiences...
BUSINESS
Aug 26, 2000

NEC reorganizes group companies

NEC Corp. will transfer its business of office telephones and point-of-sale devices to affiliated Nitsuko Corp. next April as part of efforts to reorganize NEC group companies, top officials of the two firms announced on Friday.
JAPAN
Aug 26, 2000

Kansai business adviser gains fame for book on Hiroshima bombing

OSAKA -- While Yoshikuni Inoue's is a familiar face in Kansai business circles, he is better known for his efforts to boost the region's economy as joint chairman of the Kansai Association of Corporate Executives in the early 1990s than as a survivor of the 1945 Hiroshima atomic bombing.
COMMUNITY
Aug 24, 2000

A new deal for man's best friend

Theta was a month-and-a-half-old puppy when she first came to live with Fuyumi Morita and her husband in the city of Kakegawa, Shizuoka Prefecture, one year after the couple's marriage. Morita remembers Theta's little paws scrabbling at her when she picked her up, Theta's little eyes looking into her...
LIFE / Food & Drink / KISSA KULTUR
Aug 23, 2000

Boiled and baked, the real thing: New York bagels at Little Tribeca

As the song goes, "Everything Must Change." Nowhere is that clearer than in the world of the Japanese kissaten. Remember the half cups of coffee (no refills, thank you), high prices and limited choices? Nowadays we have filled-to-the-brim short, tall or grande, the cheap and the cheaper (Doutor and Pronto...
JAPAN
Aug 22, 2000

State offers measures to cut city heat

In its first report on the urban heat island effect, released Monday, the government outlined a list of potential measures to help city centers beat the heat and called for an evaluation to determine which are most effective.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 22, 2000

AIDS takes a toll in African classrooms

Since physicians first described its symptoms almost 20 years ago, HIV has infected 53 million people, of which 19 million have died. Of the 34.3 million people now living with HIV/AIDS, 24.5 million are in sub-Saharan Africa, where the epidemic has left 11 million children orphaned.
COMMENTARY
Aug 22, 2000

Still coping with the Gulf War

Ten years ago, the world was in turmoil over the Persian Gulf crisis that started with the Iraq invasion of Kuwait. Now a new crisis appears to be brewing between Arabs and Israelis.
CULTURE / Music / MUSIC NOMAD
Aug 22, 2000

Shang Shang Typhoon blowing back in to devastate main islands

At the start of the 1990s, when "world music" became a generally accepted term, some Japanese started to look at themselves and wonder what their own country had to offer -- not only in Japan but to the rest of the world.
JAPAN
Aug 20, 2000

More places to go on license plates

The Transport Ministry plans to allow local authorities to put the geographical names of their choice on automobile license plates.
JAPAN
Aug 18, 2000

Pyongyang talks to be in Tokyo, Chiba

Next week's second round of normalization talks between Japan and North Korea on establishing diplomatic ties will be held in Tokyo and Chiba Prefecture, government sources said.

Longform

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