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COMMENTARY
Jun 3, 2002

Too cozy for visions of reform

Japan is groping in the dark politically, economically and diplomatically. Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's reform initiative is deadlocked; there is even a sense that it might end up as an empty slogan. Prospects for the postal deregulation bills, a top item on his reform agenda, are at best uncertain...
Japan Times
JAPAN / CUP COUNTDOWN
May 31, 2002

Hooligan phobia triggers siege mentality

KAWAGUCHI, Saitama Pref. -- Soccer fans hoping to stop for a cup of coffee on their way to or from World Cup games at Saitama Stadium won't be able to do so at Katsura cafe here. Whenever matches are being played -- and hooligans might be in the area -- the cafe will be closed.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 31, 2002

Ex-DJ spins Japan-China differences

The biggest problem between Japan and China is their lack of mutual understanding -- due largely to prejudice and ignorance, said Akiko Aoki, a former host for China Radio International, the sole Chinese national radio station broadcasting programs overseas.
JAPAN
May 29, 2002

Ozone hole will close: Japanese team

The hole in the ozone layer will be mostly gone by around 2040 due to restrictions placed on chlorofluorocarbons, a Japanese research team said Tuesday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 29, 2002

Exposing the dark side of human nature

Man Ray was master of an art form for which he nonetheless professed "a certain amount of contempt": photography. His first love was painting, and he persistently denied the artistry of the medium that made him famous. But it is largely thanks to his photographic work -- explored in an impressive new...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
May 26, 2002

Where art and religion meet

DANCE OF LIFE: The Mythology, History and Politics of Cambodian Culture, by Julie B. Mehta. Singapore, 2001, 304 pp., $96.15/2,800 baht (cloth) In this beautifully illustrated book on Cambodian classical dance, Julie B. Mehta examines the richness of Khmer culture, the horror of the Pol Pot era and the...
CULTURE / Music
May 26, 2002

And with a wave of his wand . . .

As cofounder and artistic director of the Asian Youth Orchestra, Richard Pontzious says one of his greatest delights is providing talented youngsters with an experience that might become the most significant musical memory of their lives.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
May 26, 2002

Wartime suffering that didn't count

JAPAN'S COMFORT WOMEN: Sexual Slavery and Prostitution During World War Two and the U.S. Occupation. By Yuki Tanaka. Routledge, London, 2002, 212 pp. $24.95 This is by far the best book available on this sordid chapter in Japan's history. Yuki Tanaka's sophisticated and textured assessment of Japan's...
BUSINESS
May 22, 2002

Caribbean may end up top banana in paper manufacturing

Banana paper may provide cash-strapped Caribbean countries with the best hope for a brighter future.
Japan Times
JAPAN / KANSAI BEAT
May 21, 2002

High-flying Tigers pitch for orphans

NISHINOMIYA, Hyogo Pref. -- With the Hanshin Tigers having their best start in years this season, the pride of the Kansai area has been the center of public and media attention.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
May 21, 2002

The hermit opens up to visitors

PYONGYANG -- It's not difficult to find your way around Pyongyang. The city has few tall buildings and wherever you go, the imposing monolith of the Tower of the Juche Idea -- topped by a red "flame" that glows at night -- enables visitors to get their bearings.
JAPAN
May 21, 2002

Nichibenren to investigate handling of asylum seekers

The Japan Federation of Bar Associations (Nichibenren) said Monday it will investigate the removal of five North Korean asylum seekers by Chinese police from the Japanese Consulate General in Shenyang, China, with an eye to pressuring the government to make greater efforts to protect human rights.
JAPAN / WHALE WATCHING
May 19, 2002

IWC talks crucial, U.S. official says

The international whaling meeting that opens Monday is the most important in 15 years, and its outcome is as hard to predict as it is significant, according to the head of the U.S. delegation.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
May 19, 2002

An unexpected transformation at English school

RED SKY, RED DRAGONFLY, by John Galligan. Madison, Wisconsin: Diversity Incorporated, 262 pp., $14.95 (paper). "Red Sky, Red Dragonfly," a first novel by college writing professor John Galligan, provides ample evidence that he understands the craft he teaches. A humorous and original tale spanning two...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
May 19, 2002

A lost textile art gains ascendancy

THE WORLD OF ROZOME: Wax-Resist Textiles of Japan, by Betsy Sterling Benjamin. Kodansha International, 2002, 224 pp., $49.95 (paper) If the art of "rozome" (wax-resist dyeing) were a moon in the sky, it would be full and glowing brightly. Having waned in importance as a textile-patterning process at...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT
May 19, 2002

Whaling: A live issue over death

Whales dolphins and porpoises, the aquatic mammals collectively called cetaceans, number less than 80 species, or fewer than 2 percent of all mammals. They are, however, probably the most talked about and written about of all wild animals -- despite being some of the most poorly understood creatures...
JAPAN / THE OKINAWA FACTOR
May 17, 2002

School taps into popularity of jobs at U.S. facilities

NAHA, Okinawa Pref. -- Growing up near Kadena Air Base and witnessing the rough antics of American soldiers, Yasuhiko Toyozato could be forgiven if he harbored negative feelings toward U.S. forces here.
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
May 17, 2002

We're all narrow-minded

It's a commonly held belief that we lose brain cells as we age. But, in fact, although our brains may not work as well when we get older -- learning becomes harder, memories fuzzier -- the number of cells they contain remains the same, about 28 billion. Scientists think the real problem is that the myelin...
Japan Times
JAPAN / WHALE WATCHING
May 16, 2002

Legal mechanism flawed: wildlife expert

Japanese laws are ill-equipped to protect marine mammals and need an overhaul if these animals are to receive attention akin to their terrestrial counterparts, according to a leading wildlife expert.
JAPAN
May 16, 2002

Exodus of young from Tokyo slowing

Fewer young people have moved out of Tokyo's 23 wards in recent years, prompting demographers to speculate that young families are now seeking to live closer to their workplaces.
Japan Times
JAPAN / WHALE WATCHING
May 15, 2002

Greenpeace tweaks strategy to wage more effective antiwhaling campaign

If there is one group that has vociferously carved out an antiwhaling niche -- globally, but especially in Japan -- it is Greenpeace.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 15, 2002

Art macht frei

"Arbeit macht frei (Work brings freedom)" were the words famously written above the gates of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, where Austrian-born artist Friedl Dicker-Brandeis was murdered in a gas chamber on Oct. 9, 1944. Friedl's life, however, had been devoted to a different, truer precept:...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 15, 2002

Offspring of poetry's artistic polygamy

Several events this month platform the spoken and written words in new combinations: An exhibition of Japanese and French "visual poetry" opens May 15; poetry marries improvisational live jazz and shakuhachi performance; and a book launch for an anthology of new writing offers readings, music and dance....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / NEW ART SEEN
May 15, 2002

Weird science, but great art

It's the old quantity-versus-quality problem. Though there are only a couple of private contemporary-art museums in Tokyo (the Watari-Um and the Hara), their shows are almost always good and focus on providing authoritative coverage of some of the domestic and international art scenes' most important...
JAPAN
May 14, 2002

Rain could leave seriously ill people stranded: study

Extremely heavy rain once in five years would block access to key roadways, increasing the number of seriously ill patients unable to reach major medical facilities within one hour by 2.27 million, according to a government scenario.
JAPAN
May 9, 2002

Survey says late-night pediatric care lacking

The nation suffers a lack of facilities that provide emergency pediatric care after midnight or on holidays, according to a health ministry survey.
JAPAN
May 8, 2002

Ban sought on Norway whale meat

Concerned consumers and antiwhaling groups on Tuesday petitioned the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry to abandon the idea of allowing whale meat to be imported from Norway because of potentially high levels of pollution.
BUSINESS
May 8, 2002

Matsushita inks drug technology deal

OSAKA -- Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. and U.S. venture business Tensor Biosciences have signed an agreement to jointly develop and commercialize Brain-on-a-Chip drug discovery technology, the two companies said Tuesday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 5, 2002

Naturalized entrepreneur jumps conservative obstacles

It's bad enough for a would-be entrepreneur that Japan is suffering a protracted economic slump and the country is bound -- still -- by archaic business practices.

Longform

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.