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JAPAN
Aug 28, 2004

'Daiken' route waived by 702 test-takers

Last spring saw 702 graduates of ethnic and international schools in Japan and dropouts from Japanese high schools take college and university entrance exams without taking the "daiken" eligibility test as well, according to the education ministry.
JAPAN
Aug 28, 2004

School kids becoming more violent

Public elementary school children committed a record 1,777 violent acts in the 2003 academic year, the education ministry said Friday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 27, 2004

Board OKs nationalist-bent history text

The Tokyo metropolitan board of education adopted a controversial, nationalist-inspired junior high school history textbook Thursday that critics say glosses over Japan's wartime atrocities.
JAPAN
Aug 27, 2004

Bigotry hounds former Hansen's patients

At first, Japanese victims of Hansen's disease were jubilant after a court fined a hot spring resort that turned them away last year. Then came the hate mail.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Aug 27, 2004

Japan's big Little Italy

Local sobriquets are not hard to come by. A place that is home to a few dingy canals on which some dodgy craft manage to stay afloat gets tagged the "Venice of Somewhere." A town in Japan that manages to keep some old houses out of the predatory clutches of developers becomes the "Little Kyoto of Somewhere...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 27, 2004

Board OKs nationalist-bent history text

The Tokyo metropolitan board of education adopted a controversial, nationalist-inspired junior high school history textbook Thursday that critics say glosses over Japan's wartime atrocities.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 26, 2004

Youngest Cannes winner commended

Yuya Yagira, the 14-year-old named best actor at this year's Cannes Film Festival, received a Japanese government award Wednesday for his performance in the movie "Nobody Knows."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 25, 2004

While Mom was away

Nobody Knows Rating: * * * * (out of 5) Director: Hirokazu Kore-eda Running time: 141 minutes Language: Japanese Currently showing [See Japan Times movie listings]
JAPAN
Aug 24, 2004

Radioactive material found at university

About 1,100 bottles containing liquid radioactive material have been found unattended on the campus of the University of Tokushima, the education ministry said Monday, warning the university to improve its control of hazardous materials.
CULTURE / Music
Aug 22, 2004

Ryukyu Underground: "Ryukyu Remixed"

"Respect Records" perfectly describes the way this label feels that obscure styles of music, such as Okinawan, calypso, Hawaiian and Irish music, should be handled. Clearly, the folks at Respect are unusually dedicated. However, their recent release, "Ryukyu Remixed," is poised to gain recognition far...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Aug 22, 2004

Sexual, textual and visual boundaries

IN THE REALM OF THE SENSES (BFI Film Classics), by Joan Mellen. London: British Film Institute, 2004, 88 pp., with photographs. £8.99 (paper).
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Aug 20, 2004

On the path of poets

Utter silence, Piercing the stone walls, The cicada's cry
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / THE SECOND ROOM
Aug 20, 2004

The Gathering 2004 preview

After dozens of hours of copious, nail-biting research, I have deduced that there is absolutely no connection whatsoever between Respect for the Aged Day and the ending date for Gathering 2004, except that vigorous dancing has been medically proven to reverse the aging process.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 19, 2004

Keep relations with U.S. in perspective

Undeniably the United States is very important to Japan. Nevertheless, I have detected some worrying signs in the present state of Japan-U.S. relations. More frequently than before, we hear people argue that good relations with the U.S. is an objective in itself. In addition, many Japanese unwittingly...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 18, 2004

Questions of balance

Fahrenheit 9/11 Rating: * * * * (out of 5) Director: Michael Moore Running time: 122 minutes Language: English Currently showing [See Japan Times movie listings] The Fog of War Rating: * * * * (out of 5) Director: Errol Morris Running time: 107 minutes Language: English Opens...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 17, 2004

Offshore fever grips heavy equipment auctions

YOKOHAMA -- On a scorching mid-July day, hundreds of huge hulks were slowly paraded along a 30-meter tarmac in front of a circus tent packed with sweaty buyers.
LIFE / Travel / NATURE TRAVEL
Aug 15, 2004

Mad Max and a mango make for a mind-bendingly memorable city tour

After half an hour of clinging to the back of Mr. Tuc's scooter, the question needs to be asked. It really does.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 14, 2004

Rowdy Chinese fans raise some Olympic-size questions

HONOLULU -- Nasty outbursts against a Japanese sports team in China have raised worrisome questions about Beijing's fitness to host the 2008 Olympic Games, which China's rulers intend to be a showcase for the progress of their nation, much as the Games were for Japan in 1964 and for South Korea in 1988....
JAPAN
Aug 13, 2004

Ministry to offer parents child-care advice via e-mail

The education ministry will provide child-care consultations via e-mail to make its parenting advice service more accessible to young parents, ministry officials said Thursday.
COMMENTARY
Aug 13, 2004

An uphill battle for women

LONDON -- Morgan Stanley last month agreed to a $54 million out-of-court settlement to ensure that serious allegations of sexual discrimination against it did not come to trial in the United States. The bank proclaimed its innocence, but if it really had nothing to hide, why didn't it let the evidence...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 12, 2004

Camper industry wants seniors to take homes on the road

Western culture has spread far and wide in Japan, but one element of it has yet to take root here: the camper.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 12, 2004

Net sites cater to quest for Russian brides

Attractive Russian women with blonde hair and green eyes smile invitingly from the computer screen.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / CERAMIC SCENE
Aug 11, 2004

National treasures of Bizen-ware pots

The city and pottery style of Bizen hold a special place in my heart; in a sense, Bizen was my "first love" in the ceramic world. When I was first given a Bizen yunomi (tea cup) twenty years ago I had never held something so earthy and "alive" -- a vessel for use in daily life, to enhance drinking pleasure,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / CERAMIC SCENE
Aug 9, 2004

Japan's tea pots made by an American potter

The stereotypical image of a chadogu (Way of Tea) potter is of an elderly gentleman with a wispy beard and sharp piercing eyes, clad in a samue (artist's working clothes). You would assume he had come from a family dating back generations and that his lineage was of supreme pride and importance in Japan's...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Aug 8, 2004

Which way for Japanese capitalism?

THE END OF DIVERSITY?: Prospects for German and Japanese Capitalism, edited by Kozo Yamamura and Wolfgang Streeck. Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press, 2003, 401 pp., $24.95 (paper), $49.95 (cloth). This book is about the future of capitalism and its national varieties. "Free market capitalism...
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 7, 2004

High expectations await Lee Hsien Loong

SINGAPORE -- After nearly 14 years at the country's helm, Goh Chok Tong has announced that he will step down as Singapore's prime minister on Aug. 12. Deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong will become the nation's third prime minister since it gained independence in 1965. It is believed that Goh will...
COMMUNITY
Aug 7, 2004

Hanging out at Jellyfish for the holiday season

It is midmorning on Zushi beach in Kanagawa Prefecture, and all is well with Jellyfish, scented with new-cut wood and offering more than a hint of the elusive.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Aug 7, 2004

Eugenio Toussaint

In its straightforward Japanese transcription, "El Pez Dorado" uses the "kanji" characters for "fish" and "gold." "El Pez Dorado" is the name given to the most recently released CD of Eugenio Toussaint, a musician from Mexico. The CD includes piano pieces that have not been previously recorded, and which...

Longform

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