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JAPAN
Jan 10, 2004

Slump spells trouble for sister-city ties

In November, Ehime Prefecture and the state of Hawaii agreed to become sister "municipalities" -- a symbolic move aimed at overcoming the February 2001 Ehime Maru tragedy.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Jan 7, 2004

Yankees tickets and the foreign player 'scrap heap'

Happy New Year, and expect announcement real soon of details concerning the New York Yankees-Tampa Bay Devil Rays American League openers at Tokyo Dome on March 30-31. You know, who will be the sponsor? How much will the ticket prices be? Stuff like that.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Jan 6, 2004

Do you want to travel to Japan?

Sam Kanne Broadcasting, 25
EDITORIALS
Jan 4, 2004

Ten words that mirror a year

It's the time of year when people try to make sense of the past 12 months by coming up with lists -- the best this and the worst that, what was in and what was out and, above all, Top 10 Everything. Some of the latter lists are so familiar and expected that New Year's wouldn't be the same without them:...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jan 4, 2004

Innovative dance program aims to shift the balance

In the arena of artistic production, a publicly run performing arts facility on the Sea of Japan coast is issuing a challenge to Tokyo, the nation's center of cultural activity. The Niigata City Performing Arts Center (Ryutopia) has tapped Jo Kanamori, a 29-year-old star dancer and choreographer, to...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Jan 3, 2004

Atsuko DeRoy

Wherever she goes, Atsuko DeRoy has her sketch pad and pen at the ready. In meetings she quietly sketches speakers and people sitting opposite her. Outdoors she sketches buildings, flowers and whatever comes along. However quickly and unobtrusively she works, she puts passion into it. That is why, for...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Jan 3, 2004

A primer for Japanese holidays

If you're like me, the one thing you need at the end of a long run of holidays is . . . yet another holiday.
EDITORIALS
Jan 1, 2004

Year of tests for Asian democracy

For those who argue that democracy is alien to Asian society and culture, 2004 will provide the litmus test. The year will be thick with elections, challenging both voters and political systems throughout the region. Every campaign introduces volatility to domestic politics, but the sheer number of elections...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 1, 2004

Japan needs to emerge from behind America's apron: Wolferen

Japan may be the world's No. 2 economic power, but where diplomacy is concerned, Karel G. van Wolferen likens it to a boy who has to ask his parents (i.e. the United States) if he can go outside to play.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 1, 2004

Founder of Don Quijote empire revels in breaking all the rules

It's a jungle in there: Tacky, handwritten cardboard signs bearing dubious slogans vie for space with garish rolls of toilet paper, sex toys and Louis Vuitton handbags.
JAPAN
Dec 31, 2003

Foreigners, Japanese hone kanji skills

Despite having studied Japanese since 1987, Olaf Sponheim became increasingly frustrated with his failure to master the art of writing kanji.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Dec 31, 2003

A river of creativity runs through it

Art is breaking out all over Kamiyama in Tokushima Prefecture. Mysterious arrangements of rocks are appearing in the verdant hills of this northeastern Shikoku town. Small wooden huts -- equipped with artistic stamps and ink pads for visitors to document their passage -- are dotted about the town. An...
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Dec 30, 2003

Truth gets trampled by good stories

And why did the cops take 1,772 calls before deciding that someone was pulling their chain? We don't know. And we don't know why, or even if, the following people did these strange things, but heaven forbid we'd let the truth stand in the way of a good story.
Events
Dec 28, 2003

KANSAI: Who & What

Canadians invite people to Jan. 1 swim in Kobe: The Kansai Canadian Association is inviting people to take part in -- or simply watch -- a midwinter swim on Jan. 1 at Suma Beach in Kobe.
JAPAN
Dec 27, 2003

Homegrown embryonic stem cells in offing

Beginning next month, a national institute will start providing domestically produced human embryonic stem cells -- a move likely to accelerate Japanese research into the production of tissue and organs for medical use.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Dec 27, 2003

Homeless activist makes plea to save the trees

As you clear up after Christmas and prepare for New Year, spare a thought for American Vincent Dodson. He is spending his "holiday" as he passes every day, sleeping rough in the park beside the JR Yamanote line near Shibuya Station, and demonstrating against what he describes as "the wantonly wasteful...
JAPAN
Dec 24, 2003

Teachers stray in record numbers

The number of public school teachers who were punished for obscene conduct reached a record-high 175 nationwide in fiscal 2002, which ended March 31, according to the education ministry.
BUSINESS
Dec 23, 2003

Ministers finish fine-tuning draft budget for 2004

Cabinet ministers on Monday completed fine-tuning the 82.11 trillion yen draft budget for fiscal 2004, paving the way for its endorsement at a Cabinet meeting Wednesday.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Dec 23, 2003

What three things would you take to a foreign country?

Like Survivor, but not set on a desert island — it's a vast sprawling metropolis with unfamiliar terrain, terminology and script. Armed only with compass and guidebook, knowing they must do battle with taxi drivers, ticket machines and shop attendants, Melanie Burton asked our intrepid travelers what...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Dec 21, 2003

Zen and the art of gardening

INSIDE JAPANESE GARDENS, by Shunmyo Masuno. Osaka: Commemorative Foundation for the International Garden & Greenery Exposition, 350 pp., 4,800 yen (cloth). In the formal Japanese garden -- a source of delight but also puzzlement to some visitors -- every element has a reason for being there, an ordained...
JAPAN
Dec 20, 2003

Hinomaru hoisted at all spring graduation events

All public elementary, junior high and high schools in Japan raised the Hinomaru during their spring graduation ceremonies, according to an education ministry survey released this week.
JAPAN
Dec 20, 2003

15% fall in problem pupils finds doubters

The number of students at public elementary, junior high and high schools detained by police or taken to family courts for problematic behavior fell 15.4 percent in fiscal 2002 from the previous year to 4,317, according to an education ministry report released Friday.
CULTURE / Music
Dec 19, 2003

In praise of a 'brilliant idea'

Even a cursory check of convenience store shelves these days shows how the omake giveaways that makers once offered as lures to buy certain candies have now become the main selling points themselves. After all, how many people would pay 300 yen just for the two almond chocolates in a packet of "Time...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 18, 2003

As seas rise, Tuvalu calls for emission cuts

Tuvalu Prime Minister Saufatu Sopoanga urged industrialized nations Wednesday to cut greenhouse-gas emissions as soon as possible by shifting to renewable energy sources, fearing his island nation will sink if global warming continues.
Japan Times
Events
Dec 18, 2003

U.K. journalists upbeat on economic outlook

Japan may still face some serious economic problems in the months and years to come, but the way the government and the financial authorities have handled the economy in the last 12 months mean there is today a great deal more hope for a sustainable recovery, according to five British financial journalists...

Longform

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