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CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Apr 13, 2003

Laying the ghosts of doubt in Laos

LOST OVER LAOS, by Richard Pyle and Horst Faas. Da Capa Press, 2002, 239 pp., $30 (cloth) In American hands, the deadly serious business of warfare, the very way war is conducted, can seem at times more like an extension of its own pop culture, a cartoon warp of the real grotesqueries.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Apr 12, 2003

Daw Aye Mi

This year's chairwoman of the Asia-Pacific festival and charity bazaar is Daw Aye Mi, wife of the ambassador of the Union of Myanmar to Japan. She fills her rule appropriately, as charity for her is imperative. A pious lady who likes to play table tennis, she reads a lot, especially religious books....
JAPAN
Apr 10, 2003

School texts cite 9/11, toe line on SDF

The Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States and subsequent war in Afghanistan are included in most high school textbooks that survived the latest round of screening by the education ministry.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Apr 9, 2003

The Bad Plus: "Here are the Vistas"

It had to happen eventually. Every other social and musical trend has at some point been swept into jazz's fold. The Bad Plus' debut CD, "These Are the Vistas," is a startling work, taking some of its cues from grunge's earnest, introspective stance. Even while sticking to a piano, bass and drums line-up,...
COMMENTARY
Apr 8, 2003

Past guides U.S. postwar policy

LONDON -- The United Nations will only play a marginal role in postwar Iraq. The "transitional" administration will remain firmly in American hands, with some British, Australian and other coalition-member support, until there is an Iraqi government ready to take over the new Iraq. A hopeful estimate...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Apr 6, 2003

A legend from Kyoto to Kerouac and way beyond

Gar Snyder is a legendary figure. The real-life original of Japhy Ryder -- traveling companion, friend and spiritual inspiration to the novelist Jack Kerouac -- he appears in that guise in Kerouac's 1959 novel, "The Dharma Bums." There, speaking as Ryder, he announces that, after study in the East, he...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Apr 6, 2003

Whole-istic medicine: being treated the traditional Chinese way

Thanks to modern medicine, many diseases that were fatal a few decades ago can now be cured. And with the decoding of the human genome, Western medicine is on the verge of taking another mighty leap forward.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Apr 6, 2003

Selfishness and greed motor the American Dream

Watching the war in Iraq from the vantage point of Japan, you don't get as much of the propaganda-like white noise that accompanies the coverage if you're watching it from the United States or the Middle East. But that doesn't mean you get less information.
JAPAN
Apr 5, 2003

SARS carriers to be quarantined

A health ministry council decided Friday that individuals diagnosed with severe acute respiratory syndrome will be forcibly hospitalized -- even if they refuse to seek treatment.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 3, 2003

Kansai robots on march amid Astro Boy hoopla

OSAKA -- The Osamu Tezuka Manga Museum in Takarazuka, Hyogo Prefecture, is witnessing a surge in visitors ahead of the April 7 "birthday" of Astro Boy, the humanoid robot for which the late cartoonist is probably best known.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 3, 2003

Hope for English advocates in special zones

The public education system has long been criticized for its uniformity as well as, according to academics and business leaders, its inability to improve the overall English-language skills of the Japanese people.
JAPAN
Apr 3, 2003

Policy drafted to allow medical practice patents

An advisory panel to the economy, trade and industry minister examining a patent system for medical practices compiled a draft policy Wednesday that would allow some advanced medical technologies to be patented.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Apr 2, 2003

Thrilling theatrical polygamy

For American drama fans, the ultimate contemporary theater experience would be to have seen a Tennessee Williams play directed by the author; for Europeans, it would be to have caught a Samuel Beckett drama staged by the playwright. For Japanese theatergoers, the equivalent would be to have seen a Shuji...
BUSINESS
Apr 2, 2003

946,000 high school, college graduates enter workforce

Around 946,000 graduates entered the workforce Tuesday, joining company welcoming ceremonies on the first day of the 2003 business year amid lingering concerns over the economy and the Iraq war, the labor ministry said.
JAPAN
Apr 2, 2003

Koizumi, Yeltsin discuss importance of bilateral trust

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and visiting former Russian President Boris Yeltsin discussed on Tuesday the need to boost bilateral trust in dealing with political issues as well as energy projects.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Apr 2, 2003

Yo La Tengo: "Summer Sun"

The first thing people notice about any record is its title. "Summer Sun," the latest offering by Yo La Tengo, might appear to be a collection of bright pop singles. Indeed, the band has covered the Beach Boys in the past and always includes original pop songs on their records amid the ambient experimentation...
JAPAN
Apr 1, 2003

South Korea food, culture site to open in Osaka in '05

OSAKA -- A South Korean food and cultural complex will open in the Rinku area near Kansai International Airport in February 2005 to promote friendship between Japan and South Korea, it was announced Monday.
JAPAN
Apr 1, 2003

Truant kids tend to stay away up to two years, study finds

Children who refuse to go to school due to bullying and other reasons miss an average of 18 months to two years of class, according to a recent report by the education ministry.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Mar 30, 2003

An artist drawing on peace

Yoshitomo Nara is one of Japan's most popular contemporary artists, with admirers not only in Japan but also in Europe and the United States.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Mar 29, 2003

Reiko Tsukamoto

The vineyards of Yamanashi excel as Japan's oldest and most successful wine producing districts. Canopies of grapevines spread across Yamanashi land, where sunshine, rainfall, the seasons and soil get together to bring on the growth of high quality grapes.
JAPAN
Mar 29, 2003

Sumatra plaintiffs reach 8,400 in suit over ODA-funded dam

Some 4,500 residents of Sumatra Island in Indonesia joined 3,900 of their compatriots Friday in a lawsuit over the disruption to their lives caused by a hydroelectric project funded with Japanese foreign aid.
JAPAN
Mar 29, 2003

More exceptions to preadmission exam eyed

A plan by the education ministry to allow graduates of Western-style schools to skip the preadmission tests for national university entrance exams may be expanded to include graduates of ethnic Asian schools, education minister Atsuko Toyama said Friday.
BUSINESS
Mar 29, 2003

Tokyo consumer prices fell 0.9% in '02

The key gauge of consumer prices in Tokyo fell 0.9 percent in 2002, down for a record fourth straight year and indicating the increasing deflationary pressure across the country, according to a government report released Friday.
JAPAN
Mar 28, 2003

2002 saw fewer bureaucrats landing private-sector jobs

The number of retired national government officials who landed jobs in the private sector in 2002 was down from the year before, according to data released by the National Personnel Authority.
BUSINESS
Mar 27, 2003

Five Wal-Mart execs join Seiyu's board

Struggling supermarket chain Seiyu Ltd. said Wednesday that five representatives of Wal-Mart Store Inc. have joined its board of directors, formalizing the U.S. retail giant's involvement in Seiyu's management.
JAPAN
Mar 27, 2003

Yeltsin to soak up Japan culture

Former Russian President Boris Yeltsin will make a weeklong visit to Japan beginning Monday, and he is likely to boast his improved health while here by eating well and taking in a hot spring resort.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / JET STREAM
Mar 27, 2003

Hitachi's friendly face

A 19th-century merry-go-round has been restored recently in the city of Orleans, 130 km south of Paris, thanks to the efforts of former JET Clarisse Carl. It is something her two children, ages 8 and 5, are proud of. But for Carl, an assistant to the president of Hitachi Europe, it is just one of her...

Longform

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