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COMMENTARY
Jan 24, 2002

What is normal for Japan?

Prime Minister Koizumi Junichiro has done an extraordinary job in leading Japan's response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the United States. Both the package of measures his government put together to support the U.S.-led coalition against terrorism and the speed with which it was approved have...
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 23, 2002

Get market forces on the side of reform

There are episodes in history that deservingly draw our attention -- some very small in scale but major in impact. In American history, one such moment at the start of the Revolutionary War has come to be known as "the shot that rang through the world." Another such momentous event recently appeared...
JAPAN
Jan 23, 2002

NGO says conference built walls around itself

A major international donor meeting on reconstructing Afghanistan, which wrapped up in Tokyo on Tuesday, should have been more transparent and accessible to nongovernmental organizations and the news media, the leader of a Japanese NGO said.
JAPAN
Jan 21, 2002

Afghan envoys voice hope they will leave with 'full hands'

Representatives of the interim administration of Afghanistan expressed hope Sunday they would obtain a sufficient aid commitment during the two-day conference on the reconstruction of their nation starting in Tokyo today, while the tug-of-war over how much money each donor will pledge continued late...
JAPAN
Jan 20, 2002

American brings kabuki to Japanese as well as foreigners

Mark Oshima never imagined he would appear on a kabuki stage when he first arrived in Japan in 1981, taking a year off from university to write his senior thesis on a theme that had nothing to do with the classical Japanese theater.
COMMUNITY
Jan 20, 2002

Tandoori meets takoyaki in Kansai's Little India

KOBE -- The port city of Kobe, with the largest concentration of Americans and Europeans in the Kansai region, a few of whom have lived in Japan since the Taisho Era (1912-1926), has long been known as one of Japan's most Westernized cities.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jan 20, 2002

Discussing the humane execution of the law

As far as I know, no one has tried to figure out why two of the most popular theatrical releases of 2000 in Japan were "The Green Mile" and "Dancer in the Dark," movies whose dramatic core involved capital punishment and whose moral compass pointed toward the opinion that noncombat state-sanctioned killing...
LIFE / Food & Drink / NIHONSHU
Jan 20, 2002

A heavenly match made in Tsukishima

Ajisen strikes you as special before you even walk in the door. Great care has been taken in creating the entrance itself -- a good sign of the good things to come.
OLYMPICS
Jan 18, 2002

JOC to send 218-member team

said Wednesday it will send 109 athletes and as many officials to next month's Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, cutting back on an earlier plan to send a 224-member delegation. Though still the largest Japanese delegation for a Winter Olympics outside Japan, the number was reduced by six after...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jan 16, 2002

A humorous view of history from the other side of the lens

At last, I got to see a play by Koki Mitani, whose comedy dramas are just about the most difficult to get tickets for nowadays. This is not only because of the critical ovations that greet his productions, but also because of the star status of Mitani himself.
SOCCER / J. League / ON THE BALL
Jan 15, 2002

Base camp bidding battle oversteps mark

After the World Cup final draw was made last month, the mood in Japan for the quadrennial soccer tournament is gradually being accelerating around the country. But one thing has gone too far -- the bidding battle over World Cup base camps.
JAPAN
Jan 14, 2002

Out & About

Multilingual assistance available in Kodaira The Kodaira International Friendship Association holds weekly information services for foreigners facing language difficulties or cultural barriers.
JAPAN
Jan 14, 2002

Fuchu trots out story of horse racing

Horses, once essential for farming and transport, have all but disappeared from modern Japan -- except to fuel our sense of competition at the track.
JAPAN
Jan 13, 2002

Kansai Who & What

Guide club to take in temple sake ceremony The Guide Interpreter Volunteer Club is organizing a one-day tour for foreigners to an annual ceremony held at Daianji temple in Nara Prefecture on Jan. 23.
SUMO
Jan 13, 2002

Maru favored to win Hatsu Basho

The Hatsu Basho gets underway this Sunday with only one yokozuna competing -- Musashimaru. Yokozuna Takanohana will be absent for the fourth consecutive tournament.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Jan 13, 2002

Reassessing Kurosawa's neglected masterpiece

SEVEN SAMURAI: The Film by Akira Kurosawa, by Joan Mellen. London: British Film Institute, 2002, 96 pp., with many b/w photos, 8.99 British pounds (paper) The National Film Theater in London is currently presenting a two-month-long festival featuring the works of Akira Kurosawa. A number of other events...
LIFE / Lifestyle / MATTER OF COURSE
Jan 11, 2002

Getting into the rat race in middle school

My children are back in school after two weeks of winter vacation. We went skiing and took a few day trips around Tokyo, but the boys spent most of their vacation playing, reading and relaxing. Some of their school chums, however, had no break at all. They spent the entire "holiday" studying for middle-school...
MORE SPORTS
Jan 9, 2002

Skiers Funaki, Harada named to Olympic team

Olympic gold-winning duo Kazuyoshi Funaki and Masahiko Harada were named Monday to Japan's ski jumping team for next month's Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jan 9, 2002

Assisting artists to enrich the spirit

Despite the relentless advance of the global economy, the cliche of the starving artist or student has not completely lost its currency. Younger artists seeking to establish themselves, or scholars wishing to devote more time to their studies, are generally in for a belt-tightening experience.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / J-POPSICLE
Jan 9, 2002

Two looks back and three worth looking forward to

Akemashite, etc. . . . Before I do anything else, I'd like to thank NHK for providing me with my yearly dose of enka on the 2001 edition of "Kohaku Utagassen (Red and White Song Contest)."
JAPAN
Jan 8, 2002

North Korean ship searched after refusing to be boarded

Coast guard personnel and police inspected an uncooperative North Korean freighter Monday in Chiba Prefecture but found nothing unusual and believe a tip about suspicious men in wet suits that led to the search was a hoax, a senior Japan Coast Guard official said.
JAPAN
Jan 8, 2002

New Year's temple, shrine visits dip

About 84.91 million people visited Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples across Japan during the first three days of the year, down 3.84 million from last year, the National Police Agency said Monday.
SOCCER / THE BALD TRUTH
Jan 8, 2002

Former Sanfrecce boss Thomson itching to get back into J. League

SYDNEY -- Former Sanfrecce Hiroshima manager Eddie Thomson is the sort of person who could sell Michael Schumacher a used Skoda.
JAPAN
Jan 7, 2002

Pyongyang plans tourism Web site

North Korea's state tourist body will open an official Japanese-language Web site in a bid to attract more tourists to the country ahead of a series of commemorative events scheduled for this year, officials of a Japanese travel agency said Saturday.
LIFE / Food & Drink / NIHONSHU
Jan 6, 2002

Uncorking the bubbly, Nihon-style

Happy New Year to all Japan Times readers. May 2002 be a year of health and prosperity for all.
JAPAN
Jan 6, 2002

Meteorological agency plans to offer improved forecasts

The Japan Meteorological Agency will introduce the so-called four-dimensional variation method in March to increase the accuracy of its six-hour rain forecasts, agency officials said Saturday.
EDITORIALS
Jan 6, 2002

Back to work, back to 'normal'

On the one hand, 2001 zoomed by, didn't it? It seems just an eye-blink since we were last cleaning up after New Year's feasts and fireworks, sitting in traffic jams to get back home and gearing up for the Monday-after return to work. It is a well-established fact that the older we get, the more often...
LIFE / Food & Drink / THE WAY OF WASHOKU
Jan 6, 2002

Starting at the root of Japanese cooking

A samurai party — pungent as daikon radish their conversation! — Matsuo Basho (1644-1694)

Longform

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