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Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Oct 20, 2002

Sommeliers ride high on Japan's wine wave

The last five years have seen an explosion in the number of certified sommeliers in Japan. Certain high-profile Japanese sommeliers have even achieved an almost rock star-like status, an unexpected development in a country where the title of sommelier did not even exist 30 years ago. Despite its lack...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Oct 20, 2002

Turning into Japan's Everyman in a Nobel way

People who get selected to compete on Japanese trivia-based TV quiz shows are always getting asked questions about Japan's Nobel prizewinners. It's not as difficult as it sounds. Until two weeks ago, there were only 10 of them.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Oct 20, 2002

When romancing medieval Japan, why stop at one?

ACROSS THE NIGHTINGALE FLOOR: Tales of the Otori (Book One), by Lian Hearn. Riverhead Books, 2002, 304 pp., $24.95 (cloth) For over a century, Asia has been a rich and enduring source of inspiration for fantasy and science fiction writers. Since James Hilton created the fantastic Himalayan utopia of...
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Oct 18, 2002

Eriksson latest victim of kiss-and-tell fast sell

LONDON -- After two months it is about time this column came up with a world exclusive. Apologies for the delay but I hope it was worth waiting for.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / JET STREAM
Oct 18, 2002

Conducting a whole tradition of music

When symphony conductor Stefan Nedyalkov first visited Tokyo as a child in 1977, he had a premonition. He awoke in his hotel room one morning, convinced that he would return to Japan someday and live here. He was 11 years old at the time and a member of the children's choir of Bulgarian National Radio....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Oct 17, 2002

'Tis a pity she's the leading actress

Contemporary theater in Japan existed as something akin to an underground cult in the 1960s and '70s. In the '80s, with bubble money swilling around everywhere, many of these youthful, looselyknit groups came in from the cultural margins and formed theater companies. Led by experimental directors such...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Oct 16, 2002

Tale of honor that'll run and run

This October, the Kabukiza is anticipating the 300th anniversary of the famous act of revenge accomplished by 47 ronin (masterless samurai) on Dec. 14, 1702 by staging one of kabuki's most celebrated dramas, "Kanadehon Chushingura (The Forty-seven Loyal Retainers)." Selections from this epic work are...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / THE WAY OF WASHOKU
Oct 13, 2002

Ni-mono is a many-splendored comfort food

When we first eat outside of the family kitchen, we realize that there is a whole different world of flavors out there. Most of the time, however, the flavors we end up longing for are the comforting tastes of the hearth that nurtured us. It's funny that even when we encounter the same dish, in new versions...
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 12, 2002

Success of globalization rests on good business reputations

These are not good times for business ethics in the industrialized nations. In spite of a carefully honed reputation for professionalism and honesty, businesses in the United States, Japan and Europe have seen scandals and problems. In the U.S. it has been the overstatement of profits by and exorbitant...
LIFE / Language / KANJI CLINIC
Oct 11, 2002

Kanji power unlocks the secret room of Japanese literature

Surely many of you, including overseas readers of The Japan Times online, live within 100 km of a Japanese-language bookstore or a university with a collection of Japanese books. Japanese literature is available, but confronting the sheer volume of offerings can be overwhelming.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Oct 11, 2002

What's a working mom to do with her kids in Tokyo?

Childcare An entrepreneur in central Tokyo, is up in arms. One of her Japanese assistants is about to have a baby and wants to continue working afterwards. But so far her assistant has been unable to find public child-care facilities for children under the age of 2.
COMMENTARY
Oct 10, 2002

Small Mideast release valve

BAHRAIN -- Here in this little island kingdom just off the coast of Saudi Arabia, all the complexities and contradictions of the Middle East and the Arab world seem to come together.
MORE SPORTS
Oct 10, 2002

Tatsuyoshi eyes comeback fight

bantamweight champion Joichiro Tatsuyoshi is set for a return to the ring after a three-year hiatus, with a comeback fight slated for December. Tatsuyoshi, who announced his retirement after a loss to champion Veeraphol Nakonluangpromotion of Thailand in August 1999, is scheduled to face an as-yet-unnamed...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Oct 6, 2002

Postmodern tales of the unexpected

"NEW JAPANESE FICTION," The Review of Contemporary Fiction, Summer 2002: Vol. XXII, No. 2. 262 pp., $8. Japanese literature, at least as it is known to those of us who cannot read it in the original, is in a position similar to that of Western classical music. Just as classical music lovers are likely...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Oct 2, 2002

Arto Lindsay: He bangs

Arto Lindsay steps onto the stage. In his late 40s, he still retains the gawkiness of an adolescent boy, all long arms and legs. The image of a geek is completed by large horn-rimmed glasses and a pale complexion.
BASEBALL / MLB
Oct 1, 2002

Cabrera tees off against Lotte

TOKOROZAWA, Saitama Pref. -- Brian Sikorski offered a loud warning to every Pacific League pitcher: Watch out -- Seibu's Alex Cabrera is red hot.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 29, 2002

Empress goes to Switzerland to attend kids' book congress

Empress Michiko left Saturday for Switzerland to attend a jubilee congress in Basel to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the International Board on Books for Young People.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / NIHONSHU
Sep 29, 2002

How to gain flavors and influence yeasts

When looking at what makes sake special, one thing that comes up often is koji mold. It is the heart of the sake-making process -- no beverage in the world uses koji in its production the way that sake does. Of all factors involved in sake brewing, the addition of koji exerts the most influence on the...
JAPAN
Sep 28, 2002

Doctors import banned drug thalidomide through loophole

Some doctors in Japan are using the banned drug thalidomide to treat cancer and other illnesses, according to a survey conducted by the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry.
COMMENTARY
Sep 28, 2002

U.S. report surprises few, worries many

VLADIVOSTOK, Russia -- I spent a week earlier this month in Vladivostok, Russia, lecturing to university students. Focusing on U.S. foreign policy, I was trying -- honestly, I can say -- to convince them that American foreign policy was less unilateralist than it seemed, and that the U.S. didn't deserve...
LIFE / Lifestyle / MATTER OF COURSE
Sep 27, 2002

It really is sink or swim in Japanese schools

Life is never dull when your children attend local school in a foreign country. My kids have been in Japanese school for two years, but things still catch me by surprise. My daily thrill, if you can call it that, is reviewing the stacks of purinto (handouts) from the school. I never know quite what I'm...
JAPAN
Sep 27, 2002

Abductees' kin, supporters call for results

The families of Japanese nationals abducted to North Korea and Diet members working to help them reaffirmed Thursday their demand that the government take a firm stance on the issue.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 26, 2002

'Nursing taxis' popular but status shaky

As taxi driver Hirohisa Mitsuda washes his vehicle prior to a day's work, he tries to make sure the windows are spotless because his passengers hardly ever get to enjoy the outdoors.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 26, 2002

It's not the economy, stupid!

Gerhard Schroeder will remain the German Chancellor after Germany's recent elections, but his majority in Parliament has become extremely narrow. His Social Democrats (SPD) got 38.5 percent of the vote, and so did the Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU) of his rival, Edmund Stoiber. The main reason Schroeder...
EDITORIALS
Sep 26, 2002

A harmful exception to the rule

Banking reform in Japan continues to disappoint. The general perception is that both authorities and banks are mostly taking stopgap measures, such as the Bank of Japan's plan to buy bank shares. Another notable example of expediency is the de facto reversal of the government decision to abolish full...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 25, 2002

Supreme Court upholds ban on book

The Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld a lower court decision to halt the publication of a novella, marking the first time in postwar Japan that the top court has endorsed such an action in a libel suit.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / NEW ART SEEN
Sep 25, 2002

Tumultuous art made in tumultuous times

It is always a pleasure to spotlight an exhibition that seems to have slipped in under the art radar, as is the case with the group show "Quobo -- Art in Berlin 1989-1999" now at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Sep 25, 2002

Riches of the sea

Few Japanese ceramic artists have stamped their visions into clay as eloquently as Yoshiro Kimura.
JAPAN
Sep 24, 2002

Cloud of population decline may have silver lining

"Rabbit hutch" is a stereotypical term coined years ago by outsiders referring the cramped dwellings of crowded, urban Japan.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / NATURE TRAVEL
Sep 24, 2002

A cape designed by God with wine in mind

Rule No. 1 for a Cape Wine Route tour is: Find someone else to do the driving.

Longform

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