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COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
May 30, 2002

The fuss-free way to get you and your stuff home

We were wondering how many inquiries would be coming in and we are all pleasantly surprised at how many we have. It is going to be a big job to reply to them all but that's what we are here for. Remember, we rely on you, the reader, to not only send in questions but help us with the answers. Please let...
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 29, 2002

Top business lobbies tie knot, hope to better sway politics

The Japan Federation of Economic Organizations (Keidanren) and the Japan Federation of Employers' Associations (Nikkeiren) merged Tuesday to become the Japan Business Federation, hoping the more powerful business lobby can wield greater influence over government policies.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / J-POPSICLE
May 29, 2002

And the 'nice try' award goes to . . .

It is my sad duty to report that the inaugural MTV Video Music Awards Japan, held May 24 at the Tokyo International Forum, was a less than spectacularly successful affair.
EDITORIALS
May 28, 2002

Sustainable usage is key for IWC

The International Whaling Commission's 54th annual gathering concluded last Friday in the traditional whaling port of Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture. Once again it sent a signal to the world that the forum is not ready for compromise. The meeting left U.S. and Russian indigenous peoples without a...
EDITORIALS
May 27, 2002

A mature investor-creditor nation

The history of modern Japan's manufacturing is emblematic of the nation's industrial growth since 1868 when it opened its doors to the West. The long-term goal was to catch up with the world's industrialized powers. Achieving that aim required that resources-poor Japan earn precious foreign exchange...
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 27, 2002

Fulbright anniversary meet stresses intellectual exchanges

Japanese individuals, not government officials, need to facilitate "intellectual exchanges" with people overseas to keep up with globalization, experts said in Tokyo on Sunday.
COMMENTARY / World
May 27, 2002

Perils of undervalued yuan

I am concerned that China could repeat Japan's mistakes in economic policy. In Japan's high-growth years, the yen became increasingly undervalued, pegged at 360 to the dollar, while the nation's productivity kept increasing. Exports were profitable and the manufacturing industries built up excess production...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
May 25, 2002

Amalia Lior

Since its founding in 1959, the Japan-Israel Women's Welfare Organization has usually invited the wife of the Israeli ambassador to Japan to be its honorary president. Each one who has accepted the position has praised the organization and devoted herself to promoting its activities and aims. Amalia,...
COMMENTARY / World
May 23, 2002

Don't sweat three warships

During the Persian Gulf War, I wrote that "average Americans would think friendlier and more respectful thoughts about Japan if it were able to contribute soldiers -- standing side by side with Americans in the sands of Arabia -- than if it contributes a billion or more dollars." Now, Japanese sailors...
EDITORIALS
May 22, 2002

A middle way to whaling

Whaling is an emotionally charged, politicized issue. It is also highly nuanced. Unfortunately, its details are often lost amid the sound bites and oversimplifications of polarized rhetoric.
COMMENTARY / JAPAN IN THE GLOBAL ERA
May 20, 2002

Parochialism produces few world leaders

LAUSANNE, Switzerland -- Following the appearance of one of the recent articles in this series on Japan in the global era, a colleague of mine, Dominique Turpin, who has been doing research on Japanese industry for some 20 years, came into my office and said, "Jean-Pierre, when are you going to start...
COMMENTARY
May 20, 2002

Dispel the end-of-era mood

An interesting new book by Edo Period literary expert Takehiko Noguchi, "Bakumatsu Kibun" (The Mood in the Last Days of the Tokugawa Shogunate), details how shogunate officials and citizens of Edo indulged themselves in lavish consumption and entertainment as they faced the demise of the government....
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
May 20, 2002

World's first industrial designer creates a stir

Andrew McIntosh Patrick has a strong sense of history. He lives in a terrace row (derelict before British Heritage came to the rescue) dated 1728. Benjamin Franklin's house is just doors away, being transformed into a museum. And all in the shadow of London's Charing Cross Station.
SOCCER / World cup / COHOSTING
May 19, 2002

Taming the 'bulldog'

As the deadline for deciding who would host the 2002 World Cup approached, FIFA boss Joao Havelange was approaching his 80th birthday and had been head of FIFA for over 20 years. Many thought he was getting past his sell-by date. He was a man who oozed power and in truth he had done a lot for the game....
ENVIRONMENT
May 19, 2002

What the label doesn't say

Scandals about deception in product labeling have been in the news of late, with both the expiry dates and the origins of dairy and meat products called into question. While not as big a news item, the labeling standards for whale meat take deception to further, murkier depths -- and to dangerous ones....
ENVIRONMENT
May 19, 2002

Thar she blew!

TAIJI, Wakayama Pref. -- From the lead boat it was difficult to see the spray rising from the waters off Tomyo Point. The onshore breeze dispersed it before it could rise too high and the choppy waters forced the rowers to concentrate on their task. Nonetheless, the sign was there.
Japan Times
SOCCER / World cup
May 18, 2002

Troussier pulls squad shocker

Riding the shinkansen from Kobe to Tokyo with Philippe Troussier on May 3, Japan's soccer coach said there would be no surprises when he announced his World Cup squad on May 17.
COMMENTARY / World
May 18, 2002

Koizumi overplays his hand in Shenyang

BEIJING -- There is a sharp contrast between Japan and China on how they have handled the incident of North Korean asylum-seekers in Japan's Shenyang consulate general. While Beijing has taken a low-key approach, Tokyo has blown the whole matter into crisis proportion, creating a nationwide sensation...
JAPAN
May 18, 2002

Cows born in spring '96 face inspection

The farm ministry will inspect all cows born between March and April 1996 for symptoms of mad cow disease, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Tsutomu Takebe said Friday.
EDITORIALS
May 16, 2002

Lessons from the Shenyang incident

Japan and China have been locked in a diplomatic row over an incident May 8 in which Chinese police guards seized and removed five North Korean asylum seekers from the compound of the Japanese Consulate General in Shenyang, northeastern China. On Wednesday, however, it appeared that concerns over the...
COMMENTARY
May 16, 2002

Another crisis feeds distrust

HONG KONG -- It is the stuff of drama. Chinese policemen grabbed three North Koreans -- two women and a toddler -- who were trying to seek asylum in the Japanese Consulate General in Shenyang in northeastern China last Wednesday, but not before the two men with them succeeded in reaching the diplomatic...
Japan Times
JAPAN / WHALE WATCHING
May 16, 2002

Legal mechanism flawed: wildlife expert

Japanese laws are ill-equipped to protect marine mammals and need an overhaul if these animals are to receive attention akin to their terrestrial counterparts, according to a leading wildlife expert.
COMMUNITY / How-tos
May 16, 2002

Lifelines

Hello there! My name's Ken Joseph Jr.
SOCCER / World cup
May 13, 2002

A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity

"Passion" is the story of Japan soccer team coach Philippe Troussier, his struggle to make it as a player and manager and his travels around France, Africa and Japan. In the book, Troussier also details his philosophy and thinking as he prepares for the World Cup in June. In this, the ninth of 10 exclusive...
MORE SPORTS
May 10, 2002

Lessons learned

Ryan Kuwabara is a key member of Japan's national ice hockey team currently playing at the Pool A World Championships in Sweden. Kuwabara, a Japanese-Canadian who was drafted by the Montreal Canadiens and now stars for Japan Ice Hockey League champion Kokudo, has agreed once again to keep a journal...
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / JET STREAM
May 10, 2002

Father and sons make JET a family affair

Last summer, Chris Buckland, 50, bicycled 2,100 km on a journey from Tokyo to Himeji, in Hyogo Prefecture. For Buckland, a collector of ukiyo-e prints, it was the fulfillment of a dream to travel the old Tokaido route from Tokyo to Kyoto, immortalized in the classic ukiyo-e illustrations of the Edo Period...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 9, 2002

Prices keep Electronic Toll Collection system from catching on

The Electronic Toll Collection system was introduced in March 2001 amid great expectations that it would ease the notorious traffic jams on Japan's expressways as it allows vehicles equipped with a transponder to pass through toll gates without having to stop to pay.
BUSINESS
May 9, 2002

U.S. steel faces 100% tariffs

Japan is considering the imposition of "re-balancing tariffs" of 100 percent on steel imports from the United States as a countermeasure against U.S. import curbs on steel products, a senior trade official said Wednesday.

Longform

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