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COMMENTARY / World
Mar 27, 2005

Testing Karzai's politics of inclusiveness

CANBERRA -- Whatever Washington's expectations, Afghan President Hamed Karzai is certainly instituting what he has called "Afghan-style democracy." His inclusion in the government of some individuals who in the past had been highly criticized as "warlords" might be prudent under present circumstances,...
EDITORIALS
Mar 27, 2005

Warning to Japan and the world

A um Shinrikyo's terrorism of 10 years ago has traditionally been viewed though a domestic political prism, one that saw the act as the outgrowth of a uniquely Japanese set of circumstances. In fact, Aum was a harbinger of the future: It was less interested in political theater than killing large numbers...
COMMENTARY
Mar 26, 2005

Alliance lets Japan, Britain influence America to change

NAGOYA/LONDON -- The UK-Japan 21st Century Group, set up two decades ago by British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone, has been mulling over the foreign-policy dilemmas of the two countries at their annual get-together.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media
Mar 23, 2005

Duty calls

Special to The Japan Times In the United States, it's said that the Vietnam War was lost on TV. As the first armed conflict to receive graphic coverage on nightly news shows, the war seemed closer than it was. Consequently, questions surrounding its legitimacy eventually came to the fore and, for many...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Mar 19, 2005

P. Sivakami

CHENNAI, India -- Eight years ago, P. Sivakami went from Tamil Nadu to Tokyo to serve as Egional director of the Indian Tourist Office. She was in her early 40s then, usually dressed in a sari but often in slacks and a sweater, and still wearing her hair long and loose. She took her two young sons with...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Mar 19, 2005

FIND gives hope to lost, depressed and suicidal

Yukio Saito pats the main staircase banister rail of the building that houses the Tokyo Lutheran Church in Iidabashi, explaining, "We are the same age, 68."
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Mar 15, 2005

Visa la difference

Although it is certainly not impossible to receive a credit card as a foreigner living in Japan, chances are that unless you're working for a major Japanese company that is prepared to provide you with a family card, you're probably going to be rejected far more often than you might be at home.
COMMENTARY
Mar 10, 2005

Avoiding sham democracy

LONDON -- There is all the difference in the world between democracy and constitutional democracy.
COMMENTARY
Mar 8, 2005

Deterrence for less in Asia

The Japan-U.S. alliance is evolving into one that "plays a vital role in enhancing regional and global peace and stability," according to a joint statement issued last month by the defense and foreign ministers of the two countries. The statement sets common strategic goals for dealing with the new security...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Mar 8, 2005

What should the government do about repeat child-sex offenders?

Nicholas Chase Art assistant, 18 It's a solution to have a list of sex offenders for the police but not the public -- that's insane. It scares people and incites violence. I think that prisoners should be graded on their potential to re-offend.
EDITORIALS
Mar 7, 2005

Risk-free deposit era nears dusk

With Japanese banks regaining financial health, the ad hoc regime of full-deposit insurance is about to end. Beginning April 1, deposits will be protected only up to 10 million yen in principal plus interest -- the same limit that was in force until 1996 when it was removed temporarily amid growing instability...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Mar 6, 2005

NTV's "Super TV" focuses on kittens surviving in Osaka's Shinsekai area and more

Nihon TV's weekly documentary series, "Super TV" (Mon., 10 p.m.), gets closer to the ground this week with a program about the alley cats who live in Osaka's Shinsekai area of bars and small businesses. A video crew followed the feline denizens of the mazelike district for a full year, and the result...
COMMENTARY
Mar 5, 2005

India's new double standard

NEW DELHI -- The growing warmth in U.S.-Indian relations is getting strangely reflected in India's adoption of U.S.-style dual standards on democracy.
BUSINESS
Mar 4, 2005

Livedoor furor opens up M&A can of worms

As it gears up to pass new legislation that will make it easier for companies to merge or acquire other firms, Japan is getting cold feet.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Mar 1, 2005

More pet care, honey and advice on quacks

Pet service In reply to a dog owner in Tokyo last year seeking a sitter or pet hotel while abroad, here are Susan and Takashi Shiobara with a great service: Pet Mate, located in the Fuchu/Koganei area of west Tokyo, offers petsitting at the owner's home while they're away as well as dog walking services...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Mar 1, 2005

Past the pain and language barriers

Even for a sumo wrestler, Kaido Hoovelson looks big. The 20-year-old Estonian, who goes by the ring name of "Baruto," stands 197-cm tall, making him one of sumo's tallest wrestlers.
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Feb 28, 2005

Tracking Mishima's footsteps in Florida

NEW YORK -- Earlier this month, when our friends Lenore and Robert invited us to visit them in Naples, Florida, where they recently acquired a new apartment, I decided to accept their offer. Naples is where Yukio Mishima (1925-70) spent a few days during his first visit to this country in January 1952,...
Japan Times
Features
Feb 27, 2005

Inquest service fuels ardor for 'democracy'

Earlier this month at a coffee shop near JR Matsudo Station in Chiba Prefecture, Tatsuhiko Ojima, 64, recalled how startled he was two years ago to receive a letter from the Matsudo branch of the Chiba District Court. It notified him he had to attend the court because he had been selected to serve a...
COMMENTARY
Feb 27, 2005

Let trade cement Indo-Pakistani peace

ISLAMABAD -- After more than 57 years, an agreement by India and Pakistan to allow people within the divided state of Kashmir to cross the border by bus, beginning in April, is the most important confidence-building measure yet achieved in the two countries' yearlong peace process.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Feb 26, 2005

Special Olympics bridges Japan, Arab nations

Madeleine Jalil Umewaka, of MJU public relations, was at Narita Airport early Wednesday morning. She was there to welcome the Special Olympics team of 12 athletes from her native Lebanon, and travel with them to Iida in Nagano Prefecture.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 24, 2005

China can't use its leverage

CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts -- In the North Korean nuclear crisis, there is a major difference between having leverage and the ability to use it. China has the former, but not the latter. North Korea has both.
COMMENTARY
Feb 21, 2005

Pyongyang toeing 'red line'

North Korea shocked the world with its announcement Feb. 10 that it will "indefinitely" stay away from the six-party talks on its nuclear arms program and that it already has nuclear weapons.
Japan Times
Features / WEEK 3
Feb 20, 2005

Sit down and be counted!

One chilly Friday morning last month, high-school teacher Noriyuki Ishida had probably the most stressful experience of his 35-year career.
Features / WEEK 3
Feb 20, 2005

Operation Evacuation

Not only are they a biodiversity disaster, but the millions of sugi (cedars) planted as official policy in the postwar years to yield cheap timber -- but which are now more expensive to harvest than the cost of imports -- have become a serious health hazard across Japan.
COMMENTARY
Feb 16, 2005

Answering Pyongyang's divisive tack

HONOLULU -- U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's initial response to Pyongyang's surprise announcement that it felt compelled to suspend its participation in the six-party talks and that it had manufactured nukes was exactly right.
BUSINESS
Feb 16, 2005

Prospective home owners warming to made-to-order condos

Made-to-order condominiums are gaining popularity in Japan as people seek more distinct housing.
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Feb 13, 2005

Iraq election exposed two faces of China

HONG KONG -- One unintended consequence of the Jan. 30 election in Iraq was that it exposed the hypocrisy and shortsightedness of China's policy toward Hong Kong and reunification with Taiwan. China not only expressed support for the rushed national election in its controlled press; it also donated $1...
EDITORIALS
Feb 10, 2005

More warnings of bird flu

Rising numbers of cases of avian flu in Asia are fueling fears of a global outbreak. The disease appears to be resurfacing in the region, and health officials worry that they do not have the tools to fight it. A mutation that allows the disease to pass from person to person could be the spark that sets...

Longform

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