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Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Oct 16, 2004

Good Day Books to touch base with literary icon

My husband does not often bow to me. But when I announce that I am off to meet the renowned scholar and translator of Japanese literature Edward Seidensticker, Significant Other is so impressed he near bends in half and instantly offers up half a dozen questions he himself would like to ask.
JAPAN
Oct 16, 2004

Eyebrows, hackles raised as Koizumi backs Bush

The top government spokesman on Friday rushed to play down a suggestion by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi that he was backing U.S. President George W. Bush ahead of the Nov. 2 election.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Oct 15, 2004

English newspapers make beeline for Beckham's jugular

LONDON -- Only in England could David Beckham be not so much in hot water but a bubbling volcano for admitting he deliberately got himself cautioned during England's 2-0 win against Wales last Saturday.
JAPAN
Oct 15, 2004

Suicide Web sites not breaking any laws

The suicides earlier this week of nine people have renewed concerns over the suicide-related Web sites through which they are believed to have met.
JAPAN
Oct 15, 2004

Former Hashimoto faction paralyzed

The largest faction of the Liberal Democratic Party remains paralyzed as it struggles to find a successor to its scandal-tainted former leader, former Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto.
EDITORIALS
Oct 13, 2004

Challenges to just-opened Diet

A n extraordinary Diet session that opened Tuesday looks set for lively debates on a host of contentious issues, including the perennial problem of "politics and money." Adding to that is last month's reshuffle of the Cabinet and of top executive posts in both the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Oct 10, 2004

The Ordinary Boys

It may be that there really are no frontiers left in pop any more; that we are doomed to recycle the past forever. On the title cut of "Over the Counter Culture," the debut album from Brighton's The Ordinary Boys, lead vocalist Preston brays, "Let's see, what can we be now/That hasn't been done before?"...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Oct 10, 2004

"Black Jack" comes back to Nihon TV and more

In addition to being Japan's manga/anime god, Osamu Tezuka was a licensed physician, an abandoned calling that he channeled into one of his later comic series, "Black Jack," about a hard-boiled, unlicensed doctor who possessed amazing surgical skills.
JAPAN
Oct 9, 2004

Prosecutors search UFJ for evidence of probe evasion

Prosecutors on Friday searched UFJ Bank's Tokyo headquarters and the homes of some of its former executives in connection with the bank's alleged obstruction of inspections by the Financial Services Agency last fall.
JAPAN
Oct 9, 2004

WMD revelation has Japan scrambling for new excuses

The United States' recent conclusion that there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq has raised the question of whether Japan will now face up to the facts.
JAPAN
Oct 8, 2004

Japan asks U.S. to shift forces based in Okinawa overseas

Japan has asked the United States to move some of its military units in Okinawa Prefecture to overseas locations as part of a global realignment plan for its forces, government sources said Thursday.
JAPAN / CABINET PROFILE
Oct 8, 2004

Hosoda backs down on North threats

Japan will not impose economic sanctions on North Korea as long as it remains committed to solving issues related to the abduction of Japanese nationals by Pyongyang agents, according to Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 8, 2004

U.S. must engage North Korea directly

CAMBRIDGE, England -- Caught in the crossfire of the first presidential debate between U.S. President George W. Bush and Sen. John Kerry, most Americans were likely taken aback by Korea's prominence and prospects.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Oct 7, 2004

NPB begins hearings on Rakuten, Livedoor bids

The public hearing for the two companies that have applied for membership to Nippon Professional Baseball began Wednesday with the two sides presenting their business propositions before a panel of baseball executives.
BUSINESS
Oct 7, 2004

METI considers hostile-takeover defenses

Fear over a swarm of hostile takeover attempts by foreign firms has prompted the government to examine whether Japanese companies can adopt U.S.-made defensive measures under the nation's legal framework.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 7, 2004

Expect loose reins on Japan

LAS VEGAS -- For decades, Tokyo has wanted to be treated like a "normal" nation free from the constraints of the Occupation Era and U.S. foreign-policy dominance. Well, Japan is on the edge of realizing that dream, but the costs will be the end of the special U.S.-Japan relationship and the emergence...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Oct 6, 2004

Poor, mad, bad king

During the five years he was Artistic Director of Setagaya Public Theatre, 61-year-old Makoto Sato began calling and e-mailing his old friend and stage colleague Renji Ishibashi, 63, in an attempt to persuade him to take the role of King Lear, with him (Sato) as director.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 6, 2004

Racist or realist, Ishihara vents his spleen

Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara is a gracious host, settling comfortably into a white leather chair and patiently listening to a question from a visitor.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Oct 5, 2004

Alien card concerns and a visitor

Fall is a beautiful time in Japan. If you have a chance, try and get away to to the mountains somewhere -- Nikko, Chichibu . . . it is absolutely beautiful.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 5, 2004

Signs of a mature diplomacy

Anti-Japanese behavior by Chinese soccer fans during the Asian Cup tournament in August stirred strong resentment among the Japanese public. Man questioned whether China was qualified to host the 2008 Olympics. Others criticized the Japanese government's lukewarm protests against the incidents. I feel,...
COMMENTARY
Oct 4, 2004

Can Chirac remain on top?

PARIS -- Has French President Jacques Chirac sufficiently weighed the possible effects of his decision to hold a referendum next year on the draft EU constitution, which was approved last June by the European Council?
COMMENTARY
Oct 2, 2004

Muddled American dreams

LONDON -- There is a long tradition of learned American commentators interpreting Europe seriously -- and sometimes comically -- wrong.
COMMENTARY
Sep 28, 2004

No sense of proportionality

I was intrigued by two recent U.S. antiwar movies -- Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 911," and "The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara," directed by Errol Morris. The former denounces U.S. President George W. Bush's justification for the Iraq War; the latter is based on an interview...
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 27, 2004

The sky should be the limit for Kashmir

India and Pakistan are still holding on to their own rigid positions. India keeps harping that Kashmir can only be one of a list of subjects to be discussed. Pakistan disagrees and argues that Kashmir is a central issue that has to be tackled first.
COMMENTARY
Sep 26, 2004

Blame supply-side policies

Toyoo Gyohten was the senior Ministry of Finance (MOF) official handling international affairs back in the early '70s, and a source of wisdom to those of us trying to understand Japan's financial maze. He now heads Japan's Institute for International Monetary Affairs. In a recent address to the Aspen...
COMMENTARY
Sep 26, 2004

Curtain falls on China's 'strongman' era

HONG KONG -- The decision by 78-year-old former President Jiang Zemin to step down as head of the Chinese Communist Party's Central Military Commission in favor of 61-year-old Hu Jintao, his successor as party and state leader, is a milestone in China's political development, marking as it does the completion...
EDITORIALS
Sep 25, 2004

Iran should clear nuclear doubts

I ran has two months to prove that it has nothing to hide about its nuclear programs. Last weekend, the governing board of the International Atomic Energy Agency passed a resolution calling for an immediate halt to the country's uranium enrichment-related activities. The unanimous resolution said Tehran...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 25, 2004

New PlayStation enjoys limelight

CHIBA -- The country's largest video game show kicked off its three-day annual run here Friday, with a record 117 firms showcasing their latest products and nearly 500 new game titles unveiled.

Longform

Totopa in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward was picked by consultants TTNE as the best sauna of the year.
Japan’s sauna movement: Relax, refresh, repeat