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COMMENTARY / World
May 10, 2003

End of the old world disorder?

Wars are cataclysmic events. Out of the destruction of major wars emerge new fault lines of international politics. To this extent, wars are the international, political equivalent of earthquakes, eruptions on the surface reflecting deeper underlying seismic shifts in the pattern of major-power relations....
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
May 10, 2003

Matt Lagan

People say that the show must go on. They also say that what may happen behind the scenes only the actors know.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
May 8, 2003

Watanabe his own man -- but honors father's role

Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Yoshimi Watanabe is an exception to the rule when it comes to discussing his political roots.
EDITORIALS
May 7, 2003

Ease lending to small firms

Small businesses in Japan continue to languish in the midst of a protracted economic slump. Compounding their predicament is the tight lending policy of private banks, which are said to be more selective toward smaller borrowers than larger ones. Banks may have their own reasons to restrict lending,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
May 7, 2003

Come on, come on, let's get together

There's collaboration in the air in Japan's contemporary theater world; collaboration between foreign directors and Japanese actors, directors and producers.
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
May 7, 2003

Banda Bassotti

A prominent critic once called the Clash "the only band that mattered," a comment that went beyond appreciation of the band's punk sound and acknowledged its radical political outlook.
COMMENTARY
May 5, 2003

Rudderless world economy

From 1993 to 2001, the administration of U.S. President Bill Clinton based its policies on the Democratic Party's platform of compassion toward the underprivileged and tolerance toward dissent. In the past, this ideology had prompted Democratic administrations to try to legislate an end to racial discrimination....
COMMENTARY
May 5, 2003

Unity needed on nuclear issue

North Korea's statement that it already has nuclear weapons is most likely an exercise in diplomatic brinkmanship aimed at drawing the United States into direct dialogue. But if the statement is true, the security environment surrounding Japan and Northeast Asia will undergo fundamental change.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
May 4, 2003

Let's fight

It's early afternoon on a hot spring Sunday in Tokyo, and in the tranquil neighborhood park of Kodaira a fight is shaping up. Children still hurtle round the playground in one corner of the park, but at the far end, three men, burly and imposing, circle menacingly round a fourth. A crowd has gathered...
EDITORIALS
May 3, 2003

Now that the fighting is over

U.S. President George W. Bush announced on Thursday the end of fighting in Iraq. Welcome though it is, Mr. Bush's pronouncement marks only the close of the first phase of the Iraqi conflict. Many would say the real work begins now. Winning the war in Iraq will be easy compared with winning the peace....
COMMENTARY
May 3, 2003

War leaves Britons divided

LONDON -- For the first time that I can remember, the prevailing political mood in Britain is one of vindication and vindictiveness. Almost everybody who took sides over the war in Iraq now feels they are right, and wants the other side to bow down and acknowledge it.
COMMENTARY / World
May 2, 2003

U.S. sets the bar high in N. Korea talks

SEOUL -- The United States and North Korea finally have begun talking again. Or have they? Are they talking to each other, at each other or past each other? Although the two sides agreed to keep the diplomatic channels open, it's going to take a lot more meetings to get out of this crisis in one piece....
JAPAN
Apr 30, 2003

TELL struggles amid foreigner influx

Tokyo English Life Line, a telephone counseling service for non-Japanese that celebrated its 30th anniversary this month, sees a need for such services increasing in line with the growing number of foreigners living in Japan.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 29, 2003

Tokyo Station a mecca for outlying colleges

Hoping to ensure their survival, better meet students' needs and enhance ties with the business community, universities are increasingly opening offices and satellite campuses around Tokyo Station.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 27, 2003

U.S. seeks Japan's help on Pyongyang

Japan and the United States agreed Saturday that the two governments should hold a trilateral meeting with South Korea "at the earliest date" to discuss how to deal with the North Korean nuclear crisis, Japanese officials said.
JAPAN
Apr 26, 2003

Ghana envoy seeks more investment

Increased Japanese investment in the Republic of Ghana would be "mutually beneficial" to both sides, Ghanaian Ambassador to Japan Dr. Barfuor Adjei-Barwuah told The Japan Times on Friday.
JAPAN
Apr 24, 2003

Koizumi mulls U.S., Mideast trips

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi is considering visiting the United States in late May and the Middle East in early June to discuss postconflict Iraq with his counterparts, a government official said Wednesday.
COMMENTARY
Apr 23, 2003

A bigger Europe may not be any better

LONDON -- A few days ago in Athens, the birthplace of democracy, EU leaders approved a major expansion of the European Union that will embrace 10 new members and 73 million more European citizens.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Apr 23, 2003

"Saddle Creek 50"

To the surprise of many, the American underground's most fertile soil is now found on the parched plains of Omaha, Neb. Despite the scarcity of clubs, record shops and other hipster-habitat markers, this remote Midwestern town has cultivated a bumper crop of interesting bands. Early bloomers Tom Bascle...
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 22, 2003

Regulation remains a problem

In his policy speech to the Diet earlier this year, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi announced that the government would double foreign direct investment in Japan in five years to increase employment.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / ON THE ARCHIPELA-GO
Apr 20, 2003

Seeking tranquillity in Tohoku

Nobody goes to Tohoku. The region used to be known as Michinoku, meaning, quite literally, "the end of the road." Even today, its six prefectures -- Aomori, Akita, Iwate, Yamagata, Miyagi and Fukushima -- are among the least developed for tourism in Japan. However, if you venture north, you'll find that...
EDITORIALS
Apr 19, 2003

U.N. resolution in abduction cases

The nuclear standoff with North Korea has tended to overshadow the country's human rights abuses, including the abduction of Japanese nationals. It is fitting, therefore, that the U.N. Human Rights Commission has adopted a resolution condemning Pyongyang's human rights record.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 18, 2003

Firm resolve propels Sri Lankan peace aims

KOBE -- The United States demonstrated its serious commitment to the Sri Lanka's peace drive by hosting an international seminar on Sri Lanka's reconstruction and development on Monday at the U.S. State Department in Washington. But the U.S. decision to exclude Tamil Tiger rebels from the donor conference...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 18, 2003

Cerberus eyes Aozora for keeps

The Cerberus Group may hold on to a controlling stake in Aozora Bank for keeps in an effort to cement its position in Japan, according to James Danforth Quayle, an adviser for the U.S. investment fund and a member of Aozora Bank's board of directors.
BUSINESS
Apr 15, 2003

Business groups seek a freeze on capital gains tax

The nation's three major business lobbies, hoping to bolster stock prices from their 20-year lows, called Monday for a freeze on the tax on capital gains from the sale of shares.
EDITORIALS
Apr 14, 2003

Easing cash flow for small firms

Small businesses in Japan are having severe cash-flow difficulties, even though the Bank of Japan is pumping plenty of money into the banking system. This is because debt-burdened banks are following restrictive lending practices. In an unprecedented move to help those cash-strapped companies, the central...
JAPAN
Apr 13, 2003

Japanese play down foreigners' rights: survey

Japanese people are inclined to play down the rights that foreign residents of Japan are entitled to, according to a government survey released Saturday.

Longform

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