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Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 13, 2001

Experts offer solutions for Japan's malaise

Is there going to be a simple solution to Japan's prolonged economic problems? Experts from U.S.-based think tanks taking part in a recent symposium in Tokyo discussed a variety of prescriptions for both the long- and short-term illnesses that the country faces.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / JAZZNICITY
Dec 9, 2001

A rough guide to buried local treasures

Even though many jazz players in Japan do get a chance to record, it can sometimes be a challenge to find their CDs -- even in the biggest stores. With limited pressings and uneven distribution, last month's release from a popular live performer in Tokyo can be harder to find than an obscure 1950s hard...
JAPAN
Dec 7, 2001

Aoki goes under with 522 billion yen in liabilities

The construction industry was dealt another blow on Thursday when general contractor Aoki Corp. effectively went bankrupt, filing for court protection from creditors under a civil rehabilitation law.
JAPAN
Dec 6, 2001

Women call on Crown Princess to do it her way

The 37-year-old Crown Princess, who gave birth to a girl Saturday, should be free to raise her child in any manner she sees fit, according to several of her female contemporaries across the country.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Dec 5, 2001

From mimicry to homegrown art

Japanese modern art is often discounted as a mere echo of its Western counterpart. This is not so much because styles and forms have been imported per se, but because in their new environment they have failed to take on a life of their own. In this, the real test, modern Japanese art has often been found...
CULTURE / Art / NEW ART SEEN
Dec 5, 2001

Handcrafted art to turn your head

There are more than a few Japanese artists these days who use what might be termed "obsessional" techniques to realize their work. Among the better known are Yayoi Kusama, who once glued thousands of postal airmail stickers to a canvas and who is best known for the ceaseless repetition in her "Infinity...
CULTURE / Film
Nov 28, 2001

The empire strikes back

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone Rating: * * * * Director: Chris Columbus Running time: 152 minutes Language: English Now showing
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / NEW ART SEEN
Nov 28, 2001

A new world order revealed

Start with a simple idea, add a slide projector and a turntable, and you have the pleasantly surprising Nicolas Moulin installation, "Pole."
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Nov 27, 2001

Second budget takes page from Nakasone's book

Only 10 days after the first supplementary budget was enacted, the government performed an almost acrobatic feat to finance a second extra budget for this fiscal year -- tapping the proceeds from government sales of shares in Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Oct 28, 2001

Provocative as she wants to be

SHANGHAI BABY, by Wei Hui, translated by Bruce Humes. Simon and Schuster, 2001, 259 pp., $10 (paper) Sometimes context is everything. A sexually frank novel that reeks of thinly disguised autobiography told in a confessional style would hardly cause a ripple in the West these days. In China, however,...
CULTURE / Books
Oct 21, 2001

Shaky bridges across the language gap

POESIE YAPONESIA: A Bilingual Anthology, edited by Taylor Mignon and Hillel Wright. Printed Matter Press, 2000, pp. 200, $20 (paper) For some reason, I had expected "Poesie Yaponesia" to be a collection of poems by longtime, English-speaking residents of Japan, each given in two versions, Japanese...
CULTURE / Art
Sep 26, 2001

A kiss in the darkroom

When I spoke with curator Michiko Kasahara about the Tokyo Museum of Photography's new exhibition, "A Kiss in the Dark," the first thing she wanted to explain was the show's intriguing title. Her catalog essay expands:
CULTURE / Art
Sep 19, 2001

Savor the compassionate complexity of kirei-sabi's 'elegant simplicity'

Credited with shaping the Rinpa style of Japanese art, Ogata Korin (1658-1716) once caused a sensation at an opulent riverside picnic by nonchalantly producing his lunch tied up in a bamboo leaf. Onlookers watched in disbelief as the master unwrapped his simple fare, revealing that the underside of the...
CULTURE / Art
Sep 12, 2001

Little forget-me-nots

"I Don't Mind, If You Forget Me" is the rather bold title of Yoshitomo Nara's current exhibition at the Yokohama Museum of Art. But Nara can easily feign indifference, knowing full well that his warped yet archetypal children will have the opposite effect on viewers. With their enlarged heads and bean-shaped...
CULTURE / Art
Sep 5, 2001

Connoisseur's selection from the vaults

Times have certainly changed. Corporate art acquisition, once fueled by bubble-era prosperity, is now low down the list of boardroom priorities.
JAPAN / 50 YEARS SINCE SAN FRANCISCO
Aug 29, 2001

American culture now just part of the furniture

Following decades of hot pursuit, Japan feels it no longer needs to catch up with the U.S. Fifth in a series Staff writer Who would have believed 50 years ago that the hatred spawned during World War II could dissipate to the extent that former enemies now reminisce about shared cultural experiences,...
CULTURE / Art
Aug 29, 2001

Prints to restore blocked vision

An exhibition of woodblock prints by Seiichi Suzuki is on show until Sept. 10 at Za Gallery Bunkyo in Bunkyo Ward, Tokyo.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Aug 19, 2001

Natural resources

FUKUOKA -- More than 100 years of mining has given the town of Tagawa, Fukuoka Prefecture, a masculine, working-class character, with widespread associations of gangs and violent crime. Abandoned concrete plants and mines line its hilly outskirts, and a coat of dust covers its many boarded-up shops....
CULTURE / Art
Aug 15, 2001

Flights of fancy

Like a captivated child watching a magician's tricks, we demand to know "how?" How, that is, did a surge of Italian creativeness 600 years ago seemingly lay the foundations of the modern world?
CULTURE / Art
Aug 15, 2001

Icons of a forgotten femininity

Western culture is replete with empowering images of women, from the warrior Amazons of Greek mythology to Wagnerian Valkyries to computer game and movie heroine Lara Croft. Western women are spoiled for choice when it comes to assertive role models. Japan, on the other hand, has always cherished a more...
JAPAN
Aug 11, 2001

Cabinet OKs caps on fiscal 2002 general spending

The Cabinet on Friday approved fiscal 2002 budgetary request guidelines that will cut general expenditures by some 900 billion yen to around 47.8 trillion yen, marking the biggest contraction ever.
CULTURE / Film
Aug 8, 2001

'Victor . . . pendant qu'il est trop tard'

Rating: * * * *Japanese title: Victor -- Chiisana Koibito Director: Sandrine Veysset Running time: 88 minutes Language: FrenchNow showing Realist cinema, even at its best, tends to have a very flat view of reality, one that involves merely capturing the world around us as we perceive it. But there's...
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 20, 2001

'Field of Dreams' schemes bleed taxpayers

A good deal of discussion on Japan's economic problems emphasizes the need to trim wasteful public works projects. Critics are quick to zero in on "hard" schemes such as bridges, highways, airports and dams that eat up huge chunks of tax money and are rarely used.
CULTURE / Art
Jul 4, 2001

Krijono celebrates Balinese women

Works in acrylic, charcoal and other media by Indonesian artist Krijono are now on show at the Indonesian Culture Plaza in Shinjuku.
JAPAN
Jun 29, 2001

Coming out at the workplace the next big challenge for gays

During a party celebrating his election to a Tokyo ward assembly in April 1999, the candidate was being congratulated by supporters, as were his parents, who were hailed as the biggest contributors to the successful campaign.
BUSINESS
Jun 29, 2001

General contractors see profits rise while cutting interest-bearing debts

General contractors recently released their much anticipated fiscal 2000 financial statements. These companies are widely believed to be among the firms most negatively affected by the prolonged economic slowdown, which is marked by falling real estate prices.
CULTURE / Music
Jun 24, 2001

That's declassified innovation

There are several reasons to admire the Kronos Quartet, and, unquestionably, the primary reason is their extraordinary talent. But I'd like to add two more: their musical and professional integrity, and their belief in music as a spiritual quest.
CULTURE / Art
Jun 20, 2001

A Chinese treasure-trove of beauty

The most astounding piece in the ongoing exhibition of Chinese ceramics, art and objects at Shibuya's Shoto Museum is the large, partially glazed ceramic camel, expressively molded, that greets visitors as they enter.
EDITORIALS
Jun 14, 2001

Long-term gain worth the pain

Japan's gross domestic product in the first quarter of the year dropped 0.2 percent from the previous quarter, or 0.8 percent at the annualized rate, according to figures released Monday by the Cabinet Office. Economic indicators since April also show the economy is decelerating. Mr. Heizo Takenaka,...
CULTURE / Art
Jun 13, 2001

Koga's travels in hyper-reality

One of my favorite cliches about art is the one that says great art comes from great suffering, something that is perhaps overlooked by today's modern art scene with its emphasis on novelty and playfulness.

Longform

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