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COMMENTARY
May 5, 2005

Britain's apolitical election

LONDON -- So powerful has been Prime Minister Tony Blair's dominance of British politics that Thursday's General Election has resolved into one question: Are you for or against his leadership?
COMMENTARY / World
May 5, 2005

Homecoming for Taiwanese icebreaker

BEIJING -- The just-ended visit of Lien Chan, the chairman of Taiwan's main opposition party, the Kuomintang (KMT), to China symbolized the end of a long-standing intra-China feud and is undeniably a diplomatic breakthrough for both sides.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OLD NIC'S NOTEBOOK
May 5, 2005

Swallow tales to silence those who speak with forked tongues

It was 1969, and I was driving our open-topped Mercedes Unimog to Asmara to get some building supplies and other gear not available in Gondar, the nearest town to the Simien Mountain National Park in Ethiopia where I was then a game warden.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / NAME OF THE GAME
May 5, 2005

Techno racing on the edge

The original "Wipeout" racing game hit the PlayStation in the midst of a worldwide cultural movement -- electronica. Beatboxes and keyboards were ringing in the new millennium as dance clubs saw renewed interest along with the club drugs that fueled the all-night raves. With its spacey visuals and techno...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 4, 2005

Mad artist myth no longer holds

The name Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890) invariably invokes a legend -- the legend of a wild, creative genius, out of sync with the stilted, repressive atmosphere of Victorian Europe; who exploded in passionate art and self-destructive disregard of the banal parameters of everyday life; who followed his...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 4, 2005

Living tradition of court doll-making celebrated

"Gosho Ningyo Court Dolls and Paintings of the Modern Era,' currently at the Seikado Bunko Art Museum and coinciding with Golden Week, sets out to display the decorative flourishes and innovations of the late 19th century (late Edo and Meiji periods) through to the early 20th century. It was a time when,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / NEW ART SEEN
May 4, 2005

Girls in the company of wolves

For more than a decade female Japanese artists have been a dynamic force in contemporary photography, and now they are making big waves in other artistic media as well, as the phantasmagoric work of Tomoko Konoike best illustrates.
COMMENTARY
May 4, 2005

Some pits remain in Vietnam's growing bowl of cherries

LOS ANGELES -- The people of Vietnam -- who celebrated the 30th anniversary of the United States' final pullout from Saigon on April 30 -- are getting with the market-oriented, rich-is-glorious, we-love-anyone-with-money (including Westerners), China-clone program of economic reform (while keeping dissidents...
EDITORIALS
May 4, 2005

A new Constitution by the people

Fifty-eight years ago, on May 3, 1947, the postwar Constitution of Japan came into effect. Today this new national charter, underscored by its pacifist principles, is broadly accepted by the Japanese public. Yet, strange as it may seem, this is a constitution enacted by Imperial order, not by popular...
SOCCER / World cup
May 3, 2005

Shutout no problem

Japan midfielder Toshiya Fujita believes the Asian champions can take full advantage of FIFA's decision to hold their upcoming World Cup qualifier against North Korea behind closed doors.
COMMENTARY
May 3, 2005

University gap set to widen

One year has passed since Japan's national universities gained corporate status. How have they changed? Following are my personal views on the merits and demerits of some of the changes.
COMMENTARY
May 3, 2005

Journalism turns deadly in the Philippines

MANILA -- Many Filipinos are proud of the freedom the press enjoys in their country but this rosy picture has been tarnished by the killings of a number of journalists. With 13 Filipino journalists killed last year and four media workers murdered so far in 2005, the Philippines -- according to the Brussels-based...
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
May 3, 2005

Turning back clock on gender equality

As the government emphasizes patriotism as part of the national school curriculum and discussion continues apace over revising Article 9, some LDP lawmakers are now calling for changes to the Constitution that may put equal rights and individual freedom at risk.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
May 3, 2005

If you get married and have children, what will you do with your career?

Miho Yamanaka I.T, 31 I work at a foreign bank and there are lots of women who took maternity leave. If I married a traditional Japanese man -- and he was a millionaire -- and I didn't have to work, then I wouldn't.
EDITORIALS
May 3, 2005

Nonproliferation plus disarmament

An international conference to review the Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) opens at the United Nations Monday. The 1970 treaty is riddled with inefficacy, as illustrated by North Korea's nuclear-weapons program, Iran's moves to enrich uranium, and the existence of an international black market for nuclear...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 3, 2005

Shakeup in the lending business

O Kobayashi was stunned last year when he found that his mortgage applications had been rejected by two banks.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 3, 2005

Japan tries to get aerospace industry off the ground

A joint government-private sector project is under way to develop passenger jets with the ultimate goal of commercial production.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
May 3, 2005

Rail passes, credit and changing your cash

More credit queries I notice lately you've had a lot of queries regarding credit cards in Japan. One question I'm curious about is -- why?
Rugby
May 2, 2005

Kiwis school Japanese in university rugby match

It only took three minutes for Christian Loamanu to show rugby fans at Tokyo's Chichibunomiya on Sunday the raw talent that led him to become the youngest ever player to play for Japan on its recent tour of South America.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
May 2, 2005

Ex-Mets power Marines

Shintaro Ejiri of the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters pitches against the Orix Buffaloes on Sunday at Sapporo Dome. The Fighters won 5-1.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
May 2, 2005

Cerezo hands Antlers first loss of campaign

Claiton of Nagoya Grampus Eight shoots past Urawa defender Keisuke Tsuboi during Sunday's J. League match at Saitama Stadium. The Reds won 3-0.
EDITORIALS
May 2, 2005

Losing the war on terror?

The U.S. government has just released its annual report on terrorism, and it makes for grim reading. Equally troubling is the report's omissions: This year it does not give the specific number of terrorist attacks last year. Yet serious terrorist incidents are increasing, a finding that is even more...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
May 2, 2005

Wash away city-life stress with the traditional onsen experience

THE JAPANESE SPA: A Guide to Japan's Finest Ryokan and Onsen, by Akihiko Seki and Elizabeth Heilman Brooke. Tokyo: Tuttle, 2005, 175 pp., $26.95 (cloth). Here we discover the art and aesthetics of the Japanese hot spring (onsen) experience. Twenty-eight exquisite inns (ryokan) are featured in some 400...

Longform

A store clerk tries to cool things down in front of their shop by spraying a hose.
Is extreme weather changing the way Japan shops?