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EDITORIALS
Mar 25, 2003

The war of words

Every war breeds its own vocabulary, and the second Persian Gulf conflict has proved no exception. One thing does seem new, though. As this invasion (aka liberation) plays out 24 hours a day, seven days a week, in the world's living rooms, its singular lingo has circled the globe with unprecedented speed....
COMMENTARY
Mar 25, 2003

Weak tobacco pact reflects Japan's lukewarm attitude

The member-nations of the World Health Organization have recently approved a draft Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), putting an end to four years of negotiations. The draft is expected to be adopted at the general meeting of the WHO in May, and will take effect after 40 countries have ratified...
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 24, 2003

Don't write off U.N. just yet

EDMONTON, Alberta-- The hawks in the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush finally got what they wanted -- in New York, as well as in the Middle East. The U.N. Security Council is deeply divided, the U.N. system itself seems paralyzed and a preemptive war is about to win "regime change" in...
SOCCER / J. League
Mar 24, 2003

Gamba leaves it late at Kyoto

KYOTO -- Gamba substitute forward Kota Yoshihara headed in the winning goal in the 89th minute, helping Osaka rally past Kyoto Purple Sanga 2-1 on Sunday at Nishikyogoku Stadium.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Mar 23, 2003

English text lays bare a secret

Fanc a trip to a not-so-secret but hitherto inaccessible part of Japan?
COMMENTARY
Mar 22, 2003

Economy top priority for new leadership

HONG KONG -- The two-week session of the National People's Congress in Beijing, which ended Tuesday, finished the political transition begun by the 16th Party Congress in November.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Mar 22, 2003

Funny money clothed in cute cartoons

Before I came to Japan, I hadn't used money in years. It's not that I didn't have money -- I just never dreamed of taking it out of the bank and using it. That's because on my planet, the United States, money is a thin piece of plastic called a debit card, inside of which are mathematical molecules swirling...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Mar 22, 2003

Toko Shinoda

In an interview in the 1960s, artist Toko Shinoda said it was both wonderful and terrible to be driven by something inside. She quoted Japan's woodblock print artist Hokusai. "I know what he meant when he said that at 75 he could understand a little. If he lived to be 90 he would understand more. And...
JAPAN
Mar 21, 2003

Subway workers offer prayers on sarin attack anniversary

Tokyo subway workers offered prayers and flowers Thursday at Kasumigaseki Station to mark the eighth anniversary of the Aum Shinrikyo sarin gas attack that killed 12 people and injured more than 5,000.
JAPAN
Mar 21, 2003

'Amakudari' to end at highway-firm affiliates

The transport ministry will demand the resignation of all board members of companies affiliated with four public expressway corporations who assumed their posts after retiring from the public firms, transport minister Chikage Ogi said Thursday.
JAPAN
Mar 21, 2003

Gap unit collared for 16.8 billion yen in tax evasion

Gap International BV, a subsidiary of U.S. casual wear maker Gap Inc., failed to report around 16.8 billion yen in income from Gap's Japan subsidiary, sources said Thursday.
LIFE / Language / KANJI CLINIC
Mar 20, 2003

Katakana-happy Japan must again look to China

During times of friendly relations with Western nations, the Japanese have laid out a linguistic welcome mat to foreign vocabulary items, particularly English.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 19, 2003

Market intervention not the right solution

GUATEMALA CITY -- Japan's Nikkei average is below 8,000 for the first time in 20 years, putting it 80 percent below its 1989 high. A fall in the Nikkei below 7,500 could mean that some Japanese banks would not meet their international capital adequacy requirements.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Mar 19, 2003

MLB Tour promises fun for everyone

Yes, I know, it's fans prediction week for Japanese baseball, but there were more entries than expected from Japan, North America and even New Zealand, and there just is not enough space to include all the picks and comments. Instead, let me tell you something about the Major League tour set to begin...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 19, 2003

War fears put water forum in jeopardy

KYOTO -- The remainder of the 3rd World Water Forum, which is scheduled to end Sunday, was thrown into confusion Tuesday by fears that a U.S.-led war on Iraq is imminent.
EDITORIALS
Mar 17, 2003

Human rights abuses behind bars

Human rights violations in prisons are nothing new. But what happened last year at Nagoya Prison is alarming. Six prison guards, including a deputy warden, stand accused of physical abuses that resulted in the death of an inmate and caused severe injury to another. On the first day of their trial earlier...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Mar 16, 2003

Yoji Yamada

A director since 1961, with 77 films to his credit, Yoji Yamada, 71, is a Japanese film industry icon. His "Tora-san" series, about a wandering peddler who is forever falling in love, but never gets the girl, generated 48 hit installments -- and made Yamada the most successful Japanese director of his...
JAPAN
Mar 14, 2003

Government silent on Pyongyang missile reports

Government officials refused to comment Thursday on reports that Pyongyang may be preparing to launch a Nodong ballistic missile, which can strike almost anywhere in Japan.
BUSINESS
Mar 14, 2003

Government's jobless loan program flops

A special loan program catering for unemployed people has attracted just 3,700 borrowers since its launch in September 2001, falling well short of the 100,000 initially projected, welfare ministry officials said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Mar 14, 2003

Stock resuscitation plan unveiled

In a bid to end a tailspin in Tokyo stock prices, the government on Thursday unveiled six emergency steps, including stricter control of speculative sales.
BUSINESS
Mar 13, 2003

Current account surplus falls again

Japan's current account surplus shrank in January from a year earlier for two months in a row, as higher oil prices amid tension over Iraq pushed up import figures and eroded the trade surplus.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Mar 13, 2003

OK guys, it's payback time

Oh heck. It's that time of year again, the dreaded White Day that forces us males to dispense several mansatsu (10,000 yen bills) whether we're ready to or not.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / NETWISE
Mar 13, 2003

How to get people to look at your site

It's a simple matter these days to build and host a Web site. What's less simple is getting others -- potential customers, readers and other users -- to find your site among the millions of others already out there. In this column I'll discuss Japanese search engines, particularly how best to use Japanese...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 12, 2003

Court rejects wartime forced-labor suit

The Tokyo District Court on Tuesday rejected an 840 million yen lawsuit filed by 42 Chinese nationals over labor they were forced to perform during World War II.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / CERAMIC SCENE
Mar 12, 2003

The good, the great -- and the freaky

Japan, without a doubt, has the world's largest number of art museums devoted solely to pottery -- more than 500 venues, I've heard. That's a lot of beauty (or not) to take in.
BUSINESS
Mar 11, 2003

Balance of bank loans tumbles to a record low

The February balance of bank loans slipped to a record low 415.92 trillion yen, down 4.8 percent from a year ago, the Bank of Japan said Monday.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Mar 9, 2003

Hitting close to home

In Japan, a landlord really is a lord, and though laws exist to protect renters they are easily circumvented by property owners who don't like them. The three classic no-nos of rental properties -- no pets, no pianos, no employees of the "water trade" -- have recently been augmented with "no old people."...
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 9, 2003

Glimpses of Indochina life 330 years ago

CHIANG MAI, Thailand -- Against the current drama of the Iraqi issue, other national and regional developments seem to fade out of focus. One such "minor event" that is heading toward oblivion concerns the tiny landlocked country of Laos. At the beginning of the year, unexpected news from there made...
EDITORIALS
Mar 8, 2003

Alarm bells ring in Iran

Conservatives claimed victory in local elections held throughout Iran last week. Hardliners are rejoicing over the results -- not only did they win the ballots, but the turnout also suggests that reformers have lost heart. Warnings of a backlash are not without foundation, but the hardliners' control...

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