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EDITORIALS
Dec 31, 2003

Assault on the established order

The concluding year will be remembered for the many ways it undermined the building blocks of the world as we know it. Globally, regionally and even here at home, the events of 2003 posed a direct challenge to the most basic ways in which states and societies act. While change is inevitable, it is by...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Dec 31, 2003

A river of creativity runs through it

Art is breaking out all over Kamiyama in Tokushima Prefecture. Mysterious arrangements of rocks are appearing in the verdant hills of this northeastern Shikoku town. Small wooden huts -- equipped with artistic stamps and ink pads for visitors to document their passage -- are dotted about the town. An...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 31, 2003

Affluence of retirees makes them targets

After losing his wife six years ago, the retired realtor decided to spend the rest of his life in pursuit of his passions.
BUSINESS
Dec 31, 2003

70% of business leaders say the economy is improving

About 70 percent of business leaders believe the economy is improving, according to a recent Kyodo News poll.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / NEW ART SEEN
Dec 31, 2003

Looking back to find new beginnings

New Year's is about endings and beginnings. People we've lost, places we've discovered, what's gone and what's to come. Some thoughts as we cross over:
BUSINESS
Dec 31, 2003

Japan needs to develop coordinated trade policy amid era of FTA talks

Japan is beginning to realize the importance of adopting a coordinated trade policy to gain the upper hand in negotiations on free-trade agreements with other Asian countries in 2004.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 31, 2003

High-rise denizens wage effort to regain sense of community

Tokyo, for many of its inhabitants, is a faceless concrete jungle lacking any sense of community, unlike the days when close-knit row-house neighborhoods were the norm before the capital exploded into a soaring, postwar urban sprawl.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Dec 31, 2003

For the record

It's a Long Way Down Award:
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Dec 31, 2003

Looking death straight in the eye

Though many important popular music figures died in 2003 -- jazz diva Nina Simone and indie singer-songwriter Elliott Smith, to name two -- the deaths of Johnny Cash and Warren Zevon drew particular attention because both artists also hit artistic peaks this year, and those peaks were directly related...
JAPAN
Dec 31, 2003

Despite raft of clues, prints, family slaying still unsolved

The grisly slaying of a family of four in Tokyo's Setagaya Ward on Dec. 30, 2000, remains unsolved after a continuing probe involving thousands of investigators.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Dec 31, 2003

Joe Strummer lives on

When Joe Strummer was in his musical prime in the late '70s, punk's mission was to make you question everything you were told. Now, of course, it's the sound of young people shopping. Though this is perhaps inevitable, when the former Clash leader died unexpectedly a year ago, a lot of people realized...
EDITORIALS
Dec 30, 2003

Fight against SARS begins at home

The New Year holiday is a season for travel. It is at this time, when many people and goods are moving across national borders, that an outbreak of infectious disease becomes more likely. This winter's first case of SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) was confirmed in Taiwan on Dec. 17. This was...
JAPAN
Dec 30, 2003

Two SDF planes will transport aid to quake-hit Iran

The government decided Monday to dispatch two C-130 planes to transport relief supplies to Iran's southeastern region devastated by a powerful earthquake, officials said.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 30, 2003

Helper-dog law opening doors, minds

Dozens of new laws and amendments take effect in Japan every year, but only a few open up new worlds for people.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 30, 2003

Tokyo hopes Pyongyang, like Libya, eases nuclear posturing

Security issues concerning North Korea, including its nuclear arms program, will remain at the top of Japan's diplomatic agenda in 2004, with Tokyo hoping to see substantial progress following Libya's recent renunciation of weapons of mass destruction.
BUSINESS
Dec 30, 2003

Bankrupt companies failed to disclose risk information

Seven of the 14 listed companies that have gone bust since April did so without previously disclosing information about their business risks, such as excessive debts and huge operating losses, according to a survey conducted by Kyodo News.
JAPAN
Dec 30, 2003

Kin of late exec collared over tax evasion

The family of the late Tsutomu Nagasaka, chairman of the home remodeling group Koizumi, hid about 1 billion yen worth of his assets and evaded inheritance tax in 2001, sources said Monday.
BUSINESS
Dec 30, 2003

Sharp to boost liquid crystal panel output

Sharp Corp. plans to expand its production of large liquid crystal panels at a new facility in Kameyama, Mie Prefecture, after the plant starts up in January, a company spokesman said Monday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 30, 2003

Mobile commerce market taking off

Taking the 15-minute walk from her home to her office in Shibuya Ward, Tokyo, every morning, Noriko Kato, 29, looks at the tiny screen on her DoCoMo 505i mobile phone to check her e-mail and sometimes access her favorite shopping site, run by Netprice Ltd.
BUSINESS
Dec 30, 2003

Contractor Nakano seals bank deal

Nakano Corp. said Monday it has struck a deal with Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi and Mitsubishi Trust & Banking Corp., under which the two banks will provide 13.3 billion yen in financial assistance to the midsize construction company.
JAPAN
Dec 30, 2003

Meiji Shrine girds for turnout of 3.5 million

Even by Tokyo standards, it's a mob scene. Over a span of just three days, roughly 3.5 million people will crowd onto the gravel-covered paths of Meiji Shrine and inch their way toward the altar to toss coins, offer prayers and buy charms in a tradition repeated across Japan every New Year's.
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Dec 30, 2003

Truth gets trampled by good stories

And why did the cops take 1,772 calls before deciding that someone was pulling their chain? We don't know. And we don't know why, or even if, the following people did these strange things, but heaven forbid we'd let the truth stand in the way of a good story.

Longform

The volunteer lifesavers of Nishihama Surf Lifesaving Club never know what's in store at the start of their day.
It's no simple day at the beach for Japan's volunteer lifesavers