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COMMENTARY
Jul 7, 2002

Morality to match the times

LONDON -- What is it about the British and sex? Young people seem to leap to it as though having as much of it, as soon as possible, as flamboyantly and boastfully as possible and damn the consequences, is their national destiny.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jul 7, 2002

Love will tear them apart

Lovers who say goodbye in the last reel exist in Hollywood films -- remember Rick and Ilsa in "Casablanca"? -- but far more common are variations of Charlie Chaplin and Paulette Goddard's happy stroll into the sunset in "Modern Times."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 7, 2002

Violinist who plays off the scale

Most people expect the kind of music played on a violin to be classical. Unless they're listening to internationally known violinist and composer Taro Hakase, that is, whose violin demonstrates melodies that can't be easily pigeonholed into any one musical category.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Jul 7, 2002

Japan's diplomatic balancing act

JAPANESE FOREIGN POLICY IN ASIA AND THE PACIFIC: Domestic Interests, American Pressure and Regional Integration, edited by Akitoshi Miyashita and Yoichiro Sato. Palgrave, 2001, 208 pp., $40 (cloth) Japan is frequently criticized for "punching below its weight" in international affairs. That is another...
BASEBALL / MLB
Jul 6, 2002

Passing of 'Pancho' a loss for baseball

Our good friend, Kazuo 'Pancho' Ito, one of the most colorful characters on the international baseball scene over the past 40 years, died in Tokyo on July 4 after a long illness. He was 68.
Japan Times
JAPAN / MUSEUM MUSINGS
Jul 6, 2002

Everyone's a winner at Tokyo sports gallery

One of most heart-warming memories of the soccer World Cup will be the rival players exchanging their shirts after each game.
EDITORIALS
Jul 5, 2002

Malpractice and coverups

In a serious case of medical malpractice, two doctors at Tokyo Women's Medical University Hospital have been arrested in connection with a heart operation that resulted in the death of a 12-year-old girl. One is charged with committing errors in the handling of a heart-lung machine and the other with...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 5, 2002

Brace yourself for "The Delta Force"

As hot as the trance music scene may seem right now, the electronica sub-genre itself is about "five years behind" where it should be, according to Marcus C. Maichel.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Jul 5, 2002

Swallowtail

* Japanese name: Kiageha * Scientific name: Papilio machaon * Description: There are several species of swallowtail butterflies in Japan, all of them easily recognizable by their swallowtails -- the tail-like appendages on the edge of the hind wings. Body length is 36-70 mm. Swallowtails have fully...
SOCCER / J. League
Jul 4, 2002

Antlers adviser tabbed to head J. League

Special adviser to Division One side Kashima Antlers Masaru Suzuki has informally been tabbed as the new chairman of the J. League, soccer sources said Tuesday.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 4, 2002

The Cyprus connection: How Milosevic evaded arms sanctions

NICOSIA, Cyprus -- On Dec. 27, 1998, a Yugoslav named Drakomir Stojkovic flew from Belgrade to Cyprus's Larnaca airport on a private jet carrying bags stuffed with 35 million deutsche marks -- worth roughly $17 million.
BUSINESS
Jul 3, 2002

Overtime hours down for 15th month

Average overtime hours for all industries in Japan fell 2.5 percent in May from a year earlier to 9.1 hours, marking the 15th consecutive monthly decline, according to a recent government survey.
SOCCER / World cup
Jul 2, 2002

Sky the limit for Ronaldinho

YOKOHAMA -- His haircut may be a bit outdated, but make no mistake about it, Ronaldinho's game is about as vogue as they come.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 1, 2002

Arrangement keeps Hong Kong on track

Since assuming the post of principal representative for the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Tokyo a little more than a month ago, I have found tremendous interest here in what has been happening to Hong Kong following its reunification with China on July 1, 1997. About five years before reunification,...
COMMENTARY
Jul 1, 2002

Tough talk is no key to success

LONDON -- An article in the June 10 Nikkei Weekly by a deputy editor of political news at the Nihon Keizai Shimbun had the headline "Foreign Ministry diplomacy failing nation on all fronts." The Foreign Ministry was criticized for not being tough enough in support of national interests. And praise was...
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Jul 1, 2002

Dollar weighed down by external debts, tax cuts, skittish investors

The dollar is losing ground against major currencies and the foreign-exchange rates are reflecting the relative strengths of the economies involved.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 30, 2002

Tricky laws cap emotional powder keg

CHIANG MAI, Thailand -- After so much controversy surrounding two recent asylum incidents in Beijing, a change of focus may be in order -- from the emotional to the legal dimension. We should begin with the reminder that asylum and inviolability issues, in general, are extremely complicated and can never...
JAPAN
Jun 30, 2002

Koizumi predicts German soccer victory, while flying home with Schroeder

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Saturday predicted Germany's success in the World Cup soccer final, and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder expressed confidence that Japan's slumping economy would recover soon.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jun 30, 2002

Hear the one about the Japanese comedian?

Last Sunday, on the Fuji-TV show "Warau Inu no Hakken," two comic teams, Neptune and Uchan-Nanchan, attempted to "spread Japanese comedy" to the rest of the world. At a pre-World Cup exhibition match between the Russian national team and Shimizu S-Pulse held in Shizuoka, the five comedians who comprise...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / VINELAND
Jun 30, 2002

Matches made in Tokyo

From California-style cafes to French bistros, international restaurants in Tokyo possess world-class wine lists. But if consumers' experience of wine is limited to their forays into international gourmet dining, it will remain an exotic, special-occasion beverage. To establish a comfortable home for...
JAPAN
Jun 29, 2002

Foundation to handle fund to fight Hansen's disease bias

A national council of former Hansen's disease patients living at sanitariums offered 5 million yen Friday to the Nippon Foundation to be used as a trust fund to fight social prejudice and bias against the disease worldwide.
BUSINESS
Jun 29, 2002

Taisei Fire rehab plan entails claim payout reductions

Taisei Fire & Marine Insurance Co., which failed last year, will reduce some insurance claim payouts to corporate clients by 25.8 percent, according to a rehabilitation plan submitted Friday to the Tokyo District Court.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jun 29, 2002

'Mochi nage' -- organized food fights

Now that the World Cup is nearly over, those of us in Japan turn our attention to other matters, such as food fights. Japan must be the only country where throwing food is not only acceptable but encouraged. Whole neighborhoods gather to throw food at each other in a tradition called "mochi nage," or...
BUSINESS
Jun 29, 2002

Japan, EU in no hurry to ratify nuclear energy treaty

In what may be somewhat disappointing news for the domestic power industry, Japan will not be able to sign a long-awaited nuclear energy treaty with the European Union at a regular summit next month.
MORE SPORTS
Jun 28, 2002

Japanese players to attend camp

Two Japanese players will see action in the San Francisco 49ers' and Washington Redskins' training camps next month and could be given a chance to play in the NFL Osaka 2002 on Aug. 4, NFL Japan announced Thursday.
BUSINESS
Jun 28, 2002

Toyota develops proactive safety system

Toyota Motor Corp. said Thursday it has developed a vehicle system that gives motorists advance warnings of unavoidable collisions and takes pre-emptive action to minimize impact and injuries.

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