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COMMENTARY / World
Sep 11, 2002

Once again at ground zero

LOS ANGELES -- Japan is once again at a historical tipping point, what could be called a political ground zero. Japan has been at ground zero two other times in its modern history and both times the outcome was not pretty.
JAPAN
Sep 11, 2002

Japan regrets going overboard with Earth summit team

Japan should have sent a smaller delegation to the recently concluded World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, Environment Minister Hiroshi Ohki said on Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Sep 11, 2002

New plastic optical fiber promises cut in connection costs

Fuji Photo Film Co. said Tuesday it has developed a plastic optical fiber that allows households to set up networks for broadband communications more cheaply than with conventional fiber-optic cables.
JAPAN
Sep 11, 2002

Public safety bill added to attack-response plan

The government has drafted legislation for protecting the public in the event of an attack that will be attached to war contingency bills to be discussed in an extra Diet session expected to start in mid-October, sources said.
BUSINESS
Sep 11, 2002

Industrialists see zero GDP growth in fiscal 2002

Leading corporate managers expect the nation's gross domestic product to post zero growth in fiscal 2002, the Japan Business Federation (Nippon Keidanren) said Tuesday, quoting the results of a recent survey.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / CERAMIC SCENE
Sep 11, 2002

A dream of living pots

Koichi Takita looks more like a Zen monk than a world-renowned ceramic artist. His shaven head and glowing demeanor exude the sense of a man who has attained enlightenment while playing with mud.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / NEW ART SEEN
Sep 11, 2002

Take the plunge into 'Vegas' art

I'm just back from hot and dry Las Vegas, where the world's high rollers, faced with lavish entertainment options such as performance-art ensemble Blue Man Group and magicians Siegfried & Roy, have made the Cirque du Soleil's "O" the hottest ticket in town. The central attraction of "O" is not its troupe...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Sep 11, 2002

As fresh as a girl -- age 82, and male

This month the Kabukiza is staging two masterworks by Shinshichi Kawatake III (1842-1901), a disciple of the renowned 19th-century kabuki playwright Kawatake Mokuami. Not only are these two fine dramas treats in themselves, but one offers the chance to see the legendary onnagata (female role specialist)...
Japan Times
JAPAN / EMBASSY ROW
Sep 11, 2002

Ambassador embarks on drive to put Aussie beef back on grill

Australian Ambassador to Japan John McCarthy is spearheading a campaign to get Australian beef back on Japanese dinner plates by taking part in a series of forums across the nation this week.
JAPAN
Sep 11, 2002

Health minister warns of higher welfare costs

Welfare minister Chikara Sakaguchi said Tuesday that the nation's workforce will have to shoulder higher welfare costs in light of Japan's declining birthrate and its graying society, while the aged will also need to share these burdens.
CULTURE / Stage
Sep 11, 2002

Odd couples double up for twice the laughs (and tears)

In the 1960s, when I was a child, I imagined life in the far-away West through American movies and from watching TV series like "The Lucy Show" ("I Love Lucy") and "Father Knows Best." Back then, Japan's economy had begun to pick up steam, and through comedy series such as these, people visualized a...
CULTURE / Music
Sep 11, 2002

Jon Cleary: "Jon Cleary and the Absolute Monster Gentlemen"

When it comes to funk, few other current bands do it half as well as Jon Cleary and the Absolute Monster Gentlemen. You can take Cleary to task for plenty of things -- being born in England (instead of funk-capital New Orleans), trying to play too many instruments (piano, organ, dobro, mandolin, bass...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 11, 2002

The maestro at work

MATSUMOTO, Nagano Pref. -- "What does everyone think?"
CULTURE / Music
Sep 11, 2002

Mickey Fickey Mix

Since hardcore rap feeds off hyperbole, it's difficult to separate boasts from accomplishments. Is Dr. Dre really the originator of all that the West Coast represents, or is he simply SoCal hip-hop's shrewdest impresario? His contribution to "Straight Outta Compton," the 1988 N.W.A. album that defined...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Sep 11, 2002

Only drama left in PL revolves around MVP

...
BUSINESS
Sep 11, 2002

Minister wants tax cuts financed

Finance Minister Masajuro Shiokawa said Tuesday he would tolerate proposed tax cuts of 2.5 trillion yen or more if the drop in tax revenues were to be balanced out in the long run.
JAPAN
Sep 11, 2002

Ministry still mystified by BSE outbreak

The source of the mad cow disease outbreak that has thus far claimed five animals remains a mystery and must be determined through further investigation, the farm ministry said Tuesday in a report that sums up its policy responses since the discovery of the first case last September.
BASEBALL / MLB
Sep 11, 2002

Cabrera on historical pace with No. 50

Seibu slugger Alex Cabrera homered for the third straight game to increase his PL-leading home run total to 50, but it was not enough for the Lions as the Daiei Hawks snapped its losing streak against Seibu at six with a 4-2 win at the Seibu Dome.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / J-POPSICLE
Sep 11, 2002

Putting the J in J-punk

It's taken a while, but punk rock seems to have finally broken into the J-pop mainstream.
JAPAN
Sep 11, 2002

Fewer support traditional gender roles

Forty-seven percent of Japanese back the traditional roles of men as breadwinners and women as housewives, down 11 percentage points from five years ago, the Cabinet Office said in a survey on gender equality.
EDITORIALS
Sep 10, 2002

The return of al-Qaeda

Afghan President Hamid Karzai escaped yet another assassination attempt last week. Other Afghans were not as lucky: They were killed when bombs exploded in the capital city of Kabul. The attacks are another reminder of the fragility of the peace in that country. Although the military is "mopping up"...
SOCCER / J. League
Sep 10, 2002

Reds leave it late to sneak past Sendai

SAITAMA -- Substitute forward Yuichiro Nagai struck the winning goal in the 113th minute, giving the Urawa Reds a 1-0 extra-time win over Vegalta Sendai on Sunday afternoon at Saitama Stadium 2002.
JAPAN
Sep 10, 2002

Space only the first frontier for H-IIA

The government and industry alike are pinning their hopes on the successful launch of the third H-IIA rocket, due to be sent into space Tuesday on its first full-scale operational mission.
JAPAN
Sep 10, 2002

Magazine told to withdraw issue with photos of Aum trial

The Tokyo District Court has demanded that the publisher of a weekly magazine withdraw copies of its latest issue, which carries courtroom photographs of Aum Shinrikyo founder Shoko Asahara, it was learned Monday.
JAPAN
Sep 10, 2002

Cops release woman, arrest man over theft of bank book and 'hanko'

OSAKA -- Osaka Prefectural Police have released a 55-year-old woman after wrongly arresting her earlier this month on suspicion of stealing a bank book and "hanko" seal, it was learned Monday.

Longform

Sociologist Gracia Liu-Farrer argues that even though immigration doesn't figure into Japan's autobiography, it is more of a self-perception than a reality.
In search of the ‘Japanese dream’