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Japan Times
JAPAN / WEEKEND WISDOM
Sep 1, 2002

'Dialect broadcaster' leads revival of Okinawan tongue

NAHA, Okinawa Pref. -- Fumiko Ikari used to spend hours listening to Japanese radio, mimicking broadcasters' inflections and trying to purge all traces of the Okinawa dialect from her speech.
JAPAN
Sep 1, 2002

Tepco executives to quit over atomic plant scandal

The president and chairman of Tokyo Electric Power Company are likely to step down to take responsibility for a scandal involving false reports on inspections and repairs at the company's nuclear power plants, sources said Saturday.
JAPAN
Sep 1, 2002

Iraqi painter exhibiting in Tokyo

An Iraqi painter will hold an exhibition in Tokyo in September to help Japanese gain a different view of the Middle East, the organizers of the art show said Saturday.
COMMENTARY
Sep 1, 2002

Taiwan's role in promoting democracy

MANILA -- Due to mere numbers, the Taiwanese will always be the underdog in their dispute with China. Arguably, the most important advantage of the islanders in this confrontation is their domestic political order. In spite of constant partisan bickering, Taiwanese democracy may well be termed a source...
BASEBALL / MLB
Sep 1, 2002

Tigers drop Swallows

Tetsuro Kawajiri pitched a three-hitter with 10 strikeouts for his first complete game in two years as the Hanshin Tigers snapped the Yakult Swallows' unbeaten streak with a 4-1 victory in the Central League on Saturday.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 1, 2002

U.S. faces bigger issues than hitting Iraq

In America, a military attack against Iraq to remove President Saddam Hussein from power seems to be a foregone conclusion. U.S. newspaper reports have been rife with various battle plans proposed by the generals.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / FUZZY LOGIC
Sep 1, 2002

Losers sometimes prosper

There are two grown men on my futon playing with dolls, and I'm standing above them taking photos. We're all dripping in sweat, and I'm hoping my girlfriend doesn't suddenly come home and catch us at it. She might get the wrong idea.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Sep 1, 2002

How can we be No. 3?

In a revelation no less stunning than if Mount Everest was suddenly surpassed as the world's tallest mountain or the Nile outstretched as the world's longest river, a July news report announced that Tokyo is no longer the world's most expensive city.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Sep 1, 2002

Taking stock of power and purpose in Asia

STRATEGIC ASIA: Power and Purpose 2001-02, edited by Richard J. Ellings and Aaron Friedberg. Seattle, Wash., National Bureau of Asian Research, 2001, 378 pp., $19.95 (paper) Power is the currency of international relations. Incredibly, we still aren't exactly sure what "power" is, how it is exercised...
CULTURE / Film / CLOSE-UP
Sep 1, 2002

Films, Zen, Japan

Donald Richie is regarded as the leading Western authority on Japanese film. He first came to Japan in 1947 as a civilian typist for the U.S. Occupational forces -- an intelligent, restless 22-year-old in search of purpose.
EDITORIALS
Sep 1, 2002

The quest for the greatest Briton

It's the end of summer (even though it may not feel like it) and holidaymakers are returning home in droves, reminding us that it's time to turn our heat-addled brains once again to Serious and Important Matters. In this regard, Britain's BBC may serve as an inspiration to us all. Last week, in the depths...
SOCCER / J. League
Sep 1, 2002

Jubilo starts well

IWATA, Shizuoka Pref. -- Seeking the J. League's first-ever title sweep, the first stage champion Jubilo Iwata got off to a good start by beating Vissel Kobe 1-0 with substitute forward Nobuo Kawaguchi netting the winner in the second half on Saturday night, the opening day of the Division One second...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / CLOSE-UP
Sep 1, 2002

Films, Zen, Japan

Donald Richie is regarded as the leading Western authority on Japanese film. He first came to Japan in 1947 as a civilian typist for the U.S. Occupational forces -- an intelligent, restless 22-year-old in search of purpose.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 1, 2002

Rene Paulo takes a break from the hotel circuit

For the better part of five decades, Rene Paulo has made a steady living playing piano in hotel lounges in Honolulu, Las Vegas and Los Angeles -- but don't call him a lounge player. And don't ask him if Liberace was an influence.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Sep 1, 2002

Reaching for the skyline

Sixty-nine-year-old British architect Sir Richard Rogers has been one of the world's foremost architects for the last 30 years. Awarded the Gold Medal of the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1985, he was further rewarded for his outstanding achievements with a knighthood from the Queen six years...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / THE WAY OF WASHOKU
Sep 1, 2002

Let the seasons shine through aemono

The most common aemono (dressed salads) are: shira-ae, the tofu-based dressing that we looked at last week; goma-ae, a simple sesame dressing; and finally miso-ae, miso dressing. I presented a version of miso-ae — vinegared and with mustard — when I wrote about the little firefly-like hotaru-ika...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / NIHONSHU
Sep 1, 2002

How much do you really need to know?

The choice of yeast in sake brewing exerts marvelous leverage on the aroma and style of the final product. And, while creativity and diversity lead to better sake over time, things can indeed get out of hand. Today, there are so many different yeasts -- and ways of combining them -- that it almost ceases...
CULTURE / Art
Sep 1, 2002

Postmodern -- or what?

Until the time of our great-great-grandparents, each region's architectural style was largely defined by its particular culture, climate and natural resources. Materials and construction techniques developed only very slowly, if at all. With all their buildings being built the same way, cities and towns...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Sep 1, 2002

The pros and cons of character typing

If you need help with a problem and want to make a bunch of celebrities feel good, check out Nippon TV's "Power Bank" (Sunday, 12:30 p.m.). For each episode of the show, individuals register as "helpers," meaning people with some kind of skill or experience, and when a viewer requests assistance, this...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Sep 1, 2002

Tokyo's blueprints of th past - and the future

Tokyo is an ugly city. Sure, it may not suffer from the smog of Mexico City, be blighted by Johannesburg-style shantytowns or possess Houston's plate-glass vacuity. Nonetheless, the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923, World War II bombing and subsequent construction booms have combined to obliterate the...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Sep 1, 2002

'Seven Samurai' 101

SEVEN SAMURAI: The Ultimate Film Guides Series, by Roy Stafford. London: Longman/York Press/Pearson Education, 2001, 91 pp., 6.99 pounds (paper) "Would you be willing to do what is right, regardless of the consequences? To see good triumph over evil and use your strength and heroism to protect the lives...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / BEST BAR NONE
Sep 1, 2002

An oasis in the Meguro desert

Naka-Meguro and Meguro proper are worlds apart. The former is a boomtown of cool little bars and the latter a backwater of pachinko parlors and karaoke snacks. And while the two areas may sound geographically close, they are not. It takes almost an hour to walk between the two along the darkened stretch...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Sep 1, 2002

Lime: Sublime fare, out of the blue

Just what Tokyo needs -- another Asian-themed dining bar that features exotic interior flourishes and caters to the youthful Ginza office crowd. But hold the all-knowing, world-weary sarcasm. In the case of Lime, it's unfair and quite uncalled for.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Sep 1, 2002

Hitting English language-learning overdrive

The Japanese media is in the middle of another of its sporadic English-language learning frenzies, which, this time, seems to have been sparked by an Education Ministry decision to promote English conversation lessons in public elementary schools.
SOCCER / J. League
Aug 31, 2002

Zico urges J. Leaguers to fly abroad

New Japan manager Zico is encouraging J. League clubs to play abroad to help improve the standard of Japanese soccer, Japan Football Association president Saburo Kawabuchi quoted him as saying Thursday.
COMMENTARY
Aug 31, 2002

Terrorism or simply war?

Soon after last year's Sept. 11 attack on the United States by Islamic militants, I got into a debate with a hawkish member of the private consultative committee set up by then-Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka. He was demanding angrily that Japan should help eliminate something called global "terror."...

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’