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COMMENTARY
Mar 24, 2002

Struggling for freedom against the odds

HAVANA -- Inside Avenida 21, number 3014, a nondescript house in a Havana suburb, lives dissident Elizardo Sanchez Santa Cruz. Despite Cuba's greater engagement with the world over the last decade, "political repression has been increasing," says Sanchez.
COMMENTARY
Mar 24, 2002

Talk of a turnaround remains premature

ISLAMABAD -- If President Gen. Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan's military ruler, felt he was winning over world opinion following his recent kudos-winning trips to Japan and the United States, he couldn't have chosen a worse moment.
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM MOSCOW
Mar 24, 2002

Yankee chicken, go home!

"Down with President Bush's thighs!" says Moscow. "We've eaten enough of them and they're no good. We're not going to cook them again."
MORE SPORTS
Mar 24, 2002

Seibu skates into 2-1 lead

The Seibu Railways Bears got two goals from Hideyuki Ueno on Saturday at Shin-Yokohama Ice Arena as they skated to a 4-1 win over the Kokudo Bunnies in Game 3 of the Japan Ice Hockey League finals, taking a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five series.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Mar 24, 2002

Shaping up nicely

There is something about landscaped Japanese gardens that suggests timelessness, a phenomenon apparently contrary to that Japanese tendency to locate beauty in what is fleeting in this world.
LIFE / Food & Drink / VINELAND
Mar 24, 2002

Let your taste buds do the browsing

At some point, it happens to all of us. You stand in front of the wine shelves and stare at the labels. You struggle to remember the last great vintage in the Rhone Valley, Rioja or Tuscany. You see the name of a winery you've liked in the past, but can't recall if it was the Syrah or the Zinfandel (it...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Mar 24, 2002

A greener shade of gray

Ever since Adam and Eve were banished from the Garden of Eden, people have been trying to climb back over the fence, because, whatever the attractions of city living, there is nothing like a garden to refresh both body and soul.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Mar 24, 2002

The past made perfect

THE POLITICS OF RUINS AND THE BUSINESS OF NOSTALGIA, by Maurizio Peleggi. Studies in Contemporary Thailand, No. 10, forward by Craig J. Reynolds. Bangkok: White Lotus Press., 2002, 100 pp., 450 baht (paper) Now that Kyoto is to all intents "Kyotoland," it might be instructive to turn to other countries...
COMMUNITY
Mar 24, 2002

Living national treasures

Three is an auspicious number. Things grouped in threes are believed to acquire prestige by virtue of the number's magic. Likewise, a ritual action repeated three times is considered to bring good luck.
LIFE / Food & Drink / BEST BAR NONE
Mar 24, 2002

Like a rolling stone but harder

Enter the words "rock" plus "Shinjuku" into the search engine of Tokyo's communal consciousness, and the result, "Rolling Stone" -- a rock 'n' grot dive of more than 20 years' standing in that neighborhood -- will always come back at the top of the list. Even Eggey, the owner of two hardcore Shinjuku...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Mar 24, 2002

Hotel turns over a new leaf

Big hotels are features of most big cities, and Tokyo is no exception. Rearing into the sky, often straddling whole blocks, they're the temporary homes and permanent workplaces for small armies of people -- which brings serious environmental consequences.
CULTURE / Music / PLAY BUTTON
Mar 24, 2002

Music, an improvised definition

Improvised music poses a considerable critical challenge. It now takes in such a wide variety of styles -- from jazz to minimalist electronica, from contemporary classical music to rock -- there is no one absolute set of criteria by which to judge it.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Mar 24, 2002

How does your balcony garden grow?

If you're chafing about the city's dearth of green spaces, but you're blessed with a balcony, you could make your own garden. It could be your little contribution toward greening the city. If you haven't tried it before, you might be pleasantly surprised by how much joy a tiny space brimming with leaves...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Mar 24, 2002

Some gaijin pitfalls into which few have not plunged

I heard once that art is 2 percent creativity and the rest "derivativity."
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / THE WAY OF WASHOKU
Mar 24, 2002

What squids shine in yonder bay

Squid, octopus and cuttlefish belong to a large group of marine invertebrates called cephalopods. The word means foot-headed, and it is an appropriate name for these creatures because their tentacle feet sprout from above their eyes and brain. They are found all over, and sometimes in the stomachs of...
CULTURE / Books
Mar 24, 2002

De Ferranti opens the door to a musical Other

JAPANESE MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS, by Hugh de Ferranti. Oxford University Press, 2000, 104 pp., $13.95 (cloth) It would be perfectly possible for a foreigner to live in Heisei Japan for quite some time without ever becoming aware that Japan has an original music of its own, so low is the profile of "hogaku"...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Mar 24, 2002

And for your comic delight: The Suzuki Show

Contrary to popular belief, what's good for the goose is not always good for the gander. When Makiko Tanaka was ousted as foreign minister, tears helped crystallize a victim image that guarantees her political longevity. On the other hand, those of Muneo Suzuki, the main victim of Makiko's victimhood,...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Mar 24, 2002

Tune in for the final stretch

Next Sunday, Nippon TV's irreverent variety show "Denpa Shonen," the prototype of bizarre Japanese reality-TV programs, will once again end its long successful run with a pledge to be reincarnated in the near future. On Saturday at 9 p.m., however, there will be a special two-hour installment summing...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Mar 24, 2002

Helmsdale: A spot of haggis and ale, lads?

Helmsdale is not so much a pub as a shrine to the "water of life," known to the ancient Gaelic peoples as uisge beatha and to their modern-day descendants as whisky. Almost every inch of space is devoted to it, from the groaning shelves of classic single malts arrayed behind the counter to the empty...
CULTURE / Books
Mar 24, 2002

Shimoda sounds a literary lament

SAN FRANCISCO -- A foreigner in Japan is an outsider by default, a fact foreign residents have lamented for centuries in what is now a ritualized barstool grievance: "I've lived here for so long, learned the language, love my natto, but still . . . "
EDITORIALS
Mar 23, 2002

Taiwan flexes its muscles

There appears to be a new confidence in Taiwan these days. The island government senses new diplomatic opportunities and is wasting no time in exploiting them. That is understandable, but Taipei must also be cautious. Over-reaching will only anger China, which is ever sensitive to the status of the island...
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 23, 2002

Democracy gains a foothold in Cambodia

WASHINGTON -- Official returns have confirmed a broad sweep of Cambodia's ruling party, the Cambodia People's Party, in the country's first local elections. Critics in the U.S. policy community cite these elections as proof that democracy has failed in Cambodia. By their measure, elections are the sole...
SUMO
Mar 23, 2002

Musashimaru downs Kaio, moves one win away from title

OSAKA -- Yokozuna Musashimaru shoved down ozeki Kaio for his 12th win at the Spring Grand Sumo Tournament on Friday and moved to within a win of taking home the championship hardware for the 10th time in his career.
BUSINESS
Mar 23, 2002

Daiwa announces tieup with Agricole

Daiwa Bank Holdings Inc., the nation's fifth-largest banking group, on Friday announced a business alliance with French bank Credit Agricole SA.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 23, 2002

Target nonperforming loans, not deflation

While there is good reason to be concerned about the state of Japan's economy, analysts wrongly target deflation as the main villain in this tale. Contrary to received wisdom, Japan's economic slump is not the result of price deflation. Nor are aggressive expansions of fiscal and monetary policies the...
BUSINESS
Mar 23, 2002

Peru no longer a favored destination of Japanese ODA

Japanese official development assistance for Peru has plunged sharply amid a chill in diplomatic ties over the fate of Alberto Fujimori, the former Peruvian president of Japanese descent.
BUSINESS
Mar 23, 2002

U.S. airlines set to switch Narita slots

Transport minister Chikage Ogi indicated Friday that Japan will allow Delta Air Lines to transfer some of its slots to FedEx Corp. at Narita airport, as the United States has requested.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji