Japan's Terror Threat

Nishi-Kawaguchi is a hardscrabble, working-class town on the outskirts of Tokyo. There are literally dozens of seen-better-days, commuter-line towns just like it dotting the sprawling megalopolis. Massage parlors, hostess clubs and soaplands line the streets around the dinky train station, and the odd reveler or two is still wandering around well into the morning, trying to shake off last night's indulgences or perhaps just waiting to resume them. It's the kind of place where disappointment is the default emotion and where Japan's much-hyped economic revival hasn't quite kicked in. "This used to be a tightly knit community," sighs shopkeeper Sumiko Shirai....