April 30, 2001 | April 30, 2001 VOL. 157 NO. 17

Why Japan Cares What You Think

This is a nation obsessed with outsiders' perceptions of it. And that's one of its biggest problems

Batting Out Of Their League

Thanks to an archaic ownership system, Japanese baseball is losing its best players, its fans and its soul

Down So Long It looks Like Up

Japanese stocks are in a 10-year ditch. But plenty of companies still turn profits

Guarding Reputations

Japan's peacekeepers in Israel are well-trained, disciplined and prepared to deliver the goods

Geishas & Godzillas

Which is odder — the image of Japan in Hollywood movies or the image of Japan in its own films?

Techno Fetishes

Plugged in, wired up and totally hooked, American otaku confess their secret Japanese addictions

High Concept, High Stakes

Japanese designers revolutionized clothes, so why doesn't one head a major Western fashion house?

The Customers

Japan has a Yen for designer labels

Sushi: It's On a Roll

A dash of dashi, a mist of miso — Japanese ingredients have invaded Manhattan's kitchens

Wild Rice

Rocking the roll

Sayonara Flower Arranging

Japanese writers have found their subject: Japan

Look Back In Anger

Asians are fans of Japan's products and culture but relations remain haunted by its failure to address war atrocities

Generation Gap

A Korean boy's love of Japanese animation stokes memories of wartime occupation in his grandmother

The Future Perfect

How did Japan become the favored default setting for so many cyberpunk writers?

The Japanese Model

Adolescent identities rarely come preassembled

Who's the Boss?

Japan arrived in a sleepy town in Georgia in 1989. The dying textile center hasn't been the same since

Managing to win