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Kenzo Moriguchi
JAPAN
Dec 24, 2001
Locals fear U.K. hooligans will rain on World Cup parade
OSAKA -- Amid nationwide jubilation on Dec. 1 over the birth of a daughter to the Crown Prince and Crown Princess, coffee shop owner Koji Fukushima of Osaka felt he had little to celebrate.
Japan Times
Events
Dec 11, 2001
New Zealand kendo practitioners publish quarterly journal in English
KYOTO -- Having practiced kendo for over a decade, Alexander Bennett and Hamish Robison have long been aware of the lack of English reading material on the sport, aside from technical manuals. The two New Zealanders thus decided to rectify the situation.
Japan Times
Events
Nov 27, 2001
Visionary sees World Cup as time to boost blind soccer
OSAKA -- Soccer is a sport that relies heavily on coordination between the eye and foot.
Japan Times
Events
Nov 13, 2001
Abandoned pets a sign of the slump
NOSE, Osaka Pref. -- The economic malaise is affecting not only humans, but animals as well. Indirectly, pets -- especially older ones -- have become casualties of the protracted downturn, according to an Osaka nonprofit organization.
Events
Oct 30, 2001
Forum holds up Omi feudal merchants as models of corporate responsibility
OMI-HACHIMAN, Shiga Pref. -- The 20th century socioeconomic system saw most people consumed with the pursuit of profit. Today's businesspeople, however, must re-examine their raison d'etre as the idea of corporate responsibility takes hold.
Events
Oct 16, 2001
New museum celebrates Osaka history
OSAKA -- Universal Studios Japan, which opened in Osaka in March, draws around 1 million visitors every month, many of them from outside the prefecture.
Events
Oct 2, 2001
Nara Station spared wrecking ball
NARA -- After three years of fuss, Haruyuki Chichibu felt relieved -- the Nara Prefectural Government announced last month that it would not demolish the 67-year-old JR Nara Station building.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Sep 30, 2001
Temple of 1,000 bells
KYOTO -- After an unusually hot summer, nothing is more welcome than the arrival of autumn breezes. Fall evenings in Kyoto are made even more pleasant by the bright moon shining overhead as the air is filled with a symphony of seasonal insects.
Events
Sep 18, 2001
Slice of U.S. pie reveals dreams aren't in the sky
KYOTO -- In 1996, Akiko Hirano was finally ready to fulfill her dream of earning a diploma at a U.S. university. So the 47-year-old boarded a flight to Connecticut to chase a higher education.
Events
Sep 4, 2001
Plumber places hopes on fresh, natural water
OSAKA -- Drinking water has long been seen as something that comes for free. All you need to do is turn on a tap.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Aug 26, 2001
Shaken but not stirred
KOBE -- More than 6,400 people died, 250,000 buildings collapsed and fire razed 7,000 homes over 64 hectares of land. But, according to Yoshiteru Murosaki, a professor at Kobe University's Research Center for Urban Safety and Security, we have yet to learn any lessons from the Great Hanshin Earthquake....
Events
Aug 21, 2001
Osaka hotel's rooftop garden refreshing in the concrete jungle
OSAKA -- This summer Osaka is living up to its reputation as Japan's hottest city. Temperatures have not fallen under 25 since July 19.
ENVIRONMENT
Aug 16, 2001
Wild answer to the deer problem
KAMIKITAYAMA, Nara Pref. -- It was a rainy Monday in July when Fumio Minamiura came across a shocking scene: a stray dog trotting along with the head and fore-parts of a young deer in its mouth. Blood was still dripping from the fresh kill.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Aug 12, 2001
Going the distance and beyond
OSAKA -- When the late Abebe Bikila represented Ethiopia in the men's marathon at the 1960 Rome Olympics, he shrugged off shoes in favor of his own bare feet. He took the gold, but were he running today, he might not make the same choice.
Events
Aug 7, 2001
Privatizing nursery schools irks Takaishi parents group
TAKAISHI, Osaka Pref. -- With Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi making vague noises on the importance of education, this city of 62,000 people is realizing that words alone aren't the answer.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jul 1, 2001
Summertime -- and the swimming is easy
In the summertime, when the living's easy but the coast seems just that bit too far away, there's no shortage of pools for a cooling plunge or freshening frolic.
Events
Jun 26, 2001
Guide pens temple-viewing booklet
OSAKA — Paul Satoh, a 70-year-old veteran tour guide and interpreter, is keen to introduce his English-speaking clients to traditional Japanese culture.
JAPAN
Jun 16, 2001
Town touting mythical snake find; is 'rare' creature really a cash cow?
MIKATA, Hyogo Pref. — The recent discovery of an unusual reptile in this small skiing town is being touted by some as the first recorded capture of the mythical "tsuchinoko," a legendary snakelike creature first documented in the eighth century.
Events
Jun 12, 2001
City hopes rentals will curb bike glut
OSAKA — The city of Osaka, infamous for illegal car parking, has long had another parking problem: bicycles.
Events
May 29, 2001
Tranquilized bear preferable to dead one, residents growl
KYOTO -- The shooting of a bear earlier this month at a bustling Kyoto tourist spot prompted a flood of protests from outraged residents who felt the animal should have been tranquilized and returned to the wild.

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?