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Taiga Uranaka

JAPAN

Sep 10, 2000

Shibuya residents furious with graffiti seen as art

Some call it the latest art trend, but others lambaste it as an ugly symbol of present-day Japanese society.

JAPAN

Sep 4, 2000

Gov. Ishihara tells troops to take heart

Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara, who led the charge for expanding the participation of Self-Defense Force troops in Sunday's disaster drill by the metropolitan government, urged SDF personnel to take pride and retain confidence as a military force.

JAPAN

Sep 1, 2000

Group explores cross-cultural links

This summer, the usual revelers in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward encountered a group of apparently out-of-place people who were on a mission to explore the nocturnal life of this multicultural town.

JAPAN

Aug 31, 2000

Pupils evacuated from Miyake settle in at west Tokyo school

Schoolchildren evacuated from Miyake Island arrived Wednesday afternoon at a school in western Tokyo that will be their temporary home shortly after an evacuation order was issued for all parts of the volcanic island.

JAPAN

Aug 13, 2000

Sleaze market festers with rip-off artists

The promise is too good to be true -- all you can drink and "excellent service" provided by "companions" for 6,000 yen in Tokyo's adult entertainment central.

JAPAN

Aug 13, 2000

Subway platform gates sought by the visually impaired

A group of visually impaired people will launch a petition drive calling on the Tokyo Metropolitan Government to install protective gates on platforms of the newly opened Oedo subway line to help prevent accidents.

JAPAN

Jul 30, 2000

Summer nights and transient beauty

For many Japanese, summer just isn't summer without fireworks. The popularity of the displays can be attributed to the transient nature of their beauty, the same reason the short-lived cherry blossom is so appreciated.

JAPAN

Jul 21, 2000

Once-needed water tanks now a concern

NAHA, Okinawa Pref. -- In times when the water supply was chronically short, locals learned to cope by storing water on their own. Today, even though the supply is secure, they keep up the practice, saving it for a rainy day, as it were.

JAPAN

Jul 18, 2000

Okinawa weaving tradition dying out

OGIMI, Okinawa Pref. -- Until recently, visitors to this village would have seen elderly women -- many in their 90s or older -- patiently making banana-fiber thread while sitting on sunny verandas and weaving it into traditional fabric.

JAPAN

Jul 17, 2000

Long life spans attributed to Okinawa diet

NAHA, Okinawa Pref. -- Legend holds that an ancient Chinese emperor dispatched a mission of explorers to find Horai, a heavenly island believed to exist in the ocean, with orders to find the elixir of life and bring it to him.

JAPAN

Jul 15, 2000

Okinawans see railway as ticket to ride

NAHA, Okinawa Pref. -- A middle-aged cabby here says he has never seen a train in his life except on television, much less ridden one. His story, however, does not surprise locals.

JAPAN

Jul 14, 2000

The sacrificed island's dream remains deferred

NAHA, Okinawa Pref. -- On Aug. 9, 1958, the entire nation was riveted to the first round of the National High School Baseball Tournament, which pitted Okinawa's Shuri High School against Fukui Prefecture's Tsuruga High School.

JAPAN

Jul 2, 2000

Garbage, indifference fueling crow plague

His affliction started about six months ago when a pair of jungle crows decided to build a nest in a neighbor's tree.

JAPAN

Jun 18, 2000

Yokohama sin tax prompts cries of no fair

YOKOHAMA — After Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara announced his controversial plan to impose a local tax on the city's banks earlier this year, other local governments have been searching for new revenue sources to replenish coffers drained by recession.

JAPAN

May 17, 2000

Summit expected to disrupt tourist industry

Hoteliers in Okinawa seem to have a common message to guests invited to the Group of Eight Summit in Okinawa in July: We will be happy to have you here, but we wish you would come in winter.

JAPAN

May 12, 2000

Canine training dogged by amateurs

Tomoe Yazawa knows about the particular needs of her clients. The service-dog trainer, who raised Japan's first four-legged helper for the physically disabled, worked as a home care-giver before she took up her current position.

JAPAN

May 10, 2000

Okinawa goods shops basking in G8, or pop-star spotlight?

Who is to thank for the recent brisk sales at an Okinawa goods shop in Tokyo, former Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi or pop singer Namie Amuro?

COMMUNITY

Apr 4, 2000

Date club ads turn green Sendai pink with anger

SENDAI, Miyagi Pref. -- "Dial this number for beautiful office ladies." "Ring up for perky college coeds."

ENVIRONMENT

Apr 4, 2000

Group struggles to replant beeches

SHIROISHI, Miyagi Pref. -- Mountains are special for Shizue Hata, the 54-year-old owner of a small Chinese dumpling shop in this quiet city of 40,000.

JAPAN

Mar 23, 2000

Local autonomy put to the test by new nursing care program

SENDAI -- The public nursing care insurance system, due to go into operation next month, is the first real test of local autonomy and its success depends on the performance of each municipality, according to Miyagi Gov. Shiro Asano.

You can often see generations of families enjoying performances together at Fuji Rock Festival.

Japan’s summer music festivals are feeling the heat in more ways than one

Akiko Trush says her experience with the neurological disorder dystonia left her feeling like she wanted to chop her own hand off.

The neurological disorder that 'kills culture'

By Tomoko Otake

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