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JAPAN
Oct 23, 2000

HIV victims' champion leads polls

Independent candidate Etsuko Kawada, 51, a longtime supporter of victims infected with HIV through contaminated blood products, appeared to be leading in the House of Representatives by-election for the Tokyo No. 21 single-seat constituency, exit polls showed Sunday.
COMMENTARY
Oct 23, 2000

LDP is up to its old tricks

The current 150th Diet session is in unprecedented chaos over an electoral reform bill to revise the Upper House voting system. The bill would change the roster system for candidates nominated in the proportional-representation segment of the Upper House polls. Currently, parties predetermine the ranks...
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Oct 23, 2000

Clock tolls for environmental action

Mika Suzuki may not be a professional designer, but her keen eye and concern about the environment recently won her the top prize in a Tokyo eco-design contest.
EDITORIALS
Oct 22, 2000

Libraries without limits

We human beings, especially those of us who are getting on in years, are always complaining that "anything goes these days." It's a habit that defines the species. Elderly Neanderthals probably tottered about fretting that the cave was going to the dogs and it was time for tighter standards and firmer...
JAPAN
Oct 22, 2000

Letters shed new light on Nosaka's espionage acts

New facts have emerged regarding the clandestine activities of Sanzo Nosaka, a controversial Japanese Communist Party leader who was expelled by his party in 1992 and died seven years ago aged 101.
BASEBALL / MLB
Oct 22, 2000

Hawks draw first blood in Japan Series

The much-hyped "O-N" Japan Series got off to a rousing start at the Tokyo Dome on Saturday night, as the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks rallied from a 3-1 deficit in the seventh inning to defeat the Yomiuri Giants 5-3 in Game 1 on home runs by Nobuhiko Matsunaka, Kenji Jojima and Melvin Nieves.
JAPAN
Oct 22, 2000

Sanya turning from laborer to tourist district

In Tokyo, where it's difficult to find a decent room for less than 6,000 yen a night, foreign backpackers and other budget travelers go to the day-laborer district.
JAPAN
Oct 22, 2000

Ditched public works projects back on agenda

Regional construction bureaus and local government panels are trying to revive 38 of the 281 questionable public works projects that the ruling coalition and the national government want scrapped, a Kyodo News survey showed Saturday.
JAPAN
Oct 22, 2000

Cities plan push to stop car dumping

The local governments of Japan's 13 major cities plan to ask automakers to help shoulder disposal costs for the increasing numbers of vehicles abandoned in streets and ports, Tokyo Metropolitan Government officials said Saturday.
JAPAN
Oct 22, 2000

An 'extreme' sport that's truly off the wall

As we search for bigger thrills and harder adrenaline rushes, more and more people are pursuing a break from the norm with "extreme" sports.
JAPAN
Oct 22, 2000

Market stirs echoes of Komagome's past

The name Komagome, which literally means "horse inside," is believed to have derived from the fields and stables where livestock was kept.
JAPAN
Oct 22, 2000

European, Asian leaders end summit with vow of solidarity

SEOUL -- European and Asian leaders wrapped up a summit here Saturday with a pledge to launch a new round of world trade talks as soon as possible and a promise to work together more closely on political issues and fighting crime.
JAPAN
Oct 22, 2000

Mori criticized over kidnap-resolution plan blunder

Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori's remarks Friday that a secret proposal was made to North Korea in 1997 over the alleged kidnapping of Japanese nationals by Pyongyang have baffled the Foreign Ministry and drawn criticism both from the opposition camp and leading members of the ruling coalition.
CULTURE / Art
Oct 22, 2000

Young talent surfaces at Tokyo Designers Week

If you happened to be in the Aoyama, Shibuya or Daikanyama districts of Tokyo over the last week you may have noticed a brightly patterned bus zooming around. It was transporting whoever was interested in going to the many spots in this area that were exhibiting the work of Japanese and international...
COMMUNITY
Oct 22, 2000

Country gold in them thar Kyushu hills

MOUNT ASO, Kyushu -- When he had just turned 20, "Good Time" Charlie Nagatani made a decision that must have seemed even more foolish than it was whimsical.
JAPAN
Oct 22, 2000

KSD donated huge sums to LDP as 'member fees'

A scandal-tainted mutual aid organization for small enterprises made annual payments of up to 200 million yen -- disguised as party membership fees -- to the ruling Liberal Democratic Party from 1991 to 1999, sources familiar with the case said Saturday.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Oct 22, 2000

David Powell

He says that although he is not Welsh, he has always been pleased to have a Welsh name. Last year David Powell strengthened a Welsh sentiment when he became executive vice president, Japan, of the Welsh Development Agency. He has very special appreciation of Wales, a small country of "charm and delight."...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Oct 22, 2000

ZERI student volunteer recalls Expo experience

Agreeing to be interviewed but only 18, Ikuko Sato brought along her elder sister Kyoko for support. Actually, Kyoko had her own motive for joining us. Soon to visit a Filipino friend in England, she wanted information on traveling in the U.K.: "Is there a special rail pass for tourists? And what do...
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 22, 2000

Bidding goodbye to the monoculture myth

Some years ago I was sitting at the counter of a rather exclusive sushi restaurant in the Roppongi district of Tokyo when I noticed that a middle-age man a few stools along was making monosyllabic comments each time I ordered a morsel of sushi or slipped one into my mouth.
CULTURE / Music
Oct 22, 2000

The unfamiliar from the familiar, and vice versa

Two ensembles appearing in Japan recently served as intriguing examples of a judicious mix of the familiar and the unfamiliar.
CULTURE / Art
Oct 22, 2000

Holding art and utility in our hands

Amid the sensationalism of much contemporary art, it is refreshing to sense honest artistry in metal, clay and wood. "Thoughts on Contemporary Vessels" at the Crafts Gallery of the National Museum of Modern Art is an exhibition centered on the humble cup, bowl or jar. And it reveals crafts that are as...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Oct 22, 2000

All you ever wanted to know about voodoo

Gaston Jean-Baptiste, known as "Bonga," is a voodoo priest and a conga player. Bonga has been touring Japan giving workshops on Haitian music and teaching the traditions of Haiti. Luckily, one of the stops on his tour was my living room. A small, amiable man with dreadlocks, Bonga spoke from his "zabuton":...
EDITORIALS
Oct 21, 2000

Reform starts with big business

Two of Japan's four largest business organizations, Keidanren (Federation of Economic Organizations) and Nikkeiren (Federation of Employers Associations), have decided to merge by May 2002. A task force will be working out details by the end of the year, including the proposed name and articles of association...
JAPAN
Oct 21, 2000

Woman says boss ordered her to kill

A restaurant employee charged in a murder-for-insurance case has told police that she laced food and liquor served to a man whose body was later found floating in a river with the poisonous herb aconite, according to sources.

Longform

Capsule hotels were created as a way to deal with the amount of overwork employees tend to do in Japan. Can't commute home? Then spend the night in an tiny, affordable sleeping space.
Japan wakes up to the market for a proper sleep