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COMMENTARY / World
Jan 3, 2001

A landmark event in Buddhist studies

CHIANG MAI, Thailand -- The 72nd birthday anniversary of the king of Thailand continues to inspire a rich variety of spiritual, artistic and cultural contributions to Thai society.
LIFE / Travel
Jan 3, 2001

Tickets here for Asia

By the time the lunch gong sounded in the great hall of the Heng Yang monastery, I had already placed generous votive offerings at a shrine in the Temple of the Goddess of Mercy, watched a flour-doll and knot maker at work, witnessed minor grievances being aired at the Ancient Courthouse and met a talking...
LIFE / Travel
Jan 3, 2001

Japan in miniature: Edo Period stroll gardens were the original amusement parks

The Japanese tourist, unlike the overseas visitor, may be only mildly astonished to find himself transported to the upper part of a castle donjon by means of a newly installed elevator. Convenience, the Western visitor notes with some bemusement, does not seem to detract from the enjoyment, let alone...
LIFE / Travel / NATURE TRAVEL
Jan 3, 2001

Walking the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu

Approaching Machu Picchu on foot along Peru's 32-km Inca Trail might sound the stuff of legend. Or, better still, the stuff of Tin Tin. In all honesty, however, it can be more trial than trail.
CULTURE / Art
Jan 3, 2001

The simple pleasures of Karatsu

KARATSU, Saga Pref. -- Best known for its deceptively simple pottery, Karatsu is a peaceful coastal town on a western tip of Kyushu. It's quiet year round except for summer, when holidaymakers crowd the long sandy beaches nearby, and November, when several hundred thousand visitors flock to see giant,...
LIFE / Travel
Jan 3, 2001

Glimpse an older, more harmonious Korea amid the artifice of a 'living museum'

Two centuries of ice, rain, summer heat and a civil war have reduced the ramparts of Suwon, a city just an hour's drive south of Seoul, to heaps of twisted rubble.
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Jan 3, 2001

Asian continent in league of its own

First of three parts As the third millennium dawned, the light of the rising sun swept westward across the Pacific Ocean and the Bering Sea. It brought a gray half-light that crept slowly across the dark ice-locked wastes of northeast Asia. Farther south, the sun's fiery-orange disc rose majestically...
SOCCER / J. League
Jan 3, 2001

Antlers claim Cup

The Kashima Antlers became the first team to capture the domestic treble Monday by winning the Emperor's Cup 3-2 over Shimizu S-Pulse after extra time at Tokyo's National Stadium.
JAPAN
Jan 3, 2001

Unresolved issues linger for Japan

Japan greets the new century with two major diplomatic issues unresolved since the end of World War II -- concluding a peace treaty with Russia and normalizing diplomatic relations with North Korea.
BUSINESS
Jan 3, 2001

New financial settlements system to go online Thursday

The Bank of Japan confirmed Tuesday that it will introduce a real-time gross settlements system Thursday as scheduled as all preparations for the changeover are on track.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Jan 3, 2001

Kicking up a stink about smelling as natural as a skunk

While beauty traditionally belongs to the beholder's eye, correct hygiene might be better ascribed to his or her nose.
JAPAN
Jan 1, 2001

Foreign workforce movin' on up

For a long time, workers coming to Japan from the Third World have been associated with the cheap blue-collar labor that supports industrial societies at the lower strata.
JAPAN
Jan 1, 2001

State-backed Internet expo kicks off

The government-sponsored virtual Internet exposition, an event for the new millennium, went online Sunday.
EDITORIALS
Jan 1, 2001

The rebuilding starts now

...
BUSINESS
Jan 1, 2001

Economy expected to limp toward recovery

The consensus among economists at private think tanks is that the economy will continue to grow, albeit slowly, for the remaining three months of fiscal 2000 and through the next fiscal year.
JAPAN
Jan 1, 2001

Man held for allegedly stabbing wife to death

Police on Sunday arrested on suspicion of murder the husband of a 29-year-old woman found stabbed to death in the couple's home in the city of Akiruno, western Tokyo, earlier in the day.
JAPAN / STAGING A COMEBACK
Jan 1, 2001

Carrying out reform is only the beginning for politicians

The final 10 years of the 20th century have been called a "lost decade" for Japan, which continues to suffer woes from the burst of the late-1980s bubble-economy. Japan's comeback as a globally competitive economic powerhouse will require fundamental reforms not only in the industrial and financial sectors...
JAPAN
Jan 1, 2001

Reporters following Mori find him blunt, hot-tempered

Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori has often lost his temper during his nearly nine months in office and expressed himself too bluntly, resulting in a number of controversial remarks, according to reporters who cover the prime minister's every move.
BUSINESS
Jan 1, 2001

Cute, inexpensive was 'in' in '00

Consumers in 2000 sought goods matching their preferences for "easier and cozier" living, particularly in electronics products and computer-related services, according to a report compiled by a major ad agency.
JAPAN
Jan 1, 2001

Emperor encourages all to overcome difficulties

As the Imperial family prepared to mark the first New Year's Day of the 21st century at the Imperial Palace, the Emperor expressed hope that the Japanese people will pull together to deal with difficulties such as the economic slump and the aging society and create a better future for all.
BUSINESS
Jan 1, 2001

Cellphones may bridge 'digital divide'

While the past year may be remembered for the surge in use of the Internet-capable cellphone, it remains to be seen whether this technology will thrust Japan to the forefront of the digital revolution as policy and industry experts hope.
JAPAN
Jan 1, 2001

Police suspect burglary after family found slain at home

A family of four was found stabbed to death Sunday morning at home in Tokyo's Setagaya Ward, police said.
JAPAN
Jan 1, 2001

Huge deposit offer draws suspicions

A businessman claiming to be the Japan representative of a U.S. welfare foundation in February approached a major Japanese bank proposing to deposit what he described as the huge assets of former Indonesian President Sukarno's half brother, industry sources said Saturday.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 1, 2001

New opportunities for Japan-U.S. ties

The administration of U.S. President-elect George W. Bush will include many pro-Japanese officials. This reflects U.S. political history. Many officials of President Bill Clinton's administration had served under President Jimmy Carter, who came to power 12 years earlier. For example, former Secretary...
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM MOSCOW
Jan 1, 2001

Much ado about nothing

In a fierce fit of free-market commercialism, ads in Moscow subway insist that the real new millennium will start today. With the economy weakened by crisis, revenues from the advent of Y2K were not as impressive as in the West, and now Russian boutiques, travel agencies and software stores are trying...

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