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Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Nov 18, 2001

The long road to a barrier-free Japan

Compact size. Lightweight. High-speed. Extra new features. Appealing design. Competitive price. Manufacturers have long focused on criteria like these in their quest for successful product lines. In the single-minded pursuit of profits, though, consumers unable to adapt themselves to standardized products...
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Nov 18, 2001

Booksellers looking for competitive edge online

E-commerce ventures have been flourishing in Japan, and they are expected to bring dramatic changes to the nation's traditional book distribution business.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Nov 18, 2001

A story that just doesn't translate

DRUNK AS A LORD: Samurai Stories, by Ryotaro Shiba; translated by Eileen Kato. Tokyo: Kodansha International, 2001, 253 pp., 3,500 yen (cloth) Ryotaro Shiba (1923-1996), a distinguished historical writer, brought Japan's past alive by examining many of its important historical figures and the personal...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Nov 18, 2001

Aiming for the heart

ONE FOOT IN LAOS, by Dervla Murphy. Overlook Press, 2001, 284 pp., $27.95 (cloth) Dervla Murphy's journeys as a travel writer, usually in the remoter, poorer parts of the world, are made, appropriately enough, in the old manner -- on foot, by donkey or mule, or on decrepit trucks or buses on their last...
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Nov 18, 2001

Book translations breaking language barriers

While the book publishing industry is feeling the pinch of Japan's economic recession, shelves in major bookstores that sell foreign publications are still filled with best-selling titles.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Nov 18, 2001

Too much of a good thing

YAKUZA PERFUME, by Akahige Namban. New York: Blue Moon Books, 2001, 206 pp., $7.95 (paper). This curious book is an American-published pornographic novel that purports to be written by a Japanese. Though its main aim is to excite, its interest lies in the cultural assumptions it makes, these rendered...
JAPAN / Media / CHANNEL SURF
Nov 18, 2001

Saddle up for the mystery tour

Monday night at 8 and 9:15, NHK-G will broadcast the first two parts of a six-part drama series by best-selling mystery novelist Keigo Tono, who is famous for his elaborate plot twists. Tono himself was quite surprised that NHK had picked up his novel, "Akui (Malice)," for serialization, since, according...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / VINELAND
Nov 18, 2001

You might think it's crazy, but this upstart is serious

With all the cultural treasures that Kyoto offers, perhaps few people would have wine in mind when planning their itinerary. After all, in a city with such richness of tradition, wine is a mere arriviste.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Nov 18, 2001

Good Moon: Fusion that waxes and wanes

There's a whole generation out there who have come of age with laid-back, low-priced, modern izakaya, where they feel just as comfortable washing down the oden with wine as they do quaffing shochu with pasta. So when these kids grow up a bit and want to hang out somewhere less boisterous and more adult,...
EDITORIALS
Nov 17, 2001

Okinawa's distress call

Okinawa, which has often suffered the fate of being associated with U.S. military bases, is being buffeted again. This time it is the Okinawan economy that has been hit by cancellations of reservations for group tours to the prefecture following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States.
JAPAN
Nov 17, 2001

Crime rate hits new high but arrests at record low

More than 3.25 million violations of the penal code were recorded in 2000, up 12.1 percent from the previous year and the largest number ever in the postwar period, the government reported Friday.
BUSINESS
Nov 17, 2001

Sanrio, Warner Bros. give nod to joint character goods

Sanrio Co. said it has agreed with Warner Bros. Consumer Products of the United States to co-brand merchandise featuring Sanrio's Hello Kitty and Warner's Tweety Bird.
JAPAN
Nov 17, 2001

Proposed bills detail Constitution review steps

A group of lawmakers considering review of the Constitution proposed two related bills Friday for submission to the ordinary Diet session to convene in January.
JAPAN
Nov 17, 2001

Public seen in step with boosted SDF role

The Self-Defense Forces are finally crossing the line to participate in a real war for the first time in their history, even though their role will be limited to logistic support.
JAPAN
Nov 17, 2001

Upper House passes 2.99 trillion yen budget

The Diet on Friday enacted a 2.99 trillion yen supplementary budget for the current fiscal year that earmarks 1 trillion yen to ease the burden of structural reforms on workers and small firms.
JAPAN
Nov 17, 2001

Cabinet approves plan for the dispatch of SDF

The Cabinet on Friday approved Japan's antiterrorism action plan, which includes dispatching five naval vessels to the Indian Ocean to lend logistic support to the U.S.-led coalition.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 17, 2001

Tobin tax: fodder for spendthrift pols

Suggestions have been made that the turmoil that swept through East Asia in 1997-98 is evidence of the instability of global capital markets. Supporters of this idea validated their claims by asserting that a contagion effect spread the turbulence to other emerging market economies.
BUSINESS
Nov 17, 2001

Sony plans major Vaio push in China

In a bid to break into China's rapidly growing market, Sony Corp. will produce and market a range of its popular Vaio notebook computers there starting next month, company officials said Friday.
BUSINESS
Nov 17, 2001

British firm eyes communications technology niche

After forming a partnership with a major Japanese electronics company, nCo Tec ventures Ltd., a venture capital firm based in Britain, is gearing up to promote European ventures involving communications technology in the Japanese market, according to George MacRitchie, a partner in nCo Tec.
BUSINESS
Nov 17, 2001

Casinos eyed for revenue boost

A subcommittee of the government's Tax Commission started discussions Friday on whether to legalize casinos.
JAPAN
Nov 17, 2001

LPD group rises against Koizumi reforms

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi got a harsh dose of reality Friday when a group of 55 lawmakers in his ruling Liberal Democratic Party formed a group opposing his reform programs.
BASEBALL / MLB
Nov 17, 2001

BayStars taken over by NBS

The heads of Japan's 12 professional baseball clubs on Thursday approved a move that will make Nippon Broadcasting System Inc. the top shareholder of the Yokohama BayStars Baseball Club Inc.
JAPAN
Nov 17, 2001

Cut fossil fuel dependence: scientist

Japan should slash its reliance on fossil fuels and continue carving out a niche in the burgeoning area of eco-technologies to ease its economic ills and improve the environment, according to renowned environmental scientist Norman Myers.
COMMENTARY
Nov 17, 2001

Free speech includes the right to be stupid

WASHINGTON -- America is a great country. What better evidence is there than the opportunity people have to say the stupidest, most witless things?
COMMENTARY
Nov 17, 2001

Tanaka deserves much better

Japanese politics were never famous for their logic. But the fuss surrounding Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka plumbs new depths.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji