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JAPAN
Mar 3, 2003

Air traffic havoc hits second day

Troubles related to an air-traffic malfunction in Japan continued into their second day Sunday, with 10 flights canceled and dozens of others delayed for up to two hours, airline and airport officials said.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Mar 2, 2003

In pursuit of 'reality,' TV sinks to new depths

Last week, a judge ruled in favor of NHK in the public broadcaster's libel suit against Kodansha. The publisher's monthly magazine Gendai ran an article in Oct. 2000 that said NHK persuaded fishermen in Indonesia to re-create a method for catching fish involving explosives for a news report. The court...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Mar 2, 2003

Modernization seen from the bottom up

A MODERN HISTORY OF JAPAN FROM TOKUGAWA TIMES TO THE PRESENT, by Andrew Gordon. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003, 384 pp., $35 (cloth) In this superb book, by far the best in its genre, Andrew Gordon, director of the Reischauer Institute for Japanese Studies at Harvard University, provides a...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 2, 2003

The real deal of high fidelity

Twin sisters Kim and Kelley Deal pass the phone back and forth like siblings accustomed to dividing everything. Today they're sharing an interview, and only the tone of their near-identical voices indicates who is on the line. Kelley's measured, Midwestern accent remains at a clipped, cordial distance,...
BUSINESS
Mar 1, 2003

New members named to IT panel

Kyodo News
JAPAN
Mar 1, 2003

Prosecutors get case against spy, 73

Kyodo News
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 28, 2003

Celebrated geisha's tell-all a hot item

The mystery of the geisha, with their painted faces and elaborate kimono, has long been a source of fascination for people worldwide. But it has also led to fantasies and misunderstandings about their true roles.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Feb 27, 2003

Environment Bushwhack

U.S. Civil War General William Sherman is credited with uttering the sage words, "War is hell." War is hell on the environment as well, and U.S. President George W. Bush's "War on Terror" is no exception. Ironically, the environment being degraded is America's own.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / GARDEN PATHS
Feb 27, 2003

Plants of blooming passion

On a gray February day, gardeners may be looking at colorful seed catalogs or even holiday brochures, dreaming of a trip to a tropical island. But this week it's time to leave your armchair gardening, because the tropics have come to Tokyo. The Japan Grand Prix International Orchid Festival offers a...
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / NETWISE
Feb 27, 2003

Avoiding the 'mojibake' bugaboo

Just about everyone uses e-mail today, and many of us in Japan do so in English, Japanese, and other languages as well. But anyone who corresponds in Japanese via e-mail knows that we still have a long way to go in terms of ensuring that our e-mail reaches the intended recipient both intact and readable....
JAPAN
Feb 26, 2003

Mitsui staff found guilty of rigging bids

The Tokyo District Court sentenced two Mitsui & Co. employees Tuesday to suspended one-year prison terms for rigging bids for a project that used official aid money.
BUSINESS
Feb 26, 2003

Sony's Nobuyuki Idei and six others offered Keidanren roles

Seven business leaders, including Sony Corp. Chairman Nobuyuki Idei, 65, and Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. President Norio Wada, 62, have been asked to become vice chairmen of the Japan Business Federation (Nippon Keidanren), sources at the group said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Feb 25, 2003

U.S. kin of veterans eye war items' return

The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry has received an increasing number of inquiries from the families of U.S. World War II veterans concerning the personal belongings of Japanese soldiers taken from battlefields, officials said Monday.
COMMUNITY
Feb 25, 2003

Showcasing Tokyo talent for International Women's Day

Make a note of Sunday, March 9, for WomenFest 2003, an annual event designed to showcase female talent in celebration of International Women's Day.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Feb 23, 2003

Making home your own

That wall must go. The same thought nagged Mariko Maruoka every evening while she cooked dinner for her family. The dividing wall that ran between kitchen and dining area served no useful purpose.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Feb 23, 2003

More fun than a tube of monkeys

Recently, performing primates have made a big comeback in Japanese show business, thanks mainly to the Nikko Saru Gundan (Nikko Monkey Army), and the human/monkey comedy team Taro-Jiro. Both acts are the latest additions to the traditional Japanese performance art known as saru-tsukai, which almost died...
BUSINESS
Feb 22, 2003

Hitachi in talks to scrap seniority wage system

Hitachi Ltd. will abolish its seniority-based salary system in favor of one based on performance, a senior Hitachi official said.
JAPAN
Feb 22, 2003

Bill seeks to ensure genetic engineering doesn't get out of hand

The government is facing an unusual challenge -- regulating a science that has not yet proved harmful.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 22, 2003

Water issues loom large in the 21st century

The third Water Forum is expected to play a critical role in solving water issues in the 21st century. The world's population is predicted to grow from six billion today to nearly nine billion by 2050, increasing pressure on local authorities and planners to supply water to satisfy growing agricultural...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 21, 2003

Gender equality key to fighting AIDS in Third World

Fostering gender equality is one of the most important strategies for fighting HIV and AIDS in the developing world, along with maintaining existing campaigns, including promoting condom use, an expert on woman's health and social issues said.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Feb 21, 2003

Sasano: A hidden gem of an izakaya

It's always a pleasure to revisit a favorite haunt after a gap of a couple of years, and even more so to discover that it's just as good as ever. In the case of Sasano, that doesn't just mean premium sake and fine quality provender -- after all, those are the sine qua non of any self-respecting izakaya...
JAPAN
Feb 20, 2003

Third-country plan eyed in asylum probe

Japan will consult with Chinese authorities in an effort to allow four asylum seekers from North Korea who entered a Japanese school in Beijing to be moved to a third country, government sources said Wednesday.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Feb 20, 2003

How to label all life, and lichen?

I am an inveterate binocular user, rarely going anywhere without a pair. They are useful not merely for enjoying scenery, and birds and mammals in their natural settings, but also for the odd peregrine falcon perched incongruously atop an urban high-rise, or for admiring architectural detail in close-up...
BUSINESS
Feb 19, 2003

Desperate firms offer shareholders incentives

The number of companies offering shareholders special benefits, including compact discs and gold coins, has been increasing and now stands at three times the figure a decade ago.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 19, 2003

Overtime pay violations on Rengo's radar

Tomoru Yamaguchi, director of the working conditions division at the Japanese Trade Union Confederation (Rengo), knew the situation was bad. He just didn't think it was this bad.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Feb 19, 2003

A new home for world-class art

With the opening of "The Romantic Tradition in British Painting, 1800-1950," The Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art seems set to take its place as an art institution of international standing.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 18, 2003

Japanese photographer highlights postwar suffering of Iraqi children

A black-and-white photograph shows a 6-year-old Iraqi girl lying in a hospital bed, her bald head swollen as a result of terminal leukemia; her open eyes, puffy and blackened, see nothing.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / NOTES FROM THE SMOKE
Feb 18, 2003

Disturbing artwork and disturbed fish on the Koenji trail

A recent visit to the suburb of Koenji reminded me of my JET program orientation in Kansai; I visited a temple, learned some outlandish local customs, ate sushi, and was shown around a vintage toy store with cosmic price tags.

Longform

It's back to the classroom for some residents as municipal governments across the country conduct lessons to learn how to use new technologies.
Can aging Japan go digital without leaving anyone behind?