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EDITORIALS
Mar 30, 2002

Reading the tea leaves in Myanmar

The venerable science of Kremlinology is flourishing in Myanmar. The country's ruling elite is a clubby and secretive group, and the exercise of power and influence is shrouded in mystery; reliable information is hard to come by. No wonder then that the last few weeks have been busy ones for Myanmar...
SOCCER / J. League
Mar 30, 2002

Fans to decide All-Star members

Soccer fans get ready to pick your favorite players for this summer's J. League JOMO All-Star match.
LIFE / Language / KANJI CLINIC
Mar 29, 2002

Seize the reins and blaze your own kanji-learning trail

Dear Dario Simunovic,
LIFE / Lifestyle / JET STREAM
Mar 29, 2002

Temple tour that's a journey of the soul

It was Ryan Armstrong's dream to follow in the footsteps of the great Kobo Daishi, that is to complete the 1,200-km, 88-temple pilgrimage on Shikoku Island first made by the Buddhist saint 1,200 years ago.
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Mar 28, 2002

Kill your television

"I know murder is a bad thing to do to society, but it was something I needed to experience."
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Mar 28, 2002

Insights from alumni are just one perk of the job

As a university professor, March ought to be a pleasure. There are no classes and few meetings. It is, though, a bittersweet month. Students who have become an integral part of the fabric and rhythm of my life are graduating. Most of the names and faces will fade, but many will be remembered, and a few...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 25, 2002

Sumitomo, Mitsui Chemicals unite to weather tough times

As a global wave of consolidation sweeps through the chemicals industry, Sumitomo Chemical Co., Japan's second-largest chemicals maker, is trying to get a jump on its domestic rivals by merging with industry No. 3 Mitsui Chemicals Inc.
LIFE / Food & Drink / VINELAND
Mar 24, 2002

Let your taste buds do the browsing

At some point, it happens to all of us. You stand in front of the wine shelves and stare at the labels. You struggle to remember the last great vintage in the Rhone Valley, Rioja or Tuscany. You see the name of a winery you've liked in the past, but can't recall if it was the Syrah or the Zinfandel (it...
BUSINESS
Mar 23, 2002

BOJ is almost positive in latest economic assessment

The Bank of Japan on Friday upgraded its economic assessment for the first time in 20 months, citing improvements in exports and inventories.
BUSINESS
Mar 23, 2002

Asian economies looking stronger

Asian economies -- other than Japan -- are expected to stage a strong rebound this year thanks to a faster-than-expected recovery in demand for information technology products resulting from the U.S. economic recovery, Nomura Research Institute said.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 23, 2002

A silver lining in Gujarat state's riots

The death of around 800 people in the recent riots in Gujarat state was a sobering reminder of the primeval passions and tribal savagery that can be unleashed so ferociously at a moment's notice in India. They were an antidote to the unbridled optimism that saw only an emerging information-technology...
BUSINESS
Mar 21, 2002

Sanyo Electric expects lower earnings

OSAKA -- Sanyo Electric Co. said Wednesday it has revised its profit outlook downward for the year to March 31, primarily due to smaller-than-expected sales.
BUSINESS
Mar 21, 2002

February surplus plummets 11.3%

The nation's customs-cleared trade surplus plunged 11.3 percent to 776.8 billion yen in February from the previous year mainly due to slack shipments of information technology goods, according to a preliminary report released by the Finance Ministry on Wednesday.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 20, 2002

Grim outlook for Asia's final frontier of biodiversity

NEW YORK -- Since brutally assuming direct power in 1988, the Myanmar military has been conducting a sustained assault on the environment in one of Asia's richest and least-developed lands. The country's ecosystem, which ranges from tropical reefs along the Bay of Bengal to the mountains of the Himalayas,...
BUSINESS
Mar 19, 2002

Electronics titans aim for LSIs

Hitachi Ltd. and Mitsubishi Electric Corp. announced Monday that they will set up a joint venture to integrate their semiconductor businesses relating to system LSIs, or large-scale integrated circuit chips.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Mar 17, 2002

Pampered pachyderms and groveling courtiers

SIAMESE COURT LIFE IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY AS DEPICTED IN EUROPEAN SOURCES, by Dhiravat na Pombejra. Bangkok: Chulalongkorn University, 2001, 236 pp., 190 baht. Foreign dignitaries were amazed by the 17th-century Siamese court. Though the general population seemed, as one diplomat wrote, "rich in...
LIFE / Lifestyle
Mar 17, 2002

The global village: small, but not always beautiful

The current No. 1 best seller in Japan is the cheery picture book "Sekai ga moshi hyakunin no mura dattara" ("If the World Were a Village of 100 People"; Magazine House), a retelling of a bit of "Netlore." Several years ago, the environmentalist Donella Meadows wrote a newspaper column on the global...
BUSINESS
Mar 16, 2002

Hitachi develops liquid-cooled PC

Hitachi Ltd. has unveiled what it calls the world's first liquid-cooled notebook personal computer.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Mar 16, 2002

Sen Nishiyama

Sen Nishiyama says that translating one language into another is "a dangerous field to get into. You need plenty of insurance." He took his first steps into this dangerous field more than 60 years ago. He was a pioneer in the simultaneous interpreting of Japanese and English more than 50 years ago. Sen...
BUSINESS
Mar 16, 2002

Matsushita, NEC seek to postpone wage increases

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. and NEC Corp. are negotiating with their labor unions to postpone regular pay raises for their rank-and-file employees for six months beginning April 1, industry sources said Friday.
SOCCER / World cup
Mar 16, 2002

JAWOC announces final round of ticket sales

The Japanese World Cup Organizing Committee on Friday announced it will launch the third and final round of ticket sales for residents in Japan by phone on March 22.
EDITORIALS
Mar 15, 2002

'Shunto' outlives its usefulness

Japan's traditional annual wage round, known as "shunto" (spring labor offensive), has collapsed for all practical purposes. As a union leader in the information sector points out, "This year marks a historic turning point for shunto." In fact, labor groups have given up customary wage demands, effectively...
SOCCER / World cup
Mar 15, 2002

Italy vs. Kashima

Italy will play against the J. League champion Kashima Antlers on May 26 at National Stadium in Tokyo in a World Cup warmup game, the Japan Football Association said Thursday.
EDITORIALS
Mar 14, 2002

Death of a warmonger

The death of Mr. Jonas Savimbi offers Angola its first real chance for peace in a decade. War has been a constant feature of Angola's history; Mr. Savimbi has been a key antagonist in the fighting. His death deprives UNITA, the rebel group he commanded since 1966, of its chief source of inspiration and...
BUSINESS
Mar 14, 2002

Panel hopes to spur reform with deregulation zones

A government advisory panel on deregulation has proposed creating special deregulation zones and compiling an interim report as early as June.
BUSINESS
Mar 14, 2002

Furukawa Electric to see red for '01

Furukawa Electric Co. said Wednesday it expects to fall into the red in fiscal 2001 as the slump in information technology businesses in North America affected sales of the company's fiber-optic products.
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Mar 14, 2002

Evolution of intelligence

Woody Allen once famously said that the brain was his second favorite organ. And it is well-established that having a big one, as with Allen's "first favorite" organ (I'm guessing he wasn't referring to his liver), confers high status on its owner.
BUSINESS
Mar 13, 2002

Mobile phone shipments fall 28%

Shipments of mobile phones and PHS handsets in Japan fell 28 percent in January from a year earlier to 3,274,000 units, marking an eighth consecutive month of decline, an industry group said Tuesday.

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?