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BUSINESS
Nov 15, 2002

BOJ credit-easing measures likely: experts

Nearly 90 percent of economists expect the Bank of Japan to further ease its grip on credit within six months, according to a Kyodo News survey released Thursday.
Japan Times
JAPAN / KANSAI BEAT
Nov 15, 2002

University-business tieup breathing life into crafts

KYOTO -- Kimiko Oike, a professional maker of "mizuhiki," or decorative strings, knows she has a lot to learn from amateurs.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 13, 2002

Prison abuses in spotlight following guard arrests

The ongoing allegations of abuse of inmates at Nagoya Prison have highlighted human rights concerns that have been raised by domestic and international watchdogs over Japan's prison system.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Nov 13, 2002

Dishonor avenged, love avowed

This month, following the lead of the Kabukiza, the National Theater in Tokyo also presents "Kanadehon Chushingura (The 47 Loyal Retainers)" to mark the upcoming 300th anniversary of the famous act of revenge carried out by the 47 ronin (masterless samurai) on the night of Dec. 14, 1702 (on the old calendar)....
COMMENTARY
Nov 12, 2002

The realistic path to reform

In the mid-1970s, Keynesianism came in for criticism in the world of economics, and neoclassical economics -- which sees the market as almighty -- became the mainstream theory. One underlying reason for this was the economic decline of the Soviet Union and other socialist countries.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Nov 10, 2002

A straight-shooter wherever she goes

With her Nikon camera, dozens of film rolls and a strong social conscience, photojournalist Natsuko Utsumi travels the world to capture the human face of the issues that shape public debate.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / JAZZNICITY
Nov 10, 2002

Balladeer does it in his own good time

If there are no second acts in American lives, as F. Scott Fitzgerald said, for some musicians at least, there's a second take. After famed recording sessions in the late 1950s that made him popular, Jimmy Scott's unique vocal style was not heard again on a new recording for some 30 years. Then, in the...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / THE WAY OF WASHOKU
Nov 10, 2002

Delicate pauses to refresh

There are really two kinds of restaurants.
EDITORIALS
Nov 9, 2002

Changing of the Beijing guard

China is set to have a new generation of younger leaders. The Chinese Communist Party will announce a sweeping reshuffle at a plenary session of the Central Committee following the 16th Party Congress, which opened Friday for a weeklong session. The National People's Congress next spring will also choose...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Nov 9, 2002

Hunching to keep from dying of cold poisoning

If I could bring one thing from my home country to Japan, it would be a fireplace. Of course, the hearth wouldn't make it through the security check these days. But still, to have an open fire blazing in the living room would be nice, not to mention warm.
JAPAN
Nov 9, 2002

New Cabinet ministers' assets average 36 million yen

Six ministers who were appointed in a September Cabinet reshuffle have an average of 36 million yen in assets, excluding stockholdings and savings in ordinary deposits, according to a Kyodo News survey based on Diet report released Friday.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Nov 9, 2002

Shoko Sugitani

A dozen years ago, pianist Shoko Sugitani owned nine pianos, which she kept in different places. She is now down to seven, some of them in Duesseldorf and the rest in Tokyo. She has a favorite piano that she takes with her to important concerts. For the concert scheduled with the Warsaw Philharmonic...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Nov 8, 2002

DoCoMo group profit plummets

NTT DoCoMo Inc. said Thursday its group net profit for the fiscal half plummeted 95.3 percent year-on-year to 4.17 billion yen, due to hefty appraisal losses on its overseas investments.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Nov 8, 2002

F.A. in free fall as Premier League clubs make play for power

LONDON -- It was Ron Saunders, the former Aston Villa manager, who once said: "If you're going to commit suicide, do it yourself."
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OLD NIC'S NOTEBOOK
Nov 7, 2002

Bear facts about honey traps

Twenty years ago, in arguments with officials of the Forestry Agency, which was clear-cutting great swaths of old mixed forest and selling off much of the timber to be turned into wood chips, I tried to stress the individual value of various trees. In those days, a 150- to 200-year-old horse chestnut...
Japan Times
SOCCER / World cup
Nov 7, 2002

Zico reveals his plans for Japanese team

In an exclusive interview with The Japan Times, Brazilian soccer legend and newly appointed Japan national team coach Zico aired his views on his philosophy and plans for the future of Japanese soccer.
JAPAN
Nov 6, 2002

China silent over missing Japanese

Chinese authorities have not provided any information on a missing Japanese working to help North Korean refugees in northern China and his interpreter, Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi said Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Nov 6, 2002

No growth without reforms, report says

Persistent deflation and massive bad loans in the nation's banking system have weakened Japan's economy and no improvement will be seen until structural reforms are implemented, according to an annual government white paper released Tuesday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Nov 6, 2002

The Polyphonic Spree: "The Beginning Stages Of . . ."

Smile. Go ahead, it's good for you. That's right, smile now. Can you do it? If you're finding an impromptu grin difficult, pick up the first album by The Polyphonic Spree, "The Beginning Stages Of . . .," and wash away any gloom for at least 68 minutes.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 5, 2002

Nisei seeks 'kiyomoto' doctorate

Mark Oshima first wanted to study Japan's prewar colonial policy and become an academic, changed his mind and decided to earn a doctorate in 19th century kabuki, and ended up studying "kiyomoto" -- musical accompaniment to kabuki dancing.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / NATURE TRAVEL
Nov 5, 2002

Trapped in a cold tent by a strong wind outside

As readers may recall, our last Halloween horror story left us in Chobe national park, Botswana. Not the northern part of Chobe: the part with easy access, good roads, fantastic riverbank campsites and glorious views over the game-rich flood plain to the distant forests of Namibia. No. That would have...
EDITORIALS
Nov 3, 2002

A sneer heard round the world

Last week brought another of those bittersweet cultural anniversaries that seem bent on reminding us how hard it is to keep the cutting edge sharp, but also why it matters to keep trying.
JAPAN / Media
Nov 3, 2002

Vernacular Views

Philosophy Professor Kenji Tsuchiya of Ochanomizu Women's University has got a big problem, as related in his column in the weekly Shukan Bunshun.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Nov 3, 2002

The many faces of Macao

MACAO, by Philippe Pons. Translated from the French by Sarah Adams. London: Reaktion Books, 2002. 135 pp. with 33 illustrations, £14.95 (paper) At the end of his splendid evocation of the city of Macao, Philippe Pons quotes a paragraph by journalist and novelist Italo Calvino about cities that "sometimes...
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM MOSCOW
Nov 3, 2002

Terror in our own backyard

A key phrase in my recent e-mail exchanges has been, "The world has gone crazy." The hostage drama in Moscow; the shooting spree in the Washington, D.C. area; the bombing of two nightclubs in Bali; the Finnish teenager who blew up himself and six other people in a suburban shopping mall; the killing...

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?