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JAPAN
Oct 13, 2001

Diamond sales shine over Internet

The phrase "a diamond is forever" is used in commercials to tout the value and everlasting luster of the precious gems, but diamonds can be obtained inexpensively at auction or from companies doing business on the Internet.
BUSINESS
Oct 13, 2001

Legal definition of post firm's role urged

Private-sector representatives urged the government Friday to define the role of a new public corporation scheduled to take over the state-run postal service system in fiscal 2003.
JAPAN
Oct 13, 2001

LDP panel OKs six themes to create a national vision

A Liberal Democratic Party panel agreed Friday that it will begin discussions on six main themes to create a medium- to long-term vision for the nation, LDP officials said.
JAPAN
Oct 12, 2001

Tax authorities search HQ of largest labor union

Tax authorities on Thursday searched the Tokyo headquarters of the nation's largest labor union over allegations it used a dummy insurance agency to secure slush funds and failed to declare taxes.
JAPAN
Oct 11, 2001

Three arrested over union affiliate scam

Tokyo prosecutors arrested three men Wednesday, including the 59-year-old managing director of a firm affiliated with the nation's largest labor union, on suspicion of embezzling 38 million yen from the company.
ENVIRONMENT / GARDENING FOR ALL
Oct 11, 2001

Firmly rooted in tradition and daily life

In the foothills of Mount Fuji, there is a fascinating botanical garden devoted to the cultivation and display of bamboo plants and products. Unique in this country, the Fuji Bamboo Garden, which opened on its 4-hectare site in 1951, cultivates more than 500 species and cultivars of bamboo from around...
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Oct 11, 2001

What you can do to cut CO2 emissions

If readers of this column two weeks ago found the results of the 2001 "Environmental Doomsday Clock" questionnaire depressing, that's not surprising. For the seventh year in a row, respondents worldwide have set the clock at "extremely concerned."
JAPAN
Oct 10, 2001

Four Afghan doctors to aid Japan's support of refugees

Four Afghan doctors in Japan will join operations to support the growing number of Afghan refugees fleeing to Pakistan in the wake of the U.S.-led military strikes against their country that began Sunday.
JAPAN
Oct 10, 2001

Security measures expanded to cover 580 areas

Security has been expanded to encompass 580 locations nationwide, including those affiliated with countries supporting the U.S.-led military action against targets in Afghanistan, the chairman of the National Public Safety Commission said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Oct 9, 2001

Peace activists denounce offensive on Afghanistan

Japanese peace activists Monday expressed disappointment and anger as the United States began bombing targets in Afghanistan in retaliation for the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States.
BUSINESS
Oct 9, 2001

METI to ease loan rules for entrepreneurs

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry plans to foster venture firms nationwide by overhauling the rules under which entrepreneurs can receive loans without providing collateral or a guarantor, METI officials said.
LIFE / Travel
Oct 8, 2001

Russian writer's memory lives on in divided region

CHISINAU, Moldova -- Count Vorontsov, governor general at Odessa in 1823, was clearly annoyed with Alexander Pushkin, a young subordinate, who was having a love affair with Vorontsov's wife. Vorontsov decided that as a punishment Pushkin should be sent away to prepare a lengthy report on the effects...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Oct 7, 2001

Ichiro, Ichiro, Ichinooo!

"All the world's a stage," a well-known English playwright declared in "As You Like It," adding: "And all the men and women merely players . . . "
LIFE / Food & Drink / THE WAY OF WASHOKU
Oct 7, 2001

Salted mackerel will reel 'em in every time

Probably the biggest challenge I faced as a young apprentice in a traditional Japanese restaurant was cooking two meals a day — lunch and dinner — for the 60-year-old chef and his wife. The challenge was twofold: I had to make something that would please the finicky palate of a man who had eaten...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Oct 7, 2001

Schools of hard knocks and TV docs

Several of the new fall drama series begin this week, and one of the season's topics is education. Trendy drama mainstay Masakazu Tamura steps out of character as the title character in "Sayonara Ozu Sensei" (Fuji, Tuesday, 9 p.m.), playing the former manager of the New York branch of a major Japanese...
JAPAN
Oct 6, 2001

State aims to let coast guard fire first at suspected spy ships

Two years after humiliatingly failing to capture suspected North Korean spy boats violating Japan's territorial waters, the government submitted a bill Friday to the Diet that would give the Japan Coast Guard new powers to fire on suspicious vessels.
BUSINESS
Oct 6, 2001

Foreign investors continue to shed stocks

Foreign investors remained net sellers of Japanese stocks last week for the third week in a row.
JAPAN
Oct 6, 2001

Guard shot in 5 million yen robbery

OSAKA -- A gunman snatched 5 million yen in cash Friday morning from a vehicle parked outside a Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. branch in Osaka, shooting and wounding a guard in the leg, police said.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Oct 6, 2001

Puppet opera for adults and the Shinoda she-fox

Now here's an intriguing collaboration. A troupe of puppeteers from Sado Island in Niigata Prefecture and a group of musicians from the small farming village of Hartland in Devon, southern England, have come together to perform a puppet opera, based on a traditional Japanese story about a fox that transforms...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Oct 6, 2001

The joy of being old, tough and 'hugly'

If life was a construction site, Japan's "obaachans" would be the steamrollers. These old ladies have the ability and authority to conquer anything in their paths.
LIFE / Lifestyle / JET STREAM
Oct 5, 2001

The makings of a body beautiful

Although this sport is relatively new to Japan, bodybuilding is experiencing a growing popularity -- even among young women. This popularity is due, in part, to the presence of competitors like Fiona Millines.
JAPAN
Oct 4, 2001

Variety TV programs in demand abroad

Japanese TV variety shows, which feature skits full of lampoons, cooking contests or ideas submitted by viewers on videotape, are in growing demand in Europe and the United States.
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
Oct 4, 2001

Diamonds are an athlete's best friend

The other day I had a phone call from an old friend, Joey Camilleri, who now works as a sportswriter with the Mediterranean Gazette. After letting me know how Sliema Wanderers and Xghajra Tornadoes were doing, Joey asked me the details behind a story that had come across his desk.
CULTURE / Music / J-POPSICLE
Oct 3, 2001

No reason to feel ashamed

The savagely sultry summer has mercifully given way to the cooler, mellow vibe of autumn. It's time to savor such seasonal delights as sanma (Pacific saury), shinmai (newly harvested rice) and the latest Miyuki Nakajima album, which comes out like clockwork each year around this time.
CULTURE / Art
Oct 3, 2001

Missing links steal the show

Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, but it is also a dubious honor. For some 15 years, until his death in 1610, Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio's brooding and beautiful works scandalized Church and patrons alike, and left a generation of followers -- and copycats -- in his wake.
CULTURE / Art
Oct 3, 2001

An artist who stands out from the crowd

Art does not exist in a bubble. Contemporary events, like the terrorist attack on America, affect the way we look at it.
Events
Oct 2, 2001

Cancer patient promotes artistic expression's force

NARA -- When she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1999, Yuko Kozono, 40, found people's reactions somewhat familiar.
BUSINESS
Oct 2, 2001

Sumitomo Marine, Mitsui Marine merge into No. 3 nonlife insurer

Sumitomo Marine & Fire Insurance Co. and Mitsui Marine & Fire Insurance Co. merged Monday to create the nation's third-biggest nonlife insurer.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Sep 30, 2001

A plague upon your house

Insects aren't everyone's favorite animals, especially when it comes to those such as cockroaches, termites and wasps that frighten us as well as potentially harm us and our environment.
LIFE / Food & Drink / THE WAY OF WASHOKU
Sep 30, 2001

Holy mackerel! That's quite a fish!

Above the counter of the small kappo-style restaurant where I apprenticed hung a small scroll inscribed with a seasonal poem that was changed at the beginning of every month. In October, the simple verse read, "Aki no saba, Wakasa umare, Kyo sodachi. (The autumn mackerel, born in Wakasa, raised in Kyoto)."...

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