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Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Sep 24, 2004

Northern delights of Sapporo

Despite its easy proximity, brought by the relatively short flying time from Tokyo, an air of remoteness still hangs over Hokkaido. Physically the island is more a last outpost of Siberia than an integral part of Japan. In Hokkaido, little rice grows, scant cherry trees bloom, no rainy season descends,...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / BEST BAR NONE
Sep 24, 2004

Hiding in the heart of Babylon . . .

Six is the number of trees in Roppongi (the kanji for the area literally reads "six trees"). Three sixes is the number of the beast, as everyone knows. And I've often thought that if you tripled the amount of mayhem to be found in Roppongi on any given night, you'd have a rough approximation of hell....
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 24, 2004

Bets off on Australian election

SYDNEY -- The long reign of Prime Minister John Howard is coming to an end if the latest pre-election opinion polls are any guide. But who believes polls? Certainly nobody caught up in a new round of election frenzy suddenly sweeping Australia.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Sep 23, 2004

Good stuff, people and advice on how to tailor your consumption

It's back-to-school time again, and whether you are going back, sending your child off, or just getting swept up in the streams of backpack-wielding kids, change is in the air. Time for new books, new people and new gossip, and time to clear the desk even if only for a place to rest your head.
BUSINESS
Sep 22, 2004

Daikyo, UFJ to take IRCJ rehab route

Daikyo Inc. and its main creditor, UFJ Bank, are planning to seek support from the government's Industrial Revitalization Corp. of Japan, possibly this month, to rehabilitate the struggling condominium builder, sources said Tuesday.
COMMENTARY
Sep 20, 2004

'Fat liberation' movement declares war

WASHINGTON -- Another civil-rights movement is stirring in America. A "fat liberation" movement. Complains Marilyn Wann of the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance, "We're living in the middle of a witch hunt."
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / NATURE TRAVEL
Sep 19, 2004

Wat a middle-aged way not to get so wet

There are good times to arrive in Bangkok weighed down with expensive camera gear, recording equipment and a snappy new tropical suit just tailored in Singapore.
Japan Times
Features
Sep 19, 2004

Talkin' 'grassroots social reform'

"Anybody got a question? Any question?" hollered a young spiky-haired man in a gray T-shirt and black chinos one evening the other week outside the ticket gates at JR Totsuka Station in Kanagawa Prefecture. The sky was darkening, and shoals of commuters were flowing in and out of the suburban station....
COMMENTARY
Sep 19, 2004

Removing the thorn from Japan-China ties

HONG KONG -- Last month, when Japanese and Chinese teams faced each other in the Asian Games soccer final in Beijing, Chinese fans booed so loudly that they drowned out the strains of the Japanese national anthem. And when Japan won, the spectators pelted the Japanese players' bus with soda bottles and...
BUSINESS
Sep 18, 2004

San-Ai Oil to buy Exxon Mobil unit Kygnus Sekiyu

Oil retailer San-Ai Oil Co. said Friday it will purchase Kygnus Sekiyu K.K., an oil distributor affiliated with Exxon Mobil Corp., in December.
BUSINESS
Sep 17, 2004

Chinese firm wins Mothers IPO nod

The Tokyo Stock Exchange said Thursday it has given approval for Xinhua Finance Ltd. to become the first Chinese firm to make an initial public offering on the TSE Mothers market for startups Oct. 28.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 17, 2004

Private universities stage central Tokyo comeback

After relocating some departments to the outskirts of Tokyo to cope with increasing enrollments, private universities are now increasingly returning to the city center to survive amid a declining birthrate.
BUSINESS
Sep 17, 2004

Sega Sammy has sights set on joining industry top five

Hajime Satomi, chairman and president of Sega Sammy Holdings Co., said Thursday the firm will actively seek mergers and acquisitions to become one of the world's top five companies in the video game publishing industry.
BUSINESS
Sep 17, 2004

Scandal-hit Maruishi Cycle fails

Maruishi Cycle Industries Ltd. is bankrupt because banks have suspended transactions with the firm following its second failure to honor a bill, a private credit research agency said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Sep 16, 2004

KDDI, Japan Telecom to undercut NTT

Gearing up for a price war in the country's fixed-line phone market, KDDI Corp. and Japan Telecom Co. both said Wednesday they would introduce a basic monthly fee cheaper than that of industry behemoth NTT Corp., along with a single long-distance rate.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Sep 15, 2004

Furuta deserves standing ovation

Yakult Swallows catcher Atsuya Furuta, in my opinion, deserves a round of applause; in fact, a standing ovation, for the job he has done as head of the Nippon Professional Baseball Players Association. I believe he has tirelessly served the players here during the crisis that has gripped Japanese baseball...
BUSINESS
Sep 15, 2004

SMFG's bid for UFJ likely thwarted

An agreement struck Friday between UFJ Holdings Inc. and Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group Inc. has dealt another serious blow to Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc.'s chances of taking over UFJ.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Sep 15, 2004

All about your mothers and their daughters

In the 20th century, women's social, economic and political standing in many parts of the world improved immeasurably. From winning the right to vote to the social transformations flowing from the postwar period and the Women's Liberation movement, none of this was achieved without struggle.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Sep 14, 2004

Legal help, lucky Jim, and trauma

Legal advice An addendum to Lifelines of Aug. 30.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Sep 14, 2004

Who is the most interesting foreigner in Japan?

Chris Harritt Student, 23 Patrick something. He graduated from Harvard and came to Japan without being able to speak any Japanese. At first he performed on the street in Shibuya with a Japanese partner. His show is "Eigo deshaberanight." Now he's fluent.
SUMO
Sep 12, 2004

Asashoryu set to drive for five

After becoming only the ninth sumo wrestler to win four straight tournaments, Asashoryu is poised to take a big step toward reaching a new landmark when the Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament gets under way Sunday.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Sep 12, 2004

Exploring a cautionary tale

MINAMATA DISEASE, by Masazumi Harada (1971), translated by Sachie Tsushima and Timothy S. George, edited by Timothy S. George. Kumamoto Nichinichi Shinbun Culture & Information Center, 2004, 215 pp., 2,500 yen (cloth). Across Japan and throughout much of the world, the name Minamata is synonymous with...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 11, 2004

Radio-set watches try to keep time with Swiss

Japanese watch makers, long overshadowed by luxury Swiss brands, have found their niche: radio-controlled watches.
BUSINESS
Sep 11, 2004

Resona may act as agent for Nomura Securities

Resona Holdings Inc. might tie up with Nomura Securities Co., a key arm of Nomura Holdings Inc., on conveying to Nomura stock buy and sell orders it would receive at its bank branches on a commission basis, sources close to Resona said Friday.
BUSINESS
Sep 11, 2004

UFJ first-half loss to hit 780 billion yen

Ailing UFJ Holdings Inc. announced Friday that it expects a net loss of 780 billion yen for the first half of fiscal 2004 amid pressure to speed up its bad-loan disposals before a planned merger with Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group Inc.
BUSINESS
Sep 8, 2004

Brazilian bank to open Tokyo branch

The Financial Services Agency said Tuesday it has authorized Banco Itau SA, the third-largest Brazilian commercial bank in terms of assets, to open a branch in Tokyo.
BUSINESS
Sep 8, 2004

Mitsui Sumitomo eyes Aviva nonlife operations in Asia

Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co. said Tuesday it is in talks with Aviva PLC to purchase the major British insurer's nonlife operations in Asia.
BUSINESS
Sep 7, 2004

Bandwidth allotment draws protest

Softbank Corp. said Monday it has lodged a complaint with the telecommunications ministry over its plan to allot a new radio bandwidth exclusively to mobile phone giants NTT DoCoMo Inc. and KDDI Corp.

Longform

Totopa in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward was picked by consultants TTNE as the best sauna of the year.
Japan’s sauna movement: Relax, refresh, repeat