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JAPAN
Jul 1, 2002

Exchange program extends to Korea

A government-sponsored summer program promoting exchanges between Japanese and Japanese-speaking foreign guests will for the first time expand its activities to South Korea, according to an official of the Japan Return Program.
EDITORIALS
Jun 30, 2002

'An honorable man'

There is a professor at New York's Vassar College who clearly knows his Shakespeare, perhaps not as well as he thought he did until a week or so ago, but at least well enough to recall Touchstone's advice in "As You Like It": "Let us make an honorable retreat, though not with bag and baggage, yet with...
JAPAN
Jun 30, 2002

Four S. Korea sailors die in sea clash with North

SEOUL — North and South Korean navy ships exchanged fire Saturday morning in the Yellow Sea off the Korean peninsula's demilitarized zone, leaving four South Korean soldiers dead and 22 others injured, according to the Defense Ministry.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jun 30, 2002

Thirsty yet? Head this way

Where to drink it Belgo, Shibuya, (03) 3409-4442
COMMUNITY
Jun 30, 2002

Sagae folk enjoying the fruits of their labor

Japan may be famously crazy about cherry blossoms, but the sakuranbo of Sagae City, Yamagata Prefecture, don't attract attention until long after their white flowers have fallen off. Sakuranbo are fruit cherries, and Sagae and neighboring Higashine cultivate more of them than anywhere else in the country....
JAPAN
Jun 29, 2002

Cup cohosts' ties thaw, at least on individual level

OSAKA — When the excitement over the World Cup finals subsides, many may wonder whether cohosting the event actually helped improve relations between Japan and South Korea.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Jun 29, 2002

Reiko Itami

"In the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, young men of well-to-do families in Great Britain set out after university graduation to travel around Europe. They observed language differences and absorbed foreign cultures to complete the final stage of their education. This socio-educational institution, known...
Japan Times
JAPAN / MUSEUM MUSINGS
Jun 28, 2002

Who'd have thought that Shinagawa was once a coastal gateway town?

Take a trip back in time and sample a taste of the ebb and flow of life in premodern southern Tokyo.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 28, 2002

Mazda chief sees bright future

The next two years at Mazda Motor Corp. will be a period of "product-led growth," new company President and CEO Lewis Booth said Thursday.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 27, 2002

Labour spinning backward

LONDON -- When its press becomes the story, a country is in a strange shape.
EDITORIALS
Jun 27, 2002

The shrinking U.S. dollar

The U.S. dollar continues to slide on international currency markets. Actually, slide is too polite a word: "Nosedive" seems like a more apt description of the greenback's behavior in recent weeks. Some economists now worry that a "hard landing" -- a crash in the dollar's value -- is the chief threat...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 26, 2002

Snow seeks public trust via appointment of consumer guru

With many Japanese companies having finally recognized the importance of beefing up their corporate governance, Snow Brand Milk Products Co. is eager to show it is no exception to this trend.
JAPAN
Jun 26, 2002

Cop arrested over subway groping

A 38-year-old Tokyo police officer was arrested Tuesday for allegedly groping a female subway passenger the night before.
JAPAN
Jun 26, 2002

Most Japanese cheering for South Korean cohosts

Fifty-nine out of 100 Japanese were cheering for World Cup cohosts South Korea after its historic advance to the semifinals, according to a Kyodo News survey.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / CERAMIC SCENE
Jun 26, 2002

Bringing the tabletop into the gallery

On the cover of the catalog for an exhibition now at the National Museum of Modern Art in Tokyo is -- ready for this? -- a shoyusashi (soy-sauce bottle). I find that quite odd, as the museum houses the hallowed arts of painting, sculpture and the like. A shoyusashi? Come on now, it just doesn't seem...
EDITORIALS
Jun 25, 2002

A problem of corporate ethos

The Financial Services Agency has ordered the Mizuho Financial Group, whose computer system crashed spectacularly on the occasion of its integration last April, to improve its internal management setup so as to prevent any recurrence of the bungle. Mizuho itself has decided to cut the pay of all of its...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 25, 2002

U.S. uncertainty threatens Japan recovery: MIT dean

With uncertainty hanging over prospects for the U.S. economy, Japan, despite recent signs of bottoming out, may face difficulties achieving a full-scale recovery, according to a business school dean at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
BUSINESS
Jun 25, 2002

Japan intervenes in money market as dollar sinks toward 120 yen mark

Japan intervened in the foreign-exchange market for the fifth time in five weeks early Monday afternoon, boosting the dollar from the lower half of 121 yen, financial authorities said.
BUSINESS / ANOTHER LOOK
Jun 24, 2002

The three secrets of securing success in corporate marriage

A week rarely seems to pass without the announcement of new corporate alliances involving leading players in major industries. However, as we all know, many of these relationships are destined not to live up to the expectations of those concerned. In fact, some experts claim that 70 percent of acquisitions...
SOCCER / World cup
Jun 23, 2002

Mansiz hits golden goal as Turks reach last four

OSAKA -- Turkey reached the semifinals of the World Cup with a golden goal in the third-minute of extra time on a great piece of finishing from second-half substitute Iihan Mansiz that gave his side a 1-0 victory over Senegal at Nagai Stadium on Saturday.
COMMENTARY
Jun 23, 2002

Pakistan's nuclear safety faces scrutiny

ISLAMABAD -- The arrest of the alleged "dirty bomber" in the United States last month once again is a reminder of the dangers posed by unchecked dissemination of nuclear knowledge, especially when it is dropped into the hands of militant individuals. That Jose Padilla, alias Abdullah al-Muhajir, would...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Jun 23, 2002

Chew-well cuisine is the stuff of saucy dreams

Let's call him "Taro."
JAPAN / WEEKEND WISDOM
Jun 23, 2002

Scale model maker strives to keep high-tech rivals at bay

SHIZUOKA — Shunsaku Tamiya's great passion is trying to coax today's high-tech savvy kids into embracing the low-tech world of scale models.
JAPAN
Jun 23, 2002

S. Korea makes semifinals

KWANGJU, South Korea — South Korea's World Cup dream continues in incredible fashion.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Jun 22, 2002

Shilpa Gandhi

A country of many different regions, India displays a panorama of diversity in many ways. Even the sari, the national dress for women, presents myriad differences in materials and styles. India has a long history of love for brilliant fabrics and the dazzling uses to which they are put. Old paintings,...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 21, 2002

Africa, terrorism set to dominate G8 meeting

Next week's Group of Eight summit in Canada will see world leaders encouraging their African counterparts to adopt self-help efforts to reduce poverty, as well as seeking to underscore the global fight against terrorism, according to Japan's top negotiator on these issues.
BUSINESS
Jun 21, 2002

Change at banks starts in personnel departments

Bankers once rode high as the elite of Japan. Along with top-notch bureaucrats in the Finance Ministry, they represented the best the Japanese education system had to offer.

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