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LIFE / Digital / NAME OF THE GAME
Jun 20, 2002

'Morrowind' ups RPG ante

"Elders Scrolls III: Morrowind" is a role-playing game (RPG) for PC and Xbox in which players roam a seemingly endless countryside enlisting in minor quests as they fulfill a greater destiny.
EDITORIALS
Jun 19, 2002

More revenue for local governments

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi is seeking tax reform to revive economic vitality, but he wants to limit tax cuts to the extent that they do not exacerbate the budget crisis. In other words, he is opposed to stimulating the economy at the expense of fiscal discipline. So no major tax cuts are planned...
BUSINESS
Jun 19, 2002

Germany poised to displace Japan as world's second-largest aid donor

Japan may be replaced by Germany as the world's second-largest aid donor in 2006, only five years after losing to the United States its long-held status as No. 1, according to a Foreign Ministry document obtained Tuesday by The Japan Times.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jun 19, 2002

Master of all but his destiny

No dozing in the dark for members of the audience at Yukio Ninagawa's new production of "Oedipus Rex," because the director has assigned us a role, too -- the public gallery of this artistic Theban court.
SOCCER / World cup
Jun 18, 2002

Brazil gives Belgium samba sendoff

KOBE -- A flash of brilliance from Rivaldo and a clinical finish by Ronaldo handed Brazil a 2-0 Round of 16 victory over Belgium in front of a predominantly Brazil-supporting crowd of 40,440 on Monday night.
SOCCER / J. League / ON THE BALL
Jun 18, 2002

Japan team giving nation soccer fever

SENDAI -- Have the Japanese people ever been so excited before?
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 18, 2002

Comparing Botswana, Japan unfair: ambassador

In many ways, Botswana is an African success story, boasting the world's fastest-growing income per capita over the past 35 years.
COMMENTARY / JAPAN IN THE GLOBAL ERA
Jun 17, 2002

How to avert the risk of war with China

LAUSANNE, Switzerland -- In the rolling green countryside of West Sussex in South England, there is an estate called Wilton Park. Some readers of this column may be familiar with the place and the institution it has become: "Wilton Park conferences" occur throughout the year bringing together politicians,...
MORE SPORTS
Jun 17, 2002

Japan romps past S. Koreans in crucial World Cup qualifier

The occasion -- a crucial World Cup game. The venue -- National Stadium, Tokyo. The teams -- Japan and South Korea. The result -- a resounding win for Japan.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Jun 16, 2002

Soldiers who fought for their honor on two fronts

THE LAST FOX: A Novel of the 100th/442nd RCT, by Robert H. Kono. Eugene, Oregon: Abe Publishing, 2001, 322 pp., $14.95 (paper) Shortly after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941, the American government interned people of Japanese ancestry, two-thirds of them American citizens, in camps. Families who...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jun 16, 2002

Why the rain is mainly a pain

Your shoes make squishing sounds when you walk. After a couple of days' use, your bath towel begins to smell like it recently emerged from an Egyptian sarcophagus. Rain hats and scarves, umbrellas and waterproofing sprays proliferate. But no matter what you do, you still don't feel dry.
COMMUNITY
Jun 16, 2002

A torrent of words

Ame may mean rain, but it's never been just rain in Japan; it's been dissected and categorized under a multitude of names that, sadly, few Japanese are in touch with anymore. Still, the fact that many people casually refer to Japan as ame no kuni (country of rain), where water perpetually seeps from...
JAPAN
Jun 16, 2002

'Intelligent' TV server in works

Royal Philips Electronics N.V. of the Netherlands and Waseda University are jointly developing a household TV server that would allow viewers to watch the programming of their choice at any time, researchers said Saturday.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / THE WAY OF WASHOKU
Jun 16, 2002

Big world sprouts from tiny grains of rice

When you travel between one small town and another in Japan often the panorama is a vast plain of flooded fields or a towering terraced mountain of rice paddies. In early June, up and down the Japanese archipelago, rice has been planted and the glistening paddies are teeming with life. Along with the...
SOCCER / World cup
Jun 15, 2002

S. Korea stuns rattled Portugal

INCHEON, South Korea -- A well-taken goal by Park Ji Sung sealed a famous 1-0 victory for South Korea against Portugal in Incheon on Friday.
JAPAN
Jun 15, 2002

Study on aging finds most seniors active, healthy

The majority of elderly people in Japan are physically in good shape and socially active, according to the fiscal 2001 white paper on aging in society submitted and approved at Friday's Cabinet meeting.
SOCCER / World cup
Jun 14, 2002

Troussier looking ahead to 'historic' Tunisia game

OSAKA -- "It will be a historic day for Japanese soccer," Japan coach Philippe Troussier said Thursday ahead of his team's third and final game in Group H against Tunisia, on Friday at Osaka Nagai Stadium.
JAPAN
Jun 14, 2002

Katokichi to recall Chinese spinach

OSAKA — Major frozen foods firm Katokichi Co. said Thursday it will recall 74,000 packages of frozen Chinese spinach because it has been alerted by authorities that the imports contain levels of pesticide residue in excess of the legal limit.
BUSINESS
Jun 14, 2002

Japan delays retaliation on steel tariffs

Japan will indefinitely postpone retaliatory measures against recently imposed U.S. steel import tariffs to give Washington time to exempt more Japanese items, the trade ministry said Thursday.
EDITORIALS
Jun 13, 2002

Water, water everywhere?

Water covers about two-thirds of the Earth's surface, but precious little can be used by human beings. Only 2.5 percent -- a veritable drop -- of the world's water is not salty, and two-thirds of that is frozen in the ice caps and glaciers. Of the remaining third, 20 percent is located in remote places,...
SOCCER / World cup
Jun 13, 2002

Spanish finish off S. Africa

TAEJON, South Korea -- Spain cruised into the last 16 of the World Cup here on Wednesday evening, beating a determined but ultimately inferior South African team 3-2.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 13, 2002

Mizuho blames chief information officer

Officials of the Mizuho financial group on Wednesday blamed the group's recent computer fiasco on a chief information officer who reportedly failed to notify top management about the possibility of a large-scale system failure.
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Jun 13, 2002

Get yourself an attitude

"Human history," said H.G. Wells, "becomes more and more a race between education and catastrophe." That was in 1920, but his words are more relevant than ever.
JAPAN
Jun 13, 2002

Snow Brand to recall spinach from China unit

Snow Brand Milk Products Co. said Wednesday it will recall frozen spinach its subsidiary produces in China and markets in Japan because the food was found to contain residual amounts of the pesticide chlorpyrifos.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jun 13, 2002

Canny Japanese playing it by the numbers

Any time I require the services of a taxi, I can easily recall the telephone number of the Daiwa Taxi Co., 3563-5151, because it transliterates phonetically into "Sa, Goro-san, koi-koi" (Well, come and pick me up Goro-san).
BUSINESS
Jun 12, 2002

Ogi hits plan to use gas tax for environmental protection

Transport minister Chikage Ogi balked Tuesday at a proposal by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to spend part of 2.8 trillion yen in gasoline tax revenues on measures to safeguard the environment.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 12, 2002

New softener bolsters UV protection

OSAKA — Times have changed from the days when young girls were eager to get a dark tan and be called "ganguro," or "black-faced."

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