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Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Jan 9, 2002

metalwood: 'the recline'

Every self-respecting Canadian jazz enthusiast should have metalwood's latest on their shelf. How many jazz bands can Canada claim, after all? Clearly, not enough. But all that joking about the frozen northern land should melt under the heat of "the recline," on which metalwood takes a sophisticated...
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 8, 2002

Behind the scenes with Phnom Penh's 'orange girls'

PHNOM PENH -- In central Phnom Penh, at one end of a semiderelict building, is a tiny lean-to shack. Its walls are made of scavenged wood planks and its roof of corrugated iron. The ground around it is a swamp of sewage and mud due to the daily monsoon rains. To get to the shack, you have to hop along...
Events
Jan 8, 2002

Tourists take on Takla Makan aboard thirsty ships of desert

AMAGASAKI, Hyogo Pref. -- To enter the Takla Makan Desert in China's Xinjiang-Uighur Autonomous Region may mean to never return.
SOCCER / THE BALD TRUTH
Jan 8, 2002

Former Sanfrecce boss Thomson itching to get back into J. League

SYDNEY -- Former Sanfrecce Hiroshima manager Eddie Thomson is the sort of person who could sell Michael Schumacher a used Skoda.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 7, 2002

One step up, two steps sideways in Nago

WASHINGTON -- On Dec. 27, Japanese central government officials and leaders from Okinawa Prefecture announced agreement on a basic plan for the proposed construction of a joint civil-military use airport on the reef off eastern Nago City. The announcement by the Futenma Relocation Committee ("Daitai...
COMMENTARY
Jan 6, 2002

Pakistan needs trade, not aid

WASHINGTON -- The United States has assembled a dubious collection of allies over the years. Washington long has had to emphasize the vices of its adversaries rather than the virtues of its friends. Instead of tying itself to morally putrefying regimes through aid programs and military alliances, the...
JAPAN
Jan 6, 2002

Architect blames Japan cityscapes on obsession with wealth

Japan's cities have been criticized for lacking the harmony and consistence felt in other countries, especially in Europe. But that's not a result of poor city planning; the disarray of structures in Tokyo and Osaka simply mirror the country's postwar obsession with material wealth, according to architect...
BUSINESS
Jan 6, 2002

State bonds to be sold via Internet

The Ministry of Finance plans to directly sell 10-year government bonds to individuals through the Internet from as early as fiscal 2003, which begins in March next year, ministry officials said Saturday.
COMMUNITY
Jan 6, 2002

Life in the new year: Que sera sera

What joys and sorrows will the coming year bring for Japan? Fast forward to Jan. 1, 2003, apply tongue firmly to cheek and enjoy the benefit of hindsight by reading the alternative futures contained in the 2002 diaries of long-suffering Tokyo banker Gamansuruzo Nostrodoomus, and go-getting Kansai career...
JAPAN
Jan 6, 2002

Meteorological agency plans to offer improved forecasts

The Japan Meteorological Agency will introduce the so-called four-dimensional variation method in March to increase the accuracy of its six-hour rain forecasts, agency officials said Saturday.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jan 6, 2002

Dewi Sukarno: 'Miss Ambition' who's done it her way

Ratna Sari Dewi Sukarno has become a well-known Japanese media figure in recent years and has just raised some $90,000 for victims of terrorist attacks in the United States.
LIFE / Food & Drink / THE WAY OF WASHOKU
Jan 6, 2002

Starting at the root of Japanese cooking

A samurai party — pungent as daikon radish their conversation! — Matsuo Basho (1644-1694)
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 6, 2002

Poor politics brought on Argentine crisis

NEW YORK -- Argentina is a country under siege. The attackers, however, are not foreign armies. They are corrupt and incompetent politicians, who are responsible for the dire state the country is in. The resignation of four presidents -- three of them interim caretakers -- in less than two weeks is proof...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jan 5, 2002

The trucks and bolts of perfect massage

Anyone who has spent some time in Asia has become familiar with massage. You can get all kinds of massage here: Japanese "shiatsu," Chinese foot massage, Thai, Vietnamese and even Swedish massage. But all the different methods can be confusing. Let me set it straight for you.
JAPAN
Jan 5, 2002

More to laser surgery than meets the eye

Corneal laser surgery may be a sight for sore eyes for people suffering from nearsightedness or those just tired of wearing glasses, but experts warn that people considering the increasingly popular operation need to be well-informed about the procedure and its possible results before going under the...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Jan 5, 2002

Hiroshi Ito

When he was a merry little boy in Seijo in the '50s, Hiroshi Ito disliked having to practice playing the piano. As often as he could, he escaped to play outdoors with his friends. When he advanced to Meiji University, however, with the aid of an instruction book he taught himself to play the banjo. Once...
COMMENTARY
Jan 4, 2002

Globalization's Faustian pact

LONDON -- The glories of globalization are taking on the specious glitter of a Faustian pact. We human beings have been promised that capitalism will never die; the threats of crashes, revolution and depression have been banished by vigorous free markets and judicious state interventions, all held in...
SOCCER / J. League
Jan 3, 2002

S-Pulse kicks off new year by winning Emperor's Cup

For Shimizu S-Pulse, Tuesday's Emperor's Cup final was a chance to make it third-time lucky after losing two finals in the past three years. For Cerezo Osaka, it was a chance to finish off a miserable season with a trophy and the opportunity to start the year with a boost as the team attempts to return...
COMMENTARY / WASHINGTON UPDATE
Jan 3, 2002

A changed U.S. greets 2002

WASHINGTON -- Welcome to Year One of the time thereafter. If there is a constant in the commentaries on Sept. 11, it is that it was a day whose events changed the way we will live forever.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 3, 2002

Death of domestic coal leaves legacy for future

Four decades of protection for the domestic coal mining industry are nearly at an end as the government moves to procure stable and more economical supplies from abroad.
BUSINESS
Jan 3, 2002

Accelerating deflation, slack investment to keep economy weak in 2002

Although an anticipated economic recovery in the United States may help Japanese fortunes during the latter half of 2002, the overall tone of the domestic economy will remain weak due to accelerating deflation and slack capital investment.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 3, 2002

Newly noticed whiskey makers forced to diversify products

It's winter, the perfect season to sip a glass of whisky on a long, quiet night to warm up, as well as a good time to sample the variety of quality whiskeys available on the market.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 3, 2002

Euro faces economic snags

LONDON -- The introduction on Jan. 1 of the euro currency into everyday use across 12 countries in one of the world's big three economic zones marks the accomplishment of a 50-year-old project to bring the continent together in partnership and mutual well-being as an alternative to the past periodic...
SOCCER / J. League / ON THE BALL
Jan 1, 2002

Troussier hoping for successful swan song

This year will be a crucial period for Japanese soccer, particularly when the national team plays in the World Cup finals from May 31-June 30 in front of its home fans.
JAPAN
Jan 1, 2002

Emperor confident better times are ahead

Emperor Akihito expressed confidence in his New Year's address that the Japanese people will overcome their hardships in 2002 and move toward a brighter future.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / ON THE ARCHIPELA-GO
Jan 1, 2002

Discovering the traditional spirit of Arima

Peel away the suppurating clutter, the shabby, postwar surface of construction that is often passed off as modernity, and there is at the center of most Japanese towns a historical kernel, a core essence waiting to be discovered. Finding these places is a quest of sorts, requiring patience and a cultivated...
JAPAN
Jan 1, 2002

Excerpts of Baker interview

The following are excerpts from U.S. Ambassador Howard Baker's interview with The Japan Times:
JAPAN
Dec 31, 2001

Top 10 news stories of 2001

Japan Times editors picked the following domestic news stories as the most important of 2001:
JAPAN
Dec 31, 2001

Thank you to Readers' Fund contributors

This year's fundraising campaign for refugees and children in need, in Japan and abroad, comes to an official close today. The donations received as of Friday totaled 3,507,604 yen. Money received after the end of this year's campaign will be included in next year's charity fund drive.
JAPAN
Dec 31, 2001

Conductor Asahina dies at 93

OSAKA -- Takashi Asahina, known as the world's oldest active conductor, died of old age at a Kobe hospital Saturday night, his family said Sunday. He was 93.

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