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Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 29, 2002

Toyota's G-Book to provide drivers with interactive info

Toyota Motor Corp. said Wednesday that it will introduce a new membership-based information network service called G-Book this fall, enabling drivers to receive a wide range of interactive information services via wireless communication terminals mounted in their vehicles.
LIFE / Digital / NAME OF THE GAME
Aug 29, 2002

'Dead to Rights' feels like John Woo with a joystick

Forget all the moralizing. "Dead to Rights," a new game for Xbox from Namco, is a mature game that earns the right to have strippers in thongs, dogs ripping out men's throats and more shootouts than Charles Bronson and Arnold Schwarzenegger saw in their entire careers.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Aug 24, 2002

Taking kids on a Disneyland home stay

If you stay in Japan long enough, there will come a time, equal to that of the Super Lotto, called "ongaeshi," when you have to pay back people who have helped you along your rocky limestone road to a comfortable life in Japan. I'm pretty sure that's why Japanese people always ask how long you have been...
LIFE / Language / FOR KIDS
Aug 23, 2002

What water can do

If you put your hand under the kitchen tap or stick your toe into a fast-flowing river, you can feel the push of the water. Water has great power. This is something that the ancient Greek hero Hercules knew only too well. He used the strength of water to clean the stables of King Augeas. They were so...
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / NAME OF THE GAME
Aug 22, 2002

When violence isn't enough

You know how moths like to fly into lights and fires, or how whales beach themselves. How about lemmings . . . those adorable creatures that follow each other off cliffs? You wouldn't think the American video game industry would fall into that category, but it's looking that way.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Aug 21, 2002

Light My Fire festival to heat things up

Relaxing in a conference room crowded with shelves of CDs and a couple dozen bottles of Belgian beer, Shohachiro Haga recently explained how he chose the four acts for the Light My Fire world music festival. A middle-aged man wearing an enviably broken-in polo shirt, Haga says, "We can find the roots...
JAPAN
Aug 21, 2002

NTT disconnects 'wangiri' caller

OSAKA -- NTT West Corp. on Tuesday suspended connection services to a company in Fukuoka that allegedly made "wangiri" phone calls in such massive numbers that it threatened to paralyze NTT's telephone networks, NTT West officials said.
EDITORIALS
Aug 18, 2002

Books in the wild

''Goe, little booke," wrote the English poet Edmund Spenser when he sent his "Shepheard's Calender" out into the world back in 1579 and inspired a flurry of contemporary authors to adopt the metaphor of books as children sent to seek their fortune. In a modern twist on an old idea, some enthusiastic...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Aug 18, 2002

A man of truly noble blood

In 1987, Salif Keita released "Soro," and, though it was not his first album, for many listeners around the world it served as an introduction to the musician's unique sound: soaring West African-style vocals set to a new blend of traditional African rhythms and electric pop arrangements. He matched...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 17, 2002

Seal checks into Hotel Tamagawa

A young bearded seal has been hanging out in the Tama River bordering Tokyo and Kanagawa Prefecture since last week, drawing daily crowds of onlookers during the Bon holiday week.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Aug 14, 2002

Janet Klein: past perfect

Janet Klein's ukulele is no gimmick. Nor are her "obscure, lovely and naughty songs from the '10s, '20s and '30s." Klein and her L.A.-based band, The Parlor Boys, are about as real a deal as it gets. More than just fans of phonographs and sepia tone, Klein and company are musical archaeologists, taking...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Aug 11, 2002

Days of the dead: O-bon and the ghosts of Japan

It's that time of year again. The whole of Japan seems to be on the move as people head to their hometowns for the mid-August O-bon festival. And it's not just the living who make travel plans this month. O-bon is the Buddhist holiday when the spirits of the dead are believed to visit the homes of their...
JAPAN
Aug 10, 2002

Cops search USJ; exec admits error

OSAKA -- Osaka police searched two Universal Studios Japan offices Friday in connection with the unauthorized use and storage of explosives at the Hollywood theme park.
CULTURE / Stage
Aug 7, 2002

Adult 'Fosse' is setting the stage alight

"Fosse" is here again, back in Japan after its first, hugely successful tour last year mobilized 100,000 fans of the late choreographer-director-actor-dancer Bob Fosse's astonishing oeuvre.
CULTURE / Stage
Aug 7, 2002

Stories with head-on impact

Compared to "Fosse," a quintessential big Broadway production, "CVR" is somewhere close to the other end of the dramatic spectrum. It's certainly a significant event in the contemporary drama scene.
JAPAN
Aug 3, 2002

Law eyed to prevent 'wangiri' phone scams

Toranosuke Katayama, the minister of telecommunications, said Friday his ministry may submit a bill to the Diet in the fall to put an end to the phone scam known as "wangiri."
JAPAN
Aug 2, 2002

NTT units plot 'wangiri' crackdown

NTT East Corp. and NTT West Corp. plan to stiffen the terms of their telephone service contracts to prevent phone callback scams known as "wangiri" from paralyzing their networks, company officials said Thursday.
JAPAN
Jul 31, 2002

Street performers audition for metropolitan licenses

Street performers auditioned Tuesday in front of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building in Shinjuku to receive local government licenses to perform in public places.
JAPAN
Jul 30, 2002

Osaka phone service disrupted

OSAKA -- NTT West Corp. said Monday that phone services were temporarily disrupted after a massive number of calls were placed by a firm suspected of operating a "wangiri" callback scam.
COMMUNITY
Jul 28, 2002

Peoples of the north surviving against the odds

The Sea of Okhotsk region is one of the most inhospitable areas of the world for human habitation, yet its indigenous peoples produced cultures of marvelous richness and vibrancy.
BUSINESS
Jul 27, 2002

Spending by wage earners up 3.4%

Spending by wage-earning households rose an inflation-adjusted 3.4 percent in June from the year before, the government said Friday.
BUSINESS
Jul 26, 2002

Mobile security standard developed

Three Japanese and two foreign electronics firms announced Thursday the creation of a mobile commerce extension standard that will enable flash memory cards to be used for secure shopping and banking via mobile devices.
COMMENTARY
Jul 24, 2002

Chinese media's coverage of U.S. proves balanced

HONG KONG -- A study of the Chinese media, commissioned by a bipartisan American congressional panel -- the U.S. China Security Review Commission -- has found that the controlled Chinese press, in its reporting on the United States, appears to be relatively balanced overall.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / J-POPSICLE
Jul 24, 2002

Women whose work is never done

"Senko (Flash)," singer/songwriter UA's first single in three years, further cements her status as one of J-pop's most enigmatic and original artists. Released July 24, "Senko" is a dark, moody piece that's half tone poem and half pop song. UA and co-producer Rei Harakami have created a sparse, ambient-ish...
JAPAN
Jul 21, 2002

Information age stunting our imagination, director believes

The explosive spread of information technology is leading to an overload of data and images that is cramping our creativity and even stunting our minds, according to noted stage drama director Amon Miyamoto.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Jul 21, 2002

The men of the house

The TV show that has most successfully exploited the current housing "reform" boom is Asahi's "Daikozo! Gekiteki Before/After (Big Construction! Dramatic Before and After)" (Sundays, 7:56 p.m.), which was the only program during the recent World Cup that managed to pull in double-digit ratings opposite...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / THE WAY OF WASHOKU
Jul 21, 2002

Great big balls of octopus — easy on the sauce

I have a love/hate relationship with takoyaki. I really like the little dumplings but I'm opposed to anything being drowned in too much sauce, and the trend, especially at summer festivals, is to slather on too much of that gooey, brown Bulldog sauce.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jul 14, 2002

The name is Otaku, James Otaku

Don't go to Akihabara if you're looking to buy an Aston Martin with twin machine guns, or a pen that shoots poisoned darts. Aside from these, though, there's enough exotic spy goodies there to keep 007 -- or even the most discerning otaku -- supplied for years to come.

Longform

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.