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CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Mar 31, 2002

These are a few of our favorite things

THINGS JAPANESE, by Nicholas Bornoff, with photos by Michael Freeman. Hong Kong: Periplus Editions, Ltd. 2002. 144 pp., profusely illustrated with full-color plates, $24.95 (paper) In 1890, Tokyo University professor Basil Hall Chamberlain codified an entire generation's view of Japan in his "Things...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Mar 27, 2002

Humans' distance laid bare in two close-ups on 'intimacy'

Theater Project Tokyo's current, compelling double bill, "TPT Futures 2002," grapples head-on with how, as time and circumstances change, people deal with the eternally fraught business of maintaining or severing their intimate ties with others.
SOCCER / J. League / ON THE BALL
Mar 26, 2002

JAWOC puts fans on hold

A commercial running on Japanese TV at the moment shows an astronaut being told to go on a space trip by his boss. He complains, saying that he has tickets for some World Cup games. But his boss insists he has to go. The astronaut reluctantly goes leaving his tickets on the floor. The boss picks them...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Mar 24, 2002

The past made perfect

THE POLITICS OF RUINS AND THE BUSINESS OF NOSTALGIA, by Maurizio Peleggi. Studies in Contemporary Thailand, No. 10, forward by Craig J. Reynolds. Bangkok: White Lotus Press., 2002, 100 pp., 450 baht (paper) Now that Kyoto is to all intents "Kyotoland," it might be instructive to turn to other countries...
LIFE / Digital / NAME OF THE GAME
Mar 21, 2002

Xbox ball: 'Inside Drive'

Strip away the marketing hype. If you want to know what kinds of people video game console makers are targeting, take a look at the kinds of games they play.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / J-POPSICLE
Mar 20, 2002

Come back, come back wherever you were . . .

As part of its continuing effort to promote J-pop overseas, Sony last week released an album in the United States titled "Japan for Sale 2," which is a great all-around introduction to Japanese music.
LIFE / Food & Drink / NIHONSHU
Mar 17, 2002

Favorites that come widely recommended

The information in this column usually covers the gamut of sake nomenclature, types and brewing methods, as well as culture, history and the occasional oddities. But beyond the single recommendation in each column, rarely does it address the question, "So, uh, what are the good sake? What should I be...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Mar 16, 2002

Researching business ops for African-Americans

They are packed and at the ready at the Westin Hotel in Tokyo's Yebisu Garden Place. Ready to return home to America. Ready to give me the remaining few minutes of their precious time before boarding the bus for the airport. Talk about a rush.
BUSINESS
Mar 11, 2002

Airline consolidation taking off

BANGKOK -- The lingering impact of Sept. 11 is prompting airline companies to "integrate deeper and quicker" into the safety of alliances, and these groups will form the basis of future competition in the industry, a top airline executive said in a recent interview with Japan Times.
COMMUNITY
Mar 10, 2002

One nation under a hip-hop groove

Downtown West Shinjuku. The company workers have all gone home, leaving the streets quiet except for the sound of traffic.
LIFE / Digital / NAME OF THE GAME
Mar 7, 2002

Xbox grapples for Japan footing

Imagine a Sumo tournament with a young Konishiki battling Akebono, the winner of which must then challenge Godzilla. Such a battle is going on right now in the video game arena.
LIFE / Digital / SURFERSPUD
Mar 7, 2002

Enron mania and other diversions

www.wired.com/news/mac/0,2125,50688,00.htmThe Spudmeister feels like he's cheating a bit here, directing you to a mere article, but it may foretell the next step in digital piracy. The tool tomorrow's pirates are using today is the iPod.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Mar 6, 2002

A syllable becomes a word -- and a world

"When you say the word 'dog,' " the Swiss founder of modern linguistics Ferdinand de Saussure (1857-1913) once remarked, "everyone imagines something different." But as Hasse Mitsuko's new one-woman show, "Voice," triumphantly demonstrates, even the simplest sounds, too, can be full of meaning.
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Mar 3, 2002

It takes a lot of work to fool a fish

One late summer afternoon, in the village of Oshino, Yamanashi Prefecture, I was sitting by a stream against the backdrop of Mount Fuji, my fly-fishing rod at my side. On a gentle breeze, a large mayfly came along and started fluttering on the water. It soon fell, getting its wings wet while trying to...
BUSINESS
Mar 2, 2002

Household spending up 0.2%

Spending by wage-earning households increased by an inflation-adjusted 0.2 percent in January from a year earlier, following a 4.4 percent decline in December, the government said Friday.
BUSINESS
Mar 2, 2002

Key consumer prices drop for 29th month

Key consumer prices, excluding volatile prices for perishable foods, dropped 0.9 percent in February from a year earlier, down for the 29th month in a row, the government said in a preliminary report released Friday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 28, 2002

Kabukicho gets 50 anticrime cameras

The Metropolitan Police Department put 50 surveillance cameras into operation Wednesday in Tokyo's famous Kabukicho district to help fight crime in the seedy area.
LIFE / Digital / NAME OF THE GAME
Feb 28, 2002

Make, don't play the green

If you are looking for a great game of virtual golf, try "Links Championship Edition," a PC game from Microsoft. "Links" is as close as you can get to real golf without picking up a club.
BUSINESS
Feb 27, 2002

Nissan unveils first vehicle codeveloped with Renault

Nissan Motor Co. on Tuesday released the new version of its March compact car, the first vehicle to feature a platform jointly developed with its French partner, Renault S.A.
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
Feb 21, 2002

'Rainbow Warrior' talks rugby, politics, life

Francois Pienaar is best known as the man who unified a nation.
BUSINESS
Feb 20, 2002

Nissan, DoCoMo to jointly work on 'telematics' project

Nissan Motor Co. and NTT DoCoMo Inc. said Tuesday they will jointly study and develop a "telematics" service based on the cellular phone giant's third-generation mobile communications technologies.
MORE SPORTS
Feb 17, 2002

Japan living in 'Third World' in tennis terms

Naoko Sawamatsu had no intention of offending anyone in Japanese tennis, but when asked about her take on the future of women's tennis in this country, her usually smiling face stiffened. She sat still for a few seconds, her eyes unfocused and hands toying with her cell phone straps.
COMMUNITY
Feb 17, 2002

Who's afraid of the Big Bad mouse?

OSAKA -- If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then for the past two decades Tokyo Disneyland has been the focus of much admiration. The stunning success of the theme park -- average annual visitors for the past 10 years is 17 million -- has spawned countless imitators across Japan. Apparently,...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Feb 17, 2002

Grow up, get over it or get done

Several weeks ago, Goro Inagaki, the quiet member of SMAP who for three months excluded himself from the group's activities as penance for a traffic violation, returned to showbiz with considerable fanfare.
JAPAN
Feb 14, 2002

Kinden Corp. penalized over evaded taxes

OSAKA -- Electrical contractor Kinden Corp. failed to declare about 900 million yen in corporate income in the three business years to March 31, 2000, and has been ordered to pay 300 million yen in back taxes and penalties, industry sources said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Feb 13, 2002

JobTimes goes online

A new online recruiting site opens its doors today, targeting university students and people searching for employment in a bilingual environment.
LIFE / Travel / ON THE ARCHIPELA-GO
Feb 11, 2002

Cold lands but warm hearts

The literally hang out the flags for visitors to the small town of Nishikawa in the snowy foothills of Yamagata's Dewa Sanzan mountains. A large British Union Jack was crossed with a Japanese Hinomaru over the entrance to Tamaki, a riverside restaurant famous for its Hina ryori (Doll's Festival food),...

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.