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Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Dec 26, 2001

Nathaniel Merriweather: 'Lovage'

Makeout music is as old as the phonograph (older, if you believe that Bach really wrote the "Goldberg Variations" to help Herr Goldberg get Frau Goldberg in the mood), but Barry White was the first recording artist who made a conscious effort to emphasize only those musical and lyrical elements that...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / J-POPSICLE
Dec 26, 2001

Tower's pop fire flickers?

A lot of people in the music biz -- not to mention regular music fans -- were shocked by reports that surfaced last week to the effect that all or part of Tower Records' Japanese operations will be sold.
JAPAN
Dec 24, 2001

Who & What

Expoland plans to ring in New Year in style Expoland, an amusement park in Suita, Osaka Prefecture, will host a countdown to the New Year on Dec. 31, starting at 5 p.m. at the park. The event will continue until 2 a.m.
CULTURE / Music / PLAY BUTTON
Dec 23, 2001

Buffalo Daughter: A new addition to the family

Being in a band is like being married to more than one person simultaneously. And like any married couple, bands have their own special neuroses. The dysfunctions of any given group are compounded by long hours in the hothouse confines of a studio and even longer hours on the road.
BUSINESS
Dec 21, 2001

Koizumi should have tried to cap deflation instead

While the Finance Ministry's draft budget for 2002 features significant structural changes, its central reform pillar of limiting government spending has aggravated concerns about the economy.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Dec 21, 2001

Ant spider

* Japanese name: Ari-gumo * Scientific name: Myrmarachne japonica * Description: This spider looks like an ant, but it is an arachnid, not an insect. You can tell because it has eight legs. The ant spider mimics ants, and sometimes flutters its forelegs like the antennae of ants, because it has no...
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 20, 2001

War 'back home' divides Jordan's Chechen community

ZARQA, Jordan -- When the wounded Chechen fighters arrived in Jordan in 1994, everything changed for Younis Ashab.
JAPAN
Dec 20, 2001

State budget for 2002 unveiled

Finance Minister Masajuro Shiokawa unveiled Wednesday the outline of the ministry's draft general account budget for fiscal 2002, worth 81.23 trillion yen.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Dec 19, 2001

2001 -- A sound odyssey

It was a year for rocking, for boppig, for grooving, for moshing, for swaying and of course, for listening. Taking one last spin through the sounds of the past 12 months, our music writers tell us what they heard.
BUSINESS
Dec 18, 2001

Firms codevelop powerful fuel cell

Kansai Electric Power Co., Mitsubishi Materials Corp. and a research institution said Monday they have developed a new fuel cell that is capable of high power generation and features improved durability.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Dec 16, 2001

The final downfall of a hard-boiled harridan

Just audible under the cheers that greeted the birth of the new princess was the tip-tapping of bored fingers coming from the direction of the "wide shows," where smiling faces and mandatory keigo barely masked acute impatience. Nine months of being forced to keep quiet about the crown princess's pregnancy...
LIFE / Food & Drink / VINELAND
Dec 16, 2001

If you're going to pop the cork, do it in style

Recently, we asked professionals from the Tokyo restaurant-and-wine scene to share their tips for worthy holiday wine splurges and to tell us their favorite dishes to match. Their ideas may inspire the right present for a wine aficionado. You might also consider sampling these top picks in a New Year's...
JAPAN / Media / CHANNEL SURF
Dec 16, 2001

Living life to the fullest in fields of dreams

This week's "Sunday Big Special" (TV Tokyo; tonight, 7 p.m.) revisits six families it has featured in the past on its occasional "Back to Nature" specials. These programs explore the burgeoning self-sufficiency movement by profiling families that have given up the rat race and moved to isolated rural...
BUSINESS
Dec 15, 2001

Tax reform debate had nowhere else to go

Right up to the last minute, two conflicting philosophies dominated the ruling coalition's debate on tax reform for fiscal 2002 -- whether to levy taxes wherever possible to help ease the government's dire financial straits or avoid major hikes in light of the economic slump.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Dec 14, 2001

Moon bear

* Japanese name: Nihon Tsukinowa-guma * Scientific name: Ursus thibetanus japonicus * Description: This is the largest animal in Japan, apart from the Hokkaido brown bear, 110-130 cm tall when standing upright. Also called the Asiatic bear or Japanese black bear, the moon bear gets its Japanese name...
BUSINESS
Dec 14, 2001

Japan to get Xbox console Feb. 22

The chief operating officer of Microsoft Corp. said Thursday that the Xbox game console will be launched in Japan on Feb. 22 as scheduled.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / J-POPSICLE
Dec 12, 2001

You go, girls

Cute girls. Snarling guitar. Strong hooks. A pounding beat. What more do you need?
EDITORIALS
Dec 11, 2001

The Diet that set a precedent

The Diet session that closed last Friday set a significant precedent for Japan's evolving security policy debates, paving the way for the first "wartime" deployment overseas of the Self-Defense Forces. That was the most important feature of the extraordinary session. What prompted the SDF move was, of...
EDITORIALS
Dec 9, 2001

Segue to a silly new world

Just about a year ago, you might recall, inhabitants of the rarefied realm known as the high-tech cutting edge were all agog over a secret new invention nicknamed "Ginger," or sometimes just "IT." The brainchild of U.S. gizmo wizard Mr. Dean Kamen, the device was described by those who got a sneak peek...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Dec 7, 2001

Black mountain ant

* Japanese name:Kuroyama-ari * Scientific name:Formica japonica * Description: Like all ants, the black mountain ant has three clearly defined body parts: a capsulelike head with strong jaws; a thorax to which the three pairs of legs are joined; and an abdomen. There are also three different types,...
JAPAN
Dec 5, 2001

Nago likely to offer reef as site for new airport

The city of Nago in Okinawa Prefecture is likely to choose a reef off the island as the site for a military-civilian airport that will accommodate the heliport functions of the U.S. Futenma Air Station in the prefecture, the city mayor said Tuesday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Dec 5, 2001

Five Deez: 'Koolmotor'

Anyone tired of hip-hop's "gangstafication" has had it rough at the record store this year. It seemed the age of slick jazz samples, mellow vibes and higher-mindedness had all but drowned in (or become inebriated on) the 40-ounce bottle of thug-rap.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Dec 5, 2001

Paper-cutting artists breathe new life into an ancient craft

You can get a glimpse of the beauty of kiri-e (cut-paper pictures) created by members of the Zenkoku Kiri-e Dokokai (National Association of Kiri-e) at an exhibition running till Dec. 8 at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Space in Ikebukuro.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 2, 2001

Uptick noticed in N. Korean economy

LONDON -- There is a bustle on the streets of Pyongyang that has been sorely missing for at least five years. The shops -- never consumers' havens -- have some goods on the shelves. Restaurants on Changgwang Street, North Korea's pale equivalent of Tokyo's Ginza, are open and serving. Even street vendors...
SOCCER / World cup
Dec 2, 2001

Japan grouped with Belgium, Russia, Tunisia for World Cup

BUSAN, South Korea -- Cohost Japan has drawn a place in Group H with Belgium, Russia and Tunisia for the first round of next year's World Cup finals, which will take place in both Japan and South Korea.
COMMUNITY
Dec 2, 2001

Ski trips easy to book without using Japanese

If you can't speak Japanese or you don't want the hassle of booking trains and hotels before embarking on a ski or snowboarding trip, there are people who can make the arrangements for you.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Dec 2, 2001

Restaurant J: Food that gladdens the heart of man

Restaurant J has been open for more than a year, so there's absolutely no reason for the Food File to wait any longer to bestow its seal of approval. But we're still reluctant to give it the unconditional thumbs-up it so richly deserves. Why so? It's the same old story: We're always loath to spread the...
JAPAN
Nov 30, 2001

'Yakiniku' promotion aims to lure back diners

An online promotion to boost falling sales of "yakiniku," or barbecued meat, will be launched Saturday amid consumer concerns over mad cow disease, organizers said.

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?