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JAPAN
Jun 17, 2002

Japan demands results from North Korea on 'missing'

Japan has told North Korea that resumption of the suspended talks on normalizing diplomatic ties will depend on progress in the search for missing Japanese that Tokyo believes were kidnapped by Pyongyang, government sources said Sunday.
BUSINESS
Jun 17, 2002

Piracy of intellectual property rampant in Indonesia

JAKARTA -- Piracy of intellectual property rights is found all over Southeast Asia. A short visit to the street markets of Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Manila or Singapore will convince anybody that counterfeits, fakes and so-called look-alike products are big business. In most countries the problem...
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 16, 2002

Preventing a new dark age

On May 8 an American citizen with alleged ties to the al-Qaeda terror network was arrested on suspicion of plotting to build and detonate a radioactive "dirty" bomb in the United States. On May 31, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda of Japan -- the emotional touchstone of antinuclear sentiments for...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / VINELAND
Jun 16, 2002

Refined wining and dining without pretension

Japan's trendy wine boom ended a few years ago. Still, interest in wine did not plummet; instead, it normalized. In groceries stores, elderly ladies and hip twentysomethings alike scrutinize the wine shelves. At many Tokyo izakaya pubs, diners can opt for a glass of house wine with their sashimi, odenor...
EDITORIALS
Jun 16, 2002

Thank God it's Monday

'A good name is better than precious ointment," according to the Bible. These days, that can mean more than just a good reputation, especially in business. It can mean a snappy title, too: something that will both stick in people's minds and make them smile.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Jun 16, 2002

Tribute to a humanist

THE KANETO SHINDO ANTHOLOGY. Asmik Ace Entertainment, Inc. DVD collection, 21 discs (some optional English subtitles) and program booklet (Japanese only), 2002, 79,000 yen. This massive four-volume collection is devoted to the main works of one of the major film directors of the immediate post-World...
COMMUNITY
Jun 16, 2002

Building for a rainy day

The most welcome visitor to the Suzuki house is, quite possibly . . . rain. The three-story building on a hillside in Asaka, southern Saitama Prefecture, is like a theater designed for the enjoyment of performances by that most versatile player from the sky, as it dances and sings and soothes on its...
EDITORIALS
Jun 15, 2002

Stop modern-day slavery

Human slavery is a difficult idea to comprehend. Treating another person as a piece of property is so fundamentally alien to every philosophical and legal tenet of our age that most people assume that slavery is a purely historical phenomenon. They are wrong. Slavery is very much alive. It continues...
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 15, 2002

Developing Asia's publishing industry

CHIANG MAI, Thailand -- A very interesting conference took place earlier last month in Bangkok with the participation of leading publishers from around Asia. As with many such specialized events, its impact mainly reached people in the publishing industry rather than the public at large. But, because...
JAPAN
Jun 15, 2002

Emperor, Empress to visit Europe

The government decided Friday on the itinerary for Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko's official visit to Poland and Hungary, and stopovers in the Czech Republic and Austria, next month, government officials said.
BUSINESS
Jun 15, 2002

Corporate bankruptcies fall for first time in five months

May saw 1,696 corporate bankruptcies, a drop of 1.6 percent from a year earlier and the first fall in five months, credit research agency Teikoku Databank Ltd. said Friday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 15, 2002

Suzuki faces arrest over lumber bribe

Public prosecutors may question senior lawmaker Muneo Suzuki next week on allegations he received 5 million yen in bribes from a Hokkaido lumber firm when he was deputy chief Cabinet secretary in 1998, and seek his arrest, law enforcement sources said 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.
JAPAN
Jun 15, 2002

City told to compensate Aum pair

OSAKA — The Osaka High Court on Friday backed a lower court ruling ordering the city of Suita to compensate two Aum Shinrikyo cult members for rejecting their residency registration applications.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 14, 2002

'Enka' star Murata dies of pneumonia

Hideo Murata, a popular singer of "enka" ballads, died of pneumonia Thursday morning in Osaka, his office said. He was 73.
MORE SPORTS
Jun 14, 2002

Hagiwara breaks Japanese record

Tomoko Hagiwara, who finished fourth at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, set a Japanese record in winning her first 200-meter backstroke title Wednesday at the swimming national championships.
JAPAN
Jun 13, 2002

Fuji eruption evacuation map in works

A council working on measures to be taken in the event that Mount Fuji erupts met Wednesday and received a report by experts on the creation of a map of areas that could be affected.
JAPAN
Jun 13, 2002

Komura named Imperial attendant

Former Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura will be the top attendant for Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko's official visit to Europe next month, government officials said Wednesday.
EDITORIALS
Jun 12, 2002

Unsure sign of recovery

The latest government report on Japan's gross domestic product -- that the economy in the first quarter of this year expanded 1.4 percent from the previous quarter, or at an annual rate of 5.7 percent -- has met with some skepticism. The general feeling appears to be that it is too good to be true. In...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jun 12, 2002

Life of the party

Thai artist Rirkrit Tiravanija has an original recipe for success: "I can't paint," he said, "but I can cook."
JAPAN
Jun 12, 2002

Chinese teenager to remain in Japan

OSAKA — The Osaka Regional Immigration Bureau decided Tuesday to allow the teenage son of a family of illegal Chinese immigrants to stay in the country for one more month, officials said.
JAPAN
Jun 11, 2002

Maglev test train gives quick thrill to select few

A test ride at the foot of Mount Fuji on a magnetically levitated (maglev) train is proving extremely popular with curious people who want to experience a ride on the world's fastest train, which runs at a speed of 500 kph.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 11, 2002

'Gringo mayor' does local politics his way

PORONGO, Bolivia — Mike Bennett came to Bolivia 18 years ago looking for gold. And he found it. But as he searched the nation for the precious metal, the 46-year-old geologist from Staffordshire, England, also uncovered other treasures — Spanish, which he speaks fluently, a farm, two hotels and a...
JAPAN
Jun 11, 2002

Local beer gets German touch

Christian Mitterbauer clenched his fist and brought it to his chest to mark his moment of triumph in April 2001, when he turned out a local Japanese beer.
JAPAN
Jun 9, 2002

Rakuten eyes full shopping via mobiles

Rakuten Inc., operator of Japan's largest Internet shopping site, Rakuten Ichiba, plans to make its full online shopping service available on mobile phones by the end of the year, company officials said Saturday.
JAPAN
Jun 8, 2002

State targets single moms in bid to fight divorce rate

In reaction to the growing number of divorces in Japan, the government said Friday it will restrict single mothers' eligibility to receive child-care benefits.
JAPAN
Jun 8, 2002

Condo's height approved by court

The Tokyo High Court on Friday reversed a lower court decision that said a 44-meter-high condominium in Kunitachi, western Tokyo, was in violation of a municipal ordinance by being too tall.

Longform

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