Search - people

 
 
JAPAN / WEEKEND WISDOM
May 19, 2002

Maverick metal molder happy solving big boys' problems

Masayuki Okano is living proof that building a better mousetrap gets the world to beat a path to your door.
ENVIRONMENT
May 19, 2002

What the label doesn't say

Scandals about deception in product labeling have been in the news of late, with both the expiry dates and the origins of dairy and meat products called into question. While not as big a news item, the labeling standards for whale meat take deception to further, murkier depths -- and to dangerous ones....
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
May 19, 2002

The inns and outs in the life of okami

O ne of the subsections of TV Tokyo's large selection of food-travel programs is the "Bijin Okami" special. Bijin okami, which translates as "beautiful mistress of the house," are women who run inns and hotels in resort and hot-spring areas. They are usually married to the owners of the establishments...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / THE WAY OF WASHOKU
May 19, 2002

Time is ripe for the taste of Old World fruit

The flowers of an eggplant, like the wisdom of a parent, will never mislead you. — Japanese proverb
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / BEST BAR NONE
May 19, 2002

Something close to home

Some of Tokyo's best little bars are hidden on tiny back streets in quiet residential neighborhoods. They are the kind of bars that one only discovers by living nearby -- or being taken there by someone who does. So when a friend called suggesting an outing to one of his favorite bars on the outskirts...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
May 19, 2002

Repent of Western ways to see the light

A BURDEN OF FLOWERS, by Natsuki Ikezawa. Kodansha International, 2001, 239 pp., 2,400 yen (cloth) A story of two Japanese siblings' rejection of Western values, one eloquent on the dangers of being "too Cartesian in your thinking, too tied up in Western rationalism," is hardly an obvious candidate for...
SOCCER / World cup / COHOSTING
May 18, 2002

Beyond the limits of normalcy

Can Japan and South Korea work together to put on the 2002 World Cup?
COMMENTARY
May 17, 2002

Japan at its inconsistent worst

Japan's overheated reaction to the May 8 North Korean refugee incident at the Japanese consulate-general in Shenyang, northeast China, is worrying.
JAPAN
May 17, 2002

Diplomats to be held 10 more days

Veteran Russian affairs expert Masaru Sato and fellow Foreign Ministry employee Akira Maejima, under arrest on suspicion of misusing ministry funds, will be kept in detention until May 25, the Tokyo District Court said Thursday.
LIFE / Lifestyle / MATTER OF COURSE
May 17, 2002

Language help lets foreign students fit in

You'd think my sons were the first gaijin kids ever to attend a Japanese elementary school, judging from the surprised responses we get from people. But there are lots of foreign children in Japanese schools, and their numbers are growing. Unfortunately, most schools aren't equipped to teach newcomers...
EDITORIALS
May 16, 2002

Lessons from the Shenyang incident

Japan and China have been locked in a diplomatic row over an incident May 8 in which Chinese police guards seized and removed five North Korean asylum seekers from the compound of the Japanese Consulate General in Shenyang, northeastern China. On Wednesday, however, it appeared that concerns over the...
Japan Times
JAPAN / WHALE WATCHING
May 16, 2002

Legal mechanism flawed: wildlife expert

Japanese laws are ill-equipped to protect marine mammals and need an overhaul if these animals are to receive attention akin to their terrestrial counterparts, according to a leading wildlife expert.
JAPAN
May 16, 2002

Damages award upheld for Aum residency seekers

The Tokyo High Court on Wednesday rejected an appeal by Tokyo's Suginami Ward of a lower court ruling ordering the ward to compensate three members of Aum Shinrikyo for rejecting their applications for residency registration.
COMMENTARY / World
May 16, 2002

Travel advisories for the next generation

WASHINGTON -- How does America's global role affect the lives of individuals? Currently, momentous international policy decisions are being taken; they encompass war, peace, freedom and the projection of power. It is important to step back and develop a vision of the long-term outcome of those policies...
ENVIRONMENT
May 16, 2002

Home sweet Nagoya Port home

It would probably come as a surprise to most Nagoya residents to learn that a sizable population of finless porpoises resides in the dark, extremely polluted waters of Nagoya Port -- even in its busy heart near Kinjofuto, the Meijo Bridge, the shipbuilding dock and among the enormous ships that carry...
SOCCER / World cup
May 15, 2002

Hayatou, Chung state case for FIFA leadership reforms

The "Blatter Out" campaign breezed through Tokyo on Monday as Issa Hayatou, FIFA boss Sepp Blatter's rival for the presidency, and his South Korean ally, Dr. Chung Mong Joon, held a press conference to state their case for a new broom in FIFA.
SOCCER / World cup
May 15, 2002

Troussier blasted

Japan coach Philippe Troussier was blasted by local press Tuesday after announcing he will miss the unveiling of the 23-strong World Cup squad on Friday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 15, 2002

Japan's modern master of 100,000 brush-strokes

If, as the Chinese adage goes, a journey of 1,000 miles begins with a single step, then for Japanese artist Morio Matsui, a masterpiece of 100,000 brush strokes begins with the first sweep of the bristles on canvas.
BUSINESS
May 15, 2002

Workers' confidence up for sixth month

Economic confidence among employees with jobs close to the consumer improved in April for the sixth month in a row, but pessimists still outnumber optimists, according to a government survey released Tuesday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
May 15, 2002

Cornershop: 'Handcream for a Generation'

Repetition is both the substance and the curse of pop music. It doesn't take much for even the most delicious hook to become a nagging bore once it's had a chance to pass a certain saturation point.
JAPAN
May 15, 2002

Respirator errors left seven dead last year

Seven people died and two were left comatose in 11 accidents involving respirators at 10 medical institutions nationwide in fiscal 2001, according to a health ministry report released Tuesday.
EDITORIALS
May 14, 2002

Suffer the children

The United Nations has decided that the world's 2 billion youngest citizens need healthier, more peaceful lives. To do that, member states last week cobbled together an action plan that sets ambitious goals -- yet failed to create a consensus on how to get there. It will take considerably more than lofty...
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 14, 2002

Dream Jumbo lottery tickets go on sale

Tickets for the Dream Jumbo lottery went on sale nationwide Monday.
JAPAN
May 14, 2002

Fourth cow infected with BSE

A Hokkaido cow was confirmed Monday to be infected with mad cow disease, the fourth case in Japan since September, health ministry officials said.
EDITORIALS
May 13, 2002

Conditions for SDF mobilization

National defense bills now before the Diet are drawing a mixed reaction from the public. In a Kyodo News poll earlier this month, nearly 50 percent said Japan needs emergency legislation to deal with military attacks from abroad, but when asked whether the package should be passed in the current Diet...
SOCCER / World cup
May 13, 2002

A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity

"Passion" is the story of Japan soccer team coach Philippe Troussier, his struggle to make it as a player and manager and his travels around France, Africa and Japan. In the book, Troussier also details his philosophy and thinking as he prepares for the World Cup in June. In this, the ninth of 10 exclusive...
COMMENTARY
May 13, 2002

Wider economic gaps ahead

The first decade of the 21st century is likely to be no less turbulent than the last decade of the 20th century. It is next to impossible to predict how the world will change in this coming decade, but one thing is certain: The world in 2010 will defy predictions based on today's knowledge.
COMMENTARY / World
May 13, 2002

Prime minister or nationalist puppet?

CAMBRIDGE, England -- The ink was barely dry on my April 21 Japan Times article "Koizumi trade pitch misses," which stated Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi was thinking of going to pray at Yasukuni Shrine, when the news came that he had gone. We were told that he had felt the need "to mourn those who...

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji