Search - people

 
 
SUMO
Dec 27, 2001

'Black Sea' makes waves, battles culture

SOKA, Saitama Pref. -- When Tsaguria Merab Levan of Georgia was selected among 16 aspirants hoping to make his mark on sumo's raised ring in May, little did he know that his name would go down in the age-old sport's history books just several months later.
JAPAN
Dec 27, 2001

Waddle tells Japanese magazine navy made him a scapegoat

The former skipper of the Greeneville, the U.S. Navy submarine that struck and sank the Ehime Maru off Hawaii in February, believes he was made a scapegoat over the incident, according to a translated first-person account published in a Japanese weekly magazine.
ENVIRONMENT / GARDENS FOR ALL
Dec 27, 2001

Berries to bring cheer at the turn of the year

The festive season is in full swing, and though it's cold outside in the parks and gardens there are still plants that bring joy to our hearts -- few more so than the nanten (Nandinia domestica) with their profusion of attractive bright-red berries at this time of year.
BUSINESS
Dec 27, 2001

Hitachi, NRI tie on in-house portals

Hitachi Ltd. and the Nomura Research Institute said Wednesday that they have tied up in the in-house portal site service.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 27, 2001

Building-materials publishers under fire

The nation's public works projects -- notorious for their lack of transparency -- have sucked up tens of trillions of yen in taxpayers' money for decades, pushing government coffers to the brink of crisis.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 27, 2001

Death sentence sought for senior Aum figure

Prosecutors on Wednesday demanded the death sentence for a former senior member of Aum Shinrikyo over his involvement in a series of murders committed by the doomsday cult, including the 1995 sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway system.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Dec 27, 2001

Resolve to raise a toast to thinking globally

With only days to go before 2002, New Year's resolutions are in order -- in theory, anyway. Whatever we promise, one thing is certain: Resolutions, viewed from this side of Jan. 1, are always made with the best of intentions.
CULTURE / Film
Dec 26, 2001

When men were men -- and spies were spies

Spy Game Rating: * * * 1/2 Director: Tony Scott Running time: 128 minutes Language: English Now showing
COMMENTARY
Dec 26, 2001

Building on the euro's success

PARIS -- Created in 1360 to help pay the ransom for King John II the Good following his capture by the Black Prince's English forces at the battle of Poitiers, the French franc is living its final days. From Jan. 1, it, along with the currencies of most other Western European nations, will be replaced...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 26, 2001

Vice farm minister to step down

Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Tsutomu Takebe said Tuesday two of his top bureaucrats will step down in a personnel reshuffle apparently linked to the outbreak of mad cow disease.
JAPAN
Dec 26, 2001

More environmental staff on way for 2002

The Environment Ministry will get 58 extra staff for fiscal 2002, but it will still be understaffed, Environment Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi told a news conference on Tuesday.
MORE SPORTS
Dec 26, 2001

Nepal opens 103 more peaks

Nepal said on Monday that in March it will open 103 more mountain peaks in the Himalayas for international climbing.
CULTURE / Art
Dec 26, 2001

Still F.A.B. after all these years

Almost four decades after taking off on the TV screen, "Thunderbirds are go" once more.
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.
BUSINESS
Dec 25, 2001

End to full deposit guarantee sparks fear of regional banks

Dr. Masao Sekine can't stop the bankers from coming. They come with gifts, friendly conversation and advice. But what he really wants is peace of mind.
COMMENTARY
Dec 24, 2001

Challenges for Korean civic education

SEOUL -- Consensus is growing in the family of democratic nations that democratic civic education constitutes a pillar of democracy. I use the term "democratic civic education" because we know there exist less benevolent intentions behind "political education" than the promotion of democratic principles...
JAPAN
Dec 24, 2001

Mobile libraries closing as funds, readers fade

Thirty-nine local governments in Japan stopped providing "mobile library" services in the three-year period up to fiscal 2000, according to a study released by the Japan Library Association.
JAPAN
Dec 24, 2001

Sun shines on USJ theme park as rest of city basks in gloom

OSAKA -- At first glance, major Osaka news stories over the past year would give even Santa Claus a bout of depression.
JAPAN
Dec 24, 2001

Koizumi justifies shots fired at mystery ship

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said Sunday the Japan Coast Guard fired on an unidentified ship believed to be from North Korea in "legitimate self-defense."
JAPAN
Dec 23, 2001

New Year travel by train likely to peak Dec. 29-30

The peak period for outbound passengers on Japan Railway trains over the New Year period will fall on Dec. 29-30, while Tokyo-bound trains will peak Jan. 3, according to bookings made for Dec. 28 through Jan. 6, according to the JR group.
JAPAN
Dec 23, 2001

Government admits rejecting report that warned of BSE

Japan rejected a report by the European Union that warned of a high risk of mad cow disease in Japan, before the discovery of the country's first case, officials of the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry has acknowledged.
JAPAN
Dec 23, 2001

Theater accident leaves one dead, four hurt

One man died and four others were injured at a theater in Tokyo's Kita Ward on Friday afternoon when they were crushed between the stage and a hydraulic platform they were inspecting, according to police.
JAPAN / Media / CHANNEL SURF
Dec 23, 2001

Remembering the year that was

It's the penultimate week of the year, which means regular variety shows get to save a bit of money by looking back at the year's highlights. "Sanma's Karakuri TV" (tonight at 7, TBS), a mix-and-match assembly of out-of-studio comedy skits hosted in-studio by Osaka funnyman Sanma Akashiya, presents an...
LIFE / Food & Drink / THE WAY OF WASHOKU
Dec 23, 2001

Kazu no ko — an eggcellent winter delicacy

Salted herring roe, kazu no ko, has been a staple of northern climate native fishing populations for as long as man has been casting a net into the ocean. Tribal groups in Alaska, aboriginal Scandinavians and the indigenous groups of Northern Japan have long considered this preserved food a delicacy,...
LIFE / Food & Drink / NIHONSHU
Dec 23, 2001

An o-tososan a year keeps the doc away

It's a rare occasion or ceremony that does not include some sake in Japan, and that harbinger of renewal, New Year's Day, is no exception. Although sake figures prominently in o-shogatsu celebrations from morning to night, opening the year with a prayer for health in the form of drinking o-toso is perhaps...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Dec 23, 2001

Robbing the little guy of life's pleasures

Following the government's eleventh-hour decision to forgo a planned increase in the tax on happoshu foamy liquor the Asahi Shimbun ran an editorial cartoon showing a happy man sitting at the kotatsu and hoisting a can of the beerlike stuff in tribute to his TV, which showed Koizumi father and son toasting...
JAPAN
Dec 23, 2001

Coast guard sinks suspect ship in East China Sea

An unidentified ship spotted within Japan's exclusive economic zone in the East China Sea sank Saturday night after being shot at by Japan Coast Guard vessels that had been pursuing it, coast guard officials said.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Dec 23, 2001

Rethinking the threat that never was

NO MORE BASHING: Building a New Japan-United States Economic Relationship, by C. Fred Bergsten, Takatoshi Ito and Marcus Noland. Washington, D.C.: Institute for International Economics, October, 2001, 328 pp., $23.95 (paper). What a difference a decade makes. Ten years ago, the United States was widely...
EDITORIALS
Dec 23, 2001

Milking maids for all they're worth

Here's a well-timed debate. In the runup to Christmas, the traditional season of generosity and good will to all, the citizens of Hong Kong have been arguing the rights and wrongs of their government's pending proposal to cut the minimum wage of foreign (mostly Filipino) domestic workers for the second...
COMMUNITY
Dec 23, 2001

Pearls reign as queen of gems

Pearls, the "Queen of Gems," have perhaps the longest history of any of the precious stones. References to them first appeared in 5,000-year-old Hindu legends in which the god Krishna was said to have discovered them and given one to his daughter Pandaa on her wedding day. China's "Shu King," a history...

Longform

Atsuyoshi Koike, the president and CEO of Rapidus, says there is a “sense of urgency” when it comes to Japan’s efforts in manufacturing semiconductors. “We have to make sure we are successful,” he says.
Atsuyoshi Koike’s big game: Fourth down and 2 nanometers to go