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Events
May 15, 2001

Itami's no-smoking goal draws fire

ITAMI, Hyogo Pref. -- The Itami Municipal Government's decision to target total elimination of adult smoking in its 10-year health plan has caused an uproar among tobacco lobbyists.
BUSINESS
May 14, 2001

Koizumi's chance to change privileged corporate entities

Now that Mr. Junichiro Koizumi has been elected Prime Minister on his campaign to "Change Japan," one issue that should not be overlooked is how Japan approaches its government-run special corporate entities, or "SPEs."
BUSINESS
May 14, 2001

NTT launches Internet certification exam

About 25,000 people took a computer test Sunday conducted by NTT Communications Corp. to receive a certificate of qualification in information technology.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
May 13, 2001

Rediscovering nature's healing powers

Records of their use can be found in the ruins of Mesopotamia, dating back to 5,000 B.C.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
May 13, 2001

Everybody can't get stoned

Kenji Ogasawara returned from a visit to Hawaii seven years ago on a natural high. Partially paralyzed by multiple sclerosis in mid-1994, he left for Honolulu later that year in a wheelchair. On his return to Narita two weeks later, he stepped off the plane on his own two feet.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
May 13, 2001

The garden of good and herbal

Herbs have been used in Japan for hundreds of years, for both culinary and medicinal purposes, and a fun way to learn more about the rich heritage of Japanese folk remedies is to visit a herb garden.
COMMENTARY / World
May 13, 2001

Japan-Aussie relationship losing its spark

SYDNEY -- They're like an old married couple, comfortable with each other's idiosyncrasies but hardly innovative in their relationship. Yes, we're talking about Japan and Australia.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
May 13, 2001

A passion for Japan

SIEBOLD AND JAPAN: His Life and Work, by Arlette Kouwenhouven, with Matthi Forrer. Leiden: Hotei Publishing, 2000, 112 pp., with 87 plates, 3,200 yen. Shortly after arriving in Japan in 1823, Philipp Franz von Siebold wrote to a relative back in Holland, "I do not intend to leave Japan until I have...
CULTURE / Books
May 13, 2001

Portrait of California's nisei generation brings out diversity

GROWING UP NISEI: Race, Generation, and Culture among Japanese Americans of California, 1924-49, by David K. Yoo. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2000, 180 pp., no price. The experiences of second-generation Japanese Americans -- the Great Depression, world war, postwar prosperity and Cold War...
JAPAN
May 13, 2001

Suspects identify source of drugs

A group of Taiwanese arrested in April for allegedly smuggling stimulant drugs into Japan have maintained that the drugs originated in North Korea and mainland China, police sources said Saturday.
JAPAN
May 13, 2001

Maglev link between Osaka, Tokyo starts to move forward

A plan to operate magnetically levitated -- or maglev -- trains between Tokyo and Osaka in one hour at speeds of up to 500 kph is moving ahead, with the government starting a feasibility study.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
May 13, 2001

Death and the maidens

TBS's "Sekai Fushigi Hakken," currently the longest-running quiz show on commercial TV, was also one of the first series to combine education and entertainment in a way that didn't compromise either. Whereas the previous record-holder, "Naruhodo the World," which went off the air several years ago, presented...
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
May 13, 2001

Sit back, relax and let life pass you by

Summer's on its way, and none of us need any encouraging to make the most of it. There's no better way to celebrate the onset of the hot weather than with a leisurely lunch in the open air. Nothing too heavy, nothing too complicated -- this is the season to start lightening up the diet, anyway. Here...
JAPAN
May 12, 2001

LDP ad pitches 'oddball' Koizumi

The Liberal Democratic Party has chosen four promotional TV commercials to be aired beginning May 20, including one featuring Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi titled "An Oddball in Nagata-cho," party officials said.
EDITORIALS
May 12, 2001

Now it's time for specifics

During the past three days of Diet debates, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi led the charge for structural reform, taking the steam out of opposition attacks. The political dynamics in the Diet seemed to have changed suddenly, with the opposition sometimes having to go on the defensive against the enormously...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
May 12, 2001

Hiromi Akatsuka

Tomorrow at 2 p.m. in the Ishibashi Memorial Hall, Ueno, Tokyo International Singers with the L'Esperance Singers will present a concert of French music. The two groups will perform Faure's "Requiem" and Gounod's "St. Cecilia Mass." They will spotlight three soloists, an organist and an electone player....
COMMENTARY
May 11, 2001

Visit to Yasukuni a bad idea

What appears to be a revolutionary change occurred in Japanese politics two weeks ago when Junichiro Koizumi became prime minister following his stunning victory in the LDP presidential election. Koizumi's victory was unexpected since Japanese prime ministers had traditionally been picked by LDP kingmakers...
EDITORIALS
May 11, 2001

The ugliness in Ukraine

Ukraine is descending deeper into political turmoil. The country has been battered by scandals that are alleged to reach as far as President Leonid Kuchma. The country's most popular politician, Prime Minister Viktor Yushchenko, was booted from office last month when he lost a no-confidence vote in Parliament....
JAPAN / History
May 11, 2001

Woman drafter of Constitution calls for action

A woman who was among the group of Americans who drafted Japan's Constitution after World War II has said that she wanted to do everything possible to guarantee the rights of women in the supreme law.
JAPAN
May 11, 2001

Japan Tobacco fined for tax evasion

Japan Tobacco Inc. has been fined 350 million yen in penalty taxes for failing to declare income totaling 900 million yen over fiscal 1997 and fiscal 1998, industry sources said Thursday.
JAPAN
May 11, 2001

Man arrested over Taito slaying

Tokyo Metropolitan Police arrested a 29-year-old man Thursday on suspicion of fatally stabbing a 19-year-old girl last week in Tokyo's Taito Ward.
JAPAN
May 10, 2001

Ex-wife strongly backs Koizumi

Kayoko Miyamoto, former wife of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, said in a magazine interview published this week she wants to be a cheerleader for her ex-husband, explaining, "I have nothing to lose."
JAPAN
May 10, 2001

Female on throne fine: Koizumi

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said Wednesday he would support a woman's ascension to Japan's Imperial Throne, throwing his weight behind a proposal within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party to revise the current Imperial House Law.
JAPAN
May 10, 2001

Komura wants deportation explained

Former Justice Minister Masahiko Komura criticized the government Wednesday over Friday's deportation of a man believed to be the eldest son of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il.
JAPAN
May 10, 2001

Japan-British Society wants help in recovering records of its activities

For its 100-year anniversary in 2008, the Japan-British Society has started compiling a history of the organization and is asking for the public's help.

Longform

Professional cleaner Hirofumi Sakurai takes a moment to appreciate some photographs in a Gotanda apartment whose occupant died alone.
The last cleanup: Life and death in a lonely Japan