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JAPAN
Aug 30, 2002

Tokai-area earthquake could claim 8,100 lives, cost 345 billion yen a day

A long-feared massive earthquake hitting the Tokai region in central Japan could result in the deaths of 8,100 people, destruction of 230,000 houses and buildings and daily economic losses of 345.1 billion yen, a government council said Thursday.
JAPAN
Aug 30, 2002

Exchange engineers slather praise on Japan

Asian engineers from outside Japan participating in an exchange program aimed at promoting urban development and international relations said at a presentation at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building Wednesday that they had generally favorable impressions of Japanese people.
BUSINESS
Aug 29, 2002

Land ministry budget up 16%

The Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry said Wednesday it has requested a budget appropriation of 8.309 trillion yen for fiscal 2003, up 16 percent from its initial budget for the current fiscal year.
COMMENTARY
Aug 28, 2002

George W. Bush's two-faced foreign policy

NEW DELHI -- Which country poses a serious threat because of its established links with international terrorism, proven program to develop weapons of mass destruction and close ties with other dictatorships in WMD-related matters? To a resident of New Delhi, the answer may be obvious: Pakistan, bristling...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 25, 2002

Skymark launches international flights

Skymark Airlines launched its international passenger service early Saturday with a chartered flight from Tokyo's Haneda Airport to Seoul, making it the first Japanese discount carrier to fly overseas.
JAPAN
Aug 23, 2002

Ministry seeks 1.04 trillion yen for child-rearing aid

The health ministry is asking for 1.04 trillion yen in the fiscal 2003 national budget to support child-rearing in a bid to curb the declining birth rate, ministry officials said Thursday.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Aug 22, 2002

Seeking medical redress and keeping control of Spam

What a day we live in! I am writing this week's column from Los Angeles, where The Japan Helpline began in 1975 and where we have our U.S. offices. As usual, we had an emergency here!
JAPAN
Aug 20, 2002

Japan, North Korea claim progress at two-day talks

PYONGYANG -- The North Korean Red Cross confirmed Monday the whereabouts of six Japanese among the 49 Tokyo has demanded Pyongyang search for, but the six are not among the 11 Tokyo says were abducted.
JAPAN
Aug 18, 2002

Typhoon may brush Tokyo Monday

Powerful Typhoon Phanfone, approaching Tokyo from the south Saturday, may come close to the capital on Monday afternoon, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Aug 18, 2002

Return to Vietnam

UP COUNTRY, by Nelson Demille. Warner Books: New York, 2002, 706 pp., $26.95 (cloth) In May 1968, Nelson Demille, while serving as a "grunt" in a U.S. Army combat unit in the now-defunct Republic of Vietnam, found a letter on the body of a slain North Vietnamese soldier. Three decades later, Demille...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Aug 15, 2002

Isolation spells survival in the Sea of Okhotsk

In penguinlike tuxedoed masses, the Tyuleni Island murres were standing in murmuring hordes, crowding the rock ledges of their remote breeding colony off the east coast of Sakhalin in the Sea of Okhotsk.
ENVIRONMENT
Aug 15, 2002

Prevent blood clots

Exercise your feet and legs in your seat, avoid alcohol and drink plenty of water while flying.
JAPAN
Aug 14, 2002

Daughter of deceased hijacker hopes to visit grandma's grave

The daughter of a deceased Red Army Faction hijacking fugitive has expressed her intention to visit her grandmother's grave on her first visit to Japan, possibly next month.
BUSINESS
Aug 13, 2002

Current account surplus rocketed 51.9% in first half

The nation's current account surplus soared 51.9 percent in the first half of 2002 from a year earlier to 7.928 trillion yen, the second-largest figure for a six-month period, according to a preliminary report released Monday by the Finance Ministry.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / VINELAND
Aug 11, 2002

Really making a meal of it in Austria

Second of two parts One of the most heady delights for any wine lover is a visit to a vineyard. Hike or bicycle through the countryside, then sip wine and unpack a picnic near lush, green rows of vines. In the warm afternoon, tromp down into the winery's cool, dark cellar that smells of damp earth and...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Aug 11, 2002

Days of the dead: O-bon and the ghosts of Japan

It's that time of year again. The whole of Japan seems to be on the move as people head to their hometowns for the mid-August O-bon festival. And it's not just the living who make travel plans this month. O-bon is the Buddhist holiday when the spirits of the dead are believed to visit the homes of their...
COMMENTARY
Aug 8, 2002

Kim's last chance to shine?

MANILA -- Politically, South Korean President Kim Dae Jung's time is running out, and the alleged corruptive practices of his sons have accelerated the erosion of his authority tremendously. The recent thaw in inter-Korean relations may well be Kim's last chance to improve his tarnished image.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Aug 8, 2002

UNEP envoy strikes the right eco-chord

Tokiko Kato has been popular in Japan for decades as a singer and songwriter who is passionate about people and the planet. Two years ago, when the Environment Ministry asked her to act as a Special Envoy to the United Nations Environment Program it was a natural fit. Since then she has established herself...
JAPAN
Aug 6, 2002

Yokohama neighborhood seeks to put lid on condos

Is it possible for people to agree on what beauty is? As far as landscapes are concerned, the answer appears to be no.
COMMENTARY
Aug 3, 2002

Flaws mar proposed reforms

LONDON -- The Japanese Foreign Ministry has been much criticized over the last year. Reforms have been made and more changes are likely. Some of the criticism has been justified, but much is misplaced and some of the proposals for changes are mistaken.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Aug 3, 2002

Keeping up with family weddings around world

Betty Glover from Perth, Australia, cannot walk too easily these days. This does not stop her from traveling however. Assisted by daughter Mo (Maureen) and son-in-law Deg (Derek), she is just coming to the end of a two-month trip to the U.K. and -- a bit of a surprise this one! -- Japan.
LIFE / Lifestyle / MATTER OF COURSE
Aug 2, 2002

School trips help cut the apron strings

My son is leaving home. I've always known, of course, that the day would come when he'd strike out on his own. But I never imagined it would happen when he was only 11 years old. Or that he'd make his big break to a mountain in Japan.
COMMUNITY
Jul 30, 2002

Learning goes both ways in JET program

I first came to Japan in 1991 as an English instructor with the Japan Exchange and Teaching Program and ended up staying twice as long as I originally planned. Here are some recollections from that period.
LIFE / Food & Drink / VINELAND
Jul 28, 2002

A taste of the renaissance

Wine lovers in Tokyo are no longer far removed from the international wine scene. We have access to great wine shops and restaurants with well-chosen wines in every price category. And as we've investigated in the last few columns, bottles of wine now turn up even in formerly unthinkable locations, such...

Longform

Wealthier women in the prewar era had been the targets of various media-related health campaigns that mistakenly encouraged them to avoid everything from riding bicycles to reading novels when their monthly cycles came around.
Menstruation in Japan: Breaking the silence, slowly