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COMMENTARY / World
Aug 6, 2002

A U.N. lifeline to ordinary Palestinians

NEW YORK -- Consensus has emerged in the Middle East, among people of otherwise widely divergent views, on one point: Something must be done for ordinary families in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. They face a crisis that threatens everyone in the region.
MORE SPORTS
Aug 3, 2002

Theismann: 49ers one of top 3 teams in NFL

OSAKA -- "I think the 49ers are one of the top three teams in the National Football League," former Redskins quarterback and ESPN commentator Joe Theismann -- who has visited both team training camps this summer -- said Friday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / THE SECOND ROOM
Aug 3, 2002

Solstice weekend under the fog; Camping with the aliens

I knew it was going to be an interesting weekend the moment my press armband arrived in the mail marked No. 13, though I'm not superstitious enough to turn my back on an event like the Solstice Music Festival.
LIFE / Language
Aug 2, 2002

Marrying your sweetheart and moving in with his mom

On the day I married my husband, I married his family, too. I moved next door to my in-laws on the family plot in Tokyo. Now, I live there with my husband and daughter; my parents-in-law; my husband's uncle, aunt and their three daughters; two dogs; a cat; and a goldfish named Mikey.
BUSINESS / ON THE FRONT LINE
Aug 1, 2002

Dollar selloff takes breather

The dollar, on the sell side for 3 1/2 months, sank to the 115 yen level a fortnight ago and hit parity with the euro.
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Aug 1, 2002

Isles trampled in white elephant stampede

Japan's islands have long been a source of tearful TV documentaries that focus on aging populations and families abandoned by children who have left for the cities.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 1, 2002

U.N. official seeks debt forgiveness, more aid for poorest African nations

While Japan is striving to reduce its official development assistance budget, it should channel more aid resources toward least developed countries in Africa, according to a high-ranking U.N. official.
EDITORIALS
Jul 30, 2002

Negotiations and desperation

North Korea has expressed regret for last month's naval clash with South Korea that left five sailors dead. While that is the responsible thing to do, questions swirl around Pyongyang's motivation for this surprising development. The most likely explanation is that North Korea's economic situation is...
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 30, 2002

Of chicken legs and trash

CAMBRIDGE, England -- There has been much talk in China recently about hegemony. Some of it has been about denying that China has hegemonic interests in East Asia. But most of it has related to the United States. One wonders if everyone in China understands what is being complained about. I have this...
JAPAN
Jul 30, 2002

680,000 beetles imported in 2001, trade monitor says

At least 680,000 beetles were imported into Japan last year, according to a study recently released by Traffic East Asia-Japan, a Tokyo-based group monitoring trade in wildlife.
COMMUNITY
Jul 30, 2002

JET membership up in numbers, diversity

For the past 15 years, the Japan Exchange and Teaching Program has greatly helped promote Japan's internationalization.
COMMENTARY
Jul 29, 2002

Chance to engage Pyongyang

In the first meeting of the ASEAN Regional Forum since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, foreign ministers and officials will gather in the Brunei capital of Bandar Seri Begawan on Wednesday to discuss tense situations on the Korean Peninsula and between India and Pakistan, plus other regional issues....
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Jul 28, 2002

Taking a shortcut to enlightenment

THE COMPLETE IDIOT'S GUIDE TO UNDERSTANDING BUDDHISM, by Gary Gach. Alpha Books, 2002, 408 pp., $18.95 (paper) Half a billion people in the world consider themselves Buddhists, and millions of Westerners have embraced the religion and its tenets. For the uninitiated, and even for some initiates, Buddhism...
COMMUNITY
Jul 27, 2002

Creating a museum as a sacred, powerful place

Asked what it is like to be a goddess, Hiroko Koyama laughs. Of course she's not really a goddess, she says, "but if some of our congregation believe me and my mother to be so blessed, well, there's not much we can do about it."
JAPAN
Jul 26, 2002

PET bottle collection rises to 40.1%

Collection of used polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles in fiscal 2001 rose to 40.1 percent of the total produced during the year, the Environment Ministry said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Jul 26, 2002

Stronger national identity sought

OYAMA, Shizuoka Pref. -- Education is the key to establishing a stronger national identity amid globalization, business leaders said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Jul 25, 2002

Firms team up to market new electronic map system

Electric Power Development Co. and two other firms plan to market a new type of geographic information system in which day-to-day changes in cityscapes and streets can be recorded, the company said Wednesday.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Jul 25, 2002

Drive to halt pork 'n' ride tide

The rivers of Nagano Prefecture still flowing as nature intended may yet survive. If they do, it will be largely due to former (and perhaps soon to be re-elected) Gov. Yasuo Tanaka, whose "no more dams" policy directly challenges pork-barrel politicians who for decades appear to have put construction-industry...
BUSINESS / ON THE FRONT LINE
Jul 24, 2002

U.S. export revival goal of dollar fall?

U.S. manufacturers have for quite some time been demanding that the strong dollar be corrected, and now the greenback has begun gradually depreciating against other currencies.
JAPAN
Jul 23, 2002

Panel mulls closed-door patent hearings

A government panel on judicial reform will consider a proposed revision to the Code of Civil Procedure that would allow oral arguments on patents and other intellectual property rights to be held behind closed doors in court, panel sources said Monday.
BUSINESS
Jul 22, 2002

Education key to boosting Japan's competitiveness

The Switzerland-based Institute for Management and Development releases an annual report on the international competitiveness of major countries.
COMMENTARY / JAPAN IN THE GLOBAL ERA
Jul 22, 2002

'Domesticists' rule amid idea drought

LAUSANNE, Switzerland -- I do not live in Japan, although I first set foot (a rather small foot at 4 years old) on Japanese soil in 1949 and knew the country throughout the 1960s, '70s, '80s and '90s, when I either lived there temporarily or commuted frequently. My visits this century have been far fewer...
JAPAN
Jul 21, 2002

NPO pushes law on green education

Flanked by Diet members and educators, members of an environmental nonprofit group unveiled the outline of a law to systematically promote environmental education during a symposium in Tokyo on Saturday.
JAPAN
Jul 21, 2002

Economic support to China necessary, Kawaguchi says

OSAKA -- Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi said Saturday she believes it is necessary for Japan to extend economic assistance to China, despite international concerns about the country's increasing military budget.
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
Jul 21, 2002

The Cro pipes off on juiced players, bad-karma Bud

Just wind him up and watch him go! Warren Cromartie, who thrilled Yomiuri Giants fans from 1984-1990 not only with his stellar play but also with his banzai-inducing antics in the outfield, was back in Japan recently over the All-Star break.
JAPAN
Jul 19, 2002

Carbon dioxide emissions hit record high

Japan's carbon dioxide emissions hit a record 1.24 billion tons in fiscal 2000, up 4.3 million tons from a year earlier, the Environment Ministry said Thursday.
LIFE / Lifestyle / MATTER OF COURSE
Jul 19, 2002

Painting in the park is a lesson in creativity

One morning in June, my kids left for school without their usual leather backpacks. Instead, they each carried a knapsack with a water bottle, a ground cloth and a handful of my sentakubasami. Clothespins? Yup. Standard equipment for the Zenko Shasei Taikai (All-School Sketch Festival).

Longform

Totopa in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward was picked by consultants TTNE as the best sauna of the year.
Japan’s sauna movement: Relax, refresh, repeat