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Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / JET STREAM
May 10, 2002

Father and sons make JET a family affair

Last summer, Chris Buckland, 50, bicycled 2,100 km on a journey from Tokyo to Himeji, in Hyogo Prefecture. For Buckland, a collector of ukiyo-e prints, it was the fulfillment of a dream to travel the old Tokaido route from Tokyo to Kyoto, immortalized in the classic ukiyo-e illustrations of the Edo Period...
EDITORIALS
May 9, 2002

Ms. Suu Kyi is free, again

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi has been released from almost two years of house arrest in Myanmar. The military junta that rules the country has made an important concession to international opinion by deciding to release the democracy activist, but the government's commitment to genuine...
BASEBALL / MLB
May 9, 2002

Half-Japanese Dodger making name in L.A.

CHICAGO -- Want to stump your know-it-all boss or neighbor with a good baseball question?
EDITORIALS
May 8, 2002

A return to sanity in France

The re-election of French President Jacques Chirac on Sunday was no surprise; the only question was what margin of victory he would secure over extreme rightwing challenger Mr. Jean-Marie Le Pen. Mr. Chirac's 80 percent of the vote was, therefore, reassuring to all outside Le Pen's National Front as...
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 8, 2002

Info brokers have got your number, among other things

In the spring of 1999, Haruo Tanaka (not his real name) became interested in buying a condominium and visited several showrooms in Tokyo. Each time, he was asked to fill out a questionnaire. He provided his name, age, address and phone number as well as his annual income.
JAPAN
May 5, 2002

Numerous new bills snarl up Diet debate

The Diet appears to have become bogged down under the weight of a number of key legislative items that Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi hopes to see enacted during the current 150-day session that ends June 19.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
May 5, 2002

Fighting society's evils: illegal bicycle parking

As social problems go, illegally parked bicycles probably rank relatively low, somewhere between sex service advertisements in phone booths and public urination. But the problem has become so intractable in certain areas that local administrations have resorted to ever more desperate moves in response...
JAPAN / KANSAI BEAT
May 3, 2002

Pilot project to use Internet to link doctors, foreign patients, translators

KOBE -- For foreigners who cannot communicate in Japanese, having an interpreter is important when seeing a doctor.
JAPAN
May 3, 2002

New version of M-5 rocket in works

Japan plans to develop a new model of its M-5 solid-fuel rocket by 2007, officials of the Institute of Space and Aeronautical Science said Thursday.
JAPAN
May 2, 2002

Bid-rigging scandal entangles engineering firm

As the investigation continues into the suspected bid-rigging case involving the top aide to Lower House member Muneo Suzuki, prosecutors now believe that the initiative for the scheme was taken by a Tokyo-based engineering firm.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 1, 2002

Haiku seascapes make an impression

In an art world increasingly turning to digital media, traditional techniques nonetheless retain a small and dedicated following. Printmaker Peter Miller, who in 1991 founded the Kamakura Print Collection workshop, is one such traditionalist. "Ink on paper has a certain take on the world," he explains....
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Apr 28, 2002

A suck-up, a thumbs up

Ever since SMAP-man Goro Inagaki returned from self-imposed exile, during which he supposedly reflected on his heinous parking infraction, he seems to be everywhere, as if he were making up for lost time. Perhaps as a spoof on his capacity to demonstrate self-effacement, he's currently starring in his...
LIFE / Language / KANJI CLINIC
Apr 26, 2002

Forget the textbooks and discover the pleasure of real books

At the start of each new school year, I would confidently advise my university students: "Becoming a fluent reader in English is like learning to play the piano -- it requires constant practice.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Apr 25, 2002

Japan: A land gone to the dogs?

Alex Kerr loves Japan as much as anyone, but he knows much more about it than most. With the publication April 25 of "Inu to Oni" (Kodansha) -- a translation of his book "Dogs and Demons" (Hill and Wang, 2001) -- Japanese, too, will be able to share his insight. As it says on the cover of "Dogs and Demons,"...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Apr 24, 2002

Mixed messages follow love at first sight

Love is complex enough at the best of times, but when it crosses cultural borders, things can get really confusing. Opening April 24 at the Shimokitazawa Geki Shogekijo is "John-kun and Yoko-chan," a play co-written by American Michael Naishtut and Japanese Yoko Narahashi that takes a seriocomic look...
JAPAN
Apr 24, 2002

Consultant charged with tax evasion

Mitsuro Ozaki, a Tokyo consulting firm executive already indicted for bribery, was charged Tuesday with allegedly evading more than 32 million yen in corporate taxes.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / NATURE TRAVEL
Apr 23, 2002

Thrills (but no spills) canoeing the Zambezi

"This isn't a car document," the customs official says, his forehead creased in suspicion.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Apr 21, 2002

A fresh spin on Okinawan tradition

Inside Hot Wax, a hip music shop in Shibuya's Udagawa-cho, the wet, modern sounds of Ryukyu Underground's "Tinsagu nu Hana Dub" wash over racks of used records, compact discs and a half-dozen music lovers. One of the browsers, a young woman, describes the music as "like summer with the windows open."...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Apr 21, 2002

Peak attraction

When the cherry trees in the highlands of Nagano Prefecture start blooming, Hajimu Miyamoto of the Azumi Village tourist association begins to feel excited -- and a little nervous.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Apr 21, 2002

Veteran lensman sets his sights high

After 30 years, Takashi Iwahashi hasn't lost any enthusiasm for his work. Even at age 57, he spends an average of 120 days a year on the world's mountain peaks and ridges, capturing their beauty on film.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / HOGAKU TODAY
Apr 21, 2002

The rewards of spring

Next month offers a wide selection of concerts, ranging from contemporary hogaku, Okinawan folk and protest songs to the finest of the classics. All are performed by veteran musicians. The following is a sample of what's on.
JAPAN
Apr 20, 2002

Upper House president quits

The president of the House of Councilors tendered his resignation Friday to take responsibility for an alleged payoff scandal in which his policy secretary reportedly received 64 million yen in connection with a public works project.
MULTIMEDIA / SPORTS SCOPE EXTRA
Apr 20, 2002

Troussier raising more questions than answers

The only answer anyone in the press room could come up with was: "Well, he's French, isn't he."
LIFE / Digital
Apr 18, 2002

Navigating the broadband connection

Last week we discussed the different broadband services available in Japan and how to subscribe to each. This week we'll take a look at the steps necessary to configure your system to connect to the Internet using your new broadband service, and also consider some of the options available to users with...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / NEW ART SEEN
Apr 17, 2002

Into the woods today: mourning nature's demise

Japanese cultural life has long revolved around the changing of the seasons, in particular, and nature, in general. Or has it? The differences between Japanese sensibilities toward nature and those generally held by Westerners have been much discussed. Yet it is interesting to note that, when used to...
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 17, 2002

Working for a safer world

BEIJING -- "Weapons of mass destruction," or WMD, refer to biological, chemical and nuclear weapons. During a recent three-day conference in Beijing, organized jointly by the United Nations Department of Disarmament Affairs and the Chinese government, it became clear that we have to choose from a menu...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Apr 17, 2002

All we know of heaven and need of hell

There may indeed be "more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of" in human philosophy, as Hamlet told faithful Horatio, but when it comes to hell, the human imagination needs little prompting. From Dante Alighieri's "Divine Comedy" to the Bible itself, hell and its tempting concomitant, sin, have...

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?