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Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Mar 11, 2004

River shrew

* Japanese name: Nihon kawanezumi * Scientific name:Chimarrogale platycephala * Description: Shrews are small mammals and are thought to be similar to the first mammals that evolved. Fur is dark gray-brown with a white-gray underside; the hindquarters are fringed with silvery hairs. They have small...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / CERAMIC SCENE
Mar 10, 2004

Hold your breath and turn the wheel

Kyoto. The name conjures up images of courtly nobles and stoic Zen temples -- and yet so much more of Japan's cultural identity was born in that ancient city. In the world of ceramics, one of its glorious contributions has been Kyo-yaki, or Kyoto pottery.
JAPAN
Mar 10, 2004

Cabinet OKs highway privatization plan

The Cabinet endorsed contentious legislation Tuesday aimed at privatizing the nation's four expressway corporations.
JAPAN
Mar 9, 2004

Security boost at Koizumi residence

Security checks were tightened Monday on visitors to the Prime Minister's Official Residence amid rising concern over terrorist attacks both at home and abroad.
BUSINESS
Mar 9, 2004

Afghanistan seeks more financial aid

Visiting Afghan Finance Minister Ashraf Ghani asked Japan on Monday to offer further economic assistance during an international donors' conference in Berlin later this month.
EDITORIALS
Mar 8, 2004

No end to political scandals?

Once again, a lawmaker has had to resign from the Diet after admitting to having borrowed somebody's name to misappropriate the state-paid salary of a bogus secretary. This time, the scandal involves Mr. Kanju Sato of the Democratic Party of Japan, a former minister of home affairs and chairman of the...
JAPAN
Mar 8, 2004

Meguro mayor in apparent suicide

Katsuichi Yakushiji, the mayor of Meguro Ward, Tokyo, was found dead in his home Sunday morning after apparently hanging himself, police said.
Japan Times
Features
Mar 7, 2004

Cheers! Ganging up in pursuit of fine pints

On a Friday night in Tokyo, there's no place livelier than Shibuya. But on Friday, Feb. 20, four pubs there were far busier than usual thanks to a crowd of revelers on a pub crawl called "Beer Gang" -- the inaugural event of the Good Beer Club, a newly formed group already with more than 150 members...
JAPAN
Mar 6, 2004

Furor over postal reform minister rumbles on

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi went on the defensive Friday after posts minister Taro Aso voiced anger at being bypassed in a decision to appoint a postal privatization minister.
BUSINESS
Mar 6, 2004

Pension funds set to make a profit

Japan's public pension funds are expected to generate an investment profit of around 3 trillion yen in fiscal 2003, thanks to a global stock market recovery since the spring, the government said Friday.
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM MOSCOW
Mar 6, 2004

Sun sets on Russian democrac

MOSCOW -- Relapses are always regrettable, particularly when the gains lost had been won at such a high cost.
JAPAN
Mar 5, 2004

Boards of education face overhaul

Education minister Takeo Kawamura asked the Central Education Council on Thursday to overhaul the 55-year-old board of education system.
JAPAN
Mar 5, 2004

Mentally ill criminals to get rehab boost

People who commit serious crimes who are sent to mental health care facilities should receive treatment that aims to rehabilitate them to the point that they can be discharged within 18 months, according to a guideline draft released by the health ministry Thursday.
JAPAN
Mar 5, 2004

Illegal access of computers last year hit record level

Police in 2003 investigated a record 145 suspected violations of a law banning illegal access to computer networks, the National Police Agency said Thursday.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Mar 5, 2004

Shinpachi: A 'low town' izakaya with high standards

Of all the long-established nightlife neighborhoods in downtown Tokyo, Kanda is the one that has done the best job of retaining its no-nonsense shitamachi credentials. Of course a certain gentrification is inevitable -- indeed, the station could almost be called salubrious these days -- but wander into...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 4, 2004

Base foes dismayed by Kadena's likely longevity

Last of three parts
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 3, 2004

Once upon a time he made a good film

Once upon a time in Mexico Rating: * * (out of 5) Director: Robert Rodriguez Running time: 101 minutes Language: English Opens March 6 [See Japan Times movie listings] Robert Rodriguez is one of those directors who shot to fame in the early '90s, a fabled time when the words "independent...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 3, 2004

Tokyo venture plans to market humanoid robots

A venture business in Tokyo said Tuesday it will market at the end of 2004 a doll-size humanoid robot for roughly 500,000 yen as one of the first humanoid robots to be offered to general consumers.
BUSINESS
Mar 3, 2004

Koizumi eyes postal reform chief

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said Tuesday he will appoint a special minister this summer to oversee privatization of the postal services, hoping the appointment will help complete the reform by 2007.
JAPAN
Mar 2, 2004

Bird flu drives chicken from Kansai menus

OSAKA -- Chicken was off the menu in many parts of the Kansai region Monday following reports that meat from chickens infected with the bird flu virus had been sold in the area's restaurants and supermarkets.
COMMENTARY
Mar 2, 2004

Stomach to cut government

LONDON -- A British government review, to be published shortly, has apparently suggested that some 80,000 civil service jobs could be cut and up to £14.5 billion ($28 billion) could be saved by 2007 if recommendations such as "streamlining" back-office functions and raising productivity in education,...
EDITORIALS
Mar 1, 2004

China draws the line in Hong Kong

When Hong Kong reverted to China, Beijing pledged that there would be "one country, two systems." The capitalist redoubt would be part of "one China," but it would also keep its separate political and administrative order to maintain both stability and the vitality that transformed the city into a regional...
Events
Feb 29, 2004

KANSAI: Who & What

Kobe fair to showcase foreign groups' activities: Kobe International Fair 2004 will take place today at Duo Dome and Space Theater in the city's Chuo Ward.
Japan Times
Features
Feb 29, 2004

Caring for the canines whose job is to care

On Sept. 14, 2001, veterinarian H. Marie Suthers-McCabe arrived in New York City. Disbelief, horror and shock over what had occurred only a few days before was still so profound as to be virtually palpable, with hundreds still missing from the attacks on the World Trade Center towers. Suthers-McCabe's...
Japan Times
Features
Feb 29, 2004

Creature comforts fuel business boom

The growing popularity in Japan of dogs as pets has turned its pet industry into a lucrative market in which suppliers and sellers are eagerly competing to offer products and services from the pet's cradle to its grave.
Japan Times
Features
Feb 29, 2004

Pooch paradise

A dog's life in Japan can be about as close to canine heaven on earth as it gets.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 29, 2004

Romania takes high road in AIDS fight

NEW YORK -- The Romanian government's serious commitment to improve access to treatment, increase outreach activities, build an effective partnership with the private sector and improve health infrastructure has led to dramatic progress in the fight against HIV/AIDS.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 28, 2004

Penalty is what those victimized by Aum's crimes wanted

People victimized by Aum Shinrikyo's crimes voiced relief Friday that cult founder Shoko Asahara would pay for the deaths of 27 people with his own life.
JAPAN
Feb 28, 2004

Just 10 won asylum bids last year

The government granted refugee status to 10 asylum-seekers last year, the lowest number in the past six years, while rejecting the applications of 298 foreigners, the Justice Ministry's Immigration Bureau announced Friday.

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