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Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jul 27, 2003

Brands vie for your thirst

"Advertising," as it's often defined, "is the creation of wants."
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Jul 27, 2003

So much to soak up in Yamagata

OK, let me put this out there: Yamagata-ken, just like any sensible prefecture in Japan, loves tourists. But you get the feeling that Yamagata Prefecture Tourist Division tries a little harder to promote its treasures. They even occasionally invite journalists up for a spin around the countryside.
COMMENTARY
Jul 27, 2003

China shifts toward activism

HONOLULU -- Northeast Asia watchers were treated to a curious sight last week: high-profile foreign policy activism by Beijing. The Chinese government was publicly pushing the United States and North Korea to the negotiating table. It's unclear whether this approach marks a new phase of Chinese diplomacy...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 26, 2003

Bottom line for personal seals is they're obsolete, forgeable

Hideo Matsuzaki creates names that will last a lifetime, one deft knife stroke at a time.
COMMENTARY
Jul 26, 2003

Timing on dispatch of SDF turns up Koizumi weak spot

A couple of weeks ago I wrote that Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi was brimming with confidence after a bill proposing special measures to support the reconstruction of Iraq passed the House of Representatives in the National Diet. A likely political scenario for the fall -- one that anticipated a long-term...
BUSINESS
Jul 25, 2003

Cash dries up amid pension plan fears

The ratio of people who failed to pay national pension premiums hit a record-high 37.2 percent in fiscal 2002, surpassing the previous record of 29.1 percent in fiscal 2001, the Social Insurance Agency said Thursday.
EDITORIALS
Jul 25, 2003

Iraqis take control

The inauguration of an Iraqi-led government in Baghdad is the first concrete step toward creating a free and democratic Iraq. Installation of the Iraqi Governing Council by the United States is still problematic, but a successful transition from U.S. administration to a stable and functioning civil society...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jul 25, 2003

Rainy season pours cold water on recovery

The rain clouds hovering over most of Japan are not just drenching people -- they are also blighting the earnings outlook for corporate Japan.
BUSINESS
Jul 24, 2003

Government pension fund logs big loss

The Government Pension Investment Fund posted a record investment loss of 3.061 trillion yen in fiscal 2002, due to tumbling global stock markets and a higher yen, the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry said Wednesday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 23, 2003

Ex-Doi secretary says fraud common

A former policy secretary to Social Democratic Party chief Takako Doi has told investigators that diverting government salaries for lawmakers' aides was a "common practice" among Diet members, police officials said Tuesday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Jul 23, 2003

Jaco Pastorius: "Word of Mouth Revisited"

In the '70s and '80s, Jaco Pastorius revolutionized electric bass playing. The imprint of his bold sound can be heard in bass players from jazz to rock to funk. Whether in the seminal fusion group Weather Report, his own high-energy electric bands, with guitarists Pat Metheny and Mike Stern, or in the...
BUSINESS
Jul 23, 2003

263 firms to join Tokyo Motor Show

A total of 263 firms from Japan and 13 other countries will participate in the 37th Tokyo Motor Show this fall at the Nippon Convention Center, better known as Makuhari Messe, in Chiba Prefecture, organizer said Tuesday.
COMMENTARY
Jul 21, 2003

Japanese-style management deserves updated appraisal

Japanese-style management was once widely acclaimed as ideal. Since the collapse of the bubble economy, though, it has been discarded as a model for its incompatibility with reform. Now the system is being revaluated, and active debate is going on in the business community on how to adapt it to changing...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 20, 2003

Osaka braces itself for festival fallout

OSAKA -- Osaka's annual Tenjin Matsuri festival, held in late July every year, draws tens of thousands of visitors and is considered one of the country's largest and most popular summer events. But this year, city officials are worried that once the party is over, the streets will look like a rock star's...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Jul 20, 2003

Desertification, Tsurutaro Kataoka back on TV; Nogiwa and Kuroyanagi together again

Desertification is one of the major ecological catastrophes the world in facing right now. It is estimated that every year the amount of land that changes from a state that supports vegetation to desert is equal to the size of the islands of Kyushu and Shikoku combined.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Jul 19, 2003

Yuki Horibe

COCOS ISLANDS -- When Yuki Horibe was planning a university break in order to gain some overseas experience, she looked at a world map. She said: "I wanted a small, tropical island. I wanted to learn English. I wanted diving. I found Christmas Island, and thought, 'Every day is Christmas. That should...
COMMENTARY
Jul 19, 2003

Hong Kong's democratic hopes vs. authoritarian fears

HONG KONG -- July 1, 2003 -- when at least 500,000 Hong Kongers marched in nonviolent protest -- will live long in memory, provided that Hong Kong remains an oasis of freedom set in China's authoritarian sea. But it was also a day that will almost certainly be expunged from the Chinese collective memory...
BUSINESS
Jul 18, 2003

Howard nixes coddling of 'unique' Japan farms

Japan's demand for special consideration in liberalizing its farm sector was shot down Thursday by visiting Australian Prime Minister John Howard.
JAPAN
Jul 18, 2003

Younger youth detention eyed

Justice Minister Mayumi Moriyama said Thursday the ministry may revise the Reformatory Law so that children under 13 who commit crimes can be sent to juvenile reformatories.
EDITORIALS
Jul 18, 2003

Time for responsibility in Hong Kong

The sense of crisis in Hong Kong continues to mount following the resignation this week of two top government officials. The departures come on the heels of massive demonstrations against Article 23, the proposed legislation designed to protect public security but which critics claim would erode civil...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jul 18, 2003

This Ricos is posh, new -- but is it improved?

It was with considerable anticipation that we made our way to Akabanebashi last week to try the new Ricos, which opened June 10. After all, this is the latest from the people who brought us Ricos Kitchen near Yebisu Garden Place, which was one of our restaurants of the year in 1999 and remains a reliable...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Jul 17, 2003

Red fox

* Japanese name: Kitsune * Scientific name: Vulpes vulpes japonica * Description: Foxes look somewhat like dogs and belong to the same family. The fur of the red fox is orange-rust colored, apart from the throat, belly and tip of the tail, which are white. The feet and the rims of the ears are black....
JAPAN
Jul 16, 2003

SDF peacekeeping force eyed by Defense Agency

The Defense Agency is considering creating a standing unit of the Self-Defense Forces dedicated to peacekeeping, antiterrorism and other overseas operations, agency officials said Tuesday.

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