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Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Aug 10, 2003

Treasures too much for one

For one man alone, the Tokugawa treasures were simply too much to handle.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Aug 10, 2003

History of homegrown Japanese science finally adds up

Think Edo Period, and you think ukiyo-e, bonsai, yakimono and kabuki. Few think of science, or of the technological skill and spirit, which would later hatch Sony, Toyota and a core part of the country's national identity.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 10, 2003

Japanese nuclear arsenal looks unlikely

WASHINGTON -- Speculation is rife about whether North Korea's possession of nuclear weapons could drive Japan to develop a nuclear arsenal. Some opinion leaders have even suggested that America should exploit this prospect to scare China into resolving the North Korea nuclear crisis. However, the reality...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Aug 10, 2003

Foreign visitors who found the old in a new Japan

THE GREAT WAVE: Gilded Age Misfits, Japanese Eccentrics, and the Opening of Old Japan, by Christopher Benfey. New York: Random House, 2003, 534 pp., with monochrome plates, $25,95 (paper). In the middle of the century before last, Japan was -- as the West termed it -- finally opened up. The mysterious...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Aug 10, 2003

Lost pet? No sweat -- except in the tub

You may think you've got just about everything for your pet -- from brand-name waterproofs and jewelry to its weekly trips to a pet cafe and yoga classes. Now, though, there's a new out-of-this-world accessory for the pet owner with everything: the no-hiding-place collar.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Aug 10, 2003

The spirit of corrupt regimes alive in Japan

It's no secret that Japan discourages asylum-seekers, though officials never admit to it openly. When asked what the government would do about the 10 North Korean refugees who entered the Japanese Embassy in Bangkok on July 31, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda said that it would be better for them...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / BEST BAR NONE
Aug 10, 2003

Up-tempo hangout just down the hill

Azabu Juban is a short stroll down the hill from both the new Roppongi Hills complex and Roppongi crossing. But whereas the new Mori complex has given Roppongi a bump up in the sophistication stakes, it merely adds to what is already on offer in Azabu Juban, which has long been the neighborhood of choice...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Aug 10, 2003

State of the rock nation, in 35-min. bites

Since they took place on successive weekends, it's difficult not to compare this year's editions of the Fuji Rock Festival and Summer Sonic, so let's do it. Fuji is bucolic where SS is urban. Fuji's vibe is communal and free-spirited, while the SS vibe is commercial and controlling. Fuji is populated...
JAPAN
Aug 10, 2003

Fraud probe dropped after Tanaka questioned

Public prosecutors questioned former Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka in late July about allegations that she misused the government salary of her secretary before they decided not to indict her, investigative sources said Saturday.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Aug 10, 2003

EDO: City spirit of an era

Whether it's the floating world of ukiyo-e, the stately rites of sumo, the meticulous craft of netsuke, the minimalist art of Japanese gardens or the decorums of the samurai, what we today regard as the traditional values of Japan took shape in what's known as the Edo Period.
EDITORIALS
Aug 9, 2003

SDF must meet constitutional tenets

It has been 50 years since the Self-Defense Forces were created to protect the peace and independence of Japan and to deal with foreign acts of aggression. It is fitting, therefore, that the white paper on Japan's defense for this milestone year, released this week by the Defense Agency, takes up future...
COMMENTARY
Aug 9, 2003

Political world prepares for fall showdown

The first half of 2003 was volatile both internationally and domestically. Severe acute respiratory syndrome hit China, other Asian countries and Canada at the beginning of the year and spread around the world. Then, in the Middle East, war broke out when the United States and Britain invaded Iraq, overthrew...
COMMENTARY / World / GUEST FORUM
Aug 9, 2003

War on terror requires a stronger UNSC

In a world where groups of thugs can take over failed states and modern technology enables small groups of fanatics to kill millions of people, more intervention by the international community in the sovereignty of individual nations will be necessary. Such intervention cannot be left to the United States...
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 9, 2003

U.S. need not fear the ICC

NEW YORK -- In recent years regional courts have been set up in Europe and the Americas to deal with the most serious human rights abuses committed by governments. International "ad hoc" criminal tribunals have been set up to deal with atrocities and massive killings committed in the former Yugoslavia,...
BASEBALL / MLB
Aug 9, 2003

Giants go to Goto for victory

Koji Goto pinch-hit a go-ahead sacrifice fly in the eighth inning to lift the Yomiuri Giants over the Yakult Swallows 6-5 at Tokyo Dome on Friday.
BUSINESS
Aug 9, 2003

Tax increase, 'chuhai' take toll on beer sales

The nation's major breweries on Friday reported weak beer sales for the first half of the year, with the economic slump, tax hikes and diversifying consumer taste conspiring to sap demand.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Aug 9, 2003

To your health -- Japanese style

"Just what is good health," a wise man once told me, "other than the slowest way to die?"
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Aug 9, 2003

Sushma Omata

In the words of India's renowned musician Ravi Shanker: "The improvisatory nature of Indian classical music requires the artist before playing to take into consideration the setting, the time allowed for his recital, his mood and the feeling he discerns in the audience. Since Indian music is religious...
BUSINESS
Aug 9, 2003

McDonald's cuts annual forecast

Struggling restaurant chain McDonald's Holdings Co. (Japan) on Friday cut its full-year earnings forecast by about 50 percent due to weak sales during the first half of the year.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Aug 9, 2003

Bon preparation: something must die

Bon is when the spirits of the dead come back to their ancestral homes to visit. When I moved into my house, the grandfather's "ihai" (ancestral tablet) was still in the Butsudan (family shrine) and stayed there for years. I always enjoyed leaving sake, fruit and other offerings out for his return at...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Aug 9, 2003

Heart of Laos displays traditional textiles' beauty

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BUSINESS
Aug 9, 2003

Softbank logs 34.73 billion yen loss in first quarter

Internet-related business investor Softbank Corp. said Friday it incurred a group net loss of 34.73 billion yen in the first quarter of fiscal 2003.
BUSINESS
Aug 9, 2003

Beef prices likely to increase soon

The effects of the Aug. 1 tariff increase on the retail price of beef in Japan are unlikely to be felt until later this month, government and industry officials said Friday.
BUSINESS
Aug 9, 2003

Private machinery orders rose 2.4% in June to 954 billion yen

The nation's core private-sector machinery orders rose a seasonally adjusted 2.4 percent in June from May to 954 billion yen, suggesting that capital spending outlays may increase later in the year, the government said Friday.
BUSINESS
Aug 9, 2003

31 Tokyo banks taxed 92.4 billion yen

Thirty-one banks operating in Tokyo paid a combined 92.4 billion yen to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government as local tax based on their revenues in fiscal 2002, which ended March 31, metro government sources said Friday.
BUSINESS
Aug 9, 2003

Current account surplus shrank 8% in fiscal first half

Japan's current account surplus shrank 8 percent from a year earlier to 7.24 trillion yen in the first half of 2003, marking the first decline in three half-year periods, the Finance Ministry said Friday in a preliminary report.

Longform

The volunteer lifesavers of Nishihama Surf Lifesaving Club never know what's in store at the start of their day.
It's no simple day at the beach for Japan's volunteer lifesavers