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Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Mar 24, 2002

Hotel turns over a new leaf

Big hotels are features of most big cities, and Tokyo is no exception. Rearing into the sky, often straddling whole blocks, they're the temporary homes and permanent workplaces for small armies of people -- which brings serious environmental consequences.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Mar 24, 2002

And for your comic delight: The Suzuki Show

Contrary to popular belief, what's good for the goose is not always good for the gander. When Makiko Tanaka was ousted as foreign minister, tears helped crystallize a victim image that guarantees her political longevity. On the other hand, those of Muneo Suzuki, the main victim of Makiko's victimhood,...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Mar 24, 2002

Helmsdale: A spot of haggis and ale, lads?

Helmsdale is not so much a pub as a shrine to the "water of life," known to the ancient Gaelic peoples as uisge beatha and to their modern-day descendants as whisky. Almost every inch of space is devoted to it, from the groaning shelves of classic single malts arrayed behind the counter to the empty...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Mar 23, 2002

Erich A. Berendt

After several years' membership in The Asiatic Society of Japan, Erich A. Berendt was elected to the society's council. Since 2000 he has been serving conscientiously and actively as the society's president.
MORE SPORTS
Mar 22, 2002

Revenge time: Bunnies jump all over Seibu

It was time for a little payback.
LIFE / Language
Mar 22, 2002

The boy who's been everywhere

Over the last 73 years, this boy's been everywhere. He's zoomed to the moon in a red-and-white checkered rocket, trekked snow-covered Tibet in search of the yeti and has been saved at the last minute from being sacrificed to the Sun God by angry Aztecs. For all his hair-raising adventures, he hasn't...
BUSINESS
Mar 21, 2002

Sanyo Electric expects lower earnings

OSAKA -- Sanyo Electric Co. said Wednesday it has revised its profit outlook downward for the year to March 31, primarily due to smaller-than-expected sales.
BUSINESS / ON THE FRONT LINE
Mar 20, 2002

Institutional investors turn to Japan stocks

The shift among investors toward Japanese stocks -- the primary catalyst for the yen's rise in recent weeks -- has helped drive the Nikkei average back above the key 11,000 level.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 20, 2002

Drain the swamp that breeds terrorism

This week U.S. President George W. Bush meets in Monterrey, Mexico with 50 other heads of state to discuss financing for Third World development. Last week, the president announced that he would ask Congress to set aside $5 billion for a special development-aid fund. This aid will be on top of the 10...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Mar 20, 2002

Lee 'Scratch' Perry: 'Jamaican e.t.'

Lee "Scratch" Perry has been stumbling along the very fine line between eccentricity and insanity for more than 30 years, and his latest album, "Jamaican e.t.," is one of his most mind-scrambling yet.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Mar 17, 2002

The Imperial family: celebrities or deities?

At a press conference to mark his 68th birthday last December, Emperor Akihito surprised reporters by saying that he felt a strong "kinship" with Korea.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Mar 17, 2002

The Steiff of teddy-bear legend

Cute. In Japan, there's cuteness wherever you look -- Hello Kitty, Tare Panda, The Dog, etc., etc. But from next month to September 2003, Japanese people will be able to glimpse the creativity behind the cuteness of that cuddliest of all cuddlies -- the teddy bear -- when Germany-based Margarete Steiff...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / BEST BAR NONE
Mar 17, 2002

There's inspiration around every corner

Nearly every expat in Tokyo knows Las Chicas, the hip neo-Asian garden restaurant that sprawls across the first floor of the Vision Network complex near Omotesando. But many may not realize that there is more to Vision Network than a Thai curry lunch special. A quick peek into the corners of the rambling...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Mar 16, 2002

Conspiracy behind itty-bitty kitty tails

There is one question about Japan that even the Japanese cannot answer: What has happened to all the cats' tails? I have never seen a kitten without a tail, but adult stray cats in Japan seldom have tails. Although many Japanese have offered theories, no one seems to really know the answer.
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Mar 15, 2002

Harvest mouse

* Japanese name: Kayanezumi * Scientific name: Micromys minutus * Description: This is Japan's smallest mouse, growing 5-8 cm long and weighing only 5 grams. Harvest mice have long, prehensile tails which they use for gripping the stems of grass when climbing. They have stubby noses and hairy ears;...
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / JET STREAM
Mar 15, 2002

There ain't no mountains high enough

During Golden Week of 1999, 26-year-old Tom Fearnehough and six friends skied down Mount Fuji. A Japanese man had attempted the same feat the year before and plummeted 2,000 meters to his death. Fearnehough and his friends, however, were better prepared.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / J-POPSICLE
Mar 13, 2002

I take it back, gladly

When writing recently about Seiji Ozawa's very successful "New Year's Concert 2002" album, I made a passing reference to his "nasally voiced" nephew, Kenji Ozawa.
EDITORIALS
Mar 11, 2002

Time to fasten the seat belt

The Lower House passage of the fiscal 2002 government budget on Wednesday represents a sort of victory for Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's administration. The vote ensures, by virtue of a constitutional provision giving priority to Lower House budget decisions, that the 81-trillion yen package clears...
COMMENTARY
Mar 11, 2002

Keeping politicians on leash

In a report published March 4, the Foreign Ministry acknowledged that Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Muneo Suzuki exerted exceptional influence over ministry affairs. The report, based on an in-house probe and released by Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi, confirmed allegations that Suzuki intervened...
COMMENTARY / JAPAN IN THE GLOBAL ERA
Mar 11, 2002

Business schools buck international trend

Seventh in a series
LIFE / Food & Drink / VINELAND
Mar 10, 2002

A few blooming good wines

The month of March moves us toward spring and the brilliant profusion of cherry trees in bloom. During the gray, damp days on the late edge of winter, we daydream of hanami parties. In Tokyo, we'll play a guitar on a blanket in Inokashira Park, eat sushi rolls under the tunnel of blossoms in Aoyama Cemetery,...
EDITORIALS
Mar 9, 2002

The outsider joins the club

Switzerland turned its back on centuries of "splendid isolation" this week and voted to join the United Nations. The decision acknowledges the evolution within the international community since the end of the Cold War and within Switzerland itself. With its historic vote, the country can now play a more...
SOCCER / World cup
Mar 9, 2002

Manager Eriksson thrives on World Cup pressure

Among the 32 teams competing in the coming World Cup, England will be one of the centers of attention, and manager Sven-Goran Eriksson holds the key to the team's success.
BUSINESS
Mar 9, 2002

Fund to fight AIDS set to debut

In an effort to bring the spread of infectious diseases under control, the multibillion-dollar Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria will make its official debut at a ceremony in New York next month.
BUSINESS
Mar 9, 2002

Japan may give up on towel curbs

Japan may not impose emergency curbs on towel products from China and Vietnam, due to a slowdown in imports, government officials said Friday.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Mar 8, 2002

Badger

Japanese name: Nihon-anaguma Scientific name: Meles meles anakuma * Description: Badgers are stout, bearlike animals. Body length of males is 56-68 cm, females 52-59 cm. They have short limbs and tails, but the characteristic feature of badgers are the black stripes on the face. These usually run from...
COMMENTARY
Mar 7, 2002

Zimbabwe: 11th hour questions

LONDON -- The situation in Zimbabwe goes from bad to worse. Sunday's presidential election approaches amid a crescendo of violence and intimidation, with the army, the state police and the thugs of the ruling Zanu-PF political party rampaging through every region of this enormous and once-rich Central...
BUSINESS
Mar 7, 2002

Aoki identifies rehab sponsors

Bankrupt second-tier general contractor Aoki Corp. said Wednesday it has persuaded midsize general contractors Takamatsu Corp. and Komatsu Construction Co. to sponsor its court-led rehabilitation plan.
BUSINESS
Mar 7, 2002

Moody's analyst tells Japan it needs to stoke inflation

Japan's measures to combat deflation and revive the floundering economy are insufficient, and the nation instead should concentrate on stimulating inflationary expectations, Moody's Investors Service Inc. said in a special report Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Mar 6, 2002

Lawson Inc. names new president

Convenience store chain Lawson Inc. said Tuesday that trading house Mitsubishi Corp. executive Takeshi Niinami will become its next president on May 29, replacing Kenji Fujiwara who will become a chairman the same day.

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