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JAPAN
Jan 17, 2005

Photos show Kobe's rise from the ashes

from mid-February 1995. Most of the buildings, as well as the arcade roof, have since been rebuilt, and the city's largest arcade now bustles with shoppers. REIJI YOSHIDA PHOTOS
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM MOSCOW
Jan 17, 2005

Unprecedented migration has EU on edge

MOSCOW -- Barbarian invasions from the east are old news for old Europe. Over the centuries, restless nomads kept rolling through the area -- sometimes to kill, sometimes to plunder, and sometimes to plunder and stay.
JAPAN
Jan 17, 2005

Abe won't testify on NHK censorship

should explain before the Diet, and it is not true," Abe said. "(The opposition) would use (my) summoning as a witness to defer (Diet deliberations on) the budget." The Asahi Shimbun reported Wednesday that Abe and trade minister Shoichi Nakagawa learned of the contents of the NHK program before it was...
MORE SPORTS
Jan 17, 2005

Yoshida, Hirano take singles titles

Chinese-born Kaii Yoshida and defending champion Sayaka Hirano won the singles titles at the table tennis national championships on Sunday.
COMMENTARY
Jan 17, 2005

Japan seizes the moment

HONOLULU -- Japan has put itself at the forefront of international relief efforts in the wake of the devastating Dec. 26 earthquake and tsunami. Tokyo is acting both out of concern for the victims and to forward its own political-diplomatic strategy. Japan's reaction has demonstrated the role that Tokyo...
JAPAN
Jan 17, 2005

Japan moves to drill in East China Sea

Japan Petroleum Exploration Co. and Teikoku Oil Co. are in talks with the government on their plans to drill for natural gas in the East China Sea near areas claimed by both Japan and China, government sources said Sunday.
SUMO
Jan 16, 2005

Asashoryu completes first week unbeaten

Grand champion Asashoryu overpowered Bulgarian Kotooshu on Saturday to remain in the lead at the New Year Grand Sumo Tournament.
MORE SPORTS
Jan 16, 2005

Zico's deal renewed

The Japan Football Association said Friday it has renewed the contract of national team coach Zico until mid-December 2005 to keep the Brazilian at the helm for the Asian final-round qualifiers for the 2006 World Cup in Germany.
JAPAN
Jan 16, 2005

Defense plan prepared for remote islands

The Defense Agency has prepared a plan to defend the southern remote islands off Kyushu and Okinawa from possible invasion amid rising security concerns about China, according to documents obtained Saturday by Kyodo News.
MORE SPORTS
Jan 16, 2005

Ai-chan blows chance to set record

Ai Fukuhara failed in her bid to become the youngest national champion in women's singles at the age of 16 years and two months when she was defeated in full sets in the sixth round by Asami Suemasu on Saturday.
JAPAN
Jan 16, 2005

520,000 students take university entrance exams

More than half a million hopefuls began taking university and college entrance exams Saturday at 712 test centers across Japan.
EDITORIALS
Jan 16, 2005

English as you like it

So, you want to learn English or at least learn it better. Even if you don't, there is sure to be someone -- a teacher, a spouse, a child, a boss -- who thinks your life, your career prospects or even just your vacation options would be greatly enhanced if you did. No problem there, you think; Japan...
JAPAN
Jan 16, 2005

Heavy snow predicted in wide areas

Heavy snowfall has been predicted for wide areas of Japan through Monday, the Meteorological Agency said Saturday.
JAPAN
Jan 16, 2005

Abe eyes N. Korea human rights bill

Shinzo Abe, a high-ranking member of the Liberal Democratic Party, said Saturday the Diet should consider enacting a bill aimed at improving human rights in North Korea if there is no progress on the abduction issue.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 16, 2005

New beginning for Malaysia, Singapore

SINGAPORE -- This year promises to usher in a new entente between Malaysia and Singapore, leading to better Asian regional cooperation and development. Singapore-Malaysian bilateral relations hit a new high after Singapore Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong made a one-day working visit to Kuala Lumpur on...
JAPAN
Jan 16, 2005

MMC to expand minicar supply

Struggling automaker Mitsubishi Motors Corp. has reached a basic agreement with Nissan Motor Co. on expanding their tieup in the field of minivehicles, according to industry sources.
Features / WEEK 3
Jan 16, 2005

Water from everywhere, and so many drops to drink

Sure, water is tasty. Water is healthy. And recently, bottled water seems to have been deluging the shelves of Japan's shops, as more people turn away from their taps and toward thirst-quenching labels from home and abroad.
Japan Times
Features / WEEK 3
Jan 16, 2005

Seek the Hemingway within at a concrete-jungle pond

"It was light. We stood by the pond. The fish were biting."
JAPAN
Jan 16, 2005

EU backs Japan in core farm group

Mariann Fischer Boel, European commissioner for agriculture and rural development, has backed Japan's entry into a core group in farm trade liberalization talks under the World Trade Organization, Japanese government officials said Saturday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 16, 2005

Brian Wilson

Ironic, isn't it, that Brian Wilson, the one with the famously debilitating anxiety problems, has outlived his two supposedly more well-adjusted brothers. Commercially, it means that The Beach Boys name is the property of cousin Mike Love, who for the past 20 years has successfully turned it into a touring...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 16, 2005

Diplo throws funky DIY marketing into the mix

"The goal is to expose the artist." Wesley Pentz is on the phone from Hawaii, explaining how he publicizes up-and-coming hip-hop talent. "It's basically putting promotion and marketing in your own hands," he explains. Contrary to what you may think, Pentz is not a record executive; he's a DJ with a passion...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Jan 16, 2005

Fuji TV's new romantic comedy series, "Fukigen no Jiin" and more

The title of Fuji TV's new romantic comedy series, "Fukigen no Jiin" (Mon., 9 p.m.), has a double meaning. The main character is a university research geneticist, so the title could be translated as "The Gene for Ill Temper." But this female researcher, played by Yuko Takeuchi, is nicknamed Jean, so...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jan 16, 2005

Single thirtysomethings under the spotlight

Last weekend, Nihon TV broadcast a two-hour program based on Junko Sakai's bestselling book "Makeinu no Toboe (The Howl of the Loser Dog)," a piece of nonfiction. The show, however, was a standard trendy drama, meaning long on ritzy real-estate and product placements, short on situations that resemble...

Longform

Once smoky, male-dominated spaces, today's net cafes, like Kaikatsu Club, are working to make their operations more attractive to women customers.
The second life of Japan's net cafes