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COMMENTARY
Dec 6, 2001

Taiwan's Lee 'flexes strength'

TAIPEI -- "The KMT is still the biggest opposition party in the legislature." With these words, Kuomintang party chairman Lien Chan tried, unconvincingly, to put a positive spin on the former ruling party's disastrous showing in last weekend's legislative elections in Taiwan.
JAPAN
Dec 6, 2001

Women call on Crown Princess to do it her way

The 37-year-old Crown Princess, who gave birth to a girl Saturday, should be free to raise her child in any manner she sees fit, according to several of her female contemporaries across the country.
BUSINESS
Dec 6, 2001

Koizumi says he stands by pledge to shift road funds

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said Wednesday he stands by his pledge to shift national auto tax revenues from road construction to more general usage starting next fiscal year.
BUSINESS
Dec 6, 2001

Cabinet approves budget plan modified to please coalition

The Cabinet has endorsed guidelines for the fiscal 2002 budget, in which a 30 trillion yen cap on new government bonds for that year forms the centerpiece of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's structural reforms.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / FLOWER WALK
Dec 6, 2001

Stroll under pines where shoguns took their ease

Pines belong to the traditional Japanese landscape, as olive trees belong to the Mediterranean.
JAPAN
Dec 6, 2001

Forests eyed for bulk of greenhouse cuts

The government is intent on achieving nearly two-thirds of the greenhouse gas cuts it has pledged under a U.N. climate accord by using the carbon dioxide-absorbing properties of the nation's forests, The Japan Times learned Wednesday.
COMMENTARY
Dec 5, 2001

Koizumi and LDP square off

With the government's decision to scrap or privatize seven key public corporations, including four highway corporations, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has cleared a major hurdle on the road to "structural reform with no sanctuary." Now his battle against the "resistance forces" -- the old guard of...
JAPAN
Dec 5, 2001

Nago likely to offer reef as site for new airport

The city of Nago in Okinawa Prefecture is likely to choose a reef off the island as the site for a military-civilian airport that will accommodate the heliport functions of the U.S. Futenma Air Station in the prefecture, the city mayor said Tuesday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / J-POPSICLE
Dec 5, 2001

The man with the plan

Jack Matsumura is a man with a mission: to turn Nippon Columbia, Japan's oldest label, into a profitable, hit-making record company once again.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Dec 5, 2001

Clive Gregson

The fickle finger of fashion has confounded more than a few artists who lack confidence in what they're doing. For some, however, it can be an elevating challenge.
JAPAN
Dec 2, 2001

Crown Princess Masako gives birth to a girl

The Crown Princess gave birth to a girl Saturday afternoon, the first baby in her 8 1/2-year marriage to the Crown Prince.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Dec 2, 2001

Need a powder fix in Japan? Go boarding out of bounds

Anyone who has skied or boarded on a weekend in Japan knows the story: the well-groomed slopes, blanketed with skiers and boarders making their way up and down as loudspeakers blare pop music and shrill announcements. And then there are the cattle-corral cafeterias, the chaotic souvenir stands, the apres-ski...
COMMUNITY
Dec 2, 2001

'Float on Earth' at Japan's snow resorts

You draw in a sharp, crisp breath of clean air, point your board straight ahead and blast off full speed down a short, steep drop, then up a narrow slope that launches you high in the air. Landing in a meter-deep pillow of fluffy, white snow that swallows your board, your bindings and your knees brings...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Dec 2, 2001

Mad cows reveal meaty contradictions

Two weeks ago, the Asahi Shimbun ran opposing editorials by an assistant professor at Kanazawa University and the president of a municipal board of education in Akita Prefecture. The two educators faced off over a program that had been proposed by an idealistic elementary school teacher.
JAPAN
Dec 2, 2001

Congratulations on birth of princess pour in from overseas

South Korea, Thailand, Brunei and the Philippines were among the first countries Saturday to hail the birth of a princess to the Crown Prince and Princess.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / THE WAY OF WASHOKU
Dec 2, 2001

Gearing up for the New Year

During the busy season, it is not uncommon for a chef to set up a cot in the backroom and take his or her precious few hours of sleep right in the restaurant. In many hotels, it is common policy as well to give rooms to the chefs when there are less than eight-hour turnarounds between clocking out and...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Dec 2, 2001

Restaurant J: Food that gladdens the heart of man

Restaurant J has been open for more than a year, so there's absolutely no reason for the Food File to wait any longer to bestow its seal of approval. But we're still reluctant to give it the unconditional thumbs-up it so richly deserves. Why so? It's the same old story: We're always loath to spread the...
BUSINESS
Dec 1, 2001

Household spending posts 1.6% increase

Wage-earning households spent 1.6 percent more in real terms in October than they did a year earlier, the first rise in seven months, the government said Friday.
EDITORIALS
Nov 30, 2001

Easing rules for police use of guns

Police officers in Japan are subject to strict restrictions in the use of handguns. This is held partly responsible for the increasing deaths of police in the line of duty. Beginning Dec. 1, however, they will be able to fire shots with less constraint when their lives, or those of others in need of...
JAPAN
Nov 30, 2001

Panel OKs logistic support for Afghan strikes

The Upper House Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Thursday approved the provision of logistic support to the U.S.-led military strikes in Afghanistan, moving the plan a step closer to final Diet passage.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Nov 30, 2001

Tiger mosquito

* Japanese name: Hitosujishimaka * Scientific name: Aedes albopictus * Description: A small, soft-bodied insect, the tiger mosquito is instantly recognizable by the black-and-white bands on its legs, and the distinctive white "racing stripe" on its black thorax. The antennae are tufted and are shorter...
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 29, 2001

Lee Teng-hui on a mission to save his vision of Taiwan

NEW YORK -- Taiwan will hold an election Saturday to choose members of the national Parliament, mayors and county magistrates. The outcome will have a lasting impact on Taiwan's future -- in particular on its relationship with China.
EDITORIALS
Nov 29, 2001

Banks come to grips with bad debts

After years of timid attempts to clear mountains of nonperforming loans, Japanese banks appear to be finally coming to grips with the bad-debt crisis. In the half-year business term to September, most of the 14 top lenders took larger-than-expected charges against their dud loans, even dipping into their...
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Nov 29, 2001

Deafness givin' them good vibrations

The Italians got it right about some of the important things in life, like olive oil and coffee. But they got it right about something else, too, something that brain researchers have only just realized. The Italian for "to hear," sentire, is the same (in its reflexive form) as the verb "to touch," (sentirse)....
JAPAN
Nov 28, 2001

Imperial Couple off to Mie despite looming royal birth

The Emperor and Empress started a four-day visit Tuesday to Mie Prefecture to worship at Ise Shrine and visit a college and other facilities -- just as the Crown Princess is expected to give birth to her first baby any day now.
JAPAN
Nov 28, 2001

U.N. seeks ongoing assistance from Japan

The United Nations is seeking Japan's continued support for humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan and other countries, despite tight fiscal conditions, a top visiting U.N. official said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Nov 28, 2001

SDF ruled out for mine removal

Defense Agency chief Gen Nakatani said Tuesday it is impossible to order the Self-Defense Forces to clear mines in Afghanistan because the country is still in the midst of war and the SDF lacks the necessary resources.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Nov 28, 2001

William Cepeda: 'Branching Out/Expandiendo Raices'

William Cepeda plays dynamic Latin jazz that combines the vibrant rhythm of the rich musical legacy of his homeland, Puerto Rico, with the sophisticated jazz melodies of the United States.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Nov 28, 2001

Indispensable designs

When you pull a foil bag of potato chips down from the shelf in the supermarket, you're usually thinking only about its contents. But when that same colorful bag is used as a cover for an art catalog, the disposable wrapping has suddenly turned into an ambiguous, sophisticated artifact.
BUSINESS
Nov 27, 2001

Major banks brace for loan writeoffs

All but two of the nation's 14 major banks fell into the red during the first six months of this business year, together setting aside a hefty 2.7 trillion yen in loan-loss reserves to cushion the potential impact from nonperforming loans.

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?