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BUSINESS
Oct 25, 2001

Fuel cells, IT on stage at motor show

MAKUHARI, Chiba Pref. -- The 35th Tokyo Motor Show opened to the media Wednesday, showcasing concept cars, motorbikes and the latest auto parts at the Makuhari Messe international event hall.
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Oct 25, 2001

Tales from the well-made crypt

Fifty years ago, archaeologists used an oil-rig drill to bore 53 meters below the surface of a mound in Gordion, Turkey, the ancient capital of Phrygia. Underneath the limestone-rich earth was the oldest intact wooden structure in the world, a 5 x 6 meter chamber dating from the eighth century B.C. The...
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Oct 25, 2001

Serendipity in Hokkaido's autumnal air

It was just a bridge, not even a special bridge. The Heiwa Bridge spans the eastern end of Lake Tofutsu in northeastern Hokkaido. To the north there is a narrow neck of wooded land and then the Okhotsk Sea. To the south lies more woodland, then great expanses of farmland. It was just a bridge, but suddenly...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Oct 24, 2001

Will Buffaloes finally get monkey off their backs?

It remains to be seen if the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes can this week win their first Japan Series in franchise history. The Buffs should have won it the last time the club appeared in the J.S., 12 years ago in 1989, but Kintetsu blew a three games-to-none lead to the Yomiuri Giants in a most memorable...
BUSINESS
Oct 22, 2001

Getting a positive grip on Japanese unemployment

According to preliminary figures released by the government on Sept. 28, there were 64.43 million people employed as of the end of August, a decline of 370,000 compared with the same period the previous year. As a result, unemployment continues to stand at a record high of 5 percent.
BUSINESS
Oct 22, 2001

Is Japan still deserving of special economic treatment from U.S.?

Now that economic conditions in Japan and the United States and the landscape of the global economy have completely changed, the U.S. should abandon bashing, passing and "gaiatsu" and change its policy toward the country completely, according to C. Fred Bergsten, director of the Institute for International...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Oct 21, 2001

Like father, like son

My elder son sits across from me during supper and clubs me with the following questions: "Why can't Japanese die, Dad? How come it's so hard for them?" Not your usual dinnertime poser, perhaps, but we dads have to be ready for anything. I pause only briefly before delivering what I consider to be a...
JAPAN
Oct 20, 2001

China ODA set to be trimmed

The government and ruling coalition parties on Friday approved a development assistance plan that would scale back aid to China and shift the focus to environmental conservation measures, officials said.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Oct 20, 2001

Food from home, direct to your door in Japan

Chuck Grafft spends much of his life surrounded by the stronger sex. Not that he is complaining. As president and CEO of the Foreign Buyers Club (FBC) in Kobe, most of his staff are women -- women representing nine cultures, including Japanese. Also, wife Kelly, now back to work, with four daughters,...
BUSINESS
Oct 20, 2001

Yasuda cracks the whip on merger procedure

Yasuda Fire & Marine Insurance Co. and two other nonlife insurers will try to hasten work on their coming merger, the insurer's president said Friday.
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Oct 19, 2001

Migratory locust

JAPAN
Oct 18, 2001

Ex-Afghan ambassador fears statelessness

Former Afghan Ambassador to Japan Hassani Mohammad Asif says his greatest worry as U.S.-led forces pound his native land is that he and his family will be left stateless.
JAPAN
Oct 18, 2001

NHK pundit dead in suspected fall

An employee of NHK who served as a commentator on the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the United States was found dead Monday in Tokyo after an apparent fall from a building, NHK said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Oct 18, 2001

Powder sent to Koizumi's residence

As fears of anthrax letters continued to spread around the globe, the Prime Minister's Official Residence, the Defense Agency and some media organizations on Wednesday received envelopes containing white powder that turned out to be starch.
JAPAN
Oct 18, 2001

Government plans to buy up beef distribution stockpiles

The government plans to buy some 13,000 tons of distributors' beef stocks on a temporary basis in line with a rigorous inspection due to begin today on all cows to be processed for human consumption.
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Oct 18, 2001

Rare hybrids on evolution's way to where?

Humans like rules as a way of ordering the world into familiar and comfortable patterns. For naturalists, one of the basic rules is the concept of biological species, which forms the basis of modern biodiversity and conservation studies.
CULTURE / Film
Oct 17, 2001

When it comes to comedy, it's sync or swim

Waterboys Rating: * * * * Director: Shinobu Yaguchi Running time: 91 minutes Language: Japanese Now showing
JAPAN
Oct 17, 2001

Key panel approves SDF bill

Ruling coalition members on a key Diet committee approved a bill enabling the Self-Defense Forces to support U.S.-led military operations against terrorism, paving the way for the bill's full Diet passage next week.
JAPAN
Oct 17, 2001

Opinions clash over SDF role in war on terror

Two days after U.S.-led forces launched a bombing campaign on Afghanistan, six Air Self-Defense Force C-130 cargo planes arrived in Islamabad with relief supplies for refugees.
CULTURE / Art
Oct 17, 2001

Celebrating childhood's wonder

It is quite common to hear nowadays that kids are spoilt and overindulged. Things were certainly different in the past -- or were they?
Events
Oct 16, 2001

New museum celebrates Osaka history

OSAKA -- Universal Studios Japan, which opened in Osaka in March, draws around 1 million visitors every month, many of them from outside the prefecture.
JAPAN
Oct 16, 2001

Asylum-seekers face tough time in Japan

Gol Ahmad Bahador does not want to go back to Afghanistan.
Events
Oct 16, 2001

Forum eyes water management scenarios

KYOTO -- By 2025, it is predicted that nearly 5 billion people worldwide will face a severe shortage of water. A resource people take for granted may become as precious as diamonds or gold, according to a panel of experts who took part in a symposium last week in Kyoto.
COMMUNITY
Oct 14, 2001

Dial yourself a new life

For those thinking about working outside major cities, prefectures offer information and guidance at their U- and I-turn centers in Tokyo. They offer information about employment opportunities, housing and other social welfare systems in the region, as well as details of special benefits offered to encourage...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Oct 14, 2001

The truth about the 'enemies of the people'

For the past month there's been a lot of talk about how much our sense of the world has changed since the events of Sept. 11. Actually, it's mainly changed for Americans, but as someone once said: When America sneezes, the rest of the world catches a cold.
CULTURE / Books
Oct 14, 2001

Kenzaburo Oe: Bridging the generation gap

In the wake of the terrorist attacks in America, large bookstores have put together special displays on Islam and terrorism, while the cult idolization of the prime minister continues with the publication of a coffee-table book of Koizumi photos (Jun-chan lounging in a robe!). However, as always in recent...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Oct 13, 2001

'Kodo': the way of the fragrant tree trunk

You've heard of "chado" (the way of tea) and "kado" (ikebana), but have you heard of "kodo" -- the way of smelling?
BUSINESS
Oct 12, 2001

Delay over towel curbs gets LDP nod

The Liberal Democratic Party on Thursday endorsed a plan to delay for six months a decision on whether to restrict towel imports from China and Vietnam.
BUSINESS
Oct 12, 2001

FSA set to investigate loan scenarios at 15 major banks

The financial watchdog agency is set to carry out a check on how 15 major banks have evaluated the status of their loans to large corporate borrowers, a top financial regulator said Thursday.

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