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COMMUNITY
Dec 30, 2001

Simple soup serves up a year's good luck

From behind the big punch bowl, in the lower cupboard of the cabinet that dominates the dining room, Reiko pulls out the lacquered vessels. They are coal-black, with bright gold-and-silver images of pine boughs, bamboo stalks and plum blossoms.
JAPAN
Dec 30, 2001

Japan, U.K. to link up in mad cow study

The farm ministry will conduct a comprehensive survey of mad cow disease in fiscal 2002, in conjunction with a British research institute, it was learned Saturday.
JAPAN
Dec 30, 2001

Hospital hid error after girl died

A 12-year-old girl died three days after undergoing heart surgery at a Tokyo hospital in March due to brain damage caused when an artificial heart-lung machine malfunctioned during the operation, sources close to the case said Saturday.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 30, 2001

2001 a banner year for Beijing

The year 2001 has been a good one for China. It won the right to host the 2008 Olympics, which should raise the country's status in the world. After 15 arduous years of negotiations, it finally joined the World Trade Organization, which will provide momentum for additional economic reforms. And despite...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Dec 30, 2001

Rescuing Orientalism from the School of Said

FIGURING THE EAST: Segalen, Malraux, Duras and Barthes, by Marie-Paule Ha. Albany: State University of New York, 2000, 160 pp., $17.95 (paper) In its consideration of the East, the West has been accused of Orientalism, a theory developed by Edward Said to explain the way the West "constructs" the Orient...
COMMENTARY
Dec 30, 2001

Clash of European visions

LONDON -- The odd situation seems to have been reached where the most dedicated enthusiasts for European unity fear that their dream is falling apart, while the skeptics fear that unity and integration are pushing Europe ahead faster than ever toward a super state.
LIFE / Food & Drink / BEST BAR NONE
Dec 30, 2001

Party on, to the break of the new dawn

I was going to make just one recommendation for New Year's Eve -- the countdown party at Milk, a freestyle club in Ebisu. I have had a couple of great New Year's Eves there -- including one special moment making mochi (traditional rice cakes) as the first tendrils of dawn crept across the sky in the...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Dec 30, 2001

Tokugawa diplomacy: Foundering in the waters of distrust

PRISONERS FROM NAMBU: Reality and Make-Believe in 17th-Century Japanese Diplomacy, by Reinier H. Hesselink. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2001, 215 pp., $47.00 (cloth), $24.95 (paper) The Dutch presence in Japan during the Edo Period is one of the most intriguing episodes of Europe's global...
LIFE / Food & Drink / THE WAY OF WASHOKU
Dec 30, 2001

This will be the last slurp of the rest of your year

Even if preparing other Japanese New Year's dishes seems beyond your ability, you can't go wrong with toshikoshi ("year-crossing") soba, the noodles eaten just before midnight on o-misoka, New Year's Eve.
JAPAN
Dec 30, 2001

Retiring politician's war memories spur his fight for peace

As Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi rose to power this year with pledges of radical reform, one 77-year-old Diet veteran made a brief return to the political arena before deciding to abandon his life's work.
SOCCER / J. League
Dec 30, 2001

Cerezo, S-Pulse reach cup final

SAITAMA -- Cerezo Osaka, relegated to Division Two next season, advanced to the final of the Emperor's Cup after beating the Urawa Reds 1-0 thanks to midfielder Michiharu Sugimoto's second-half goal on Saturday at Saitama Stadium 2002.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Dec 30, 2001

Simple words for Zen living

TO SHINE ONE CORNER OF THE WORLD: Moments with Shunryu Suzuki (Stories of a Zen Master Told by His Students), edited by David Chadwick. Broadway Books, 2001, 144 pp., $16.95 (cloth) Is it possible to impart the wisdom of Zen through words? Or are the lessons of mindful living communicable through action?...
JAPAN / Media
Dec 30, 2001

'Kohaku': the best, or just best behaved?

"Kohaku Utagassen," NHK's New Year's Eve music extravaganza, which celebrates its 52nd anniversary on Monday night, has traditionally been seen as the year's most significant event for Japanese singers, with selection to appear on the show truly "legitimizing" a performer's career. As well, certainly...
JAPAN / Media / CHANNEL SURF
Dec 30, 2001

A holiday basking in the blue glow

Depending on how you feel about the New Year's holidays and Japanese TV programming in general, the first week of the year is either the best week for TV or the worst. Most New Year's specials mimic what the average Japanese family is doing at home. Celebrities sit around in their finest holiday duds...
LIFE / Food & Drink / VINELAND
Dec 30, 2001

Reasons to celebrate good-tasting bargains

Recent Vineland columns have focused on distinctive, luxury wines for holiday gift-giving and festive dinners. For our last column in 2001, we pursued an elusive category -- delicious bargain party bottles. It's a tantalizing quest. Few achievements are more gratifying to a wine lover than discovering...
COMMUNITY
Dec 30, 2001

O-Shogatsu: a custom-made holiday

Yoshio Mamiya doesn't need reminding that o-shogatsu is almost here. For several weeks, the 78-year-old craftsman has been working 12-hour days, seven days a week at his studio in the Sanno district of Tokyo's Ota Ward, where he busily stitches away to meet his customers' demand to renew their domestic...
JAPAN
Dec 30, 2001

Doctor may have abused organ transplant system

A physician who served as coordinator for the Japan Organ Transplant Network, the organization responsible for coordinating the nation's organ transplants, may have used his influence to obtain organs for one of his patients, sources close to the case told Kyodo News.
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Dec 30, 2001

Delicious plum choices from 2001

In a city the size of Tokyo, it is simply impossible to visit every single new restaurant or to keep track of changes at all the established places. For that reason, the Food File does not presume to assign year-end rankings or pronounce its best-of lists for the year, especially since, in the end, it...
EDITORIALS
Dec 29, 2001

Concerns over U.S. unilateralism

The 20th century was described as a century of warfare. But men do not seem to learn much from history. At the start of 2001 the international community pledged to build a new century of peace. As the year comes to a close, however, the world is gripped by fears of war and terrorism.
SUMO
Dec 29, 2001

Miyabiyama may miss Tokyo basho

Sekiwake Miyabiyama may sit out next month's New Year Grand Sumo Tournament due to a lingering shoulder injury, jeopardizing his bid to return to the second-highest rank of ozeki, his stable master said Thursday. Sumo elder Musashigawa said he will make a final decision on whether to let Miyabiyama wrestle...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 29, 2001

Koizumi plays public relations game like a pro

This was the year of the Koizumi craze.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Dec 29, 2001

'Earthquake Bird' celebrates with Japan edition

Susanna Jones has had one terrific year. Her first novel, "The Earthquake Bird," was unanimously applauded by the British press when launched in May. Since then it has been snapped up for translation rights in 11 countries, including the U.S. and Japan. Plus an option has been taken up to make it into...
BUSINESS
Dec 29, 2001

Japan not head over heals for Cuba

Will Japan ever fall for Cuba?
BUSINESS
Dec 29, 2001

Ishikawa files for insolvency proceedings

Ishikawa Bank on Friday filed for insolvency proceedings with the Financial Services Agency under the Deposit Insurance Law after its efforts to rehabilitate itself failed.

Longform

Sociologist Gracia Liu-Farrer argues that even through immigration doesn't figure into Japan's autobiography, it is more of a self-perception than a reality.
In search of the ‘Japanese dream’