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BUSINESS
Dec 16, 2001

Nomura research unit to join TSE

Nomura Research Institute Ltd., the economic research and consulting arm of Nomura Securities Co., will make its debut Monday on the First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
JAPAN
Dec 16, 2001

65% worried or uncertain about their lives: survey

About 65 percent of Japanese people are worried or feel uncertain about their lives, the highest rate on record, apparently due to the continuing sluggish economy, according to a Cabinet Office survey released Saturday.
JAPAN
Dec 16, 2001

250 billion yen shifted from tax for roads

The government will divert some 250 billion yen in revenue from the car weight tax, currently funneled into road construction, to other purposes in fiscal 2002, government sources said Saturday.
JAPAN
Dec 16, 2001

Nepalese man awaiting murder ruling sees wife for first time in eight years

Many foreign workers head for Japan with the promise of a better life. But for Govinda Prasad Mainali the dream turned to tragedy as he awaits a ruling by the Supreme Court over a murder charge.
LIFE / Food & Drink / THE WAY OF WASHOKU
Dec 16, 2001

Tazukuri: an acquired taste worth acquiring

The o-sechi foods of the New Year exemplify traditional Japanese cuisine, utilizing the fruits of the mountains and the bounty of the ocean to celebrate all of the gifts that nature provides. Nowhere is this land-and-sea pairing more evident than in the classic sanshu-zakana triumvirate of black beans...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Dec 16, 2001

The final downfall of a hard-boiled harridan

Just audible under the cheers that greeted the birth of the new princess was the tip-tapping of bored fingers coming from the direction of the "wide shows," where smiling faces and mandatory keigo barely masked acute impatience. Nine months of being forced to keep quiet about the crown princess's pregnancy...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Dec 16, 2001

Japan's maverick monk

LETTING GO: The Story of Zen Master Tosui, translated and with an introduction by Peter Haskel. Honolulu: Hawaii University Press, 2001, 168 pp. with woodcuts, $45 (cloth), $19.95 (paper) Tosui Unkei, the beloved and eccentric 17th-century Zen master, was, like Ikkyu Sojin 200 years before him, a decided...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Dec 16, 2001

Young Japanese struggle to find their way

As another year comes to an end, the Japanese media continue to wonder at the new generation at school and at work. The term "shinjinrui" (new species) seems to have fallen out of use but the prevailing attitude is still one of bemusement and even dismay.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Dec 16, 2001

Bringing young and old together

GENERATIONS IN TOUCH: Linking the Old and Young in a Tokyo Neighborhood, by Leng Leng Thang. Cornell University Press, 2001, 209 pp., paper ($39.95) As Japan's traditional three-generation households go nuclear and fewer young couples have children, the care of the nation's elderly has become an increasingly...
LIFE / Food & Drink / VINELAND
Dec 16, 2001

If you're going to pop the cork, do it in style

Recently, we asked professionals from the Tokyo restaurant-and-wine scene to share their tips for worthy holiday wine splurges and to tell us their favorite dishes to match. Their ideas may inspire the right present for a wine aficionado. You might also consider sampling these top picks in a New Year's...
JAPAN / Media / CHANNEL SURF
Dec 16, 2001

Living life to the fullest in fields of dreams

This week's "Sunday Big Special" (TV Tokyo; tonight, 7 p.m.) revisits six families it has featured in the past on its occasional "Back to Nature" specials. These programs explore the burgeoning self-sufficiency movement by profiling families that have given up the rat race and moved to isolated rural...
COMMUNITY
Dec 16, 2001

Photo-news loses its focus

Last August's demise of Shinchosha's weekly photo newsmagazine Focus marked a major publishing milestone in Japan.
CULTURE / Music / PLAY BUTTON
Dec 16, 2001

Japan gets into the swing of things

The swing revival never really got going in Japan. Maybe it was an age thing. Though Japanese young people cotton on to nearly every American trend, swing wasn't quite a product of youth culture. Instead, it was championed by folks who listened to Nirvana or the Red Hot Chili Peppers as teenagers and...
CULTURE / Music / HOGAKU TODAY
Dec 16, 2001

A voice echoing years of history

Imagine yourself in Edo (old Tokyo) during the mid-18th century. The streets bustle with activity -- almost all of which is accompanied by song: carpenters sing while working wood; mothers lull their babies to slumber; farmers till their paddies to rice-planting songs; and the boatmen's rhythmic melodies...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Dec 16, 2001

The architect of Burma's freedom

AUNG SAN AND THE STRUGGLE FOR BURMESE INDEPENDENCE, by Angelene Naw. Silkworm Books; Chiang Mai, 2001, 284 pp., 595 baht. (Also available through University of Washington Press, $17.50) Aung San, the pillar of the struggle for Burmese independence and immensely popular during those most turbulent years,...
LIFE / Food & Drink / BEST BAR NONE
Dec 16, 2001

Get high on romance this Christmas Eve

Christmas used to be a nonevent in Japan. But, due to a variety of factors, suddenly Christmas Eve was up there with Valentine's Day as a romantic night for a hot date. And Santa's look was revamped for sexy young girls in need of a little red dress for the occasion.
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Dec 16, 2001

Caffe Aromatica: The sweet smell of distinction

There's nothing new under the sun -- at least it often seems that way at Italian restaurants in Tokyo. This is not to deny that we are blessed with plenty of excellent cucina, just that too many of the places serving it look and feel like clones.
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM MOSCOW
Dec 15, 2001

A sinister Afghan 'deja vu'

MOSCOW -- The last major stronghold of the Taliban, the city of Kandahar, has fallen, though Osama bin Laden is still hiding in the entrails of Tora Bora mountains. Russians are among the few nations for whom news about the surrender of Kandahar rings a special bell. The city still occupies a prominent,...
COMMENTARY / World / GUEST FORUM
Dec 15, 2001

Image of reconciliation for Myanmar

With the confidence-building period between Myanmar's military regime and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi (Daw Suu) now past the one-year mark, most dissidents have grown more suspicious of the military regime as the country's economy deteriorates and the cost of living rises.
EDITORIALS
Dec 15, 2001

End of the line for Mr. Arafat?

Violence in the Middle East has claimed many political careers, but throughout the long struggle that pitted Arab and Palestinian against Israeli, Mr. Yasser Arafat has been a survivor. He overcame internal factional struggles and Israeli assassination attempts to lead the Palestinian people within reach...
BASEBALL / MLB
Dec 15, 2001

Rhodes close to new deal with Buffaloes

OSAKA -- Pacific League MVP Tuffy Rhodes, whose record-tying 55 homers helped the Kintetsu Buffaloes to their first league championship in 12 years, is close to reaching a new deal with the Osaka club, Kintetsu team president Mitsuru Nagai said Friday.
JAPAN
Dec 15, 2001

Traps planned to corral pesky Tokyo crows

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government plans to launch a sweeping operation this month against the capital's crows, notorious for attacking piles of garbage and even small animals.

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’