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LIFE / Food & Drink / THE WAY OF WASHOKU
Aug 26, 2001

Cuts above appliance-aided cuisine

During my first days of apprenticeship in a traditional Japanese restaurant, I was surprised by the noticeable lack of electrical outlets on the walls of the small Osaka kappo eatery. This scarcity soon proved not to be a problem given the dearth of small electric appliances that dominate professional...
LIFE / Food & Drink / BEST BAR NONE
Aug 26, 2001

Bring it on home

O-bon is a mysterious Japanese holiday, which falls somewhere between the beginning and middle of August, as determined by the heaves and sighs of the cosmos each year. It is said to be a time when the spirits of one's ancestors return to roost (especially if one leaves a strategically placed eggplant...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Aug 26, 2001

Dogs and penguins and affairs, oh my!

If you have a dog who doesn't do what you say, you might want to tune in this morning to Asahi TV's Sunday talk show "Tokusuru TV (Beneficial TV)" (9:30 a.m.), where actors Masayuki Watanabe and Wakako Shinozaki play-act at being a couple who entertain guests with interesting tips for everyday life.
JAPAN
Aug 26, 2001

METI to launch 'smart house' pilot project

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry plans to launch a project in the next fiscal year linking about 50 households to a high-speed data network that will improve their security systems and monitor their occupants' health, ministry officials said Saturday.
SOCCER / J. League
Aug 26, 2001

Antlers cruise into top spot

Japan defender Koji Nakata scored twice to lead Kashima Antlers to a 3-1 victory over Gamba Osaka on Saturday and move last year's treble winner clear at the top of the J. League first-division second-stage table.
CULTURE / Books
Aug 26, 2001

Engine of a nation's modernization

A HISTORY OF JAPANESE RAILWAYS: 1872-1999, by Eiichi Aoki, Mitsuhide Imashiro, Shinichi Kato and Yasuo Wakuda. Tokyo: East Japan Railway Culture Foundation, 2000, 256 pp., 5,000 yen (cloth). Few industries have a more illustrious history than that of the railroad. From its birth in the 19th century...
CULTURE / Books
Aug 26, 2001

Shaping the future:the politics of language

LANGUAGE PLANNING AND LANGUAGE CHANGE IN JAPAN, by Tessa Carroll, Richmond, Surrey: Curzon, 276 pp., 40.00 British pounds (cloth) Most countries consider their official language to be an area of state responsibility requiring "planning" by government agencies or special institutions. Language, from...
CULTURE / Music
Aug 26, 2001

An autumn windfall of hogaku concerts

Autumn marks the beginning of the busy fall concert season. Following are a few recommended hogaku concerts in Tokyo in the upcoming weeks:
COMMUNITY
Aug 26, 2001

Millions stranded with no way home

A major earthquake hits. Just as you've practiced in disaster drills, you evacuate. Making it to a safe place, you let out a small sigh of relief.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Aug 26, 2001

Sips of high-grade tranquillity

In parts of Asia, tea is more than a mere beverage: It is a social lubricant, a sacrament of complex rituals and a vital part of national identity. Throughout history, farmers and philosophers alike have treasured a steaming cup of cha. While there is some evidence of tea's health benefits, there is...
JAPAN
Aug 26, 2001

Subsidies eyed for eco-friendly buses, trucks

The Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry plans to create a system to subsidize truck and bus company operators in Japan's three major urban areas to change their vehicles to low-emissions ones, ministry sources said Saturday.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 26, 2001

Tuvalu: first casualty of climate change

HONOLULU -- It's too late for Tuvalu, a small island nation in the Pacific. Ten thousand people, Tuvalu's entire population, are packing their bags as their homes among nine low-level atolls are being swallowed by the rising sea. These are the facts of life: The Earth is warming, sea levels are rising,...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Aug 26, 2001

Shaken but not stirred

...
JAPAN
Aug 26, 2001

Eatery owner, 58, safe after Monday abduction

A 58-year-old man was found unharmed in the town of Okabe, Shizuoka Prefecture, early Saturday after allegedly being abducted Monday in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward, police said.
JAPAN
Aug 26, 2001

H-IIA launch set for Wednesday

The launch of an H-IIA rocket, postponed due to a malfunction in an engine valve, will take place at 1 p.m. Wednesday, the National Space Development Agency of Japan said Saturday.
JAPAN
Aug 26, 2001

Works budget reflects outlay cap

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the chief spender of public works outlays, will seek a budget of 7.9 trillion yen to fund its activities in fiscal 2002, ministry officials said Saturday.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Aug 26, 2001

Showing, not telling: the birth of pure film

WRITING IN LIGHT: The Silent Scenario and the Japanese Pure Film Movement, by Joanne Bernardi. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 2001, 355 pp., 100 illustrations. $39.95 (cloth); $19.95 (paperback) Film evolved differently in different cultures. In the West the cinema was perceived as a new form...
LIFE / Food & Drink / VINELAND
Aug 26, 2001

There are wine souvenirs, and then there are wines

On the edge of autumn, vineyards are heavy with fruit. In the late afternoon, the air turns cool. The weeks before harvest are one of the most beautiful times of year to visit wineries. And you need not fly overseas for the experience.
COMMUNITY
Aug 26, 2001

Building on experience

In a country that soaks up nearly 10 percent of the energy released worldwide by earthquakes, admiring the skyscrapers equally raises the specter of them falling down.
EDITORIALS
Aug 25, 2001

A step in the wrong direction

Japan has a resident litigation system modeled on America's taxpayer suits. It allows residents to file suits to correct financial irregularities on the part of local officials, such as use of public money for private wining and dining. Now, a bill to change that system is pending in the Diet. The measure...
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 25, 2001

Scandals have Chirac on the defensive

LONDON -- August is the month when, traditionally, the French forget about the cares of everyday life as they head for long holidays at home or abroad. But, this year, the most eminent of them as had a far from relaxing time. Just nine months before he faces an uphill re-election battle, President Jacques...
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 25, 2001

Why Dear Leader isn't going to Seoul

SEOUL -- "All contacts have stopped. We had expected North Korea to take up the process again, but they haven't," says South Korean Foreign Minister Han Seung Soo. Since Pyongyang left negotiations last March, not much has happened diplomatically between the two estranged Koreas.
BUSINESS
Aug 25, 2001

Yen gaining, credit-easing notwithstanding

The Bank of Japan's latest move to further ease its credit grip has gone largely unheeded on the currency market.
JAPAN
Aug 25, 2001

Japan, U.S. to discuss environmental project

Japan and the United States will begin expert-level environmental talks in September aimed primarily at boosting cooperation in the development of technologies needed to better forecast and prevent global warming, government sources said Friday.
SOCCER / J. League
Aug 25, 2001

Defender Hong injured, out for month

Kashiwa Reysol and South Korea defender Hong Myung Bo has suffered a fractured shin and will be out of action for a month, the J. League club announced Friday.
COMMENTARY
Aug 25, 2001

Asking a lot of peacemakers

LONDON -- What have Macedonia, Israel and Northern Ireland got in common?
JAPAN
Aug 25, 2001

Ministry aims for science, math boost

The education ministry has selected around 1,000 elementary and junior high schools nationwide to participate in a new program aimed at boosting students' math and science abilities.
JAPAN
Aug 25, 2001

Ministry to boost child-care support for working moms

The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry plans to earmark 700 billion yen for measures to boost child-care support for working parents within its fiscal 2002 budget request, according to ministry officials.
BUSINESS
Aug 25, 2001

J-Phone regional operators to merge

Japan Telecom Co. and its British parent Vodafone Group PLC on Friday announced that their four J-Phone cellular group companies will merge Nov. 1.

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’