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JAPAN
Jun 3, 2001

'Miyadaiku' carpenter laments loss of traditional knowledge

HOFU, Yamaguchi Pref. — Shoji Matsuura communicates with the dead.
JAPAN
Jun 3, 2001

Tanaka told Downer U.S. missile defense plan is nod to interest groups

Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka has suggested that special interest groups supporting U.S. President George W. Bush may be behind U.S. missile defense plans, Japanese government sources said Saturday.
JAPAN
Jun 3, 2001

Tokyo, Seoul strive to revive relations before World Cup

In the leadup to the 2002 World Cup soccer finals, Japan and South Korea are moving behind the scenes to prevent the sizzling political imbroglio over a right-leaning Japanese history textbook from spilling over into the cultural field.
JAPAN
Jun 3, 2001

Unpublished Akutagawa notes found

Five unpublished notebook pages written by Ryunosuke Akutagawa (1892-1927), one of modern Japan's best known writers, have been found in an antique bookstore in Tokyo's Kanda district, researchers said Saturday.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jun 3, 2001

Clearing the shelves

Many business owners on the verge of financial ruin probably are loath to close the book on their companies. Yet, for long-term Nagoya resident Marvin Harvest, endeavors to write the ending to his 10-year business have dragged on like a bad saga.
JAPAN
Jun 3, 2001

Find casts light on temblors

A research team has found evidence of a series of tsunami caused by earthquakes concentrated in the Tokai region inside layers of earth below a lake in Owase, Mie Prefecture, the team said Saturday.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jun 3, 2001

It's bargain time for antique lovers

The atmosphere is gloomy at the Ikebukuro Folkcraft and Antiques Hall.
BASEBALL / MLB
Jun 3, 2001

Matsunaka powers Hawks

Daiei slugger Nobuhiko Matsunaka went 4-for-4 with five RBIs as the Hawks jumped on Seibu starter Daisuke Matsuzaka to beat the Lions 9-1 at the Fukuoka Dome on Saturday.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jun 3, 2001

High style at a price that suits

Makoto Kobara is rather pleased with his Comme des Garcons suit. Yet the 24-year-old's favorite thing about it is not the chic design or subtle color, but the fact that it cost him under 26,000 yen.
COMMUNITY
Jun 3, 2001

A new lease on life

Prosperous economies produce waste. Throw in rampant consumerism and a laissez-faire attitude toward the environment, and you've got the makings of a serious problem. Welcome to Japan. A host of treasures awaits you . . .
COMMENTARY
Jun 3, 2001

Russia's long shadow falls on Ukraine

KIEV -- Russia is working assiduously to tighten its grip on Ukraine. With U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld set to visit Kiev in early June, the Bush administration should begin drawing that nation back toward the West.
CULTURE / Stage
Jun 3, 2001

What star shines yonder east?

There is always a danger that productions of "The Tempest," the play Shakespeare set on an enchanted island, will indulge in too many theatrical effects and, thus, destroy its magic. Yet in the latest production to arrive in Tokyo, no spirits fly through the air nor is anyone soaked or tossed about in...
CULTURE / Music / FUZZY LOGIC
Jun 3, 2001

Bite into some music for thought

"You've got to come and see Gaji. They'll kill you," said the gig's promoter.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Jun 3, 2001

Housing for human beings

THE JAPANESE HOUSE: Architecture and Interiors. Photographs by Noboru Murata, text by Alexandra Black. Boston/Tokyo: Tuttle Publishing, 2000, 216 pp., copiously illustrated, 4,500 yen. Though the architect Le Corbusier learned a lot from Japan, he could not have been thinking of this country when he...
SOCCER / World cup
Jun 3, 2001

South Korea bounces back

ULSAN, South Korea -- Mexico thought it was playing South Korea on Friday night in Ulsan. In the end, it lost 2-1 to Kashiwa Reysol thanks to goals from Hwang Sun Hong and Man of the Match Yoo Sang Chul, who both play for the Chiba-based team.
COMMUNITY
Jun 3, 2001

When the price is right

Ready to start saving cash while supporting recycling efforts? Following are a few popular thrift stores in Tokyo where used doesn't mean useless:
CULTURE / Music
Jun 3, 2001

Jamming outside the lines

The complexity of jazz is both its strength and its weakness, turning off many would-be listeners with the demands of its difficult, challenging forms, while fascinating fans with its open-ended dynamism. For many jazz players, the tension between having to entertain and wanting to push boundaries is...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jun 3, 2001

Where to find those bygone gems

If you're after antique furniture you don't have to go to Camden Lock or Jubilee market in London to find that "one-and-only" piece. There are antique shops right here full of treasures from home and abroad -- and at reasonable prices.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jun 3, 2001

Old-books trade turns over a new leaf

In case you haven't noticed, the little used bookshop around the corner has some serious competition. The new kids on the block are so spacious, brightly lit and spotlessly clean that they could easily be mistaken for convenience stores.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 3, 2001

Can Koizumi turn popularity into power?

Looking at Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's popularity and its spillover effect on the Liberal Democratic Party, one has to be impressed. Recent highly popular actions, such as the prime minister's decision not to challenge a court decision awarding compensation to leprosy victims, only add to the...
JAPAN
Jun 3, 2001

Koizumi to push U.S. on UNESCO

In an unusual diplomatic move, Japan may ask the United States during an upcoming bilateral summit to return to UNESCO as soon as possible, government sources said Saturday.
CULTURE / Books
Jun 3, 2001

Past obscures Korea's nuclear future

SOLVING THE NORTH KOREAN NUCLEAR PUZZLE, edited by David Albright and Kevin O'Neill. Washington, D.C.: ISIS Press, 2000, 333 pp., $29.95 (paper). We may never know how close the world came to war in 1994, but most accounts suggest the margin was slim. Suspicions about North Korea's nuclear program...
LIFE / Food & Drink / BEST BAR NONE
Jun 3, 2001

Girls 'n' guys a go-go!

Just a few years ago, when Yoichi Nakamuta was on a business trip to New York, he stumbled upon an unusual designer item: Go-Go Drink, a natural herb soda or energy drink. But it wasn't just the intriguing blend of tropical herbs and roots it contained that caught his attention.
LIFE / Food & Drink / THE WAY OF WASHOKU
Jun 3, 2001

Ume, back in the pink

Get out the salt and pop open the white liqueur — the season for ume is upon us. The diminutive Prunus mume — referred to erroneously as a plum but technically an apricot — has hit the shelves and is available in its preferred unripe form for the next month and a half. Farmers growing these apricots...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jun 3, 2001

It's all about manners (cough, gasp), not health

It's not surprising that the local media glossed over the World Health Organization's 14th annual World No Tobacco Day last Thursday. The government, a member in good standing of the United Nations and a conscientious contributor to its causes, didn't start preparing a seminar to mark the occasion until...
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jun 3, 2001

Kihachi China moves uptown

When Kihachi China moved a few blocks across Ginza last November, it was not just a change of address -- it signified a definite change of status. The old premises, hidden away behind Printemps, were smart but lightweight. The new restaurant is a mere five minutes' stroll away -- just around the corner...
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 3, 2001

Wellington reaches out to Asia

The first country to give the vote to women, New Zealand presently has the distinction of having all three top public posts occupied by women: the governor general, the prime minister and the chief justice. This provides a clue as to why at times Wellington has played a role and exercised an influence...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Jun 3, 2001

Lessons in crisis mismanagement

All my life I have been behind the times. I wore my bell-bottoms for years after the fashion had died, and in fact only abandoned them after they had shrunk up and become sort of bell-knickers.

Longform

The students at Mitaka Municipal No. 7 Junior High School have access to various cooling devices for when they play sports.
Japan's extreme heat is causing a rethink of school sports