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JAPAN
Dec 24, 2000

Shrines to be busy over New Year's

Around 89.34 million people are likely to visit major shrines and temples throughout Japan from Jan. 1-3 to wish for a prosperous new year, up 1.2 million from this year, according to a National Police Agency estimate.
JAPAN
Dec 24, 2000

Woman battles unfair rental practices

SHINGU, Hyogo Pref. -- When Suzuko Miura learned in March she would be returned only 34,181 yen of the 98,000 yen deposit she had paid on her son's Kyoto apartment, she refused to go down without a fight.
JAPAN
Dec 24, 2000

A-bomb aid eyed for Pyongyang

The government will send a mission to North Korea as early as February to examine the condition of the surviving atomic bomb victims living there, government sources said Saturday.
JAPAN
Dec 24, 2000

Universal leads Kinki tourism boom

OSAKA -- With construction work on Universal Studio Japan nearing completion, expectations are running high that the Hollywood theme park will attract hordes of visitors and revitalize a hitherto drab industrial site.
JAPAN
Dec 24, 2000

Survey results shed light on problems facing students

Nearly 30 percent of elementary and junior high school students find it too noisy to concentrate on study during class, according to a government survey released Saturday.
JAPAN
Dec 24, 2000

Emperor celebrates 67th birthday with family

The Emperor marked his 67th birthday Saturday by greeting public well-wishers at the Imperial Palace together with members of the Imperial family.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Dec 24, 2000

Shinjo: Can he live up to media hype in New York?

played up the coverage of the signing of free agent Tsuyoshi Shinjo by the New York Mets last week. "He'll be the opening day starting center fielder," said one paper about the former Hanshin Tigers star. "He'll bat sixth in the lineup," read another. While it's nice to know they have high hopes for...
EDITORIALS
Dec 24, 2000

The lessons of Chernobyl

On April 26, 1986, the world had its first full-scale nuclear disaster. On that day, the No. 4 reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear-power plant in Ukraine exploded, sending a huge cloud of radioactive dust across Europe. Earlier this month, Ukraine's government shut down the last working reactor at the Chernobyl...
SOCCER / J. League
Dec 24, 2000

Antlers stop F. Marinos, close in on historic treble

Kashima Antlers edged a step closer to an unprecedented domestic treble Saturday as the J. League and Nabisco Cup champions overcame Yokohama F. Marinos 4-1 on penalties in the Emperor's Cup quarterfinals.
CULTURE / Books
Dec 24, 2000

Palestinian families at a scholarly remove

POLITICAL VIOLENCE AND THE PALESTINIAN FAMILY: Implications for Mental Health and Well-Being, by Vivian Khamis, Haworth Press, 144 pp., $20. The appearance of a book on the impact of political violence on Palestinian families could hardly be timelier. Deaths caused by the present unrest in Israel and...
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 24, 2000

How fast is China's economy growing?

CAMBRIDGE, England -- It is that time of year again when statisticians in Beijing have to decide how fast the Chinese economy grew in the last year. Or rather, not so much how much it grew but how much they are going to claim it grew. More so than anywhere else the figures for growth in gross domestic...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / RENDEZVOUS
Dec 24, 2000

Rendezvous

MERRY CHRISTMAS . . . MERRY CHRISTMAS . . . MERRY CHRISTMAS . . . Have a great day. And the best is yet to come for Japan, with the unique welcoming of the new year -- a festival that can take as long as two weeks or a shorter period of about five days, beginning with what westerners call New Year's...
COMMENTARY
Dec 24, 2000

English-education reform gets watered down

Imagine the fuss if Japan's car industry was producing a million defective cars a year. But for some reason no one bothers much if Japan's English-education industry produces roughly that number of defective English speakers each year.
COMMUNITY
Dec 24, 2000

The miraculous manifestation of a man of the cloth at Xmas

T'was 10 days before Christmas, and all through the house . . . complete and utter panic! Who to interview for Christmas Eve? Jim Carey (promoting his seasonal movie "The Grinch") has come and gone -- along with most of the foreign community (for the holiday break). As for the Japanese, they are all...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Dec 24, 2000

Roll up your sleeve when Lance comes calling

Hospitals come and go -- especially on our island. You can always tell when the hospital comes because it's a large mobile contraption that rolls off the ferry. When it's time to go, it rolls back onto the ferry and you can wave goodbye to the hospital as it goes back out to sea. It's basically a big...
CULTURE / Art
Dec 24, 2000

Rene Lalique: the magic of design

"Siren and Frogs" carafe by Rene Lalique Some of the best window shopping this Christmas season is being enjoyed at an exhibition of jewelry and glassware by Rene Lalique (1860-1945), currently on display at Tokyo's most elegant art gallery, the Teien. Held in the Art Deco building that was once the...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Dec 24, 2000

Jazzchor Freiburg

Germany's award-winning, unconventional 25-member Jazzchor Freiburg recently made its second tour of Japan. The choir is characterized by unpredictability, as its founder-conductor believes it is boring for audiences to know what is coming next. He throws into a typical concert as much variety as he...
CULTURE / Music
Dec 24, 2000

Chamber orchestras prove light but not flighty

Die Freitagsakademie and l'Ensemble Vocale de Lausanne
LIFE / Travel
Dec 24, 2000

Do they know it's Christmas in Xian?

In the cradle of Chinese civilization, Christmas -- in all its commercial fury -- has taken Xi'an city by storm. Today, in this one-time imperial seat now famed for its terra-cotta warriors, storefronts blink Christmas red and green, Santa Claus poses for photos in supermarkets, employees don festive...
JAPAN
Dec 24, 2000

'Open source' forums search for new models in post-IT era

KYOTO -- "Open source," a now familiar term on the Internet, originates from a method of developing computer software that has enabled the creation and continuous improvement of the successful Linux system.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 24, 2000

Arms policy playing into China's hands

WASHINGTON -- As tensions continue to simmer between the People's Republic of China and Taiwan, the Bush administration will come under increasing pressure to provide Taiwan with a firm security guarantee. That could be dangerous and put the United States directly at risk. Instead, the U.S. should increase...
CULTURE / Music
Dec 24, 2000

Vatican hears a different drummer

The fax came from Rome. It said: "Your name has been forwarded to us by Richard Geoffroy of Dom Perignon and Clair Panzer, director of the film shot at Epernay. . . . We are keen to invite M. Shonosuke Okura to perform in our upcoming event." It was signed by Marisa Marcella of Prime Time Promotions,...
CULTURE / Art
Dec 24, 2000

MoT's 'Gift' gets every visitor involved

Eleven Japanese and foreign artists are featured in "The Gift of Hope," the third exhibition in the "MoT Annual" series, which previously only showcased emerging Japanese artists. It was decided to expand the format this year because of the transition from the 20th to the 21st century. The artists were...
JAPAN
Dec 23, 2000

Education Law in need of drastic review: report

The 53-year-old Fundamental Law of Education should be reviewed to determine if it meets current needs and lends itself to the formation of an educational system appropriate for the 21st century, an advisory panel to Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori said in its final report released Friday.
BUSINESS
Dec 23, 2000

Bridgestone credit rating cut to BBB-plus by S&P

Standard & Poor's Corp. said Friday it has lowered its long-term corporate credit rating on Japanese tire maker Bridgestone Corp. to BBB plus from A minus and removed the rating from CreditWatch, where it was placed Aug. 9.
EDITORIALS
Dec 23, 2000

Another round in Kashmir

It is difficult to get excited about talk of peace in Kashmir. India and Pakistan, the two main parties to the conflict in that troubled region, have tried and abandoned a series of initiatives in recent years. Indeed, India refuses to involve Islamabad in any discussions, and this is despite the fact,...

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