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Taiga Uranaka

JAPAN

Jan 27, 2002

Playwright offers art to lift Japan out of crisis

In these gloomy times, it seems everyone in Japan is chanting the mantra of structural reform, yet progress is excruciatingly slow. The greatest obstacle is not the political old guard nor the foot-dragging banks. Instead, the main problem is lack of art, according to playwright Oriza Hirata.

JAPAN

Jan 6, 2002

Architect blames Japan cityscapes on obsession with wealth

Japan's cities have been criticized for lacking the harmony and consistence felt in other countries, especially in Europe. But that's not a result of poor city planning; the disarray of structures in Tokyo and Osaka simply mirror the country's postwar obsession with material wealth, according to architect...

COMMUNITY

Dec 6, 2001

Theme park operator laughs in face of yakuza, Mickey Mouse

While yakuza gangs and Mickey Mouse may be intimidating for her colleagues, Hatsue Takai merely brushes them aside.

JAPAN

Dec 1, 2001

Net poses major changes for news media

Does the advent of the Internet society spell the end of the news media as we know it? Will a new breed of reporters, represented by anonymous authors in online chat rooms, oust professional journalists from the public arena?

JAPAN

Nov 17, 2001

Ward floats shopping bag tax

In the first local government tax of its kind in Japan, Tokyo's Suginami Ward is pushing a plan to impose a 5 yen levy on each plastic bag handed out at shops and supermarkets.

Japan Times

JAPAN

Nov 14, 2001

Patients, professionals slam health insurance reform

The winter after an unusually hot summer is especially risky for the elderly, whose vulnerable immune systems have been taxed by intense heat.

JAPAN

Oct 6, 2001

Farmers angry at ministry foot-dragging

NODA, Chiba Pref. -- It is worse than the market collapse during the economic slump triggered by the 1973 oil crisis, when beef prices plunged by two-thirds.

JAPAN

Oct 2, 2001

Disclosure law struggling to live up to its name

A landmark information disclosure law has failed to live up to its promise of increasing the transparency of the nation's scandal-tinged bureaucracy, citizens' groups claim.

SOCCER / World cup

Sep 24, 2001

Pictograms counted on to bridge language gaps

As the country prepares to host the 2002 Soccer World Cup, a growing number of local authorities and transportation operators are employing visually oriented communication means called pictograms on streets and at public facilities.

JAPAN

Sep 20, 2001

Miyake islanders visit evacuated homes

MIYAKE ISLAND -- More than 300 people returned to their homes here Tuesday for the first time since being forced to evacuate a year ago due to worsening volcanic activity.

JAPAN

Sep 8, 2001

Natural gas station still standing

Almost six months have passed since a natural gas fuel station was opened on the premises of the metropolitan government complex in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward as part of a public campaign to reduce vehicle exhaust pollution in the capital.

JAPAN

Sep 1, 2001

Evacuated Miyake islanders get to grips with urban jungle

Motome Miyazawa's voice booms across rows of taro plants at a farm in Hachioji, western Tokyo.

JAPAN

Aug 10, 2001

Tokyo prepares to introduce 'ad trains'

"Ad trains" may hit Tokyo as early as the fall as the Tokyo Metropolitan Government moves to lift its ban on city trains carrying exterior advertisements, it was learned Thursday.

JAPAN

Aug 2, 2001

Commuters fume over train temperatures

Frustration levels are running high among train and subway commuters amid a spell of uncomfortably hot weather this summer, driving many to demand cooler trains.

JAPAN

Jun 16, 2001

Will Koizumi factor win Tokyo for LDP?

The apparently overwhelming popularity of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi will be put to its first real test in less than 10 days, when the results of the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election — campaigning for which began Friday — are announced June 24. And in spite of his popularity, those involved...

JAPAN

Jun 7, 2001

Carriers at a loss as railway violence accelerates

Tokyo commuter trains have suffered a recent spate of violent incidents — two of them fatal — involving total strangers and minor confrontations that got out of hand.

JAPAN

Jun 1, 2001

Romance, danger lurk in e-mail personals

Upon meeting her 28-year-old date, "Koneko" found him to be as cool as she had imagined from his countless e-mails.

JAPAN

May 8, 2001

Authorities concerned over legal but risky drugs

The recent spread of so-called legal drugs among youngsters in the Tokyo metropolitan area has alarmed drug officials.

JAPAN

Apr 20, 2001

LDP's Tokyo politicians voice dissent

They are closely watching the Liberal Democratic Party presidential race. In fact, they will be the first to receive the verdict of voters on the party under its new leader.

JAPAN

Apr 10, 2001

ID system keeps alcohol vending machines handy

It means an additional search through your wallet before cracking open a cold beer from the liquor vending machines most of us take for granted. But rest assured, it's for a good cause.

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.

Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.

Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.

By Tomoko Otake

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Tsukuba massif granite, one of the world’s few heritage stones

Tsukuba massif granite, one of the world’s few heritage stones

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