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Asako Murakami
For Asako Murakami's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jul 6, 2003
Small campus, big dreams
IKOMA, Nara Pref. -- While many national universities are apprehensive about being transformed into independent administrative corporations next April, Koji Torii, president of Nara Institute of Science and Technology (NAIST), sees it as a good opportunity.
COMMUNITY
Jul 6, 2003
Hope for the future takes root in rice fields
ASUKA, Nara Pref. -- The mid-June drizzle had just let up when taiko drum beats marked the opening of the taue (rice-planting) festival.
JAPAN / KANSAI BEAT
Jul 4, 2003
Shop redefines the sound bite
KYOTO -- Enter the little shop in Kyoto's Higashiyama Ward and the world unfolds through sound -- the sounds collected around the world, such as ice melting off a glacier, snarling Bangkok traffic, beetles mating, a rhinoceros breaking wind and the silence of a Patagonian plain interrupted by a flying insect.
Japan Times
JAPAN / KANSAI BEAT
Jun 26, 2003
Everyone's a tour guide in ward civic pride drive
OSAKA -- On every fourth Sunday, Osaka's Hirano Ward turns out to put its best historical foot forward and demonstrate its community pride.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 20, 2003
Pop artists band together to tune young people in to alternative energy
OSAKA -- Solar and wind power generators were probably the last thing the audience came to see when they went to an open-air concert by the rock group Glay in summer 2001.
JAPAN
Jun 20, 2003
Pop artists band together to tune young people in to alternative energy
OSAKA -- Solar and wind power generators were probably the last thing the audience came to see when they went to an open-air concert by the rock group Glay in summer 2001.
JAPAN
Jun 6, 2003
Ikeda victims' kin win settlement
The education ministry said Thursday that a total of 400 million yen in compensation will be given to the parents of eight children killed in a stabbing spree at an Osaka elementary school two years ago.
JAPAN
Jun 6, 2003
Ikeda victims' kin win settlement
The education ministry said Thursday that a total of 400 million yen in compensation will be given to the parents of eight children killed in a stabbing spree at an Osaka elementary school two years ago.
JAPAN
Jun 6, 2003
Ikeda victims' kin win settlement
The education ministry said Thursday that a total of 400 million yen in compensation will be given to the parents of eight children killed in a stabbing spree at an Osaka elementary school two years ago.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 1, 2003
Big Issue Kansai magazine to help homeless help themselves
OSAKA -- Hoping to imitate the success of its British namesake, a company was recently set up here to publish a magazine called Big Issue Kansai, which will help homeless people earn money by selling the paper on the street.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
May 25, 2003
Kansai rides the onsen wave
It's a sunny Saturday afternoon, and Spa World in Osaka's Naniwa Ward is crowded with people of all ages drawn to its 16 different kinds of baths. True to its name, it's an onsen theme park with a global approach.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 18, 2003
Journalist offers renewable energy as solution to wars fought over oil
OSAKA -- Humans may someday cease to fight over oil when the sun becomes our main source of energy, according to 64-year-old German journalist Franz Alt.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 3, 2003
Kansai robots on march amid Astro Boy hoopla
OSAKA -- The Osamu Tezuka Manga Museum in Takarazuka, Hyogo Prefecture, is witnessing a surge in visitors ahead of the April 7 "birthday" of Astro Boy, the humanoid robot for which the late cartoonist is probably best known.
JAPAN
Apr 1, 2003
South Korea food, culture site to open in Osaka in '05
OSAKA -- A South Korean food and cultural complex will open in the Rinku area near Kansai International Airport in February 2005 to promote friendship between Japan and South Korea, it was announced Monday.
JAPAN
Mar 24, 2003
Water forum closes amid clash over privatization
KYOTO -- For eight days, and at a considerable cost to local taxpayers, the World Water Forum brought together international corporations in the water supply business, World Bank officials and a large number of Japanese construction and design firms, as well as senior government officials and thousands of members of nongovernmental organizations.
JAPAN
Mar 22, 2003
Committee to review nation's dams
KYOTO -- Experts from Japan and the U.S. on Friday launched a committee to examine Japan's love affair with dams, hoping to draw on U.S. experiences in reviewing and decommissioning such projects.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 21, 2003
Sri Lankan makes a case for the right to water
KYOTO -- Sumika Perera is in the midst of a fight against the Sri Lankan government and international lending agencies, which are trying to privatize her country's water.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 20, 2003
Bangladesh flood-control aid projects should heed locals' advice: NGO chief
KYOTO -- In Bengali, the word "flood" has a positive meaning, as floods bring fertility to the land.
JAPAN
Mar 19, 2003
Clear line drawn as private water management debate opens
OSAKA -- Debate on private vs. public water management lived up to its billing as one of most divisive issues at the World Water Forum as a two- day plenary session opened here Tuesday.
JAPAN
Mar 18, 2003
Water forum promotes role of women
KYOTO -- Greater integration of the female perspective is critical for better management of water services, according to participants in a session Monday of the ongoing World Water Forum here.

Longform

A statue of "Dragon Ball" character Goku stands outside the offices of Bandai Namco in Tokyo. The figure is now as recognizable as such characters as Mickey Mouse and Spider-Man.
Akira Toriyama's gift to the world