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JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Aug 5, 2001

'It's a complicated story,' pleads a battered press

The press has taken quite a beating over its coverage of the murders at Ikeda Elementary School. Even before the funerals, letters to the editor columns were filled with missives from enraged readers lam basting the media's lack of either common decency or common sense. Most complaints concerned interviews...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Aug 5, 2001

If at first you don't succeed . . .

FUKUOKA -- Divorce and remarriage have been possible in Japan since feudal times, though until recently shame and social stigma ensured that few unhappy couples formalized their differences -- let alone took the plunge again.
JAPAN
Aug 5, 2001

Seoul fashion moves into Osaka

OSAKA -- A total of 126 vendors from the Tongdaemun apparel market in Seoul, said to be Asia's largest fashion mart, started operations Saturday at the Asia and Pacific Trade Center (ATC) in Osaka's Suminoe Ward.
CULTURE / Books
Aug 5, 2001

From the outside looking in

THE DONALD RICHIE READER: 50 Years of Writing on Japan. Compiled, edited and with an introduction by Arturo Silva. Stone Bridge Press, 2001, 238 pp., $19.95 (paperback). Full disclosure: I've known Donald Richie for more than 20 years and, like many people who have known him for a long time, I count...
JAPAN
Aug 5, 2001

Foreign Ministry panel fails to report on embezzlement probe in Australia

A Foreign Ministry panel that in April dismissed allegations a diplomat at the embassy in Australia misused public funds in the early 1990s has failed to report on its results, ministry sources said Saturday.
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Aug 5, 2001

A trattoria that's simply delizioso

Delizioso Italia is a pretty unimaginative (and possibly ungrammatical) name for a restaurant. But there's very little else that feels out of place here. It's not a clone of the cheap-chic Capricciosa concept but a fine and friendly trattoria that turns out some highly enjoyable cucina.
LIFE / Food & Drink / THE WAY OF WASHOKU
Aug 5, 2001

The king of mushrooms rules in fall

During these soggiest dog days of high summer it seems as if fall is a dream that might never come. But as the fresh foods that appear on the market shelves remind us, the seasons roll on, and soon we will enjoy the crisp fall air and colorful maple and ginkgo trees. The first sign of impending autumn,...
COMMUNITY
Aug 5, 2001

A funny thing happened on the way . . .

It was a sunny June afternoon in northern Japan, and the perfect setting for a wedding reception: an airy room with large French windows opening onto a garden; mountains of flowers and a cake with more tiers than a Balinese rice field. Then, one of the groom's pals stepped forward to make a speech.
MORE SPORTS
Aug 5, 2001

Japan's Rugby squad to play President XV

Japan will play against a President XV on Sept. 7 (kickoff at 7 p.m.) at Tokyo's National Stadium, the Japan Rugby Football Union announced recently.
LIFE / Food & Drink / BEST BAR NONE
Aug 5, 2001

Passion burning on the dance floor

Lamont Raymond is better known simply as Monty to thousands of Japanese clubbers. After arriving in Tokyo on an English-teaching gig more than a decade ago, he ended up working as the sales manager for Tokyo Classified (the free paper now known as Metropolis). For many years, if you had picked up a copy,...
COMMENTARY
Aug 4, 2001

Donors can make a world of difference

ISLAMABAD -- As Tetsuko Kuroyanagi returns to Japan with promises of using her television appearances to raise awareness over the plight of women and children in Afghanistan, there's no doubt that her six-day trip to the central Asian war-torn country was a brave effort.
BUSINESS
Aug 4, 2001

Moody's upgrades Isetan's outlook

Moody's Investors Service Inc. said Friday it has upgraded its senior unsecured rating on Isetan Co., a Tokyo-based department store chain, from Ba2 to Ba1, with the rating outlook being positive.
JAPAN
Aug 4, 2001

Trauma affecting health of Nagasaki atomic bomb survivors

The health ministry has released a report indicating that survivors of the 1945 atomic bombing of Nagasaki who are not currently eligible for the government's subsidized medical care suffer from deteriorating health that is attributed to mental trauma.
JAPAN
Aug 4, 2001

Land prices drop 6.2%, off for ninth straight year

The average price of land fronting main roads dropped for the ninth straight year in the 12 months to Jan. 1, falling 6.2 percent to 137,000 yen per sq. meter, the National Tax Administration said Friday.
BUSINESS
Aug 4, 2001

Mitsubishi Motors' Australian plant to stay open

Mitsubishi Motors Corp. killed speculation Friday that it would halt its Australian production by announcing it will upgrade and redesign the Magna/Verada model lineup produced at its plant in Adelaide, South Australia.
BASEBALL / MLB
Aug 4, 2001

Kiyohara puts end to Baystars streak

Yomiuri slugger Kazuhiro Kiyohara hit a two-run homer off Yokohama starter Satoru Komiyama (6-5) in the sixth inning as the Giants put an end to the BayStars' winning streak at nine with a 4-3 victory on Friday night at Yokohama Stadium.
BUSINESS
Aug 4, 2001

Food firms facing polarized market

The nation's food companies are facing increasingly polarized consumption trends, and any firm that fails to meet the needs of such a market faces future downgrading, Moody's Investors Service Inc. said Friday.
BUSINESS
Aug 4, 2001

Sumitomo Rubber reports record profits

Sumitomo Rubber Industries Ltd. said Friday that it recorded unconsolidated pretax profits of 6.72 billion yen for the January-June period.
JAPAN
Aug 4, 2001

Local walkathon raises 4 million yen

NAGOYA -- The American Chamber of Commerce Chubu, announced Friday that their 2001 Walkathon, held in May, raised more than 4 million yen for charity.
BUSINESS
Aug 4, 2001

Daikyo, Mori Trust to set up high-quality condo sales unit

Leading condominium builder Daikyo Inc. will establish a joint venture with Mori Trust Co. to sell high-quality condominiums in Tokyo's downtown areas, Daikyo said Friday.
JAPAN
Aug 4, 2001

All Miyake households able to visit

Residents of Miyake Island forced to flee heightened volcanic activity last September will be allowed to pay a temporary visit to their homes early next month, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government announced Friday.
JAPAN
Aug 4, 2001

Economic panel floats budget limits

The Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy proposed Friday earmarking some 2 trillion yen for seven key areas under Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's reform blueprint when the panel draws up budgetary ceilings for fiscal 2002 next week.
JAPAN
Aug 4, 2001

Palau leader pushes for summit

Palau President Thomas Remengesau Jr. urged Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Friday to host a second summit of Japan and Pacific island nations, a Japanese government official said.
JAPAN
Aug 4, 2001

People of all ages are turning to a variety of volunteer work

Japanese men and women of all ages are increasingly spending their spare time engaging in a variety of volunteer work, ranging from restoring traditional "minka" wooden houses in the countryside to recycling secondhand computers.
EDITORIALS
Aug 4, 2001

Balloting system falls short

Use of the new open-list balloting system in the proportional representation segment of the July 29 Upper House election has exposed a number of defects. The basic flaw is that it favors candidates from major parties, particularly those who count on organized votes.
JAPAN
Aug 4, 2001

Male fish develop eggs in testes

The Environment Ministry announced Friday that nonyl phenol, an organic chemical used in cleaning products, disrupts the endocrine system of "medaka" killifish and causes males to assume female reproductive traits.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji