search

 
 
JAPAN
May 13, 2001

Maglev link between Osaka, Tokyo starts to move forward

A plan to operate magnetically levitated -- or maglev -- trains between Tokyo and Osaka in one hour at speeds of up to 500 kph is moving ahead, with the government starting a feasibility study.
LIFE / Food & Drink / BEST BAR NONE
May 13, 2001

Last night a radio DJ saved my life

The foreign contribution to Tokyo's nightlife is not all Roppongi sleaze. Take Guy Perryman, for example, who has created a unique lounge-cum-event space around a radio station. Guy had just started his career as an FM disc jockey in Sydney when he was recruited by Virgin to spin at the opening of their...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
May 13, 2001

Death and the maidens

TBS's "Sekai Fushigi Hakken," currently the longest-running quiz show on commercial TV, was also one of the first series to combine education and entertainment in a way that didn't compromise either. Whereas the previous record-holder, "Naruhodo the World," which went off the air several years ago, presented...
SOCCER / J. League
May 13, 2001

S-Pulse ends Jubilo's winning streak

AINO, Shizuoka Pref. -- Shimizu S-Pulse kicked the new Ecopa World Cup stadium into life Saturday with a 1-0 extra-time win over runaway J. League leader Jubilo Iwata before 52,959 fans.
CULTURE / Music / MUSIC NOMAD
May 13, 2001

Lonesome Strings come out of the shadows

Like anyone who's really good at something, Yoshiki Sakurai makes it look easy. On stage, as he lets fly with complicated riffs and rhythms in any variety of styles, he stands expressionless.
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
May 13, 2001

Sit back, relax and let life pass you by

Summer's on its way, and none of us need any encouraging to make the most of it. There's no better way to celebrate the onset of the hot weather than with a leisurely lunch in the open air. Nothing too heavy, nothing too complicated -- this is the season to start lightening up the diet, anyway. Here...
COMMUNITY
May 13, 2001

Taking a leaf out of a traditional book

Eastern herbal remedies and traditional Chinese medicines are now more widely used than at any time in their long history. Thousands of people in the West, frustrated by perceived failures in Western medicine, or worried about the dangers of artificial drugs, are turning to herbal alternatives.
COMMUNITY
May 13, 2001

Getting fresh in Tokyo

A selection of Tokyo-area restaurants that feature fresh herbs in their dishes:
JAPAN
May 12, 2001

LDP ad pitches 'oddball' Koizumi

The Liberal Democratic Party has chosen four promotional TV commercials to be aired beginning May 20, including one featuring Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi titled "An Oddball in Nagata-cho," party officials said.
JAPAN
May 12, 2001

LDP agrees to Diet vote on foreign suffrage bill

In a move designed to flatter its key coalition ally, the Liberal Democratic Party will agree to hold a Lower House vote during the current Diet session on a bill to grant foreign residents suffrage, LDP policy affairs chief Taro Aso said Friday.
JAPAN
May 12, 2001

Activist gives draft CFC bill pass mark

Citizen lobbying and government dithering is moving the nation closer to realizing a scheme to promote the retrieval of ozone-depleting and greenhouse gases.
BUSINESS
May 12, 2001

Nighttime services popular among traders

Around-the-clock global stock trading is becoming the order of the day.
JAPAN
May 12, 2001

Foreign Ministry officials begin sniping at Tanaka

With Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka flexing her muscles over the ministry's personnel affairs, bureaucrats have begun a counterattack, questioning her diplomatic judgment.
BUSINESS
May 12, 2001

FamilyMart to buy 80 Kinki stores

Major convenience store chain FamilyMart Co. will acquire about 80 stores run by a subsidiary of Heiwado Co., a midsize supermarket chain operator based in Shiga Prefecture, the two firms announced Friday.
COMMENTARY / World
May 12, 2001

The hallucinogenic security of nuclear mushroom clouds

When former U.S. President Bill Clinton was recently in India, the story goes, he was walking along the beach one evening in a contemplative mood. Spying an object sticking out of the ground, he pulled it out, gave it a rub to see what it was and found it was a brass lamp. True to form, a genie appeared...
BUSINESS
May 12, 2001

New unemployment forum planned

The government will set up a new panel tasked with mapping out ways to curb unemployment that may result from the implementation of painful reforms, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda said Friday.
BUSINESS
May 12, 2001

Korean residents give green light to bid for new bank

Korean residents in Japan decided Friday to apply in late June for the establishment of a bank to take over the healthy assets of failed credit unions serving their community, officials said.
JAPAN
May 12, 2001

Hansen's patients hope for dignity in society's eyes

Former patients of Hansen's disease are hoping their fight to restore the human rights they have long been deprived of will build public awareness and eventually lead to the creation of a society in which no one's dignity is denied.
EDITORIALS
May 12, 2001

Now it's time for specifics

During the past three days of Diet debates, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi led the charge for structural reform, taking the steam out of opposition attacks. The political dynamics in the Diet seemed to have changed suddenly, with the opposition sometimes having to go on the defensive against the enormously...
JAPAN
May 12, 2001

State lodges appeal against Minamata disease ruling

The government filed an appeal Friday with the Supreme Court against an April 27 Osaka High Court ruling that found the state failed to act to prevent mercury poisoning and ordered it to pay damages to victims of Minamata disease.
BUSINESS
May 12, 2001

Bureaucrat off to Suzuki

Another elite bureaucrat at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry was expected to quit Friday to join Suzuki Motor Corp., ministry officials said.
BUSINESS
May 12, 2001

Economy gets fourth downgrade in a row

The government downgraded its assessment of economic conditions for the fourth straight month in its May report released Friday, saying the economy is "further weakening."

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