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COMMUNITY
Aug 11, 2002

Seeing is believing: Junichi Yaoi's experiences with the supernatural

Junichi Yaoi's otherworldly encounters took place decades ago, but in his memory, it's as if they happened yesterday.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / BEST BAR NONE
Aug 11, 2002

FBI -- why not give it a shot?

Fifteen years ago, Shokuan-dori was a dark no man's land trapped in the vacuum between Kabukicho and Shin-Okubo. The latter, at that time, was an area buzzing with life as it gained momentum as headquarters for Tokyo's non-Japanese Asian foreigners. But it wasn't until several years later that a few...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Aug 11, 2002

Chill out in Tokyo's favourite haunts

Sites of assassinations, murders and suicides; dark, dank tunnels and creepy old abandoned buildings; weird creatures, the stuff of legends whose origins are lost in the mists of time . . . Tokyo harbors dozens -- perhaps even hundreds -- of "ghost spots" where inexplicable, sinister phenomena have reputedly...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / VINELAND
Aug 11, 2002

Really making a meal of it in Austria

Second of two parts One of the most heady delights for any wine lover is a visit to a vineyard. Hike or bicycle through the countryside, then sip wine and unpack a picnic near lush, green rows of vines. In the warm afternoon, tromp down into the winery's cool, dark cellar that smells of damp earth and...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Aug 11, 2002

Days of the dead: O-bon and the ghosts of Japan

It's that time of year again. The whole of Japan seems to be on the move as people head to their hometowns for the mid-August O-bon festival. And it's not just the living who make travel plans this month. O-bon is the Buddhist holiday when the spirits of the dead are believed to visit the homes of their...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / JAZZNICITY
Aug 11, 2002

A jazz life to the fullest

It used to be that the jazz life followed a relatively set pattern. Young players joined the bands of older pros, learned what they could, went on to become a leader themselves and, maybe, if they were lucky, got a recording contract. Nowadays, however, jazz players are as likely to get their education...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT
Aug 11, 2002

Old Edo's many-splendored glories

The Tokugawa Shogunate may have been crumbling, and Commodore Perry's "Black Ships" may have been tearing aside the veil behind which Japan hid from the world for more than 200 years . . . but the commoners of eastern Edo were preoccupied with other matters: A craze for potted plants was sweeping the...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Aug 11, 2002

Going where the wild things are

BEYOND THE LAST VILLAGE: A Journey of Discovery in Asia's Forbidden Wilderness, by Alan Rabinowitz. Aurum Press, 2002, 300 pp., 19.99 British pounds (cloth) Marco Polo went to Myanmar in the 13th century and saw jungles teeming with wild beasts and unicorns. Centuries later, during British colonial...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Aug 11, 2002

Pretend you win some, you lose some

For the second year in a row, NHK commemorates the end of the Pacific War with a drama special based on a novel by Hisashi Inoue. Last year, it was Inoue's epic about a Tokyo family, "Aozora no Tango." Sunday at 9 p.m. on NHK-G, it will be a more lighthearted tale set shortly after the war.
COMMUNITY
Aug 11, 2002

One god to rule them all

All new regimes know their enemies. Having swept away the forces of the shogunate, the architects of the 1868 Meiji Restoration found themselves facing another foe. This fifth column was invisible: Its ranks were made up of yokai (ghosts) and bakemono (monsters), kappa (water sprites) and tengu (goblins)....
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Aug 11, 2002

We are more than just numbers, aren't we?

On Aug. 3, something interesting happened on the TBS newsmagazine "Broadcaster." Following a report on the new computerized resident registry network, commonly referred to as Juki Net, which would go into effect the following Monday, the show's presenter apologized for not covering the topic fully when...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Aug 11, 2002

Book industry cries murder

Although everyone agrees that the Japanese publishing industry is in trouble, there is less consensus as to the causes. Book and magazine sales have been declining for five years and book revenues for last year were at roughly the same level as a decade earlier; indeed, some say that if it were not for...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Aug 11, 2002

Vietnam Alice: It's summer, so lighten up

The Vietnamese know all about hot weather. And one of their ways of dealing with the heat has been to make their food light and appetizing. Using plenty of aromatic herbs, colorful garnishes and condiments that are fragrant yet not overwhelming to the palate, theirs is the most subtle cuisine in all...
Japan Times
JAPAN / WEEKEND WISDOM
Aug 11, 2002

Bible scholar questions value of religion without substance

If something lacks substance, it is not to the taste of Bible scholar Michiko Ota. Thus, she contends, humans are better off without religion if that religion has lost its substance.
EDITORIALS
Aug 10, 2002

Fears of an Orwellian government

The government launched a nationwide resident registry network Monday, with several municipalities refusing to join it. The controversial system, known as Juki Net, has many people wondering whether it is designed to promote convenience for residents or to tighten the government's grip on basic personal...
BASEBALL / MLB
Aug 10, 2002

Giants show no mercy to Carp

Hideki Matsui extended his lead in the Central League home run race with his 29th and 30th homers of the season as the Yomiuri Giants overwhelmed the Hiroshima Carp 15-1 Friday night at the Tokyo Dome.
JAPAN
Aug 10, 2002

Ministry targets alien plants, animals

The Environment Ministry on Friday outlined the need for a new system to curb the negative effects of alien species that have the potential to ravage Japan's natural environment and biodiversity.
COMMENTARY
Aug 10, 2002

Chen's contradictory roles won't work

HONG KONG -- When Chen Shui-bian ran for president of Taiwan more than two years ago, he distanced himself from his political party, the proindependence Democratic Progressive Party, promising he would be president of all the people of the island, regardless of political affiliation. But on July 21,...
JAPAN
Aug 10, 2002

Mie towns join national registry after holding out

Two Mie Prefecture towns that had vowed not to join the national resident registry network made an about-face Friday morning and connected to the system.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CLOSE NEIGHBORS
Aug 10, 2002

Japanese firms fight back against Chinese copies

A Panasonic CD player, Sony headphones, Toshiba batteries. An extensive array of well-known, Japanese-made products is displayed at an office in Beijing, giving the impression that they are designed to promote imports.
JAPAN
Aug 10, 2002

Ministry targets improved home security measures

The Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry is seeking to promote better home security, including stronger locks to deter break-ins and lights and alarms aimed at making neighborhoods safer.
JAPAN
Aug 10, 2002

Osaka kids to get cooler classrooms

OSAKA -- The Osaka prefectural board of education plans to install air conditioners in all regular classrooms at prefectural high schools beginning in fiscal 2004, it was learned Friday.
COMMENTARY
Aug 10, 2002

No cause to gloat over U.S.

LONDON -- Some Japanese company presidents and board chairmen have probably been laughing quietly to themselves over the scandals that have engulfed some large American companies from Enron to Xerox and WorldCom. After all the lectures they have heard from Americans about the superiority of American...
JAPAN
Aug 10, 2002

Seniors willing to pay more, rely on children less: poll

Elderly people are more willing to pay their own way rather than rely on their children or the social security system, but their financial worries are mounting, according to a Cabinet Office survey released Friday.

Longform

In 2020, 38% of all households were single-person. That figure is projected to rise to 44.3% by 2050.
The rise of AI companionship in a lonely Japan