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Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Feb 8, 2003

Faith Bach

From her home in Boston, Faith Bach says she always wanted to come to Japan. "I don't know why. These things just happen," she said. She was not encouraged by her parents, who "were not in any way interested in Japan." They had bequeathed her in childhood love and understanding of theater, providing...
Japan Times
JAPAN / PREFECTURAL FARE
Feb 8, 2003

Yamaguchi outpost touts relaxed alternative to madding crowd

The fresh air of Yamaguchi Prefecture may be far removed from Tokyo, but stepping inside Oidemase Yamaguchi Kan (Welcome-to-Yamaguchi Building), its outpost in the Nihonbashi business district, can make a visitor feel half-way there.
JAPAN
Feb 8, 2003

Korean school in harassment plea

Parents and teachers from the Tokyo Korean Junior and Senior High School urged Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Friday to prevent harassment of students attending schools that support North Korea.
BUSINESS
Feb 8, 2003

Foreign reserves soar to $478 billion

Japan's foreign reserves hit a new record for the second straight month at the end of January, rising by $8.87 billion to reach $478.59 billion, the Finance Ministry said Friday.
BUSINESS
Feb 8, 2003

Kansai Economic Summit 'a festival without substance'

KYOTO -- The Kansai Economic Summit came to a close Friday amid calls for general changes in Japan's economic, political and social structure, but little progress was made over the most pressing macroeconomic issues affecting the Kansai region.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 8, 2003

'10,000 yen painting' is an early van Gogh

An oil painting in Tokyo once valued at just 10,000 yen has been identified as an early work by Vincent van Gogh, it was revealed Friday.
JAPAN
Feb 8, 2003

Arms-linked exports may go back to '87

The Tokyo-based machinery maker under investigation for allegedly exporting equipment with possible military applications to Iran and North Korea is believed to have engaged in such trade since 1987, sources said Friday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 8, 2003

Dugong redesignation eyed

The Environment Ministry will consider designating dugongs living in waters around Okinawa a rare domestic species, the environment minister said Friday.
COMMENTARY
Feb 8, 2003

Advice for Roh Moo Hyun

HONOLULU -- A recent visit by South Korean President-elect Roh Moo Hyun's foreign-policy transition team reveals that the incoming administration's policy toward North Korea is still very much in the formative stage. As a longtime student of Korean security affairs, allow me to offer South Korea's incoming...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Feb 8, 2003

The Canadian eco-angle for using fur in fashion

I first talk with Paula Lishman in Ontario, where she lives in the earth-integrated house that husband Bill built. Married 34 years, she describes him as "a true Renaissance man"; his Web site explains just why.
MORE SPORTS
Feb 8, 2003

Asahara to run at indoor worlds

Veteran sprinter Nobuharu Asahara will run in the World Indoor Track and Field Championships next month, the Japan Association of Athletics Federations said Thursday.
EDITORIALS
Feb 8, 2003

Aum must prove itself 'harmless'

Three years' surveillance of the Aum Shinrikyo cult (now called Aleph) by the Public Security Investigation Agency, in accordance with the Antisubversive Activities Law, expired at the end of January. But the Public Security Examination Commission, or PSEC, has decided that surveillance should continue...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Feb 8, 2003

Walk-in freezer homes breed brutes

If you have never been inside a Japanese house, just imagine throwing a bunch of furniture, your computer and your TV into a walk-in freezer. Inhabitants walk around in special thick socks and "chan-chanko," traditional Japanese-style overcoats made for wearing inside the house. Walk into the bathroom...
BUSINESS
Feb 8, 2003

Marubeni to dissolve China food unit

Trading house Marubeni Corp. said Friday it will dissolve its unprofitable Chinese subsidiary Tianjin Ronghong Sales & Distribution Co. by the end of fiscal 2002.
JAPAN
Feb 8, 2003

Food safety bills aimed at restoring public trust

The Cabinet endorsed a set of bills Friday that seek to bolster food safety and protect public health in the wake of numerous recent scares.
JAPAN
Feb 8, 2003

Ballet killer handed 15-year term

A ballet student was sentenced Friday to 15 years in prison for fatally stabbing a Tokyo woman with whom he took dance lessons.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Feb 7, 2003

Woodgate latest casualty in ongoing fire sale by Leeds

LONDON -- Little over a year ago Jonathan Woodgate was public enemy No. 1 in English football following his conviction for affray after an attack on a student, Sarfraz Najeib.
JAPAN
Feb 7, 2003

Restart of Iwakuni civilian flights eyed

Japan and the United States agreed Thursday to begin talks on resuming civilian flights at the U.S. Marine Corps Iwakuni Air Station in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Foreign Ministry officials said.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Feb 7, 2003

Kansai forum focuses on tourism hope

KYOTO -- Kansai needs to wake up and exploit its economic potential as an attractive tourist destination and center for industrial innovation, local business leaders said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Feb 7, 2003

Cuts to guaranteed yields only hope for insurance industry

Keiko Horikoshi, 41, sought out a financial planner last month to make sense of her and her husband's life insurance coverage.
BUSINESS
Feb 7, 2003

Mitsubishi to sell LNG firm stake

Major trader Mitsubishi Corp. said Thursday it will sell its 15 percent stake in Malaysia LNG Sendirian Berhad, a liquefied natural gas manufacturer, to Petroliam Nasional Berhad (PETRONAS), Malaysia's government-owned oil company.
BUSINESS
Feb 7, 2003

Home loan body to resell mortgages under draft law

The Government Housing Loan Corp. will be allowed to securitize and sell mortgages after buying them from private financial institutions, according to a proposal presented Thursday to the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.

Longform

Bear attacks have dominated Japanese news headlines in recent months, with 13 people so far having been killed by the animals.
Japan’s bears have been on their killing spree for more than 100 years