search

 
 
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 5, 2001

Evidence of microbes from outer space

LONDON -- The biggest news so far this year is not George W. Bush's plans for intergalactic defense, or even the Code Red virus that was supposed to eat our computers and then our brains. It is the discovery of bugs in the upper atmosphere.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 5, 2001

U.S., China vie in bending the truth

Diplomacy, as much as the warfare it is designed to prevent, exacts a heavy toll on the truth. One can only wonder what future generations will learn with disbelief and chagrin when the Freedom of Information Act allows public examination of U.S.-China foreign policy intrigue in recent years.
BASEBALL / MLB
Aug 5, 2001

Swallows' big guns destroy Dragons

Alex Ramirez hit two home runs and teammate Roberto Petagine connected for his Central League-leading 30th homer as the Yakult Swallows trounced the Chunichi Dragons 12-1 at Jingu Stadium on Saturday.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Aug 5, 2001

The big day

When 645 guests descended on Tokyo's New Takanawa Hotel last month to celebrate the marriage of 46-year-old former pop idol Hideki Saijo to Miki Makihara, a 28-year-old "office lady" he'd been dating since the fall, the starstruck media gushed at length over the "super gorgeous" event.
JAPAN
Aug 5, 2001

Cold air brings heavy rain to Niigata

An active cold front brought heavy rain to Niigata Prefecture on the Sea of Japan coast Saturday morning, with hourly precipitation of 80 mm recorded in the towns of Nou and Kanose.
JAPAN
Aug 5, 2001

Dual-surname system gaining support

Those in favor of permitting married couples to have different surnames far outnumber those opposing it, according to a government survey released Saturday.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Aug 5, 2001

Getting (hic) hitched in the sticks

Imagine you are a bride. At your wedding reception, you visit each table for "candle service." Lighting one on each table you greet guests, all of whom congratulate you, clapping their hands. This would be a scene from an ordinary reception. But what if half the guests are nodding off? Such was my case....
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Aug 5, 2001

Nuptial nuggets

* The verb "to wed" is thought to be derived from the Old English "weddian" (pledge), or Old Norse "vethja" (to wager).
COMMUNITY
Aug 5, 2001

What's in a name?

A wedding ceremony may be the culmination of romantic love, but it's also when life within the institution of marriage begins.
JAPAN
Aug 5, 2001

Milk recalled after E. coli scare

A distributor of milk from agricultural cooperatives said Saturday it is recalling liter cartons of milk made at a plant in Atsugi, Kanagawa Prefecture, because some of them may be contaminated with E. coli bacteria.
COMMENTARY
Aug 5, 2001

Bush takes over mistakes in Kosovo

WASHINGTON -- The Clinton Administration in drag?
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Aug 5, 2001

Down the aisle in style

As a little girl, I dreamed of getting married in a church amid beautiful European scenery -- or, if the wedding were held in Japan, then in the quiet setting of the woods of Karuizawa, Nagano Prefecture.
JAPAN
Aug 5, 2001

Foreigners aim to help in World Cup

Korean, Chinese, Brazilian and other foreign nationals living in Japan plan to set up a nonprofit organization to provide interpreters and volunteers for the 2002 World Cup finals, which kick off in less than 300 days.
JAPAN
Aug 5, 2001

Aging craftsman proves human eye has edge over machines

UTSUNOMIYA, Tochigi Pref. -- The delicate hands and intuitive judgment of Yoshimasa Katori enable him do what no precision machine has ever accomplished -- polish glass into perfectly curved lenses.
LIFE / Food & Drink / NIHONSHU
Aug 5, 2001

The perfect shape for sake

The question of what vessel to use when drinking sake is an important one. Not only do the shape and size affect how flavor and fragrance are presented and emphasized, but the appearance and feel of a vessel also influences the overall experience.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Aug 5, 2001

Terrors, real and imagined

August means hot weather and ghost stories to add a little chill to the muggy air. Tonight, on TV Tokyo's "Sunday Big Special" (7 p.m.), host Tsurutaro Kataoka will explore various occultish phenomena for either your terrified delectation or your nonbelieving derision.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Aug 5, 2001

When love breaks down

Yes -- I was beachball-eyed with love.
CULTURE / Music / FUZZY LOGIC
Aug 5, 2001

We had joy, we had fun, our season in the sun

OK, I'm completely fugged after the Fuji Rock Festival. Fugged up, that is. Sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll. Fuji was too much drugs, just about enough music and no sex at all. Everything in the wrong order. The usual insanity. So, I'm under a bush in the Niigata mountains, hold on, that's just a flashback,...
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.

Longform

Koichi Tagawa’s diary entry from Aug. 9, 1945, describes the day of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki.
The horrors of Nagasaki, in first person