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JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Nov 1, 2002

Bean me down, Scottie, bean me down

"I don't think the human race will survive the next 1,000 years, unless we spread into space. There are too many accidents that can befall life on a single planet. But I'm an optimist. We will reach out to the stars."
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Nov 1, 2002

Japan goes from clunky typewriter to waapuro

I wonder how many readers have ever experienced typing on an old-style Japanese typewriter. I tried my hand at it, just once. It was around 1973, and afterwards I was relieved that my clumsy effort was merely done out of curiosity and not necessity.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / JET STREAM
Nov 1, 2002

Dialogue building as a social service

Patricia Wakida -- writer, editor, book producer and former JET teacher -- was back in Japan last October doing what she does best: networking.
JAPAN
Nov 1, 2002

Isahaya water quality questioned

The Environment Ministry on Thursday called on Nagasaki Prefecture to ensure that water quality inside the seawall of the controversial Isahaya Bay reclamation project falls within acceptable levels.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 1, 2002

A six-party process to clear up the Korean air

T he crisis over North Korea's attempted acquisition by stealth of a nuclear capability through enriched uranium processing provides a golden opportunity for institutionalizing a process of concerted multilateral diplomacy.
EDITORIALS
Nov 1, 2002

Don't haggle over abduction issue

The latest round of Japan-North Korea talks on normalizing relations, held in Kuala Lumpur earlier this week for the first time in two years, was conspicuous by the lack of substantial progress. The two sides remained far apart on North Korea's nuclear-weapons program and the fate of Japanese citizens...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Nov 1, 2002

Earwig

* Japanese name: Hasami mushi * Scientific name: Dermaptera species * Description: Earwigs are small (20 mm long), dark-colored insects with flattened bodies and a semi-circular, very thin pair of wings. The wings are elaborately folded under tiny elytra (wing cases), and it is the nature of the wing...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Nov 1, 2002

Corporate shenanigans contribute to community

Octobers will never be the same again for Yuki Itoh and his friends.
BUSINESS
Nov 1, 2002

Ricoh profit rises 18% in first half

Office machine maker Ricoh Co. said Thursday its consolidated net profit logged a year-on-year rise of 18 percent to 33.53 billion yen in the first half.
BUSINESS
Nov 1, 2002

Sushi-bar chain files for protection

OSAKA -- Foodsnet Corp., a Kyoto-based sushi restaurant operator, filed for court protection from creditors on Thursday, effectively going bankrupt with 6.8 billion yen in liabilities, company officials said.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / THE SECOND ROOM
Nov 1, 2002

Gathering closes summer's curtain

HIWADAKOUGEN, Gifu Pref. -- I was inside my tent changing from damp clothes to dry when the whooshing thuds of a low-flying helicopter took the campsite by surprise. I thought little of it until the commotion started. News travels fast in a village of nylon walls. Clearly something was amiss.
JAPAN
Nov 1, 2002

Talks on hold until Pyongyang affirms family reunions

The government on Thursday said it will not set a date for another round of normalization talks with North Korea unless the reclusive state indicates when the family members of five Japanese abducted decades ago and currently on their first homecoming can also come to Japan.
BUSINESS
Nov 1, 2002

LDP lawmakers pan plan

Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers voiced opposition and frustration Thursday over a package of measures unveiled by the government the day before to accelerate the cleanup of the banking system and fight deflation.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Nov 1, 2002

A good result with Japan's health insurance system

Traveling a lot you begin to be truly thankful for what we take for granted in Japan.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 31, 2002

Okinawa election again boils down to two themes

With Okinawa's Nov. 17 gubernatorial election looming, voters are gauging the progress made during the first term of Gov. Keiichi Inamine in addressing local concerns over the concentration of U.S. military bases and efforts to boost the prefecture's economy.
BASEBALL / MLB
Oct 31, 2002

Giants complete Series sweep

TOKOROZAWA, Saitama Pref. -- Respect your elders, as the Japanese say. Seibu Lions ace Daisuke Matsuzaka and Giants outfielder Takayuki Saito went to the same Yokohama High School, four years apart.
SOCCER / J. League
Oct 31, 2002

Reysol improves J1 survival chances

KASHIWA, Chiba Pref. -- Relegation threatened Kashiwa Reysol kept its J. League Division One survival hopes on track after edging Shimizu S-Pulse 1-0 on Edilson's first-half penalty on Wednesday night at Hitachi Kashiwa Stadium.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT
Oct 31, 2002

Farming out death

Man years ago, while doing research related to environmental assessments of the Shiraho coral reef on Ishigaki Island, I witnessed an extreme example of a destructive human impact on a pristine, unspoiled reef.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Oct 31, 2002

Birds' island havens failing whole species

Teuri-jima Island is a special place, being a legally protected breeding habitat of seabirds. It was also the main subject of a recent Japan-U.S. government-level symposium in the nearby mainland town of Haboro, Hokkaido. Shocking facts emerged from that meeting.
COMMENTARY
Oct 31, 2002

EU facing a bumpy road to expansion

PARIS -- In December 2000, the 15 members of the European Union signed the Nice Treaty, which was designed to remove the obstacles to the proposed expansion of the EU by 10 countries -- eight from the former Soviet bloc plus plus Cyprus and Malta. Like all treaties, it had to be ratified. Fourteen governments...
COMMENTARY
Oct 31, 2002

China gets handle on weapons exports

HONG KONG -- The summit meeting at Crawford between Chinese President Jiang Zemin and U.S. President George W. Bush should usher in a period of relative stability in Chinese-American relations. While unexpected developments -- such as the air collision last year off the Chinese coast -- cannot be ruled...
LIFE / Digital / NAME OF THE GAME
Oct 31, 2002

The spy who tickled me

"No One Lives Forever 2," a stylish PC game from Fox Interactive, provides tense moments and lots of laughs. As a first person-perspective shooting game revolving around spies, it has loads of guns and enemies; but it also parodies both spy movies and its own game genre.
EDITORIALS
Oct 31, 2002

Low-key polls mirror political reality

Just as expected, no change whatsoever. That is the prevailing impression of the by-elections held on Sunday in five Lower House constituencies and two Upper House districts. The by-elections ended in an overwhelming victory for the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, whose candidates scored five wins....
BASEBALL / MLB
Oct 30, 2002

Giants move a step closer

TOKOROZAWA, Saitama Pref. -- The Yomiuri Giants put a third nail in the Seibu Lions' coffin Tuesday night with a 10-2 win in Game 3 of the Japan Series before a crowd of 30,933 at the Seibu Dome.
EDITORIALS
Oct 30, 2002

APEC hijacked again

For the second consecutive year, the annual summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum was dominated by terrorism. The recent attacks against Indonesia and Russia hammered home the fact that no country is safe from this scourge. To their credit, the world leaders, assembling in Cabo San Lucas,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Oct 30, 2002

Salt Water Taffy

"We don't really have any band that we're influenced by, but I guess we all like to listen to any bands that you can tell were inspired by The Beatles ..." OK, stop that quote right there! Iris, singer and guitarist with new Tokyo band Salt Water Taffy, has name-dropped The Beatles and, um, that's boring....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Oct 30, 2002

The noble art of collecting

Artists trying to earn a living before these days of government grants, international art fairs and global cultural celebrity were at the mercy of the people holding the purse strings. Teaching was (and remains) a way of getting by, but for the premodern artist, real security depended largely on catching...

Longform

Figure skater Akiko Suzuki was once told her ideal weight should be 47 kilograms, a number she now admits she “naively believed.” This led to her have a relationship with food that resulted in her suffering from anorexia.
The silent battle Japanese athletes fight with weight