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CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Sep 15, 2002

A river of ill repute

THE MEKONG: Turbulent Past, Uncertain Future, by Milton Osborn. Allen & Unwin, 2001, 295 pp., b/w & color photos, $25 (cloth) The waters of the Mekong, the world's 12th-longest and Southeast Asia's foremost river, do not, like the Thames, run sweetly. Nor have they inspired poets to dream on the river's...
COMMUNITY
Sep 15, 2002

Love in a lovelorn land

Once upon a time, at a temple where homeless families were sheltering after a fire, a girl and a boy fell in love. Months passed. The burned-out neighborhood was rebuilt. The lovers were separated. Oh, misery! Oh, fleeting, unreal world!
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Sep 15, 2002

The science of fiction: telling history as it was, and as it wasn't

DECEMBER 6, by Martin Cruz Smith (published in Britain as TOKYO STATION). Simon & Schuster: New York, 2002, 352 pp., $26 (cloth) THE MASTER OF RAIN, by Tom Bradby. Doubleday: New York, 2002, 452 pp., $24.95 (cloth) Try to imagine, for a moment, if Rick Blaine, the hardened expat cafe owner portrayed...
COMMUNITY
Sep 15, 2002

Fight for the future

In a room at the Imperial Japanese Army Academy in Tokyo's Akasaka, Prussian Military Adviser Klemens Meckel studied a map showing the disposition of forces before the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Sep 15, 2002

It's time for family feuds!

The inter-season "specials" period is in full swing, and this week there appears to be more than the usual number of variety programs dedicated to dysfunctional families. If you're into this type of thing, which usually involves cameras invading homes where husbands and wives fight, kids fight or in-laws...
SOCCER / J. League
Sep 15, 2002

Urawa Reds knock Jubilo off pedestal

Urawa forwards Yuichiro Nagai and Tatsuya Tanaka scored goals in the second half as the Reds stunned J. League first-stage champion Jubilo Iwata 2-1 at Iwata Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / THE WAY OF WASHOKU
Sep 15, 2002

For that rare occasion, why not try conger eel?

The o-tsukuri course in a traditional Japanese meal generally consists of the freshest seasonal fish available, served raw and unfettered. Standard sashimi fish include tai (sea bream), hirame (flounder) and maguro (tuna). There are, however, some fish that are rarely served raw, for one of several reasons....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 15, 2002

Making music seem like child's play

Giants of the financial world and famed for more than two centuries as patrons of the arts (Mendelssohn and Chopin were among their many beneficiaries), the Rothschilds also nurtured an acclaimed musical talent of their own: soprano Charlotte de Rothschild.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Sep 15, 2002

Where are they now?

Not all stories end when the curtain drops. For a dynasty fallen from power, as with a celebrity out of the spotlight, life goes on away from the public eye.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Sep 15, 2002

A ride on the darker side of Tokyo's history

Temples, shrines, gardens, the Imperial Palace . . . Why, tourist guidebooks are full of places that echo the form and spirit of the Old Edo that once was. But they're only telling you a part of the story.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Sep 15, 2002

Simplicity, the mother of perfection

First impressions are everything. You can tell a good restaurant from the moment you walk through the door. It could be a visual cue or the general layout, a subtle feeling that the feng shui is right. It could be the way you are greeted at the door, the movements of the chef or the reassurance of seeing...
COMMUNITY
Sep 15, 2002

Did Plato's Republic find a spiritual home in Japan?

Four hundred and two years ago this week, a battle was fought near the village of Sekigahara, 40 km northwest of Nagoya. Though short -- it was over soon after lunchtime -- the battle was decisive, ushering in . . . Plato's Republic?
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Sep 15, 2002

Life in the fast lane

STANDARD DEVIATIONS: Growing Up and Coming Down in the New Asia, by Karl Taro Greenfeld. New York: Villard, 2002, 272 pp., $23.95 (cloth) The new Orientalist finds adventure in the "wicked sorcery in Asia," discovers "sexual magic in the fleshpots where girls and boys stand behind glass partitions with...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / NIHONSHU
Sep 15, 2002

Sake-shopping picks that really hit the spot

There exists, where you would least expect it, a marvelous oasis for sake shopping. Yoshiike department store, just outside Okachimachi Station and just across from the entrance to Ameyokocho, has a fantastic selection of sake and a plethora of sake utensils to go with it.
JAPAN
Sep 15, 2002

Tepco not to be punished in reactor crack scandal

The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency has decided not to file a criminal complaint against Tokyo Electric Power Co. for allegedly running nuclear reactors it knew were cracked, government sources said Saturday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Sep 15, 2002

Kawanaka helps Giants top Tigers

Mototsugu Kawanaka led off the bottom of the 11th with his career first home run to give the Yomiuri Giants a 5-4 "sayonara" victory over the Hanshin Tigers at the Tokyo Dome on Saturday.
EDITORIALS
Sep 14, 2002

China's about-face on AIDS

After denying for years that it had a problem, China last week acknowledged the HIV-AIDS epidemic that is sweeping that country. But the relief that greeted this long-overdue candor was tempered by Beijing's admission that it has also detained the country's most outspoken AIDS advocate -- for exposing...
Japan Times
JAPAN / THE OKINAWA FACTOR
Sep 14, 2002

Okinawans look to tackle problems on own terms

NAHA, Okinawa Pref. -- Every third Monday, members of an underground community bank gather in a bar in downtown Naha.
JAPAN
Sep 14, 2002

USJ resumes fireworks show following explosives directive

OSAKA -- Universal Studios Japan was set Friday to resume its popular Hollywood Magic fireworks attraction after receiving permission from the Osaka Prefectural Government, USJ officials said.
BASEBALL / MLB
Sep 14, 2002

JOC to lobby IOC to keep baseball

The Japanese Olympic Committee will step up its efforts to lobby against possible exclusion of baseball and softball from the Olympic program, as proposed last month by an International Olympic Committee working group.
BUSINESS
Sep 14, 2002

Yanagisawa slams Shiokawa RCC plan

Financial Services Minister Hakuo Yanagisawa on Friday rejected a proposal by Finance Minister Masajuro Shiokawa for the state-run Resolution and Collection Corp. to buy bad loans from banks at higher-than-market value.
BUSINESS
Sep 14, 2002

Monetary easing entreaty on agenda

Finance Minister Masajuro Shiokawa said Friday he will try to get the Bank of Japan to further ease its already ultra-easy monetary conditions when the BOJ Policy Board meets next week.
JAPAN
Sep 14, 2002

Louis Vuitton remains top earner

Louis Vuitton Japan remained in fiscal 2001 the biggest earner of declared income among Japanese units of famous overseas fashion brands, Teikoku Databank Ltd. said Friday.

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