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LIFE / Travel
Oct 8, 2001

Russian writer's memory lives on in divided region

CHISINAU, Moldova -- Count Vorontsov, governor general at Odessa in 1823, was clearly annoyed with Alexander Pushkin, a young subordinate, who was having a love affair with Vorontsov's wife. Vorontsov decided that as a punishment Pushkin should be sent away to prepare a lengthy report on the effects...
JAPAN
Oct 8, 2001

Out & About

Author to give talk on history of geisha The International House of Japan will host a lecture Friday evening by Lesley Downer, author of the book "Geisha: The Secret History of a Vanishing World," published in 2000, at its lecture hall in Roppongi, Tokyo.
JAPAN
Oct 8, 2001

Children's center provides haven for teenagers

Teenage boys with long dyed hair and guitar cases saunter into the lounge, passing a group of high school students playing mah-jongg. By 5 p.m., teenagers have taken over this "jidokan," or children's center, in Suginami Ward, Tokyo.
JAPAN
Oct 8, 2001

Ozawa warns against unprincipled SDF action

Opposition Liberal Party leader Ichiro Ozawa reiterated his opposition Sunday to a bill aimed at allowing the Self-Defense Forces to extend logistic assistance to an expected U.S.-led military operation against terrorists.
LIFE / Travel
Oct 8, 2001

Transnistria: relic of a bygone era

TIRASPOL, Moldova -- Think of the end of the Soviet Union as the Big Bang of recent politics. The successor states are the new planets -- large or small, and subject to varying amounts of gravitational pull from Russia. And then there are the asteroids, in this case composed of breakaway republics, autonomous...
BUSINESS
Oct 7, 2001

ICAO acts on Japanese initiative to strengthen world aviation rules

The International Civil Aviation Organization, acting on a Japanese government proposal, has agreed to strengthen international aviation rules aimed at preventing civil aircraft from being used as terrorist weapons.
JAPAN
Oct 7, 2001

SDF planes leave for Pakistan with supplies

Six Self-Defense Forces transport aircraft left Saturday for Pakistan carrying relief supplies for refugees from neighboring Afghanistan, Japan's first "visible" contribution in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States, Defense Agency officials said.
JAPAN
Oct 7, 2001

Master of ancient go believes it's more than just a game

It's often called the world's most fascinating game. For Chizu Kobayashi, the ancient game of go most certainly is, not least of all for its intellectual challenges.
JAPAN
Oct 7, 2001

Municipalities not ready for mad cow disease tests

Comprehensive testing for mad cow disease is unlikely to start simultaneously nationwide on Oct. 18, as scheduled, because some municipalities need more time to prepare the new testing methods, health ministry sources said Saturday.
BUSINESS
Oct 7, 2001

Milk product causes TB test error

Snow Brand Milk Products Co. says babies who drink one of its powdered milk products could test positive for tuberculosis even though they are not infected with TB.
JAPAN
Oct 7, 2001

Macedonia historian delighted at award

Macedonian historian Dr. Kosta Balabanov has expressed his delight at receiving this year's Japan Foundation special prize for his contribution to introducing Japanese culture to the Balkan country.
BASEBALL / MLB
Oct 7, 2001

Swallows finally clinch CL pennant

The Yakult Swallows ended a four-game winless streak Saturday to finally clinch their sixth Central League pennant and first in four years with a 6-4 extra-innings victory over the Yokohama BayStars.
BUSINESS
Oct 7, 2001

Three Japan bank accounts may have ties with Taliban

Three bank accounts held by three Afghan nationals with names identical to those on a list of people allegedly connected to the Taliban regime have been found at a major Japanese bank, financial industry sources said Saturday.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Oct 7, 2001

10,000 views of Mount Fuji, rising through the steam

The view from the bath is picture-perfect. Through the thick steam rising from the piping hot water, foothills dotted with lush pines and rolling fields of greens and gold give way to a turquoise-blue ocean. From the center rises Mount Fuji, its snow-dusted peak circled in a halo of marshmallow-like...
COMMUNITY
Oct 7, 2001

Going with the furo

Sitting in a tub of clear, near-scalding water up to your neck might not instantly appeal to those new to Japan who are used to stretching out in a warm sea of suds and playing with their plastic ducks. However, taking a bath that way is more than a hygienic chore for the people of these islands; it's...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Oct 7, 2001

Soaking up history

In a quiet residential area of Tokyo's Bunkyo Ward, half hidden by a large maple tree, stands an impressive, castlelike wooden structure that is like a portal to another time. With old-fashioned kawara tiles on its pagoda-style roof, and its curliculed surrounding stone wall, the building is evocative...
JAPAN
Oct 7, 2001

Senaga, Okinawa opponent of U.S. presence, dies at 94

Kamejiro Senaga, the former vice chairman of the Japanese Communist Party, Lower House member and noted activist against the U.S. presence in Okinawa, died Friday night of pneumonia at a hospital in the village of Tomigusuku, Okinawa Prefecture. He was 94.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Oct 7, 2001

Tokyo in a tub

There was a time when virtually every city neighborhood had a public bathhouse. Those days are over, but the soothing waters haven't completely dried up. Here in Tokyo, there is a variety of sento from which to choose. And if traditional bathhouses aren't up to your standards, you can try kenkoland (literally,...
COMMUNITY
Oct 7, 2001

Tokyo's own hot spots

In Japan, mention "hot springs" and people instinctively think of mountain hideaways and seaside vistas. High on the list of onsen hot spots are Atami and Shimoda on the Izu Peninsula, Kusatsu in Gunma, Kinugawa in Tochigi, Hakone in Kanagawa and Beppu in Kyushu to name but a few.
CULTURE / Books
Oct 7, 2001

Failure on a grandiose scale

DOGS AND DEMONS: Tales From the Dark Side of Japan, by Alex Kerr. Hill and Wang, New York, 2001, 432 pp., $27.00 (cloth) Staff writer What has happened to Japan? Coming on the heels of the "lost decade," the January government reshuffle and a series of reforms that Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi...
CULTURE / Music / FUZZY LOGIC
Oct 7, 2001

Make punk rock, not war

While I was in Britain, the world went mad. A puppet, Bob the Builder, beat French disco kings, The Supermen Lovers, to No. 1 on the U.K. singles chart; across the Atlantic, a puppet, George W. Bush, was not an idiot anymore, but a national hero; and, after 10 years, I'd suddenly become allergic to my...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Oct 7, 2001

Ichiro, Ichiro, Ichinooo!

"All the world's a stage," a well-known English playwright declared in "As You Like It," adding: "And all the men and women merely players . . . "
LIFE / Food & Drink / THE WAY OF WASHOKU
Oct 7, 2001

Salted mackerel will reel 'em in every time

Probably the biggest challenge I faced as a young apprentice in a traditional Japanese restaurant was cooking two meals a day — lunch and dinner — for the 60-year-old chef and his wife. The challenge was twofold: I had to make something that would please the finicky palate of a man who had eaten...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Oct 7, 2001

Rinkaen: Those were the days . . .

There are several excellent reasons why we can recommend a visit to Rinkaen. Unfortunately -- and this is exceptional for the Food File -- few of them concern the act of eating. Nevertheless, this wonderful old place still qualifies (conditionally) as a classic of its kind.
JAPAN
Oct 7, 2001

American dies in gangsters' attack

A 26-year-old American resident of Kanagawa Prefecture died early Saturday after allegedly being assaulted by a group of men who looked like gangsters, police officials said.

Longform

"Shake hands with Lima-chan," a statue that shares the name of the Peruvian capital looks in the direction of Peru, where a sister statue, "Sakura-chan," is located. Erected in Yokohama's Rinko Park in 1999, it commemorates Peruvian-Japanese friendship.
The journey of Peru’s Nikkei: Finding identity in Japan