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JAPAN
Jun 13, 2001

Kajiyama left behind 400 million yen estate

Former Chief Cabinet Secretary Seiroku Kajiyama, who died last June at age 74, left behind about 400 million yen in taxable assets.
BUSINESS
Jun 13, 2001

'Happoshu' pumps up beer market

Japan's market for beer and "happoshu," the low-malt drink that is similar to beer, increased 2.9 percent in May from the previous year, thanks to good sales of the latter, according to data released Tuesday by the country's five major brewers.
JAPAN
Jun 13, 2001

Man in massacre harassed ex-wife, adoptive mother

OSAKA — The man arrested in Friday's fatal stabbing of eight children at an elementary school in Osaka Prefecture made a huge number of prank calls to his former wife, his former adoptive mother and a man in Hyogo Prefecture, police sources revealed Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Jun 13, 2001

Low growth is the price of reforms

Japan will have to endure low economic growth over the next two to three years as the nation undergoes radical reforms, a key government economic panel said in the draft of a reform blueprint to be released later this month.
JAPAN
Jun 13, 2001

Bush not so dismissive of Kyoto pact: Kawaguchi

Environment Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi said Tuesday that she does not interpret U.S. President George W. Bush's recent comments on climate change as an outright rejection of the Kyoto Protocol, and again called on the United States to return to the negotiating table.
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Jun 13, 2001

Lois Maffeo

Lois Maffeo is the grande dame of the next-wave feminist riot girl movement, icon to countless sensitive American girls (and boys, too).
BASEBALL / MLB
Jun 13, 2001

Hawks batter Buffs, cruise to seventh straight win

Tadahito Iguchi went 3-for-4 and drove in four runs as the Pacific League-leading Fukuoka Daiei Hawks won their seventh straight game by defeating the Kintetsu Buffaloes 9-5 Tuesday at the Fukuoka Dome. Junji Hoshino (6-4) allowed seven hits over 61/3 innings for the win.
CULTURE / Art
Jun 13, 2001

Past and present meet in Vietnamese art

An exhibition of modern Vietnamese art is now being held at the Bunkamura Gallery in Shibuya, Tokyo.
CULTURE / Art / CERAMIC SCENE
Jun 13, 2001

Lightning strikes in Isezaki's Bizen

I once asked the veteran Bizen potter Jun Isezaki why he makes certain shapes exactly the same as they were centuries ago. His reply was simple: "What works well need not be changed."
BUSINESS
Jun 13, 2001

Major nonfinancial firms to earn 1.4% less in 2002: Nomura

The nation's major nonfinancial companies are expected to suffer a 1.4 percent drop in group pretax profits for the current business year ending March 31, 2002, after posting a hefty 33.5 percent rise in 2000, Nomura Securities Co. said in a report released Tuesday.
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Jun 13, 2001

'Poses': Rufus Wainwright

'Everything I like is a little bit stronger, a little bit thicker, a little bit harmful for me." So croons Rufus Wainwright on "Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk," the opening cut from his new album, "Poses."
JAPAN
Jun 13, 2001

Foreign rice growing on Japanese

Imports of foreign rice, which were only approved seven years ago, are increasing yearly, finding regular Japanese buyers and gaining in popularity amid an ethnic food boom.
CULTURE / Art
Jun 13, 2001

Sculpture for speed freaks

A scant six months since it opened and Tokyo's Rice Gallery is looking less like a contemporary art space and more like a fantasy car showroom.
CULTURE / Stage
Jun 13, 2001

The black art of the Bard

'For a charm of powerful trouble, like a hell-broth boil and bubble, boil and bubble, boil and bubble," the witches howl as they move in a frenzy across the stage, their green rags alternating as dervish skirts and forest cover. They throw runes as they call upon darkness and conjure up a brew of murder,...
CULTURE / Music / J-POPSICLE
Jun 13, 2001

Super Butter Dog: Bow wow wow yippee yay

When I first saw Super Butter Dog at an industry showcase a few years back, I thought they were a joke. First, of course, there was the name. Super Butter Dog sounded like one of those quasi-edible agglomerations of animal byproducts and chemicals you buy at dubious-looking matsuri stalls. And the band...
CULTURE / Art
Jun 13, 2001

Camerino handbags on display in Ikebukuro

An exhibition of handbags by Italian designer Roberta Di Camerino is currently on show at the Seibu Gallery in Ikebukuro, Tokyo.
JAPAN
Jun 13, 2001

Suspect may suffer from personality disorder

OSAKA — Mamoru Takuma, the suspect in the primary school rampage that claimed the lives of eight pupils in Osaka Prefecture, is suspected by psychiatrists of having paranoid personality disorder, it was revealed Tuesday.
CULTURE / Art
Jun 13, 2001

Koga's travels in hyper-reality

One of my favorite cliches about art is the one that says great art comes from great suffering, something that is perhaps overlooked by today's modern art scene with its emphasis on novelty and playfulness.
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Jun 13, 2001

O-ne

Devastating rhythm and irresistible groove are what O-ne is all about. You'd expect a band comprising of just a drummer, Akemi, and a bassist, Neita, to get back to tribal basics, but where so many have buried themselves in such raw experimentation, O-ne are shooting skyward.
JAPAN
Jun 13, 2001

Tanaka awaits nod for Powell meeting

Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka said Tuesday she is awaiting Diet approval for a visit to Washington on Monday, during which she would hold her first talks with U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell.
JAPAN
Jun 13, 2001

Proposal targeting mentally ill criticized

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's proposal to seek legal revisions in a bid to prevent crimes by the mentally ill faced government opposition Tuesday.
CULTURE / Film
Jun 13, 2001

Somewhere over the DMZ

JSA Rating: * * * 1/2 Director: Park Chan Wook Running time: 110 minutes Language: Korean Now showing at Hibiya Scala-za and other theaters Two types of Korean movies used to be released in Japan. One was the art film, usually something dark, raw and intense. The other was the erotic film, usually...
CULTURE / Art
Jun 13, 2001

Quiet scenes from life and nature

"Suigen (Water Source)" (2001) by Tsuneo Nakaune A joint exhibition of nihonga (traditional Japanese-style painting) by Haruko and Tsuneo Nakaune will open June 19 at the Ginza Church Tokyo Gospel Fellowship Center. Readers may already know Haruko from her "Word Play" cartoons on The Japan Times' Friday...
Events
Jun 12, 2001

Kansai rent remains stable despite drop in land prices

KYOTO — Despite a sharp drop in land prices in the Kansai region, rents for residential properties have failed to come down to comparable levels, a trend many experts attribute to a mix of regional and traditional factors.
JAPAN
Jun 12, 2001

Kyoto Protocol campaign launched

The Environment Ministry on Monday kicked off a campaign to heighten interest and awareness in the Kyoto Protocol, an international climate-control agreement, in an effort to promote its coming into force by 2002.
Events
Jun 12, 2001

Kobe friendship center to help local Brazilians learn Japanese

KOBE — Kobe Foreigners Friendship Center, a nonprofit organization assisting foreign residents, has compiled textbooks and CDs for Brazilians wanting to learn conversational Japanese.
JAPAN
Jun 12, 2001

Man killed 'elite' kids in hope of being hanged

OSAKA — The man who was arrested Friday in the fatal stabbing of eight pupils at an elementary school in Ikeda, Osaka Prefecture, said he committed the crimes in a bid to be sent to the gallows, sources said Monday.
COMMENTARY
Jun 12, 2001

Cloudy outlook for Kim's Sunshine Policy

SEOUL -- One year after the historic Pyongyang summit, euphoria has disappeared on both sides of the 38th Parallel. Following the news of the past weeks, one gets the impression that with North-South relations having returned once more to a climate of confrontation and accusation, the two Koreas are...

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji