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COMMENTARY
Feb 12, 2001

Destroying a fragile trust

In the semirural area near Tokyo where I and some others spend weekends, we have just suffered our first break-ins. Nothing serious. Someone, probably delinquent kids, going through unlocked parked cars looking for loose items. Far more interesting is why we have been able to leave our houses and cars...
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 12, 2001

U.S. needs allies, not deputy sheriffs

Comments by new U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell have stirred some controversy in Australia. During his confirmation hearings, Powell said that the United States would let Australia take the lead in Indonesia, "as they have done so well in that troubled country." Critics saw this as evidence that...
JAPAN
Feb 12, 2001

Mori urges U.S. to raise Ehime Maru

Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori urged the United States on Sunday to salvage the Japanese ship that sank after being hit by a U.S. nuclear submarine off Hawaii on Friday.
JAPAN
Feb 12, 2001

Mori urges U.S. to raise Ehime Maru

Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori urged the United States on Sunday to salvage the Japanese ship that sank after being hit by a U.S. nuclear submarine off Hawaii on Friday.
MORE SPORTS
Feb 12, 2001

Kobe Steel reaches semifinals

Defending champion Kobe Steel scored six tries in each half Sunday to kick off its bid for a record ninth rugby national championship crown with a 78-7 drubbing of Keio University.
BUSINESS
Feb 12, 2001

Will trade surplus continue its slide toward acceptance?

It is estimated that Japan's trade surplus on a customs clearance basis declined to 12.6 trillion yen in 2000, significantly lower than the 14 trillion yen recorded in 1999 and the 16 trillion yen of 1998.
BUSINESS
Feb 12, 2001

Will trade surplus continue its slide toward acceptance?

It is estimated that Japan's trade surplus on a customs clearance basis declined to 12.6 trillion yen in 2000, significantly lower than the 14 trillion yen recorded in 1999 and the 16 trillion yen of 1998.
CULTURE / Music / MUSIC NOMAD
Feb 12, 2001

Getting back on the right track

In all walks of life, those who make successful comebacks have always been admired. They become figures of resilience with a commendable never-say-die attitude; think Muhammad Ali or even Bill Clinton.
SUMO
Feb 12, 2001

Takanohana topples Musashimaru

Yokozuna Takanohana pulled down rival grand champion Musashimaru for a second straight day Sunday to win the overall championship and a first prize of 4 million yen in a single-elimination sumo tournament at Tokyo's Ryogoku Kokugikan.
ENVIRONMENT
Feb 12, 2001

Rescuing baby ibises at Sanchahe

A crested ibis was presented to the Japanese people Oct. 13 by Chinese Prime Minister Zhu Rongji. As an ornithologist, I was excited by the news, and it recalled my visits to the nesting area in Sanchahe Valley, a nature reserve for the crested ibis in Yang County, Shanxi Province.
CULTURE / Books
Feb 12, 2001

Forget Big Brother -- it's little brothers that count

ORDER BY ACCIDENT: The origins and consequences of conformity in contemporary Japan, by Alan S. Miller and Satoshi Kanazawa. Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press, 2000, 156 pp., $25/17.99 pounds(cloth). The title of this book is misleading, although it captures the main idea of the authors, two social...
CULTURE / Books
Feb 12, 2001

How to profit from a nation's tragedy

THE TIANANMEN PAPERS: The Chinese Leadership's Decision to Use Force against their Own People -- in their Own Words, compiled by Zhang Liang, edited by Andrew Nathan and Perry Link, with an afterword by Orville Schell. Public Affairs, 2001, 560 pp., $30 (cloth). "The Tiananmen Papers" surfaced with...
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Feb 12, 2001

U.S. sues Atsugi incinerator operator

A landmark pollution case now before the Yokohama District Court is exposing the dirty underbelly of incineration practices in Japan, and highlighting what some would call the willingness of officials to turn a blind eye to dangerous waste burning.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Feb 12, 2001

Let the spring light the fires

THE PILLOW BOOK OF SPRING AND LAUGHTER: Eroticism in Meiji, Taisho and Showa Japan, by John Stevens. Tokyo: The East Publications, Inc. 156 pp., profusely illustrated, color plates/b/w photos. 4,200 yen. We associate spring pictures ("shunga") with the Edo period, lovers usually fully dressed with...
EDITORIALS
Feb 11, 2001

How do you spell that again?

Another storm has been raging lately in the teacup of English. Like many linguistic squalls, this one is centered on spelling. It blew up in Britain late last year after the government's Qualifications and Curriculum Authority decreed the use of internationally agreed spellings for some scientific terms...
JAPAN
Feb 11, 2001

Safety, services attract fishery schools to Hawaii

Uwajima Fisheries High School, whose training ship the Ehime Maru sank after colliding with a U.S. Navy submarine off Hawaii on Friday, is one of many Japanese fisheries schools that train students in Hawaiian waters.
JAPAN
Feb 11, 2001

Osaka Securities Exchange chief took unusual path to financial peak

OSAKA -- When Goro Tatsumi joined a securities firm in Osaka's Kitahama district -- the city's financial hub -- more than 40 years ago, he predicted that the finance business would become a leading economic force in this country.
JAPAN
Feb 11, 2001

Blackman case suspect sought hospital info

A man who police believe may be the suspect in the disappearance of Lucie Blackman apparently telephoned the local fire department in the city of Zushi, Kanagawa Prefecture, on the day of her disappearance asking for information about medical institutions nearby that would accept emergency patients,...
JAPAN
Feb 11, 2001

Itabashi fix-it men shed light on wasteful society

In the basement of Itabashi Ward's Ecopolis Center, knives, pots, umbrellas and other knickknacks find a lease on life.

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