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COMMUNITY
Dec 30, 2001

O-Shogatsu: a custom-made holiday

Yoshio Mamiya doesn't need reminding that o-shogatsu is almost here. For several weeks, the 78-year-old craftsman has been working 12-hour days, seven days a week at his studio in the Sanno district of Tokyo's Ota Ward, where he busily stitches away to meet his customers' demand to renew their domestic...
JAPAN
Dec 30, 2001

Doctor may have abused organ transplant system

A physician who served as coordinator for the Japan Organ Transplant Network, the organization responsible for coordinating the nation's organ transplants, may have used his influence to obtain organs for one of his patients, sources close to the case told Kyodo News.
BUSINESS
Dec 29, 2001

Sony in talks with Fujitsu over Nifty

Sony Corp. is negotiating with Fujitsu Ltd. to acquire Internet service provider Nifty Corp., a Fujitsu subsidiary, industry sources said Friday.
JAPAN
Dec 29, 2001

China, South Korea notified during chase of rogue vessel

The Japan Coast Guard contacted South Korean and Chinese authorities during its pursuit last weekend of an unidentified ship in the East China Sea, coast guard officials said Friday.
BUSINESS
Dec 28, 2001

Long margin positions tumble below 1 trillion yen

The balance of long margin positions fell below 1 trillion yen for the first time in nearly three years last week, reflecting a wholesale collapse in investor confidence.
JAPAN
Dec 28, 2001

Pair of multiple killers are executed

Two death-row inmates were hanged Thursday morning, the first executions in 13 months, according to information that reached their acquaintances.
JAPAN / STAGING A COMEBACK
Dec 27, 2001

Top schools eye uneasy alliance with private sector

The agenda of top-flight domestic schools such as the University of Tokyo is changing along with the turbulent economic climate.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Dec 27, 2001

Resolve to raise a toast to thinking globally

With only days to go before 2002, New Year's resolutions are in order -- in theory, anyway. Whatever we promise, one thing is certain: Resolutions, viewed from this side of Jan. 1, are always made with the best of intentions.
EDITORIALS
Dec 26, 2001

Another security reminder for Japan

For the first time in the country's postwar history, there has been an armed clash between Japan Coast Guard patrol boats and an unidentified vessel. The truth of the incident, which took place in the nation's exclusive economic zone in the East China Sea over the weekend, is still largely shrouded in...
CULTURE / Film
Dec 26, 2001

When men were men -- and spies were spies

Spy Game Rating: * * * 1/2 Director: Tony Scott Running time: 128 minutes Language: English Now showing
CULTURE / Art
Dec 26, 2001

Eyesaw unites artists' scene

"It was an accident. All I wanted to do was meet people." With these words, Julia Barnes explains the origin of Eyesaw, a rapidly expanding organization now becoming a focus for up-and-coming contemporary artists in Japan.
JAPAN
Dec 24, 2001

Foreign Ministry to require diplomats use receipts

The Foreign Ministry plans to oblige officials dispatched to diplomatic missions abroad to submit receipts when claiming management expenses at overseas government establishments in the fiscal 2002 budget, ministry officials said.
JAPAN
Dec 24, 2001

Coast guard ships retrieve bodies of two suspected spies

The Japan Coast Guard on Sunday recovered two bodies believed to be crew members of a suspected North Korean ship that sank off Kyushu after exchanging fire with Japanese patrol boats Saturday night, coast guard officials said.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 21, 2001

A dormant Islamic state concept

SINGAPORE -- Malaysia's ruling National Front coalition government has withdrawn from circulation a booklet "Malaysia Is an Islamic Country" to allay growing fears among the significant non-Muslim minority that the multiracial country which tolerates many faiths would be turned into an Islamic state....
BUSINESS
Dec 21, 2001

BOJ lowers economic view, again

The Bank of Japan on Thursday downgraded its assessment of the nation's economy for the seventh consecutive month.
BUSINESS
Dec 21, 2001

Japan, China plan last-ditch talks

Japan and China will hold a ministerial meeting Friday in Beijing in a last-ditch effort to resolve a trade dispute over tit-for-tat import curbs to meet the day's negotiation deadline, trade chief Takeo Hiranuma said Thursday.
LIFE / Digital / SURFERSPUD
Dec 20, 2001

For the surfing Santa

www04.giftcertificates.com/index.cfmGiftCertificates.com has Uncle Spud's name written all over it. And it has your name written all over it, too, if you've got more nieces and nephews than you can count on one finger. And if you haven't broken out the plastic yet. Let's face it, it even has your name...
JAPAN
Dec 19, 2001

Wholesalers still clinging on

While foreign retailers are seeking to trade directly with Japanese manufacturers in an effort to cut costs and prices, wholesalers will continue to play a key role in the domestic distribution chain, according to Seiichiro Kojima, president of nonfood wholesaler Chuo Bussan Corp.
CULTURE / Music / J-POPSICLE
Dec 19, 2001

Shed a tear, pass the hat

What a Drag Dept.: Two well-known music mags, FM Fan and Indies Magazine, are calling it quits after their December issues. Falling advertising revenues are why their publishers, Kyodo News and Rittor Music, respectively, have decided to shut them down.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 18, 2001

Japan, India forging a counterbalance

India's explosion of a nuclear device in 1998 marred a fledgling relationship that New Delhi had had with Tokyo. Japan took the lead in condemning India at just about every world forum. This hit India hard diplomatically, and Tokyo's clamping severe economic sanctions against India had still greater...
MORE SPORTS
Dec 18, 2001

Charity tournament seeks soccer teams

The International Friendship Football League will hold its 10th annual five-a-side charity soccer tournament on Sunday, Dec. 23, at the Big Circus Fujitsu Sports Center near Hon-Atsugi Station on the Odakyu railway line.
JAPAN
Dec 17, 2001

Shiodome development to spruce up center of Tokyo

The southern half of central Tokyo is teaming with development projects aimed at reviving a city long criticized for its lack of space and greenery.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Dec 16, 2001

Bringing young and old together

GENERATIONS IN TOUCH: Linking the Old and Young in a Tokyo Neighborhood, by Leng Leng Thang. Cornell University Press, 2001, 209 pp., paper ($39.95) As Japan's traditional three-generation households go nuclear and fewer young couples have children, the care of the nation's elderly has become an increasingly...
COMMUNITY
Dec 16, 2001

Photo-news loses its focus

Last August's demise of Shinchosha's weekly photo newsmagazine Focus marked a major publishing milestone in Japan.
JAPAN
Dec 15, 2001

Dating-service operator held for abetting sex with minors

A 41-year-old company employee was arrested Friday on suspicion of operating an online dating site that he knew abetted child prostitution, marking the first time a 1999 law prohibiting paid sex with minors has been applied to a site operator, police said.
BUSINESS
Dec 15, 2001

Extra budget includes 'green' funding

A proposed second supplementary budget of 2.5 trillion yen for fiscal 2001 includes 656 billion yen for environmental protection and 628 billion yen for urban redevelopment, government officials said.
COMMUNITY
Dec 15, 2001

Interculturalist has jolly Xmas message for Japan

With a name suggestive of seasonal good cheer, EDI's Gordon Jolley is also the perfect gent, with fresh flowers in his buttonhole, choosing salad ahead of steak for lunch, and picking up the bill afterward. There is also much well-practiced humor: "Executive Development International is a virtual company....

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