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JAPAN
Jan 5, 2002

Yamanote adds English and standing room

Come April, Tokyo's Yamanote Line will be kinder to English-speaking foreign passengers.
BUSINESS
Jan 5, 2002

Telecom body predicts 3% annual growth through 2006

The value of domestic sales and exports of telecommunications equipment and devices is expected to grow by an average 3.3 percent annually over the next five years, the Communication Industry Association of Japan said in a recently released report.
JAPAN
Jan 5, 2002

Health law designed to cut 'lifestyle illnesses'

The health ministry plans to draft a law to make local governments design health promotion plans to prevent diseases related to smoking and other vices, ministry officials said Friday.
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
Jan 4, 2002

Auction house strikes out with bogus Ichiro bat

A good friend of mine collects sports memorabilia and contacted me last month with an interesting tale.
BUSINESS
Jan 4, 2002

Tokyo stocks expected to recover by yearend

Share prices on the Tokyo Stock Exchange are predicted to gradually recover toward the end of 2002 after testing lows at the start of the year amid growing fears of credit risks.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 4, 2002

Imported appliances selling well as buyers search for simplicity

Reiko Shibata, a 48-year-old housewife in Musashino, western Tokyo, occasionally visits Gaikoku Kaden, a neighborhood shop specializing in imported home appliances ranging from General Electric refrigerators and Dyson vacuum cleaners to La Pavoni espresso makers and Cuisinart blenders.
JAPAN
Jan 3, 2002

East Asian community sought by region's leaders

While China drew much media attention by declaring its bid to conclude a free-trade agreement with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations within 10 years, the creation of an even bigger Asian community including ASEAN, China, Japan and South Korea has turned up as a hot topic.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Jan 3, 2002

Why do birds of a feather tend to flock together?

"Flocks" read the sign outside the onsen, or so I thought. My bird brain immediately clicked into "Hey, an onsen for birders." But why in remote Higashi Mokoto, Hokkaido? Surely it wasn't "Frocks?" A women-only onsen? But no, men were most definitely welcome. So what, I asked, did "flocks" mean?
JAPAN
Jan 3, 2002

Chinese teas overcome coffee boom as Japan turns new leaf in Asia

Unlike Starbucks coffee, it can be drunk steadily over three or four hours, with no risk of caffeine addiction.
BUSINESS
Jan 1, 2002

Nikkeiren pushes job-sharing to stabilize unemployment

Employers and employees will eventually agree on wage cuts in the form of work-sharing as they undergo the much expected pains of ongoing structural reforms initiated by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, the chief of Japan Federation of Employers Association (Nikkeiren) said.
JAPAN / ANCIENT TRADITIONS
Jan 1, 2002

Western eyes blind to spirituality in Japan

First of two parts
BUSINESS
Jan 1, 2002

No changes seen for January economic report

The government is considering leaving its gloomy assessment of the economy unchanged in a monthly report to be released by the Cabinet Office in mid-January, government officials said.
COMMENTARY
Dec 31, 2001

Resist the urge to keep score

HONOLULU -- There is an irresistible temptation to sort out winners and losers in the post-Sept. 11 world. Relations with the United States are the grand prize as governments scramble for position in the war against terrorism.
JAPAN
Dec 31, 2001

Sunken mystery ship's sister vessel docks in North Korea

A vessel suspected of being in a fleet that included an unidentified ship that sank Dec. 22 in the East China Sea after exchanging fire with Japanese patrol boats has returned to North Korean shores, according to well-placed sources.
COMMENTARY
Dec 30, 2001

Clash of European visions

LONDON -- The odd situation seems to have been reached where the most dedicated enthusiasts for European unity fear that their dream is falling apart, while the skeptics fear that unity and integration are pushing Europe ahead faster than ever toward a super state.
LIFE / Food & Drink / VINELAND
Dec 30, 2001

Reasons to celebrate good-tasting bargains

Recent Vineland columns have focused on distinctive, luxury wines for holiday gift-giving and festive dinners. For our last column in 2001, we pursued an elusive category -- delicious bargain party bottles. It's a tantalizing quest. Few achievements are more gratifying to a wine lover than discovering...
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.

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