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CULTURE / Film
Jan 30, 2001

Otaku loose in a noirish world

Dark future movies are, by now, as established an SF subgenre as creature features or space operas. Their world view is usually a cross between an Orwellian nightmare and a Jean Paul Gaultier fashion show: grim, oppressive and dangerous but sexy, radical and cool. In other words, you wouldn't mind visiting,...
JAPAN
Jan 30, 2001

People facing retirement seen increasingly looking overseas

More middle-aged and elderly Japanese are going abroad for long stays or permanent residence to seek a new life after mandatory or early retirement.
SOCCER / J. League
Jan 30, 2001

Tokyo Stadium opening to public

The brand-new 50,000-seat Tokyo Stadium in Chofu City will be open to the general public on Feb. 10-12 ahead of its curtain-raiser with a J. League season-opening game.
JAPAN
Jan 30, 2001

Koyama quits Upper House over KSD

Upper House lawmaker Takao Koyama, arrested earlier this month on suspicion of taking bribes from the mutual aid foundation KSD, tendered his resignation from the Diet Monday, a senior in the chamber from the Liberal Democratic Party said.
JAPAN
Jan 29, 2001

Mori's Diet-opening remarks to touch on restoring trust

Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori will pledge to strive to restore public trust in politics in his policy speech to be delivered at the outset of the 150-day regular Diet session convening Wednesday, government sources said Sunday.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 29, 2001

Banks untouched by evolution

After three years here, I believe the essence of the difference between Japan and India can be summed up thus: In India, nothing works, but everything can be arranged (for a consideration, of course); in Japan, everything works, but nothing can be arranged. One of the surprising aspects of life in Japan...
BUSINESS
Jan 29, 2001

Time to rethink today's accepted economic principles

The beginning of a period, be it a week or a month, can spur people to reflect on the past and contemplate the future, leading them to reconsider matters long taken for granted. Thus, at the beginning of a new century, we may be justified in re-examining some of the accepted wisdom, common sense and...
JAPAN
Jan 28, 2001

Kids want young criminals treated strictly

Many high school students believe offenders aged 14 and up should face the same penalties that adult criminals face, according to the results of a private survey released Saturday.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 28, 2001

Challenges for South Korean democracy

SEOUL -- Nov. 28 was a black day for local autonomy in South Korea. On that date a group of lawmakers introduced a bill in the National Assembly, aimed at abolishing the democratic election of lower-level mayors. The 42 lawmakers from different political parties who presented the bill argued that the...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Jan 28, 2001

American Kenneth Jones

"Walk in, you'll be in Kyoto," proclaims the brochure of Kyoto-Kan, Akasaka.
COMMENTARY
Jan 27, 2001

KSD places Mori in peril

Dark clouds hang over Japanese politics. The ruling Liberal Democratic Party has been jolted by allegations that some of its leading members took payoffs from the mutual-aid organization KSD. The scandal came after Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori reshuffled his Cabinet last month and the restructured central...
BUSINESS
Jan 27, 2001

Tokyo Mutual to receive 30 billion yen in capital aid

Mid-tier insurer Tokyo Mutual Life Insurance Co. will receive 30 billion yen worth of capital assistance from Daiwa Bank and other corporations at the end of March, Tokyo Mutual officials said Friday.
JAPAN
Jan 27, 2001

Council steps up disaster preparations

The government decided Friday to strengthen monitoring systems in preparation for the likelihood of major earthquakes, especially in the Tokai region, government officials said.
BUSINESS
Jan 27, 2001

RCC adviser quits in debt scandal

Kohei Nakabo, adviser to Resolution and Collection Corp., has resigned and a senior managing director and four others of the debt-collection vehicle have been punished over an improper collection deal in 1998, RCC chief Akio Kioi said Friday.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 26, 2001

Japan's banking system still shaky despite 'reforms'

Japan's banking system can still be described as "fragile" or even "precarious" despite nearly a decade of supposed reforms and a wave of industry realignment, according to Benn Steil, New York-based senior fellow of the Council on Foreign Relations.
BUSINESS
Jan 26, 2001

Tokyo Sowa buyer to restore bank's niche role

Officials of Tokyo Sowa Bank's new owner-to-be said Thursday they intend to rebuild the failed regional bank's "niche retail" functions by targeting small firms and individuals left behind in the era of megabank mergers.
JAPAN
Jan 25, 2001

Mapping of lethal E. coli bacteria gene completed

OSAKA -- Researchers at Osaka University say they have succeeded in reading all the gene information on the O-157 strain of E. coli bacteria that caused a massive, and deadly, outbreak of food-poisoning in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, in 1996.
LIFE / Food & Drink / NIHONSHU
Jan 25, 2001

Best time of year to savor the joys of heated sake

Warm sake. It's hard to think of anything more appealing on a cold winter evening. As we trudge through the depths of one of the coldest and snowiest winters Japan has seen in years, warming oneself from the core out with a glass or bottle of a well-chosen heated sake settles and soothes like nothing...
CULTURE / Music
Jan 25, 2001

Tickets for Bach concert

Japan Times readers will be given 30 pair tickets to the NEC Super Tower Special Concert to be held Feb. 22 at Tokyo's Sumida Triphony Hall to commemorate the 250th anniversary of Bach's death.
JAPAN
Jan 24, 2001

Japan, EU unite in development, humanitarian aid

Foreign Minister Yohei Kono and European Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid Poul Nielson agreed Tuesday to cooperate in providing development assistance and humanitarian aid to countries in need, ministry officials said.
JAPAN
Jan 24, 2001

Japan to host festival in Seoul

The Japan External Trade Organization will hold the Japan-Korea Festival in Seoul next month to promote friendship between the two countries.
BUSINESS
Jan 24, 2001

Minister to create own IT panel

Toranosuke Katayama, minister of public management, home affairs, posts and telecommunications, said Tuesday he will set up his own panel of advisers from the private sector and local municipalities on information technology policies.
BUSINESS
Jan 24, 2001

New minister says recovery is priority

Taro Aso, the new state minister for economic and fiscal policy and information technology, said Tuesday he will make the nation's economic recovery a priority while paying due attention to fiscal rehabilitation.
SOCCER / J. League
Jan 24, 2001

Xerox Super Cup set

The J. League champion Kashima Antlers will play against Emperor's Cup runnerup Shimizu S-Pulse in the Xerox Super Cup, the new season's curtain raiser, on March 3 at Tokyo's National Stadium, the J. League announced Tuesday in Tokyo.
JAPAN
Jan 24, 2001

Mori, Annan discuss UNSC

Visiting U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan and Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori agreed Tuesday to push forward reforms of the United Nations, although Annan stopped short of saying he supported Tokyo's proposal for a 24-seat Security Council and a permanent seat for Japan.
JAPAN
Jan 24, 2001

State minister Aso well-connected

Taro Aso, appointed minister for economic and fiscal policy and information technology on Tuesday, is a former Olympic competitor and grandchild of the late Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida.
JAPAN
Jan 23, 2001

Release of human genome thesis criticized

The Science Council of Japan has complained to the U.S. journal Science about its decision to print a U.S. biotech company's thesis about the human genome, saying the company has not shared its data with international researchers.

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