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Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Jul 19, 2006

Home comforts in a natural idyll

It's 07:30 and I'm just back from hiking to the 1,860-meter summit of Mount Yashigamine, having set out at 4 a.m. and been soaked to the skin in the rain along the way, and I am slipping into a welcoming hot bath -- squeezing in a soak, as well as a mountain, before breakfast.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Jul 18, 2006

Gold value, dogs and carpentry

Gold, gold, gold Andrew in San Francisco has come through with some very helpful advice on gold (Lifelines: July 4).
Japan Times
LIFE / WEEK 3
Jul 16, 2006

Up close . . . and virtually personal

When the Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan characters fell in love via the virtual world of Web chat in the 1998 movie "You've Got Mail," it seemed a classic case of something that could only happen in the movies, not in the real world.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jul 15, 2006

Matchmaker looks to cash in on population woes

For the government, the declining birthrate and delayed marriages are its biggest headaches as the graying of Japan accelerates.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Jul 14, 2006

A revival continues

More than 35 years after novelist Yukio Mishima committed ritual suicide, protesting in part against what he believed to be the demise of Japan's traditional cultural values, interest in his writing seems to be on the rise among the public.
BUSINESS
Jul 13, 2006

Japan Post mulls '11 listing of bank, insurer

Japan Post Corp. is considering listing in fiscal 2011 two of the four units that will be created during the organization's privatization, starting next year, sources said Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Jul 12, 2006

Cell phone makers vow to unify jacks, chargers

Trade groups representing mobile communications providers and cell phone makers have informed the government they plan to develop common specifications for cell phone jacks and battery charger plugs around 2010, when fourth-generation handsets are expected to become commonplace, ministry officials said...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Jul 9, 2006

Oh's illness the latest challenge for Softbank to overcome

The Fukuoka Softbank Hawks have had to scratch and claw this season to compete in the tight Pacific League pennant race.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jul 4, 2006

Travel firm rapped over foreigner ticket policy

The nation's largest discount travel agency, HIS, which also runs foreigner-friendly No.1 Travel, has based the price of some air tickets from Japan on the nationality of the traveler, possibly in breach of Japanese law, The Japan Times has learned.
JAPAN
Jul 3, 2006

Hashimoto brought a rare passion to politics during his long career

Former Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto, who died Saturday at age 68, was a passionate, tough politician with a great deal of policy expertise.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / COUNTER CULTURE
Jun 30, 2006

Getting the write stuff

Beyond scribbled shopping lists and jotted memos, putting pen to paper is increasingly rare in this age of electronic communications. But that only serves to enhance the delight of discovering a hand-addressed envelope on the doormat. While sending a signed and sealed missive is a sure way to show how...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / THE SECOND ROOM
Jun 30, 2006

Psychedelic radar 06.30

Solstice Music Festival 2006: July 15-17
BUSINESS
Jun 28, 2006

Livedoor to maintain financial services, chief says

Livedoor Co. will still provide financial services after it sells off its financial-business arms, Livedoor President Kozo Hiramatsu said Monday.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Jun 25, 2006

Giants looking to bring in late comers with 'Heat Up' ticket promotion at Tokyo Dome

Discounts for tickets to Yomiuri Giants home games?
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jun 22, 2006

The D.I.Y. route to rock stardom

From the suburbs of Tokyo to downtown Toronto is hardly the most direct route to pop stardom -- or one assured of success. But it was the path that blues-rock outfit Stone Deaf chose earlier this month in what was a bold move for a group whose sole claim to fame is having been Marky Ramone's backing...
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Jun 16, 2006

Behold a make-believe world

The work of Tokyo-born filmmaker Junichi Okuyama, widely known by his nickname of "Mr. Experimental Film," will be marked at the weeklong "Anarchy Film Festival," from June 16.
BUSINESS
Jun 15, 2006

Livedoor execs meet with shareholders

CHIBA -- Livedoor Co. investors finally had their say Wednesday as the scandal-tainted firm held its first shareholders' meeting since its top executives were arrested in January.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Jun 9, 2006

Supernatural pathos

The International Theatre Institute is offering half-price tickets for its July 21-23 program at the Kabuki-za theater in Ginza, Tokyo, as part of its "kabuki appreciation for foreigners" campaign. The program features Bando Tamasaburo presenting "Tenshu Monogatari," also known as "The Legend of Himeji...
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Jun 6, 2006

Cleaning, ID checks, 'Kimigayo'

Help! Louise writes is looking for a good housekeeping crew or individual in Saitama. She sees ads for the Tokyo area, but not locally.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
May 30, 2006

Japan ready to battle 'culinary imperialists'

Earlier this year I was commissioned by a British newspaper to research a Japanese company called Hakudai, which was reputed to be putting whale meat into dog food.
Japan Times
LIFE
May 28, 2006

Manga by any other name is . . .

With the video-game business now outgrossing Hollywood's box office, and anime being distributed to destinations as diverse as Patagonia and Phuket, the influence of Japan's entertainment industry on young people worldwide has never been as powerful.
BUSINESS
May 26, 2006

FSA orders Sompo suspension

The Financial Services Agency on Thursday ordered Sompo Japan Insurance Inc. to suspend most of its operations for two weeks at all of its offices nationwide for illegal sales practices.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
May 23, 2006

Making certain of a positive I.D.

Last weekend, I visited three major retail outlets in Shinjuku, Tokyo, to inquire about the purchase of a cell phone.
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
May 16, 2006

Second-class citizens

Rogelio Buscio's shoes were missing. It was the evening of July 27, 2005, and 30-year old Filipino Bucio was getting ready to leave the dormitory he shared with other Sanjo Metal Company Ltd. trainees to start his evening shift. He looked everywhere, asked everyone. Nobody was giving up the shoes.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
May 12, 2006

Designing for life

Asia's biggest art event, Design Festa, returns for its spring installment to Tokyo Big Sight on May 20-21 when it hopes to attract 60,000 people to its 2,600 booths. Approximately 6,000 exhibitors from around the world will be participating in Design Festa Vol. 23, showing off everything from flower...
SPORTS / E-LIST
May 10, 2006

Interleague play on the horizon

Japanese baseball is getting ready to roll into Interleague play. The novel concept has done a lot for scheduling in Nippon Professional Baseball, as six-team leagues can get pretty tired of each other after a couple months of the usual slate of opponents.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
May 9, 2006

Local fury at Hardy perennial

Last month, as they have every year for decades, a small crowd of people gathered under fat cherry blossoms in Tokyo's Aoyama Park, carrying red lanterns, placards and peace symbols.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
May 7, 2006

Japanese being ensnared in ill-suited U.S. trappings

Back in the 1960s and '70s, the Japanese people were being raked over the coals from West Virginia to the Ruhr Valley and beyond for, chiefly, two things.

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