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BUSINESS
Mar 9, 2002

Foreigners turn net buyers

Nonresident investors bought 113.87 billion yen more than they sold last week on the Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya stock exchanges, against net sales of 37.93 billion yen the previous week, according to industry figures.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Mar 9, 2002

Finding stories behind the headlines for translation

As the founding managing editors of Kotan Publishing, Gavin Allwright and Atsushi Kanamaru are a match made in the heaven and hell of small independent book making. Certainly they could not be more physically different, one so tall, well-meaning and -- dare I say -- well padded; the other small, neat...
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Mar 8, 2002

Gutsy manga classic that pulls no punches

Konjo-nashi (gutless) is a word often used to describe today's Japanese youth. But the people using it are frankly wakkachyainai (clueless). The truth is, young people love konjo (guts). They want it, they admire it. They'd ooze konjo from every pore -- if they could. And to prove it, an increasing number...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Mar 6, 2002

Ali Hassan Kuban: 'Real Nubian'

Sadly, this third international release from the godfather of Nubian soul, Ali Hassan Kuban, will be his last. Kuban died in June of last year, having spent his life singing and playing his particular brand of raw, earthy, energetic music. Fortunately, "Real Nubian" catches Kuban at the height of his...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Mar 6, 2002

A syllable becomes a word -- and a world

"When you say the word 'dog,' " the Swiss founder of modern linguistics Ferdinand de Saussure (1857-1913) once remarked, "everyone imagines something different." But as Hasse Mitsuko's new one-woman show, "Voice," triumphantly demonstrates, even the simplest sounds, too, can be full of meaning.
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Mar 5, 2002

The trauma of unwanted pregnancy

1. Marie's story Only two people know about Marie's abortion. One is her ex-boyfriend, by whom she became pregnant 12 years ago, and one is her husband. Her parents, her brother and her friends know nothing of the fact that as a 19-year-old she took a plane to London from Dublin to terminate her pregnancy....
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 3, 2002

ASEAN moves toward antiterror policy

CHIANG MAI, Thailand -- The just concluded meeting of foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, was an important landmark in efforts to give new impetus to this regional organization, particularly in the post-Sept. 11 atmosphere. Several points about the meeting are worth...
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Mar 3, 2002

The complete angler

Although casting a line in a perfect midair loop may take a few years to master, you don't need to be a magician to catch the first trout of your life. All you need is a few 10,000 yen bills to spare for a starter kit.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Mar 3, 2002

Gone fishing

Fly-fishing is like pachinko. You know how some people get a rush from watching things go into little holes? Well, replace the smoke, noise and flashing lights with tumbling brooks, mountains and fresh air and you've got fly-fishing.
Japan Times
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Mar 3, 2002

Hard realities and total fabrications

Ten years ago, Chikako Kaku was the most popular actress in trendy dramas. Though not classically beautiful, she was good at conveying the type of well-bred charm that's considered a paramount virtue in Japanese wives, while at the same time possessing a formidable capacity to exhibit nail-biting fear....
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Mar 3, 2002

Together, they made magic

THE EMPEROR AND THE WOLF: The Lives and Films of Akira Kurosawa and Toshiro Mifune, by Stuart Galbraith IV. Faber & Faber, 2002, 848 pp. 32 pp. of b/w photos, $40 (cloth) Many directors have favorite actors and many actors have favorite directors. One thinks of John Ford and John Wayne, Ingmar Bergman...
EDITORIALS
Mar 2, 2002

Launching a human rights board

The Justice Ministry is preparing legislation to create a powerful human rights commission that would recommend corrective measures, assist in lawsuits and take other steps to help victims of discrimination, abuse and other human rights violations. The government, which plans to send a related bill to...
BUSINESS
Mar 2, 2002

Foreigners turn net sellers

Foreign investors turned net sellers of Japanese stocks last week.
EDITORIALS
Mar 1, 2002

Seeds of change

If you have ever visited Britain, or just dropped by one of Tokyo's popular British pubs, you might have tasted fish and chips flavored with salt and maybe a dash of vinegar. This classic takeout has been a favorite of the British working class for as long as anyone can remember. It came as a bit of...
COMMENTARY
Mar 1, 2002

Revisiting the 'axis of evil'

HONOLULU -- Those of us who comment on U.S. foreign policy are deeply indebted to U.S. President George W. Bush for his State of the Union reference to North Korea, Iran, and Iraq as an "axis of evil." Never before have three simple (if not simplistic) words spawned so many editorials, fed so many talking...
LIFE / Language / FOR KIDS
Mar 1, 2002

The boy who dreamt of dragons

More than a century ago, there was a 7-year-old boy who dreamt of a "green great dragon" and wrote his first short story about it.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 28, 2002

Familiar faces fail to stir French voters

PARIS -- It could happen only in France. The president of the Republic is running for re-election as the opposition candidate while his main challenger is defending the government's record over the past five years.
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
Feb 28, 2002

Japanese teams treat Guam to rugby spectacle

For many Japanese people, the island of Guam conjures up images of duty-free shopping, cheap golf courses and unequaled diving around the reefs that surround this Pacific island.
ENVIRONMENT / GARDENS FOR ALL
Feb 28, 2002

Ferns: as mysterious as they are ancient

Ferns are very old plants that long predate the dinosaurs and were already abundant during the Carboniferous Period 350 million years ago, when many species grew in treelike form. Nowadays, they are perfect for bringing a natural feeling to gardens, and complementing trees and shrubs.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 28, 2002

Workshops for mentally ill feel fenced in

A newspaper article that called attention to the May 1981 opening of the Aoi Mugi No Ie workshop for the mentally ill, mainly schizophrenics, in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, sparked a 15-year campaign by local residents to drive the facility away.
EDITORIALS
Feb 27, 2002

New IOC regime's shaky start

The new president of the International Olympic Committee, Mr. Jacques Rogge, no doubt spent some sleepless nights in his bed in the athletes' village at Salt Lake City. It was his first Olympics since taking over from Mr. Juan Antonio Samaranch, and Mr. Rogge had made an extraordinary decision to stay...
CULTURE / Stage
Feb 27, 2002

Learning not to mask their feelings

A good actor, according to director Louis Fantasia, knows how to kiss -- that is, how to K.I.S.S., an aphorism he borrowed from playwright David Mamet, meaning, "Keep it simple, stupid."
CULTURE / Art / NEW ART SEEN
Feb 27, 2002

Hanayo and Tenko: through a lens blurrily

Cocky, irreverant and devil-may-care, invariably to be found surrounded by admirers as he holds forth from behind a big fat cigar, the Neo-Pop painter Takashi Murakami has for the last few years been one of Japan's leading international art stars.
JAPAN
Feb 27, 2002

Free-lancers, Web 'media' under bill

A human rights bill being prepared to, in part, protect individuals from excessive media coverage will apply to freelance reporters working in all media -- including the Internet -- as well as reporters employed by news organizations, the government said Tuesday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Feb 27, 2002

Janet Klein: 'Paradise Wobble'

Janet Klein was born in the wrong era. With her warm, lilting voice, flapper dresses and ukulele, she seems more suitable for the Roaring '20s than the world today. On "Paradise Wobble," she gives us a taste of the bygone era she pines for. Together with her Parlor Boys, a group of enthusiastic archival...
BUSINESS / ON MANAGEMENT
Feb 26, 2002

Avoiding strikeouts when you decide who to promote

When it comes to success rate, business shares at least one thing with baseball -- you tend to strike out a lot more than you get on base.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 25, 2002

Rarefied democracy of the Arab world

LONDON -- Bahrain produces little news of interest to the rest of the world, but now something remarkable has happened there. On Feb. 14, Emir Sheik Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa declared that Bahrain will henceforth be a democracy where he will reign only as a constitutional monarch. If he keeps his promise,...
JAPAN
Feb 25, 2002

Human rights bill bolsters press freedom

A human rights bill being prepared by the government aims to protect press freedom despite mounting public criticism about invasions of privacy and overzealous crime reporting by journalists, sources familiar with the bill have said.
JAPAN / WEEKEND WISDOM
Feb 24, 2002

Skeptical astrophysicist constructs 'green' home his own way

KYOTO -- For most people, tearing down a perfectly good house to build a new one may not seem all that environmentally friendly.
JAPAN
Feb 24, 2002

Crown Prince turns 42, vows to be 'active' father

Crown Prince Naruhito, who turned 42 on Saturday, said he was excited about becoming a father and promised to "be actively involved" in bringing up his daughter, Princess Aiko.

Longform

Japan's growing ranks of centenarians are redefining what it means to live in a super-aging society.
What comes after 100?