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SUMO
Oct 18, 2001

Taka aiming for March comeback

Grand champion Takanohana is on the road to recovery and could be making his comeback on sumo's raised ring at the spring tournament in Osaka next March, sumo sources said Tuesday.
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Oct 18, 2001

Tomb raiders for racial equality

Today, Oct. 18, is the feast day of Luke the Evangelist: physician, saint, author of the book of Acts and companion of Paul. It is thanks to Luke, the most literary of the four gospel writers, that we learn about the human aspects of Christ's life -- such as the enduring Nativity scene.
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Oct 18, 2001

Rare hybrids on evolution's way to where?

Humans like rules as a way of ordering the world into familiar and comfortable patterns. For naturalists, one of the basic rules is the concept of biological species, which forms the basis of modern biodiversity and conservation studies.
CULTURE / Film
Oct 17, 2001

O, brothers how art thou?

Joel and Ethan Coen
CULTURE / Music
Oct 17, 2001

The sounds of Sweden

The ongoing Swedish Style event in Tokyo covers everything from architecture to aromatherapy. The music alone, however, merits our full attention.
CULTURE / Art
Oct 17, 2001

Celebrating childhood's wonder

It is quite common to hear nowadays that kids are spoilt and overindulged. Things were certainly different in the past -- or were they?
CULTURE / Music
Oct 17, 2001

Return of the sound and the furry

Super Furry Animals have been the most consistently great guitar band of the last 10 years, and I've got a stack of hard evidence to prove it.
JAPAN
Oct 16, 2001

Asylum-seekers face tough time in Japan

Gol Ahmad Bahador does not want to go back to Afghanistan.
COMMUNITY
Oct 14, 2001

Dial yourself a new life

For those thinking about working outside major cities, prefectures offer information and guidance at their U- and I-turn centers in Tokyo. They offer information about employment opportunities, housing and other social welfare systems in the region, as well as details of special benefits offered to encourage...
CULTURE / Stage
Oct 14, 2001

Shaking a spear for the Bard

Mark Rylance, the 41-year-old artistic director of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre in London, has been in Tokyo with his company's triumphant production of "King Lear," which closes today at the Tokyo Globe.
LIFE / Food & Drink / THE WAY OF WASHOKU
Oct 14, 2001

Fresh every day of the week

Last year, well-known New York chef Anthony Bourdain published "Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly," a scathing yet passionate book on the inner workings of a professional restaurant kitchen. In the tome he tells tales and anecdotes drawn from the personal lives and kitchen habits...
LIFE / Food & Drink / BEST BAR NONE
Oct 14, 2001

P-chan gets started under the right track

Have you ever seen the Woody Allen movie "Radio Days"? In it, Woody grows up with his family, living snug-as-bugs in a tiny room underneath the Big Dipper on Coney Island. Every time a roller coaster careens overhead, the walls shake and objects pogo off the tables. Of course, nobody notices. It was...
CULTURE / Books
Oct 14, 2001

David Mitchell experiments with success

Like his complex and cleverly constructed novels, a conversation with British writer David Mitchell is enjoyably cerebral and full of references to books, music and out-of-the-way places he has visited. Sitting in the famous sunken garden Shukkei-en in Hiroshima, the city he now calls home, Mitchell,...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Oct 14, 2001

Time for a quickie and some canoodling

The theme of TV Asahi's new variety show, "Jungle Book" (Tuesday, 7 p.m.) is "making friends with animals all over the world." The producers send "young rangers," who are invariably teenagers, on various "assignments" in foreign countries where they interact on a long-term basis with both domestic and...
JAPAN
Oct 13, 2001

Diamond sales shine over Internet

The phrase "a diamond is forever" is used in commercials to tout the value and everlasting luster of the precious gems, but diamonds can be obtained inexpensively at auction or from companies doing business on the Internet.
BUSINESS
Oct 13, 2001

Legal definition of post firm's role urged

Private-sector representatives urged the government Friday to define the role of a new public corporation scheduled to take over the state-run postal service system in fiscal 2003.
JAPAN
Oct 13, 2001

LDP panel OKs six themes to create a national vision

A Liberal Democratic Party panel agreed Friday that it will begin discussions on six main themes to create a medium- to long-term vision for the nation, LDP officials said.
JAPAN
Oct 12, 2001

Tax authorities search HQ of largest labor union

Tax authorities on Thursday searched the Tokyo headquarters of the nation's largest labor union over allegations it used a dummy insurance agency to secure slush funds and failed to declare taxes.
JAPAN
Oct 11, 2001

Three arrested over union affiliate scam

Tokyo prosecutors arrested three men Wednesday, including the 59-year-old managing director of a firm affiliated with the nation's largest labor union, on suspicion of embezzling 38 million yen from the company.
ENVIRONMENT / GARDENING FOR ALL
Oct 11, 2001

Firmly rooted in tradition and daily life

In the foothills of Mount Fuji, there is a fascinating botanical garden devoted to the cultivation and display of bamboo plants and products. Unique in this country, the Fuji Bamboo Garden, which opened on its 4-hectare site in 1951, cultivates more than 500 species and cultivars of bamboo from around...
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Oct 11, 2001

What you can do to cut CO2 emissions

If readers of this column two weeks ago found the results of the 2001 "Environmental Doomsday Clock" questionnaire depressing, that's not surprising. For the seventh year in a row, respondents worldwide have set the clock at "extremely concerned."
JAPAN
Oct 10, 2001

Four Afghan doctors to aid Japan's support of refugees

Four Afghan doctors in Japan will join operations to support the growing number of Afghan refugees fleeing to Pakistan in the wake of the U.S.-led military strikes against their country that began Sunday.
JAPAN
Oct 10, 2001

Security measures expanded to cover 580 areas

Security has been expanded to encompass 580 locations nationwide, including those affiliated with countries supporting the U.S.-led military action against targets in Afghanistan, the chairman of the National Public Safety Commission said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Oct 9, 2001

Peace activists denounce offensive on Afghanistan

Japanese peace activists Monday expressed disappointment and anger as the United States began bombing targets in Afghanistan in retaliation for the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States.
BUSINESS
Oct 9, 2001

METI to ease loan rules for entrepreneurs

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry plans to foster venture firms nationwide by overhauling the rules under which entrepreneurs can receive loans without providing collateral or a guarantor, METI officials said.
LIFE / Travel
Oct 8, 2001

Russian writer's memory lives on in divided region

CHISINAU, Moldova -- Count Vorontsov, governor general at Odessa in 1823, was clearly annoyed with Alexander Pushkin, a young subordinate, who was having a love affair with Vorontsov's wife. Vorontsov decided that as a punishment Pushkin should be sent away to prepare a lengthy report on the effects...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Oct 7, 2001

Ichiro, Ichiro, Ichinooo!

"All the world's a stage," a well-known English playwright declared in "As You Like It," adding: "And all the men and women merely players . . . "
LIFE / Food & Drink / THE WAY OF WASHOKU
Oct 7, 2001

Salted mackerel will reel 'em in every time

Probably the biggest challenge I faced as a young apprentice in a traditional Japanese restaurant was cooking two meals a day — lunch and dinner — for the 60-year-old chef and his wife. The challenge was twofold: I had to make something that would please the finicky palate of a man who had eaten...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Oct 7, 2001

Schools of hard knocks and TV docs

Several of the new fall drama series begin this week, and one of the season's topics is education. Trendy drama mainstay Masakazu Tamura steps out of character as the title character in "Sayonara Ozu Sensei" (Fuji, Tuesday, 9 p.m.), playing the former manager of the New York branch of a major Japanese...

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