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SOCCER / J. League
Feb 27, 2004

Marinos striker Kubo honored

Yokohama F. Marinos and Japan striker Tatsuhiko Kubo on Thursday was named 2003 Footballer of the Year in a poll of Japanese soccer writers.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Feb 27, 2004

Savor the spirit of ancient Japan

In a far-off age -- long before they were savoring the busy touristic delight of gadding around a dozen European cities in as many days -- the Japanese were a fairly untraveled lot.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Feb 26, 2004

Pond turtle

* Japanese name: Ishigame * Scientific name:Mauremys japonica * Description:Also known as the stone turtle, the pond turtle is semiaquatic and a strong swimmer. It has a yellowish-brown carapace (shell) and an olive-brown head. Females are bigger than males, growing up to 21 cm long (carapace length),...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Feb 26, 2004

Simmons marks 40th anniversary

Simmons Co., the Japanese partner of the U.S. bedding maker, unveiled on Wednesday a series of new bed models to commemorate the 40th anniversary of operations in Japan.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Feb 26, 2004

Sex (selection) and the City

It's colloquially well known that women can feel competition from other women, as this scene from "Sex and the City" shows:
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 26, 2004

Cult's reign of terror left the victimized with unhealing scars

Whenever she goes to the Tokyo District Court, Shizue Takahashi must pass the spot on the Kasumigaseki subway station platform where her husband, Kazumasa, 50, collapsed and fell into a fatal coma on March 20, 1995.
CULTURE / Film
Feb 25, 2004

'Our Town' put through the wringer

Dogville Rating: * * * (out of 5) Director: Lars von Trier Running time: 179 minutes Language: English Currently showing [See Japan Times movie listings] There are directors I love, directors I hate, and then there's Lars von Trier, the guy who's going to give me bipolar disorder. Go...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 25, 2004

Who will save us from the scourge?

Zebraman Rating: * * * 1/2 (out of 5) Director: Takashi Miike Running time: 115 minutes Language: Japanese Currently showing [See Japan Times movie listings] What genre conventions hasn't Takashi Miike bent, twisted or simply exploded? How about "Audition," whose tender dream of May-December...
JAPAN
Feb 25, 2004

Asahara a social fiend or doting guru?

Over the course of Aum Shinrikyo founder Shoko Asahara's eight-year criminal trial, Tokyo prosecutors have portrayed him as a religious charlatan who used his teachings only to feed his lust for power and fame.
JAPAN
Feb 25, 2004

Sweetener patent to cost Ajinomoto 189 million yen

The Tokyo District Court ordered seasoning maker Ajinomoto Co. on Tuesday to pay 189.35 million yen to a former employee for the transfer of patents on a production method for an artificial sweetener.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 25, 2004

Funny how things work out

Uptown Girls Rating: * * 1/2(out of 5) Director: Boaz Yakin Running time: 92 minutes Language: English Currently showing [See Japan Times movie listings] "Living isn't worth it if you're not gonna have fun!" declares bubbly 22-year-old Molly. "Fundamentals are the building blocks of...
JAPAN
Feb 25, 2004

Follower couldn't shake Aum's allure till its 1999 apology

When Aum Shinrikyo officially acknowledged for the first time in December 1999 that it was behind a spate of heinous crimes and apologized to the survivors, Hiroyuki Miyaguchi said he was relieved that suspicions he and other rank-and-file cultists harbored for years had finally been cleared up.
JAPAN
Feb 24, 2004

HIV trial ends as Abe, 87, is deemed feeble

The Tokyo High Court said Monday it will stop hearing an appeal by prosecutors against the acquittal of Takeshi Abe on charges of negligence resulting in a patient's death, saying the 87-year-old HIV expert has become mentally incompetent.
COMMENTARY
Feb 23, 2004

U.S. harsh line won't help

The official U.S. negotiating position for the upcoming North Korean peace talks in Beijing was recently laid out by the top U.S. negotiator, a respected man of peace. But details of the position may actually be a prescription for war. This is alarming.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 22, 2004

Drumming skills aside, Brecker earns respect

Studio musicians and fusion bands -- especially successful ones -- get the least respect from jazz purists. Saxophonist Michael Brecker is in both categories. His 30 some years of studio recordings with practically everyone (Average White Band, Parliament, Paul Simon, Dire Straits, Aerosmith) would seem...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 22, 2004

Legends keep it visceral and current

Colin Newman of the English punk band Wire uses the words "interesting" and "energy" a lot when he talks about music. "Interesting" can often be a backhanded compliment, but Newman uses it literally because he tends to approach pop as an intellectual endeavor.
EDITORIALS
Feb 21, 2004

Shinsei Bank's impressive revival

Thursday's listing of Shinsei Bank on the Tokyo Stock Exchange is good news. It is proof of how a failed and nationalized bank can reinvent itself as a going concern through efficient and innovative private management. The downside is that it took trillions of yen in taxpayer money to revive the bank,...
BUSINESS
Feb 21, 2004

Families shell out for latest school supplies

With the new school year just around the corner in April, many manufacturers of school supplies are introducing a slew of new products with the latest designs and gadgets.
JAPAN
Feb 20, 2004

Web site lets locals rat on foreigners

The Justice Ministry's Immigration Bureau has introduced a section on its Web site that allows people to submit information on the identity, address or workplace of undocumented foreigners in a bid to track them down.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / INDUSTRY TRENDS
Feb 20, 2004

Makeover for gum gives health-conscious something to chew on

Despite a shrinking confectionary market, chewing gum has been enjoying healthy growth, posting record sales last year.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 20, 2004

Education reform requires balancing act

Japan is on the way to radical deregulation of the compulsory education system in hopes of bringing more diversification and competition to schools, but it will take a delicate balancing act.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Feb 19, 2004

Distance lends enchantment

Take a look at a map of the west side of the Pacific and you'll find a fractured scatter of islands from the Kuriles south of Kamchatka, through Japan, the Philippines, Indonesia, New Guinea and New Caledonia all the way to New Zealand and its sub-Antarctic Islands straddling the Roaring 40s and the...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 18, 2004

Going with the wind in Manchuria

Akai Tsuki Rating: * * * (out of 5) Director: Yasuo Furuhata Running time: 111 minutes Language: Japanese Currently showing [See Japan Times movie listings] Yasuo Furuhata is the most established of mainstream directors, consistently working with the Japanese film industry's biggest...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 18, 2004

Unpeeling Melt-Banana

Melt-Banana are one of the most popular Japanese bands in Europe and the United States, and there's two reasons for this: 1) They play more shows abroad than any other Japan-based band; and 2) They are one of Japan's most original-sounding bands, who, although highly experimental, make quality music...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Feb 18, 2004

Yankees-Devil Rays tickets sold out; try 'Kids Day'

On Sunday, Feb. 15, at 2 p.m., I telephoned the number to call for information about getting tickets to the six professional baseball games involving the American League's New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Devil Rays at Tokyo Dome from March 28-31.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 17, 2004

Don't forget Afghanistan: ADB official

The international community, including Japan, should demonstrate further commitment toward rebuilding Afghanistan at the donors conference next month in Berlin, according to a senior official of the Asian Development Bank.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Feb 17, 2004

Enduring life in the Japanese company

It's probably just as difficult to find a happily employed Westerner in a Japanese company as it is to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 15, 2004

Museum marks Bikini blast anniversary

Early on March 1, 1954, the United States exploded a hydrogen bomb, code-named Bravo, on the Pacific Ocean's Bikini Atoll, in the Marshall Islands.

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