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JAPAN
Feb 22, 2003

Needy find welfare elusive, demeaning

After living homeless in Tokyo's Katsushika Ward for seven years, a 53-year-old former leather tanner was finally helped off the street last year with public livelihood assistance.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
Feb 21, 2003

Antlers claim bittersweet victory

The Kashima Antlers scored a bittersweet victory Wednesday night in the A3 Mazda Champions Cup.
BUSINESS
Feb 21, 2003

Toshiba creates new automotive LAN

Toshiba Corp. said Thursday it has developed new fiber-optic receivers and transmitters for an automotive local area network.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 21, 2003

Gender equality key to fighting AIDS in Third World

Fostering gender equality is one of the most important strategies for fighting HIV and AIDS in the developing world, along with maintaining existing campaigns, including promoting condom use, an expert on woman's health and social issues said.
BASEBALL / MLB
Feb 20, 2003

Rose packs his bags, leaves Marines

Bobby Rose, a former Yokohama BayStars infielder, pulled out of a deal to play for the Chiba Lotte Marines for the upcoming season on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Feb 20, 2003

No taste for obesity

In the British cult comic 2000AD, future lawman Judge Dredd patrols the streets of Mega City One, a vast metropolis on the eastern seaboard of what was once the United States. Mega City One makes Tokyo seem spacious, and its residents make Harajuku's weirdest seem tame: One group of future misfits are...
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Feb 20, 2003

The real story on Beckham and the boot

LONDON -- Imagine if the boot was on the other foot -- and in this case the phrase could hardly be more appropriate.
EDITORIALS
Feb 19, 2003

No cause to celebrate GDP growth

It may come as a bit of a surprise to learn that Japan's sluggish economy expanded for four straight quarters in calendar 2002. The truth is, though, it expanded only after the effect of deflation, or the continued decline in the prices of goods and services, was applied. The nation's deflation-adjusted...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Feb 19, 2003

Dragons made right move in getting rid of disgruntled Millar

The Chunichi Dragons did the right thing in giving up the contract of outfielder Kevin Millar. Sure, the team had a legitimate beef, and owner Bungo Shirai had every right to insist Millar honor the agreement to which he had committed. But, really, why try to force the guy to play here when he clearly...
BUSINESS
Feb 19, 2003

Desperate firms offer shareholders incentives

The number of companies offering shareholders special benefits, including compact discs and gold coins, has been increasing and now stands at three times the figure a decade ago.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Feb 19, 2003

Welcome to the terrordome

"Terror" is much on our minds these days. Whether we believe that terrorist activity has made the world a more dangerous place to live, or condemn the "war on terror" as a mere cover for U.S. President George W. Bush's political ambition, the concept of terror has saturated our daily life.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Feb 19, 2003

Liars: "They Threw Us In a Trench and Stuck a Monument on Top"

It takes more talent than guts to defy categorization, but Liars, an art-punk quartet based in Brooklyn, has done so seemingly through sheer force of will. Out of the band's blend of angular beats, grating effects, compressed vocals, and nonlinear song structures comes a recognizable sonic manifesto...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 19, 2003

Composer Joji Yuasa awarded Otaka Prize

Veteran composer Joji Yuasa has received the 51st Otaka Prize, which is presented to Japanese composers in recognition of outstanding orchestral pieces.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Feb 19, 2003

When utopia went to hell

Although the 1920s and early 1930s were turbulent years indeed in the new Soviet Union forged out of 1917's October Revolution, despite civil war, famine, purges and mass deportations, many still clung to the dream of a workers' paradise promised by the revolutionaries who overthrew the Czarist regime....
JAPAN
Feb 18, 2003

236 sue over visits to Yasukuni

OSAKA -- A group of 236 people, including 124 Taiwanese, filed a lawsuit Monday seeking 2.36 million yen in damages over Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's controversial visit to Yasukuni Shrine in January.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Feb 18, 2003

A kind word, visa sponsorship and tax refunds

A kind word I was sitting in the NTT Telephone shop waiting to have a telephone repaired and a bit discouraged.
JAPAN
Feb 18, 2003

ASEAN official eyes political, cultural cooperation

The relationship between Japan and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations should encompass political, security and cultural cooperation, as well as economic concerns, a senior ASEAN official said Monday in Tokyo.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Feb 17, 2003

The art of making excuses

Part of growing up in Japan is about naturally acquiring shoseijutsu -- phrases and expressions that get you through difficulties and make good impressions.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Feb 16, 2003

An omiai conjurer of couples out of singles

Mitsuko Kai stifles a sigh as she watches her visitor, Yuko Saito, cross out one candidate after another.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Feb 16, 2003

Enslaved and liberated by lust

CONSUMING BODIES: Sex and Contemporary Japanese Art, edited by Fran Lloyd. London: Reaktion Books, 2002, 224 pp., 134 color and 34 black-and-white illustrations, £16.95 (paper). In her introduction to this very interesting collection of essays, Fran Lloyd emphasizes that the portrayal of sex and consumerism...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 16, 2003

Songs of the sorta rich and famous

Daniel Johnston is apparently napping. His father, Bill, who answers the phone, says to someone, "Tell Dan it's his interview from Japan."
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Feb 16, 2003

Making a match all manner of ways

It wasn't so long ago that the Japanese ideal was to be married by age 25, typically to someone handpicked by parents. At its core, matrimony was an economic arrangement with all the romantic overtones of a mortgage contract.
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Feb 16, 2003

Hornets face penalty after shortfall in season ticket sales

NEW YORK -- By popular demand, this campground is employing new guidelines for the second half of the season: Making fun is out, making knowledge is in. Any hint of an association between the two is purely accidental.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Feb 15, 2003

Local boy with a liking for the finer things in life

Living in Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's "furusato" (hometown), it seems likely that Hisataka (Issa) Koizumi is related.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 15, 2003

Chile president stresses need for fresh resolution prior to attack on Iraq

Visiting Chilean President Ricardo Lagos on Friday stressed the importance of the U.N. Security Council adopting a fresh resolution before any military action is taken against Iraq.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 14, 2003

Loan sharks feasting on ballooning number of people deep in debt

With the economy in the doldrums for years and unemployment at a record high, Japanese are racking up debts, falling prey to loan sharks and declaring bankruptcy by the thousands.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 14, 2003

Japan urged to take lead in easing of drug patents

As host of an informal ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organization, Japan should take the initiative in easing rules on pharmaceutical patents so developing countries can have better access to desperately needed drugs, according to Dr. Tatsuo Hayashi, president of Africa-Japan Forum.

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