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Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jan 24, 2003

Shilingol: From the Mongol steppes to Sugamo

A chill gale of change is gusting through the sumo world, all the way from Central Asia. The demise of the Takanohana era does not, of course, mean we will stop eating chanko nabe. However, in honor of the incipient arrival of the Asashoryu dynasty, we felt impelled to set off in search of Shilingol,...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Jan 23, 2003

Chips with everything makes for a hi-tech mess

If you think that your computer, being such a modern, hi-tech device, is -- or surely must be -- environmentally friendly, then think again.
EDITORIALS
Jan 23, 2003

Forge national consensus on taxes

One year ago the government published a five-year budget projection showing how it expected to make ends meet in fiscal 2002-06. Now, the Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy, chaired by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, has revised the plan -- downward. The basic picture is that the budget deficit...
BUSINESS
Jan 22, 2003

Mizuho group plots huge fundraising effort as losses jump to 1.9 trillion yen

The Mizuho Financial Group said Tuesday its fiscal 2002 losses will hit 1.9 trillion yen, a nine-fold jump from estimates issued in November, after its two banks swallow more than 2 trillion yen in loan-loss provisions.
BUSINESS
Jan 22, 2003

Sanyo to plow 45 billion yen into CCDs

Sanyo Electric Co. said Tuesday it will invest 45 billion yen in the production of charge-coupled devices over three years starting in fiscal 2003.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Jan 22, 2003

Common: "Electric Circus"

Hip-hop and Hollywood share at least one thing in common: Star-studded lineups never guarantee a work of art. In fact, some material's strength is often diluted proportionately to the number of egos featured.
COMMENTARY / JAPAN IN THE GLOBAL ERA
Jan 21, 2003

Cultural powerhouse needed

LAUSANNE, Switzerland -- Sustainable globalization needs Japan to be actively involved, if only because of the size of its economy. For its part, Japan stands to contribute a great deal to globalization. The Japanese establishment, however, has hobbled the country with gerontocratic governance, obsolescent...
JAPAN
Jan 21, 2003

People in advanced years opting for music lessons

A growing number of middle-aged and elderly people are turning their attention to playing musical instruments in their retirement years.
JAPAN
Jan 21, 2003

Geothermal heat pump systems to get trial use

The Environment Ministry plans to introduce an experimental program to use a geothermal heat pump system for public facilities as part of Japan's efforts to curb global warming, ministry officials said Monday.
JAPAN
Jan 20, 2003

State seeks control of nuclear plants in crisis

The government will propose new legislation giving it the authority to shut down nuclear power plants and other facilities handling dangerous substances in the event of a military attack, it was learned Sunday.
CULTURE / Music / J-POPSICLE
Jan 19, 2003

Independent music was the smart alternative in '02

2002 was not a vintage year, to put it mildly, for the Japanese music industry. Sales of CDs were down for the fourth straight year, and just one single -- female vocalist Ayumi Hamasaki's "H" (Avex) -- topped the million-sales mark during the year, compared with five in 2001.
COMMUNITY
Jan 19, 2003

fl 20030119a1.xml SUN YES Boulevard Blitz

Omotesando Avenue, the tree-lined boulevard leading up to Meiji Shrine, is one of Tokyo's most beautiful streets. After many years of wrangling, though, from the end of March its much-loved look will begin to change dramatically, when demolition crews move in to tear down the Aoyama Apartment Houses...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Jan 19, 2003

Facts are first casualty in U.S. march to war

WAR PLAN IRAQ: Ten Reasons Against War on Iraq, by Milan Rai. Verso, 2002, 240 pp., $15 (paper) When Richard Butler, head of the first U.N. weapons inspections team in Iraq, said in 1997 that "Truth in some cultures is kind of what you can get away with saying," he was referring to the regime of Iraqi...
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 18, 2003

Beijing can learn from Tokyo's mistakes

GUATEMALA CITY -- As Beijing develops a reliance on fiscal spending to boost economic growth, a mushrooming fiscal deficit and ballooning public-sector debt will weaken China's long-term economic prospects. This is because economic growth bought with increased government spending is unsustainable and...
SOCCER / J. League
Jan 18, 2003

Tokyo Verdy signs Cameroon striker Mboma

Tokyo Verdy has signed Cameroon striker and former J. League star Patrick Mboma on a deal running through Jan. 31, 2004, officials of the first-division club said Thursday.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 18, 2003

Coping with a grayer world

Like globalization, population aging is a universal force with the power to shape the future. By 2050 the number of people aged 60 and over in the world will increase from 600 million today to almost 2 billion. In Japan, the proportion of the population aged 65 or over will climb from 17.2 percent in...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / THEN AND NOW
Jan 16, 2003

Tokyo's refreshing oasis of history and nature

As the most important festival on the Japanese calendar, New Year is an occasion to make wishes and resolutions, and to wish others happiness in the coming year. Most people also like to visit a Shinto shrine or Buddhist temple, and to gather together with family and friends. On Jan. 2, crowds also visit...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Jan 16, 2003

Shame in a 'showcase'

Second of two parts I ended my last story by saying, "If it is wolves, or winter wilderness, you want to see, don't waste time wondering -- get to Yellowstone! But please, when you're there, don't rent a two-stroke snowmobile! I'll explain why in my next column."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / NEW ART SEEN
Jan 15, 2003

MoT showcases artists who draw deeply from real life

"Art," wrote the French artist Robert Filliou (1926-87), "is what makes life more interesting than art." And this, dear reader, is just about my favorite quote. Profoundly mystifying, it serves as an M.C. Escher-esque comeback when the old "What is art?" line is thrown out less as a question than as...

Longform

Dangami House is a 180-year-old former samurai residence of the Kato clan, who ruled over Ozu, Ehime Prefecture, until the Meiji Restoration.
A house, a legacy and the quiet work of restoration in rural Japan