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Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / ON THE ARCHIPELA-GO
Jul 30, 2002

Going slow and easy in a land of plenty

In vino veritas. In wine there is truth. And in Hokkaido there is wine. Living in Hokkaido has its perks, and I set out recently seeking my truth on a long-weekend getaway with my family in central Hokkaido's wine region.
LIFE / Travel
Jul 30, 2002

A race against cultural oblivion

Like minority groups the world over, the hill tribes of Laos are facing unaccustomed pressures on their traditional way of life. The depletion of protective, life-giving forest and wilderness, the upward migration of more lowland Laotians, growing pressure on the hill tribes to settle closer to accessible...
COMMUNITY
Jul 30, 2002

Learning goes both ways in JET program

I first came to Japan in 1991 as an English instructor with the Japan Exchange and Teaching Program and ended up staying twice as long as I originally planned. Here are some recollections from that period.
BUSINESS
Jul 29, 2002

Koo backs expansionary fiscal policy for Japan

Richard Koo appears to be one of the small group of dissenters vocally critical of the economic and fiscal policies of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and his Cabinet.
COMMUNITY
Jul 28, 2002

Peoples of the north surviving against the odds

The Sea of Okhotsk region is one of the most inhospitable areas of the world for human habitation, yet its indigenous peoples produced cultures of marvelous richness and vibrancy.
BASEBALL / MLB
Jul 27, 2002

Switch-hitting Segiugnol sets record in Orix victory

Fernando Seguignol became the first player in Japanese baseball to homer from both sides of the plate three times in a season, leading the Orix BlueWave to a 7-2 victory over the Kintetsu Buffaloes on Friday.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 27, 2002

Gov. Davis goes where Bush fears to tread

LIMASSOL, Cyprus -- A remarkable event occurred this week in California -- one that should cheer environmentalists around the world who were angered by the Bush administration's rejection of the Kyoto treaty on global warming.
JAPAN
Jul 27, 2002

Toxin imperils Iran pistachio imports

Health minister Chikara Sakaguchi said Friday that imports of Iranian pistachio nuts may be outlawed because they contain a carcinogenic toxin.
JAPAN
Jul 27, 2002

Secondhand smoke affects 62% of pregnancies

About 62 percent of pregnant women in Japan face pregnancy complications and other health risks from inhaling secondary smoke from their partners' cigarettes, a survey by a government-affiliated health institution showed Friday.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / GARDENS FOR ALL
Jul 25, 2002

Expense no object at Meiji jewel in Kobe's crown

Though it's neither very large nor very old, Sorakuen Garden in Kobe is one of the best-designed pond-strolling gardens (kaiyushiki-sensui-teien) I know, with many interesting features and plants of exceptionally high quality.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / J-POPSICLE
Jul 24, 2002

Women whose work is never done

"Senko (Flash)," singer/songwriter UA's first single in three years, further cements her status as one of J-pop's most enigmatic and original artists. Released July 24, "Senko" is a dark, moody piece that's half tone poem and half pop song. UA and co-producer Rei Harakami have created a sparse, ambient-ish...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / NATURE TRAVEL
Jul 23, 2002

Two Crocodile Dundees find a wild world in South Africa

The reeds ripple. There is a throaty, menacing, hiss.
LIFE / Travel / NATURE TRAVEL
Jul 23, 2002

Two Crocodile Dundees find a wild world in South Africa

The reeds ripple. There is a throaty, menacing, hiss.
COMMENTARY / JAPAN IN THE GLOBAL ERA
Jul 22, 2002

'Domesticists' rule amid idea drought

LAUSANNE, Switzerland -- I do not live in Japan, although I first set foot (a rather small foot at 4 years old) on Japanese soil in 1949 and knew the country throughout the 1960s, '70s, '80s and '90s, when I either lived there temporarily or commuted frequently. My visits this century have been far fewer...
JAPAN
Jul 21, 2002

Suzuki linked to another 1 million yen bribe

Lower House member Muneo Suzuki, indicted in a bribery scandal involving a lumber company, also accepted at least 1 million yen in unreported money from a construction firm in Hokkaido in the late 1990s as reward for favors in a public works project, informed sources said Saturday.
SOCCER / J. League / ON THE BALL
Jul 20, 2002

'Father of Japanese soccer' voices opinions on World Cup

While Japan was battling to reach the Round of 16 during the recent World Cup, one man was closely watching over the cohost's performance as a coach -- and in some ways like a father.
Japan Times
JAPAN / MUSEUM MUSINGS
Jul 20, 2002

Printing technology through the ages awaits

How have advances in printing technology contributed to our society as a means of communication?
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Jul 20, 2002

Tadashi Shinozuka

Dr. Tadashi Shinozuka says that his interdisciplinary speciality is concerned with the prevention and management of health problems associated with travel.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 19, 2002

Bogus forecasts yield mega-project fiascoes

Japan has seen a number of soured public works projects now grappling with snowballing debts, ranging from toll expressways, gigantic bridges, airports and empty ports with huge container facilities.
BUSINESS
Jul 19, 2002

PoweredCom, IIJ in tieup talks

PoweredCom Inc., a data communications firm owned by Tokyo Electric Power Co. and nine other utilities, is negotiating with Internet provider Internet Initiative Japan Inc. over a possible business integration deal, the two companies confirmed Thursday.
LIFE / Lifestyle / MATTER OF COURSE
Jul 19, 2002

Painting in the park is a lesson in creativity

One morning in June, my kids left for school without their usual leather backpacks. Instead, they each carried a knapsack with a water bottle, a ground cloth and a handful of my sentakubasami. Clothespins? Yup. Standard equipment for the Zenko Shasei Taikai (All-School Sketch Festival).
JAPAN
Jul 18, 2002

Refugee denied medical care: group

OSAKA -- A Kurdish asylum seeker detained at an immigration facility in Osaka Prefecture is being denied proper medical treatment, although he has symptoms of high blood pressure and heart trouble, a refugee aid group in Osaka said Wednesday.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Jul 18, 2002

Trees' wondrous ways of turning over a new leaf

Now, at the height of summer, when the fresh green of the spring leaves has darkened, I will start this week's column with a question: "Why is it that northern Japan's Mongolian oak and Europe's common beech retain their rustling brown leaves all winter, while sharing their temperate forest habitat mainly...
ENVIRONMENT
Jul 18, 2002

'Factory' fishing threatens marine stocks

Ever evening at sunset, Maruyama Keizo, 64, and his brother Motoichi, 54, of Minabe, Wakayama Prefecture, take their boat out and return the next morning at dawn with their catch: either flatfish or sardines, depending on the season. In his 50-year working life, Maruyama has seen shrinking catches, the...
LIFE / Digital / NAME OF THE GAME
Jul 18, 2002

'Wrestlemania X8': stone-cold fun

In America, every demographic has its own form of entertainment. For cultured people, there is opera and polo. For the teaming masses, there is World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), an entire league of behemoth men and scantily clad women brawling on a nightly basis to thrill and titillate the beer-and-pork...
BUSINESS
Jul 17, 2002

Japan prepared to intervene again in money market

The nation's currency policy remains unchanged, Finance Minister Masajuro Shiokawa said Tuesday, indicating Japan is prepared to intervene in the foreign-exchange markets to stem the rapid gains by the yen.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Jul 17, 2002

MLB crisis: What can the market bear?

Man, Major League Baseball is really in a mess now. Following the All-Star tie-game fiasco last week in Milwaukee, MLB Commissioner Bud Selig was quoted as saying one big-league club may not be able to meet its payroll this week, and another team is sick with Tennessee Ernie Ford disease: "Another day...

Longform

Figure skater Akiko Suzuki was once told her ideal weight should be 47 kilograms, a number she now admits she “naively believed.” This led to her have a relationship with food that resulted in her suffering from anorexia.
The silent battle Japanese athletes fight with weight