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EDITORIALS
Nov 2, 2001

Tasks for the corporate TSE

The Tokyo Stock Exchange acquired a new legal status as a corporation, effective Thursday, shedding its 52 years' standing as a nonprofit organization. This welcome step follows the global trend of incorporation of stock exchanges. The new TSE has the blessing of those concerned, including market players,...
LIFE / Lifestyle / JET STREAM
Nov 2, 2001

Serbian tennis ace giving it his best shot

It was gunfire that Nikola Stula thought he heard the first night he arrived in Gifu.
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Nov 2, 2001

Asian ladybug

* Japanese Name: Namitento* Scientific name: Harmonia axyridis
EDITORIALS
Nov 1, 2001

Bad omen for nuclear disarmament

Washington's defense policy appears to be undergoing significant change as America wages a two-front war on terrorism at home and abroad. The missile defense plan, designed to intercept ballistic missiles from "rogue states," is gaining political support in the current extraordinary situation. There...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 1, 2001

Cote d'Ivoire envoy petitions for aid

The new ambassador of Cote d'Ivoire emphasized on Wednesday the importance of private-sector investment from Japan in helping the development of his country.
BUSINESS / ON THE FRONT LINE
Nov 1, 2001

Matsui pacing traditional broker pack

As many online brokers are racing to their best year ever, traditional securities houses have seen mediocre earnings reports for the fiscal first half to September.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 1, 2001

Kimono makers target the young

Mariko Moriwaki, 39, a Web editor at publisher Shogakukan Inc., draws a lot of attention from visitors to her office.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 1, 2001

U.N. expects major role for Japan in Afghanistan

Japan is expected to play a major role in the reconstruction of Afghanistan, ranging from community-based projects to large regional development, the visiting head of the United Nations Development Program said.
CULTURE / Film
Oct 31, 2001

Like we didn't know already?

Someone Like You Rating: * * Director: Tony Goldwyn Running time: 97 minutes Language: English Now showing
CULTURE / Art
Oct 31, 2001

Mistress, queen and empress unmasked?

Ambition. Tragedy. Romance. The lives of Madame de Pompadour, Queen Marie-Antoinette and Empress Josephine read like the publisher's blurb on the cover of a historical novel. Yet they were real people, and a new exhibition from France sets out to unmask that reality.
JAPAN
Oct 31, 2001

Ethiopian envoy pushes stronger ties

With its recent peaceful transition of power demonstrating stability and democratic maturity, Ethiopia is now in a situation "very conducive" to deepening bilateral relations in trade, investment, tourism and cultural exchange, Ethiopian Ambassador Mahdi Ahmed Gadid said Tuesday.
Events
Oct 30, 2001

House of noble poets displays treasures from ancient Japan

KYOTO -- Tucked away near the southeast corner of Doshisha University in Kyoto is the last surviving house of Japanese nobility. Home to the Reizei family, it is now occupied by 54-year-old Kimiko Reizei and her husband, Tamehito, head of Tamao Kai, a school that teaches traditional "waka" poetry.
Events
Oct 30, 2001

Scare stops Kobe beef in its tracks

KOBE -- It's a warm, sunny day at the Okaba cattle ranch in Kobe's Kita Ward.
JAPAN
Oct 30, 2001

School loans soar to kids orphaned by fathers

The number of youths receiving student loans for their high school studies because their fathers committed suicide has increased rapidly in recent years amid the economic downturn, a Tokyo-based private scholarship group said.
SOCCER / THE BALD TRUTH
Oct 30, 2001

Nakata not doing the business for Parma

Hidetoshi Nakata is in serious danger of turning into the "Plonker of Parma." Or worse still, the Japanese Nigel Clough.
LIFE
Oct 29, 2001

Revolution and evolution mark motorcycle lineup at Tokyo Motor Show

Tired of being jammed into a packed train every morning? Sick of being stuck in the city every weekend? Bummed out because high parking fees rule out owning a car? If you answered yes to these questions, you might want to consider buying a motorcycle. They're affordable, running costs are reasonable...
COMMUNITY
Oct 28, 2001

Kazuo Ishiguro: In praise of nostalgia as idealism

Kazuo Ishiguro was born in Nagasaki in 1954, and at age 5 he moved with his parents to London, where he has lived ever since. In 1986, his second novel, "An Artist of the Floating World," was nominated for Britain's leading award for fiction, the Booker Prize. Three years later, his next and arguably...
CULTURE / Music / PLAY BUTTON
Oct 28, 2001

A rough guide to the indies

Japan's indie music scene is a fractured miasma of competing and collaborating subgenres. The sheer number of bands is, as anyone who has looked at Pia's live house listings recently, overwhelming. Like a fan searching for a hidden venue in the twisted back streets of Shimokitazawa or Koenji, you can...
JAPAN
Oct 27, 2001

Technology aids creation of new peace activism

Helmets, chanted slogans and clashes with police -- a common scene in Japan during demonstrations against the Vietnam War. Those days may be long gone, but after the Sept. 11 terror attacks in the United States a new style of peace activism using the Internet and other technology has quietly been created....
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Oct 27, 2001

Cars that levitate and suitcase houses

When you come to Japan, one thing you notice is shapes. Shapes are different here.
JAPAN
Oct 26, 2001

Japan must leave backward ways behind

Japan must drastically revise its attitudes toward women and foreigners to stake a place in the global information technology revolution and survive and prosper as a nation in general, according to experts at a Tokyo conference last week.
BUSINESS
Oct 26, 2001

Volkswagen to accelerate sales promotion, presence in Asia

MAKUHARI, Chiba Pref. -- German auto giant Volkswagen AG is accelerating sales promotions to increase its presence in Asia, especially in Japan and China, according to an executive of the firm.
BUSINESS
Oct 25, 2001

Coalition finalizes bill adding to RCC's power

The ruling coalition finalized a bill Wednesday to expand the government-funded Resolution and Collection Corp.'s powers to clean up banks' nonperforming loans.
BUSINESS
Oct 25, 2001

Support key to Moody's bank ratings

Moody's Investors Service Inc. said Wednesday that when it rates financial institutions affiliated with the Japanese government, it emphasizes the level of commitment the state gives them more than the institutions' own financial health.
JAPAN / INTERNATIONAL RATIONALE
Oct 25, 2001

Foreign equity funds' ways changing face of Japan Inc.

When hunting for a company to buy out, Kenji Ueda doesn't wait to be introduced. The Ripplewood Holdings LLC executive director makes his phone calls cold.
BUSINESS
Oct 25, 2001

Asia holds key to GM's outlook, chairman says

The boss of American auto giant General Motors Corp. believes the Asia-Pacific market will dictate the carmaker's global sales outlook.
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
Oct 25, 2001

And the AL MVP winner is . . .

Forget about the American League Rookie of the Year Award. Ichiro Suzuki bagged that puppy back in May with a 23-game hitting streak. The million-dollar question is: Who will win the AL MVP Award? Ichiro has a shot at becoming the first rookie since Fred Lynn in 1975 to garner the honor.
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Oct 25, 2001

Serendipity in Hokkaido's autumnal air

It was just a bridge, not even a special bridge. The Heiwa Bridge spans the eastern end of Lake Tofutsu in northeastern Hokkaido. To the north there is a narrow neck of wooded land and then the Okhotsk Sea. To the south lies more woodland, then great expanses of farmland. It was just a bridge, but suddenly...

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