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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...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Oct 24, 2001

Will Buffaloes finally get monkey off their backs?

It remains to be seen if the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes can this week win their first Japan Series in franchise history. The Buffs should have won it the last time the club appeared in the J.S., 12 years ago in 1989, but Kintetsu blew a three games-to-none lead to the Yomiuri Giants in a most memorable...
JAPAN
Oct 24, 2001

Buddhist author Setouchi condemns U.S.-led attacks against Afghanistan

Popular writer and Buddhist preacher Jakucho Setouchi said in a recent interview that the U.S.-led attacks on Afghanistan will only contribute to the cycle of hatred and animosity and solve nothing.
JAPAN
Oct 23, 2001

Asia Press freelancers find niche in Afghan war

The ongoing military operation in Afghanistan following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States has widened opportunities for freelance journalists in Asia.
BUSINESS
Oct 23, 2001

BOJ to boost monitoring of big banks' lending

The Bank of Japan intends to step up monitoring of large banks' lending practices, BOJ Gov. Masaru Hayami said Monday, pointing to the worsening economy.
JAPAN
Oct 22, 2001

Full text of APEC leaders' declaration in Shanghai

Following is the full text of the declaration adopted Sunday by leaders of the 21-member Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum after their two-day summit in Shanghai.
BASEBALL / MLB
Oct 22, 2001

Buffaloes blast back

OSAKA -- Tuffy Rhodes finally got that elusive 56th home run -- and not a moment too soon for the Kintetsu Buffaloes.
LIFE / Food & Drink / VINELAND
Oct 21, 2001

A gem of a wine shop in the rough of Nerima

A good, little neighborhood wineshop is a rare treasure in Tokyo. Imagine a friendly place around the corner, where the owner is a passionate wine aficionado. A few times a week, you stop by after work and ask him or her for some tips on an affordable, delicious bottle to go with your home-cooked dinner....
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Oct 21, 2001

Playing to the home crowd

JAPANESE SPORTS: A History, by Allen Guttmann and Lee Thompson. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 310 pp., plates, 25. $50, cloth; $24.95, paper. When Commodore Perry arrived in Japan as an unwelcome guest in 1853, a small part of the initial interactions between the visitors and their reluctant...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Oct 21, 2001

Tune in, there are big things on the horizon

The cult of dieting takes on new meaning in Nippon TV's fall comedy serial "Kangei! Danjiki Goikko-sama," literally, "Welcome, Honorable Party of Fasters" (Saturday, 9 p.m.). The series is set at Rakuraku-jin, a Buddhist temple that accepts civilians who want to do the ascetic thing.
JAPAN
Oct 20, 2001

Kato linked to tainted talent agency

A senior official at a scandal-hit talent agency loaned 100 million yen in 1999 to the private secretary of Koichi Kato, a former secretary general of the Liberal Democratic Party, agency sources said Friday.
JAPAN
Oct 19, 2001

Automakers rev up search for ultimate clean car

Driven by concerns over global warming and the prospect of tougher restrictions, automakers worldwide have moved up a gear in the race to build the ultimate clean car.
JAPAN
Oct 19, 2001

Tragedy is chance to unite, Baker says

Despite the massive losses in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, the incident has provided new opportunities for nations to work together to create a world free from terror, said Howard Baker, the U.S. ambassador to Japan.
BUSINESS
Oct 18, 2001

Hands-free messages set for debut

Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. and Honda Motor Co. have developed a new communication system for vehicles that lets drivers exchange e-mail and make telephone calls without using their hands.
JAPAN
Oct 18, 2001

Three ex-cops held over allegations of extortion

Three former police officers from Tokyo and Kanagawa prefecture were arrested Wednesday on suspicion of demanding payment from a Tokyo company in return for silencing hecklers at a shareholders' meeting.
BUSINESS / ON THE FRONT LINE
Oct 18, 2001

World currency market groping for path

The world currency market is struggling to find its way amid uncertainty about what will ensue after the U.S.-led military campaign in Afghanistan.
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Oct 18, 2001

Rare hybrids on evolution's way to where?

Humans like rules as a way of ordering the world into familiar and comfortable patterns. For naturalists, one of the basic rules is the concept of biological species, which forms the basis of modern biodiversity and conservation studies.
CULTURE / Film
Oct 17, 2001

O, brothers how art thou?

Joel and Ethan Coen
JAPAN
Oct 17, 2001

'Juku' owner held in kidnapping

A manager of a "juku" cram school was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of kidnapping a 7-year-old boy from Tokyo's Itabashi Ward as the first-grader was on his way to school.

Longform

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