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JAPAN
Dec 24, 2001

Coast guard ships retrieve bodies of two suspected spies

The Japan Coast Guard on Sunday recovered two bodies believed to be crew members of a suspected North Korean ship that sank off Kyushu after exchanging fire with Japanese patrol boats Saturday night, coast guard officials said.
JAPAN
Dec 23, 2001

Women's rights activist Kato dies at 104

Shizue Kato, one of the first Japanese women to become a Diet member and a pioneer of women's rights in Japan -- particularly known for her advocacy of birth control -- died Saturday from respiratory failure at a relative's house in Tokyo's Bunkyo Ward, her family said. She was 104.
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM MOSCOW
Dec 23, 2001

Putin leaves Russia wondering

MOSCOW -- Russian President Vladimir Putin seems to be really excited about his new strategic partnership with Washington. For the sake of this still amorphous yet highly promising alliance, he has even decided to downplay his irritation about President George W. Bush's decision to withdraw from the...
LIFE / Food & Drink / BEST BAR NONE
Dec 23, 2001

Finding the Christmas spirit (and ale)

Christmas was once a lonely business for an expat in Japan. With no holiday, no family and everyone who could manage it having already left town, it was downright dismal -- even for a seasoned Japan-hand.
COMMUNITY
Dec 22, 2001

Book by 'Japagaijin' gives abused women shelter

Right now, Diane Brown is shoveling snow. She lives 10 km from the center of Sapporo, where she finds it both amusing and annoying that so much of the drudgery of local life has been officially labeled women's work. "The shovel I use is called a 'Mamadump' because it's mums who mostly clear the white...
EDITORIALS
Dec 21, 2001

Public-sector reforms move forward

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's efforts to streamline inefficient public corporations have been largely successful so far. But he has suffered a setback in one important category of these corporations: state-run financial institutions. Faced with stiff resistance from both inside and outside the government,...
JAPAN
Dec 21, 2001

Child exploitation congress closes

YOKOHAMA-- A four-day international conference concluded here Thursday with the adoption of a statement reaffirming the need for the protection and promotion of the right of every child to be protected from all forms of sexual exploitation.
BUSINESS
Dec 20, 2001

Sanyo to introduce work-share system

OSAKA -- Sanyo Electric Co. plans to introduce a work-sharing system in April in the first such move by a major consumer electronics maker in Japan, company officials said Wednesday.
LIFE / Digital / NAME OF THE GAME
Dec 20, 2001

Surviving the 'Pikmin' pickle

Captain Olimar, the main character in "Pikmin," isn't really a character, he's a cursor. He doesn't do anything other than tell the Pikmin what to do.
LIFE / Digital / SURFERSPUD
Dec 20, 2001

For the surfing Santa

www04.giftcertificates.com/index.cfmGiftCertificates.com has Uncle Spud's name written all over it. And it has your name written all over it, too, if you've got more nieces and nephews than you can count on one finger. And if you haven't broken out the plastic yet. Let's face it, it even has your name...
JAPAN
Dec 19, 2001

Hunt off for missing Japanese: Pyongyang

Tokyo reacted with concern Tuesday to news that North Korea has suspended its search for missing Japanese believed to have been abducted by North Korean agents in the 1970s and 1980s.
CULTURE / Art
Dec 19, 2001

Capturing the moving image

Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) is holding an exhibition of photographs of the homeless, running till Jan. 27 at the Tokyo Photographic Culture Centre.
CULTURE / Music
Dec 19, 2001

2001 -- A sound odyssey

It was a year for rocking, for boppig, for grooving, for moshing, for swaying and of course, for listening. Taking one last spin through the sounds of the past 12 months, our music writers tell us what they heard.
SOCCER / World cup
Dec 16, 2001

Troussier remains quiet on Scotland's approach

Japan manager Philippe Troussier has left the door open regarding a possible move to manage Scotland after the 2002 World Cup, describing it as "a great challenge."
COMMUNITY
Dec 16, 2001

Photo-news loses its focus

Last August's demise of Shinchosha's weekly photo newsmagazine Focus marked a major publishing milestone in Japan.
EDITORIALS
Dec 15, 2001

End of the line for Mr. Arafat?

Violence in the Middle East has claimed many political careers, but throughout the long struggle that pitted Arab and Palestinian against Israeli, Mr. Yasser Arafat has been a survivor. He overcame internal factional struggles and Israeli assassination attempts to lead the Palestinian people within reach...
JAPAN
Dec 15, 2001

Consumers chasing peace of mind: Dentsu

Japanese sought peace of mind rather than life in the fast lane this year amid the ongoing economic decline, according to a sales trends report released by the nation's top advertising agency.
COMMUNITY
Dec 15, 2001

Interculturalist has jolly Xmas message for Japan

With a name suggestive of seasonal good cheer, EDI's Gordon Jolley is also the perfect gent, with fresh flowers in his buttonhole, choosing salad ahead of steak for lunch, and picking up the bill afterward. There is also much well-practiced humor: "Executive Development International is a virtual company....
EDITORIALS
Dec 14, 2001

Caught in a worsening recession

Japan's economy is in serious condition. Despite years of recovery efforts, its vital signs continue to worsen. Gross domestic product in July through September contracted at an annual rate of 2.2 percent, posting two straight quarters of negative growth -- a condition that is technically defined as...
JAPAN
Dec 14, 2001

Device to scan body shape promises better-fitting goods

It takes just under a second for a head -- and less than two for a whole body -- to produce the data necessary to create a precise 3-D model of your shape.
JAPAN
Dec 13, 2001

State bars three countries from donating organs

A health ministry panel decided Wednesday to add Belgium, Italy and the Netherlands to a list of seven countries from which organ donations to Japan are barred to prevent the spread of the brain-wasting Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.
JAPAN
Dec 13, 2001

Over 60,000 fires reported in the last year, up 6.7%

A total of 62,454 fires were reported in the year through September, up 3,928, or 6.7 percent, from a year earlier and cracking the 60,000 mark for the first time in three years, according to an outline of a 2001 white paper complied by the Fire and Disaster Management Agency.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Dec 13, 2001

Global warming: WWF expert tells it like it is

Have difficulty getting your head around global warming? Join the club.
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Dec 12, 2001

The Silver Jews: 'Bright Flight'

David Berman's band suffers from an image problem. People are confused by the name, The Silver Jews (a reference to The Silver Apples and slang for Jewish people with blonde hair). Moreover, the music press seems convinced that they're a side project of influential indie-rockers, Pavement. True, Berman...
Events
Dec 11, 2001

Kansai / Who & What

Herb park extends hours until Christmas Nunobiki Herb Park in Kobe's Chuo Ward will operate for extended hours from Wednesday until Dec. 25.
JAPAN / LAST CALL FOR SAKE
Dec 11, 2001

Bell tolls on last sake class

NIIGATA -- Yoshikawa High School in Niigata Prefecture is the only high school left that teaches students how to brew sake. But the current class will be the last to learn this ancient art.
JAPAN
Dec 9, 2001

Oysters blamed for west Japan dysentery cases

The number of people being treated for dysentery -- apparently after eating oysters -- has soared to 72 in 21 prefectures, mainly in western Japan, health authorities said Saturday.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 9, 2001

Jerusalem attacks benefit extremists on both sides

LONDON -- Hamas has had a very good weekend. The suicide bomb attacks that killed at least 25 people in Jerusalem and Haifa last Saturday and Sunday have driven any last remaining thoughts of a compromise peace settlement with the Palestinians out of the minds of most Israelis. Since the Islamic extremists...
JAPAN
Dec 9, 2001

Kazakstan envoy hands over details of postwar detainees

Kazakstan Ambassador to Japan Tleukhan Kabdrakhmanov submitted to Japan on Friday a list of the names of 2,585 Japanese people who were detained in Kazakstan after World War II, health ministry officials said.

Longform

An illustration features the Japanese signs for "ganbare" (good luck) and the Deaflympics, which will be held between Nov. 15 and 26.
A century of Deaf sport finds its moment in Tokyo