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BUSINESS
Aug 16, 2001

New cafes offer broadband experience

With most homes in Japan not yet ready for high-speed access to the Internet, more and more "broadband cafes" are sprouting up to offer firsthand experience with the latest Internet services.
JAPAN
Aug 12, 2001

Kansai / Who & What

Art space combines dance, dinner, bonfire A dinner party with dancing, music and a bonfire will be held Wednesday and Thursday at the KyoRyuKan International Art Space in Kamigyo Ward, Kyoto.
JAPAN / WEEKEND WISDOM
Aug 12, 2001

Copying Kyoto is way to revitalize Japan, fashion critic says

KYOTO -- If Japan wants to revitalize the sluggish economy and turn its prospects around, there are plenty of indications that Kyoto's way of life as well as its way of doing business are the answer, according to Hiromi Ichida, a fashion critic who has lived in the ancient capital for more than half...
CULTURE / Film
Aug 8, 2001

Director Veysset knows her characters by heart

Sandrine Veysset has only made three films so far, but it would be no exaggeration to call her one of France's most talented directors. Her debut, "Will It Snow for Christmas?" took a Cesar (French Academy Award), her follow-up "Victor . . . pendant qu'il est trop tard," grabbed a Critics' Award at Rotterdam,...
JAPAN
Aug 8, 2001

Chinese writer heads drive to build schools in Asia, Africa

After graduating from Shanghai's Fudan University, studying Japanese at Tokyo's Takushoku University and history at the University of Tokyo, Chinese writer Ye Qing is now leading a drive to construct elementary schools in Asia and Africa.
JAPAN
Aug 5, 2001

Foreigners aim to help in World Cup

Korean, Chinese, Brazilian and other foreign nationals living in Japan plan to set up a nonprofit organization to provide interpreters and volunteers for the 2002 World Cup finals, which kick off in less than 300 days.
BUSINESS
Aug 4, 2001

Matsushita touts lightest DVD player

OSAKA -- Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. said Friday it will launch the world's lightest portable DVD player on Sept. 1.
LIFE / Lifestyle / JET STREAM
Jul 27, 2001

Hawaiian JETs sing a new island song

The song "Neba Neba Natto" may never make the Japanese music charts, but it is becoming a classic of a sort. The song, by Nikkei Aloha, has a laid-back Hawaiian tempo and humorous lyrics paying homage to natto (fermented soybeans).
CULTURE / Film
Jul 25, 2001

Stranded on Planet Hollywood

Planet of the Apes Rating: * * Director: Tim Burton Running time: 120 minutes Language: EnglishNow showing Michael Clarke Duncan in Tim Burton's "Planet of the Apes" -- (C)2001 Twentieth Century Fox Director Tim Burton is quite clear on this matter: His version of "Planet of the Apes" is no mere "remake"...
CULTURE / Books
Jul 15, 2001

Controversial textbooks are big sellers for Fusosha

The latest best seller, oddly enough, is a junior high school history textbook. After going on sale on June 1, "Atarashii Rekishi Kyokasho" has been at or near the top of the best-seller list and the related social studies text "Atarashii Komin Kyokasho" in the top 10. Already 500,000 copies of the history...
CULTURE / Film
Jul 11, 2001

Remember Pearl Harbor?

There's been a lot of talk about historical revisionism in Japan lately, given the history textbook controversy and other attempts by rightists to gloss over past aggression in favor of a Reaganesque, feel-good imagining of history.
LIFE / Travel / NATURE TRAVEL
Jul 10, 2001

Where pachyderms on the run find haven

A thumping makes the banana-flower curry shiver in the bowl. The cutlery rattles, and there is an excited rush of diners to the second-floor windows of the restaurant. Bellows and borborygmus* rise from below. The air is pungent with a dusty, thunderous aroma.
CULTURE / Film
Jul 4, 2001

Love: The final frontier

In science fiction, technological progress is often portrayed as bringing humankind ever closer to God in terms of understanding and exploiting the universe. At the beginning of Steven Spielberg's "A.I.," a scientist with the interesting name of Dr. Hobby (William Hurt) expounds before a group of underlings...
SOCCER / J. League / ON THE BALL
Jul 3, 2001

Time for Japan to take a lesson from Seoul

"Are you from Japan?"
BUSINESS
Jun 30, 2001

NTT launches L-mode Internet service

In a bid to halt the ongoing demise of fixed phone services, the Nippon Telegraph and Telephone group on Friday launched L-mode, a text-based Internet browsing service that does not require a computer.
JAPAN
Jun 28, 2001

Female 'rakugo' narrator packs bags to spread mirth on Korean Peninsula

"Rakugo" comic storyteller Kikuchiyo Kokontei hopes to spend this summer breaking down cultural barriers on both sides of the Korean Peninsula.
COMMENTARY
Jun 25, 2001

How to best honor Clinton? Forget him

WASHINGTON -- "Since Bill Clinton left office, we've been through a lot together," writes political consultant James Carville in his letter to me. But Clinton supporters "have much to be proud of." So please give to the William J. Clinton Presidential Foundation.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Jun 23, 2001

Dalton Tanonaka

The face and the voice are instantly familiar to viewers of CNN International's "BizAsia" show. Dalton Tanonaka is the anchor for this daily half-hour coverage of regional economic, corporate and political news, which includes interviews with famous people. Produced out of Hong Kong, "BizAsia" is the...
JAPAN
Jun 20, 2001

Government considers laws to control magic mushrooms

The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry is analyzing the composition of hallucination-inducing mushrooms, known as magic mushrooms, in a bid to tighten laws over their use, a health ministry research group said Tuesday.
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Jun 20, 2001

'Tribute to Louis': Nicholas Payton

Nicholas Payton's new release, "Tribute to Louis" (Verve), paints the colors, shapes and textures of Louis Armstrong's tunes on a great big, brand-new canvas. The largish ensembles Payton put together on the CD re-energize Armstrong's earlier, blues-based work from the '20s and '30s on songs such as...
CULTURE / Film
Jun 20, 2001

By the people, for the media

The Contender Rating: * * * * Director: Rod Lurie Running time: 127 minutes Language: English Now showing at Marunouchi Piccadilly and other theaters You see "The Contender" and you realize the level of puritanism in the United States, at least in terms of politics as presented by the media for public...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Jun 16, 2001

Gordon Shin Guy

"This country is so vast, with a spectrum from game parks to beaches and everything in between. There's so much to do outdoors, and nature is all around you. You can go walking up Table Mountain, go swimming, mountain-biking, picnicking, wine-tasting. You're not governed by the weather, as more than...
CULTURE / Film
Jun 13, 2001

Hard-boiled blunderland and the end of the world

The Way of the Gun Rating: * * *Japanese title:Yukaihan Director:Christopher McQuarrie Running time: 119 minutes Language: EnglishNow showing at Marunouchi Piccadilly 2 and other theaters One elderly crime lord looks at his right-hand man and asks, "Do you believe in karma, Joe?" The tough old hit...
CULTURE / Film
Jun 13, 2001

Somewhere over the DMZ

JSA Rating: * * * 1/2 Director: Park Chan Wook Running time: 110 minutes Language: Korean Now showing at Hibiya Scala-za and other theaters Two types of Korean movies used to be released in Japan. One was the art film, usually something dark, raw and intense. The other was the erotic film, usually...
Events
Jun 12, 2001

Osaka still investment 'black hole'

OSAKA — With Osaka's economy still in the doldrums, city and prefectural officials are renewing efforts to bring more foreign direct investment to the region.
CULTURE / Books
Jun 10, 2001

Publishing still in a slump; DaVinci stays popular with young

Last month, the National Tax agency made its annual announcement of those paying more than 10 million yen in income tax and, as always, the list reflected major trends of the times.
MORE SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
Jun 7, 2001

Minding your P's and Q's

"F*** your mother"
CULTURE / Music
Jun 6, 2001

Music for the masses

Lord knows, it ain't easy Call it the Happy Meal effect, but what used to be considered "bonus" is now taken for granted. The multiple-stage gimmick offers more of a festival atmosphere, but if you go for the music you will eventually have to choose, and sometimes it ain't easy.
CULTURE / Music
Jun 3, 2001

Jamming outside the lines

The complexity of jazz is both its strength and its weakness, turning off many would-be listeners with the demands of its difficult, challenging forms, while fascinating fans with its open-ended dynamism. For many jazz players, the tension between having to entertain and wanting to push boundaries is...
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 3, 2001

Wellington reaches out to Asia

The first country to give the vote to women, New Zealand presently has the distinction of having all three top public posts occupied by women: the governor general, the prime minister and the chief justice. This provides a clue as to why at times Wellington has played a role and exercised an influence...

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past