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JAPAN
Aug 5, 1999

Public favors flag over anthem, poll shows

Roughly 90 out of 100 residents polled by The Japan Times in Tokyo, Osaka and Hiroshima this week said they recognize the Hinomaru flag as a national symbol, but almost 40 opposed "Kimigayo" as the national anthem.
JAPAN
Jul 23, 1999

Norota urges new heliport site by yearend

Defense Agency chief Hosei Norota expressed hope Friday that the site to relocate U.S. Marine Corps helicopter operations at Futenma Air Station in Okinawa will be selected by the end of the year.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jul 15, 1999

Free of corporate connections, Kinyobi targets toxic offenders

As a buzzword, "dioxin" has quickly come to represent all that's wrong with Japan's mish-mash of contradictory and ineffective environmental policies.
LIFE / Travel
Jul 14, 1999

Getting into hot water in Fukushima

The sleepy town of Kitakata in northwest Fukushima hasn't much to interest tourists. The ramen is famous, but once you've seen the lacquer museum and some of the old storehouses, you may be stuck for ideas. The locals are rather proud of their Daibutsu, an 11th-century golden Buddha, but it is hardly...
COMMENTARY
Jul 13, 1999

Break deadlock on base issues

U.S. President Bill Clinton expressed hope June 25 that all pending issues concerning U.S. military bases in Okinawa, including the issue of the Marine Corps Futenma Air Station, will be resolved before he attends a Group of Eight summit there in July 2000. "I don't want to go over there and have all...
COMMUNITY / How-tos / GETTING THINGS DONE
Jul 4, 1999

Happy holiday

The U.S. celebration of independence does not always fall on a column day and even when it does, I rarely write about it. There are some 153 diplomatic missions represented in Tokyo and they all have national days that could be noted. But then, once in a while I do. Once I wrote how Japan had honored...
CULTURE / Music / HOGAKU TODAY
Jun 12, 1999

Open door to a world of dreams

David Wheeler, shakuhachi performer, teacher and writer on Japanese music, will be presenting a shakuhachi recital June 19 at Hamarikyu Asahi Hall.
ENVIRONMENT / GARDENING FOR ALL
May 27, 1999

Respect for the forest's elders

The Hokkaido University Botanic Garden is situated right in the heart of Sapporo, within easy reach of Sapporo Station. I really love to see trees grown at their best, and for those of you who feel the same, a visit to this garden is essential.
LIFE / Food & Drink / KISSA KULTUR
May 27, 1999

Old and new blended perfectly at Otani

A pebble's throw away from the Akasaka Mitsuke subway station, the Hotel New Otani (which happens to be in the midst of celebrating 35 years as one of Tokyo's premier hotels) might just offer the solution to savvy travelers' "been there, done that" blues.
JAPAN
May 19, 1999

Life term sought for Asahara's driver

Prosecutors demanded life in prison Wednesday for a former Aum Shinrikyo fugitive accused of chauffeuring one of the cultists accused of releasing sarin in the deadly Tokyo subway gas attack of March 1995.
CULTURE / Stage
May 15, 1999

Theatre Olympics: Let the performances begin!

High on a mountain top covered with tea bushes in Shizuoka Prefecture, Kim Itoh is dancing his solo piece "Nerve Maze Garden 2" in one of the most aesthetically pleasing venues in Japan. Designed by architect Arata Isozaki as part of the Shizuoka Performing Arts Park, Daendo Hall is a small oval theater...
LIFE / Travel
May 13, 1999

Nishi-Ogikubo -- waist-high in green

Tokyoites complain about Tokyo: its chaotic haphazardness, its sprawling largeness, its adamant refusal to be beautiful. Like the room of a teenage boy, it keeps accumulating things, things, things. Then everything is kicked under the bed and the boy goes out for a cheeseburger. Tokyoites can only shrug...
COMMUNITY
May 2, 1999

Relaxation therapy for busy people

Shiatsu, acupuncture and moxibustion are for older men -- at least, that's what was believed.
COMMUNITY
May 2, 1999

Not just a fancy rock collection

Kiyosumi Gardens' overgrown rock collection and pristine pond are a haven for the elderly who frequent it -- lunch box and camera in hand.
CULTURE / Music
May 1, 1999

Playing the oldies but goodies

Real classical Japanese music is a rare thing today. There is a wide-ranging repertoire for Japanese traditional instruments, but there are few performers who specialize in the classics of these genres, or whose musical education focused on those classics.
LIFE / Digital / CYBERIA
Apr 14, 1999

Cyberlife during wartime

My hanami last week started grimly. One participant, when asked why he looked so glum on such a happy occasion, explained that he was thinking of the Kosovo refugees. He had once been in the hills where they have fled, and even though he was prepared for it, he still remembers the cold and the discomfort....
CULTURE / Art / CERAMIC SCENE
Apr 10, 1999

A keen ear for the voice of the clay

Japanese ceramists often talk of the materials they use as having spirits and souls. A kiln, for instance, has its own kami, and the clay has a voice that if listened to carefully will reveal a shape that has lain dormant for centuries.
LIFE / Food & Drink / NIHONSHU
Apr 8, 1999

Soaking up the atmosphere enhances the sake experience

Sake pubs tend to have certain similarities of theme running through them. Whether it be a modern expression of these threaded themes or a more classical version, the look, feel and menu are often not all that different. While it all works for a reason, over the last few years there has been a trend...
CULTURE / Art
Apr 3, 1999

Home sweet home discovered between public and private

Returning to Tokyo after living and working in Europe for some years, artist Tadashi Kawamata was struck by a unique characteristic of the megalopolitan Tokyo: It appears to be an unusually orderly and clean city, despite its population. Brightly lit vending machines line the streets at almost regular...
JAPAN
Mar 29, 1999

JR West, Shigaraki to pay 501 million yen over crash

OSAKA -- The Osaka District Court ordered West Japan Railway Co. and Shigaraki Kogen Railway Co. to pay 501 million yen in damages Monday to the next of kin of nine people killed in a 1991 Shigaraki head-on train collision that claimed 42 lives and left 614 people injured.
LIFE / Food & Drink / NIHONSHU
Mar 25, 1999

Shibuya's best-kept secret -- but you didn't read it here

Publicity can be both good and bad. It can help a restaurant or pub stay open and economically healthy. It can also, however, be the bane of an establishment as well. Too much attention has its downfalls.
COMMUNITY
Feb 21, 1999

Alley offers old fashioned swig and chat

While Tomomi Kahala hopefuls battle their way across Shibuya's Hachiko crossing to the nearest karaoke bar, those looking for a bit of live entertainment and a huge dollop of good-humored banter head straight for a cluster of rickety wooden watering holes that time seems to have forgotten.
JAPAN
Jan 29, 1999

U.S. shown plan to ship MOX fuel unescorted from overseas

A plan to ship mixed-oxide fuel from Europe for the first time has been submitted to the United States, government officials said Friday.
JAPAN
Jan 21, 1999

Teen takes boy hostage at knifepoint

A teenager held a 9-year-old boy hostage at knifepoint for more than two hours on a street in Tokyo's Minato Ward Thursday before being arrested by metropolitan police.
JAPAN
Nov 23, 1998

Kawasaki foreigners' panel to hold forum

KAWASAKI -- The foreign residents panel of Kawasaki will hold an open forum Sunday for foreign and Japanese residents.
JAPAN
Nov 20, 1998

Reasonably priced homes move in on capital

A reasonably priced 100 sq. meter home is now within closer proximity to the capital, according to a metropolitan government white paper on housing released Friday.
JAPAN
Nov 16, 1998

State awaits heliport solution as Inamine defeats Ota

The government will abandon its controversial plan to build a sea-based heliport off the northern Okinawa city of Nago and instead seek a solution based on the policy platform of Okinawa's newly elected governor, Keiichi Inamine, a government spokesman said Monday.
JAPAN
Nov 3, 1998

Heliport decision to follow Okinawa poll, Obuchi says

The government will decide on its embattled plan to build a sea-based heliport off the northern Okinawa city of Nago after the Nov. 15 gubernatorial election in the prefecture, Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi suggested Tuesday.
JAPAN
Oct 19, 1998

Atami's fortune no longer springs eternal

Staff writerATAMI, Shizuoka Pref. -- This used to be one of the most popular spa resorts in Japan, with streets packed with yukata-dressed tourists and hotel rooms fully booked for company parties.But such memories have been fading in Atami. Hard-hit by earthquakes and the recession, the city's central...
JAPAN
Oct 9, 1998

Tokyo offers counseling for foreigners

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government will hold counseling sessions on everyday life problems this month and next month, with English and Chinese speaking staff for non-Japanese residents, officials said.Counseling for foreigners will cover such problems as status of residence, housing, marriage, education,...

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