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JAPAN
Nov 26, 2003

Review of arms export ban sought

Some ruling bloc lawmakers and Defense Agency officials have been calling for a review of Japan's self-imposed ban on weapons exports.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Nov 21, 2003

A New Year's tradition that's worth celebrating

Christmas and St. Valentine's Day may find favor in the eyes of young people, but New Year's Day is still the highlight of Japan's festive calendar. With kadomatsu pines at the doors of people's homes, New Year's cards cramming post boxes, and shrines crowded as people make their hatsumode (first visit...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Nov 19, 2003

Welcome to the Zen garden of the real

The artworks of an eminent father and son form the center of a striking exhibition that recently opened at Tokyo National Museum. On show in "Fusuma Paintings of Jukoin" are rare works by Kano Eitoku (1543-1590) and his father, Kano Shoei (1519-1592), which have been designated as national treasures....
BUSINESS
Nov 19, 2003

Casio, Hitachi to develop cell phones in joint venture

Casio Computer Co. and Hitachi Ltd. announced Tuesday they will set up a joint venture in April to develop cell phone handsets.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Nov 13, 2003

Sea slug

* Japanese name: Amakesaamefurashi * Scientific name: Aplysia juliana * Description: Sea slugs are marine mollusks, without gills or a shell -- just like most other mollusks. Often a dark olive-green color, at first glance a sea slug resembles nothing more than a stray piece of seaweed, but with a...
JAPAN
Nov 12, 2003

Pharmaceutical companies to get patents from space research

Japan's space agency is drawing up new rules to give pharmaceutical companies all the intellectual property rights deriving from space research on protein crystal structures, agency sources said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Nov 5, 2003

Ministries eye chemical substance database

The health, industry and environment ministries will compile a database on the toxicity and other features of some 28,000 chemical substances over a three-year period starting in fiscal 2004 in line with a new law, officials said Tuesday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Nov 5, 2003

Freed architecture

Rem Koolhaas, recently awarded the 2003 Praemium Imperiale for architecture, is prolific to the point of relentlessness. Looking at the stream of bold, innovative and aggressively hip buildings Koolhaas' Rotterdam-based office has produced, one well-known Japanese architect was prompted to liken him...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 5, 2003

Battle for power waged on voters' screens

The leader of the Democratic Party of Japan is fleetingly portrayed in a recent TV commercial as the stern-faced chairman of a fictitious Cabinet meeting, the scene accompanied by upbeat rock music.
Japan Times
JAPAN / ELECTION 2003
Nov 4, 2003

Party campaign strategies smack of desperation

With the coming election in mind, former House of Representatives member Kaoru Yosano last spring departed the Liberal Democratic Party faction led by Shizuka Kamei.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Nov 2, 2003

The Machiavellian good

MACHIAVELLI'S CHILDREN: Leaders and Their Legacies in Italy and Japan, by Richard J. Samuels. New York: Cornell University Press, 2003, 456 pp., $39.95 (cloth). This is an intriguing comparison between Japan and Italy, two nations that seem so different, but in fact share a great deal. Both nations came...
BUSINESS
Nov 1, 2003

Jobless rate steady at 5.1% in September

The seasonally adjusted jobless rate remained at 5.1 percent in September, unchanged from the previous month, with both the number of people employed and those unemployed decreasing, the government said Friday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 30, 2003

Diplomats' photo show puts lens on Japan

U.S. Ambassador Howard Baker and other foreign diplomats in Japan are set to present photographs showing unique features of the country at an exhibition that begins Thursday in Tokyo and then moves to Osaka.
BUSINESS
Oct 30, 2003

Daiei rehab plan features asset sales, banking help

The proposed rehabilitation of Daiei Inc.'s Fukuoka hotel, ballpark and baseball business will feature the sale of assets and financial assistance from the supermarket giant's six main banks, sources connected with the plan said Wednesday.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / NAME OF THE GAME
Oct 30, 2003

N-Gage fails to engage

It's no use beating around the bush, N-Gage, the new hand-held cellular telephone/video game system hybrid from Nokia, is quite probably the worst game system in video game history -- and that's counting such notable disasters as the Nintendo Virtual Boy and the Bandai Pipin.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / NEW ART SEEN
Oct 29, 2003

250 reasons to be happy, then some

I'm happy! The reason I'm happy is I love art, and this month a total of four -- yes four -- new contemporary art spaces opened in Tokyo.
BUSINESS
Oct 28, 2003

Olympus in endoscope breakthrough

Olympus Corp. has developed a high-resolution endoscope that may allow doctors to detect cancerous tissue within the body without taking samples, a company spokesman said Monday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 28, 2003

Matsui's success in U.S. hits a home run for Mizuno's sales

New York Yankees slugger Hideki Matsui drew praise for helping his team clinch the American League pennant and for his contribution, albeit in vain, toward their quest for a World Series victory.
JAPAN
Oct 25, 2003

New tests challenging TOEIC stronghold

Scoring 500 points on the TOEIC English proficiency test is a prerequisite for promotion to section chief or a higher managerial position at construction machinery maker Komatsu Ltd.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 23, 2003

Expert lays bare environmental carnage of war

While environmental destruction is often the last thing considered when war breaks out, this form of devastation can take decades -- if not centuries -- to correct.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 23, 2003

37th Tokyo Motor Show revs up for the media

MAKUHARI, Chiba Pref. -- The 37th Tokyo Motor Show opened to the media Wednesday at the Makuhari Messe convention center, showcasing futuristic, environmentally friendly and concept vehicles, motorcycles and the latest technology.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Oct 23, 2003

Freshwater pearl mussel

* Japanese name: Kawashinjukai * Scientific name:Margaritifera laevis * Description: Mussels are bivalves: mollusks that have their body contained between two shells. Young freshwater pearl mussels often have yellowish-brown shells, which become green-tinged and darker as they mature. This animal grows...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Oct 22, 2003

Cynic's view of the sex and the city

One of kabuki's most prolific playwrights, Tsuruya Nanboku, produced 120 dramas in the last 25 years of his life. This month, the Kabukiza, in Ginza, stages just two of them, a pair of remarkable sewamono (realistic plays) titled "Kamikakete Sango Taisetsu (A Pledge of Love to Sango)" and "Osome Hisamatsu...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 21, 2003

Bullets sent to politicians; Suzuki called a traitor

Former lawmaker Muneo Suzuki has received letters containing rifle bullets at his Tokyo and Hokkaido offices, while a similar letter has been sent to the residence of former Foreign Minister Yohei Kono, police said Monday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / FRONT-RUNNERS
Oct 21, 2003

Toho to take domestic smash 'Bayside Shakedown 2' overseas

A Tokyo-based motion picture company is poised to take on Hollywood with a live-action cop film that was a hit in Japan this summer.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Oct 19, 2003

Diamond exhibit is a real sparkler

The diamond is a symbol of love, wealth and power. Down the centuries, this precious stone has been adored by the rich and powerful -- among them empresses such as Catherine the Great of Russia and Elisabeth of Austria. Now the general public has the opportunity to get a little closer to the treasures...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Oct 19, 2003

Two local novelists strut their stuff

THE BANG DEVILS, by Patrick Foss. New York: HarperCollins, 2003 305 pp., $13.95 (paper). AMBASSADOR STRIKES, by Robert J. Collins. California: McKenna Publishing Group, 2003 260 pp., $19.95 (paper). With so much rich material to draw upon, the relatively small number of English novels set in the Kansai...
BUSINESS
Oct 16, 2003

Mazda launches Axela compact to replace Familia

Mazda Motor Corp. launched its new Axela sports compact on the domestic market Wednesday.

Longform

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.