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BUSINESS
Jan 28, 2003

Extra budget makes it out of key panel

The House of Representatives on Monday passed a fiscal 2002 extra budget aimed at countering the negative effects of an accelerated cleanup of the banking sector.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Jan 27, 2003

Nutria

* Japanese name: Nutoria * Scientific name: Myocastor coypus * Description: The nutria, also called coypu, is a ratlike mammal with a long tail and broad, orange teeth. It has small eyes and ears, short legs and webbed hind feet that are much longer than the fore feet. The hind feet have five digits...
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jan 27, 2003

Trials of a singleton

When a man's been single for too long, he can start to exhibit strange symptoms.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jan 25, 2003

Festival celebrates 400 years atop Atago-yama

Meet the Matsuoka family: Mineo (that's Dad), Yuriko (Mum), older sister Rie and younger sister Iku. Oh, and let's not forget Vino, the Mexican Chihuahua, who wears a hand-knit coat against the cold and makes pretense to be as fierce as a Rottweiler.
JAPAN
Jan 25, 2003

Trendy teas try to give soda, coffee a run for their money

With a couple of Starbucks and at least one other big-name coffee shop within easy walking distance, not long ago Tomohiro Tsuchiya would have been better off opening his little cafe somewhere else.
JAPAN
Jan 23, 2003

New privacy bill unshackles media

A new version of a privacy-protection bill features an exemption clause for news media and professional writers and may thus ease concerns about restrictions on press freedom, according to a draft obtained Wednesday by Kyodo News.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / GARDEN PATHS
Jan 23, 2003

The bare essentials

This column is the first in a series of articles to take us strolling along some garden paths. Hopefully, along the way, we will come across some good ideas for our own patch of greenery, whether that is a garden, containers on a balcony, or just a few potted plants on the kitchen window.
JAPAN
Jan 22, 2003

80% of teens favor ban on sex with minors met via Internet

A police report released Tuesday says that some 80 percent of respondents to a recent survey on Internet dating sites favor a ban on the pursuit of sexual relationships via the Web with anyone who is 18 years old or younger.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Jan 22, 2003

Roy Haynes: "Love Letters"

With his steady stream of work stretching back nearly six decades, it's hard to think of a jazz figure drummer Roy Haynes has not played behind. He started out with Lester Young, then switched over to Charlie Parker. After that, he played with Stan Getz and Sarah Vaughan. Then from the '60s through the...
JAPAN
Jan 22, 2003

Actress's estate worth 430 million yen

OSAKA -- The late actress Chocho Miyako had 430 million yen worth of taxable assets, sources said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Jan 21, 2003

Economy, foreign attack bills lead new Diet session

The Diet convened its 156th session Monday, with the economy and a set of bills to give the government more powers in the event of an attack topping the agenda.
EDITORIALS
Jan 21, 2003

Tasks for the newly opened Diet

Economic revival is the main theme of the 150-day regular Diet session that opened on Monday. One of the first items to be discussed is a supplementary spending package for fiscal 2002 designed to shore up the sluggish economy. Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's policy speech, scheduled for delivery...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / NOTES FROM THE SMOKE
Jan 21, 2003

A reclaimed city that's for the birds (and bees)

An unintentionally caustic remark on one of the information boards that adorn Rainbow Bridge exposes the Gordian knot resting at the center of the vast Odaiba reclamation project in Tokyo Bay.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jan 21, 2003

Gadgets gnaw at polite society

A funny thing happened to me on the train home the other day. I had a conversation with a total stranger.
COMMUNITY
Jan 19, 2003

The danchi and postwar society

At the time, they were homes most Japanese could only dream about. Within their thick concrete walls, they were equipped with such mod cons as flush toilets and stainless-steel kitchen sinks, and they even had separate bedrooms -- for parents and children.
COMMUNITY
Jan 19, 2003

fl 20030119a1.xml SUN YES Boulevard Blitz

Omotesando Avenue, the tree-lined boulevard leading up to Meiji Shrine, is one of Tokyo's most beautiful streets. After many years of wrangling, though, from the end of March its much-loved look will begin to change dramatically, when demolition crews move in to tear down the Aoyama Apartment Houses...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 17, 2003

Nissan rolls out fully redesigned Skyline Coupe in Japan

Nissan Motor Co. on Thursday released the fully redesigned Skyline Coupe in Japan in the hope the new version of the popular model further accelerates the carmaker's performance.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jan 17, 2003

Izayoi: Fine fowl deeds in Azabu-Juban

The idea of upmarket yakitori -- presenting premium-quality charcoal-broiled chicken in suave settings, often with fine wine and other foreign influences -- is taken for granted in Tokyo these days. But nowhere else in the city is this venerable concept -- the skewering and grilling of fowl -- translated...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / NEW ART SEEN
Jan 15, 2003

MoT showcases artists who draw deeply from real life

"Art," wrote the French artist Robert Filliou (1926-87), "is what makes life more interesting than art." And this, dear reader, is just about my favorite quote. Profoundly mystifying, it serves as an M.C. Escher-esque comeback when the old "What is art?" line is thrown out less as a question than as...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 15, 2003

You've got to give a little

Tamao Kubota, the founder and lead singer of Apple Beat, has a powerful, slightly husky voice and carries herself with an attractive air of unself-conscious defiance. She sounds as good belting it out like an impassioned R & B singer as she does slow, quiet and personal.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Jan 13, 2003

Bee hawkmoth

* Japanese name: Sukibahoujyaku * Scientific name: Hemaris radians * Description: Bee hawkmoths belong to the moth family Sphingidae. They are large moths (wingspan 37-40 mm) able to fly at high speeds (hence the name hawkmoth). Caterpillars are bright green and recognizable by the black spine on the...
LIFE / Food & Drink / BEST BAR NONE
Jan 12, 2003

Legato's sky lounge serves up its cocktails from on high

In a musical score, the term "legato" indicates a passage that should be performed in a smooth and connected manner. As such, it is an excellent choice for the name of a sumptuous new restaurant and bar. Legato is every bit as "smooth" and "connected" as an orchestra under the guidance of a great maestro....
JAPAN / PREFECTURAL FARE
Jan 11, 2003

Style, taste, color of Kyoto brought directly to Tokyo

If you want to learn some of the secrets of the ancient capital of Kyoto without leaving Tokyo, visit Kyoto-kan in the Akasaka district.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 10, 2003

Honda ends Corolla's 33-year reign

The Honda Fit compact took over the title of the nation's best selling car in 2002, a position held by the Toyota Corolla for 33 straight years, the Japan Automobile Dealers Association said Thursday.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jan 10, 2003

Kanda's shrine to the humble soba noodle

During this most auspicious of Japanese seasons, it seems as if just about every kind of food is imbued with momentous import. From the mochi in the o-zoni soup with which the New Year's morning is greeted to the array of colorful but austere o-sechi ryori tidbits, many of these dishes are appreciated...
BUSINESS
Jan 8, 2003

Minolta and Konica plan union under holding firm

Konica Corp. and Minolta Co., two of the nation's leading manufacturers of camera and office equipment, announced Tuesday that they will merge their businesses under a holding company in August to survive in the increasingly competitive market.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Jan 3, 2003

Vast visions made real

First of two parts These days the United States may not be pulling its weight and taking any kind of responsible lead vis-a-vis climate change and the Kyoto Protocol. In the past, however, there have been undeniable -- if occasional -- grand American visions or strokes of inspired leadership. One such...

Longform

A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.
If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami