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Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Aug 14, 2002

Felicien Rops: Days of madness

The catalog of the Felicien Rops exhibition is wrapped in the anonymous brown paper more often used to disguise pornography than art. The display itself, now at the Machida City Museum of Graphic Arts, would, if art galleries issued such things, come with a parental advisory label. With a preponderance...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Aug 14, 2002

Janet Klein: past perfect

Janet Klein's ukulele is no gimmick. Nor are her "obscure, lovely and naughty songs from the '10s, '20s and '30s." Klein and her L.A.-based band, The Parlor Boys, are about as real a deal as it gets. More than just fans of phonographs and sepia tone, Klein and company are musical archaeologists, taking...
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Aug 14, 2002

The Flaming Lips': "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots"

Meet Yoshimi. She's a black belt in karate. She keeps in shape and takes her vitamins, because, well, it gets tough fighting giant androids bent on world domination.
JAPAN
Aug 13, 2002

'Green map' points to Tokyo's sights, blights

On a sunny day in early August, three university students and four children walking near JR Shinagawa Station in Tokyo stopped when they came upon litter on the street.
JAPAN
Aug 13, 2002

Nagano's Tanaka vows to create additional jobs

Ousted but popular former Nagano Gov. Yasuo Tanaka on Monday pledged to create jobs in local industries while continuing to reform public works spending.
BUSINESS
Aug 13, 2002

Kobe Steel poised to transfer lead-frame operations to unit

Kobe Steel Ltd. said Monday it plans to place its copper lead-frame operations under the control of a subsidiary Oct. 1 in an effort to cut production and other operational costs.
BUSINESS
Aug 13, 2002

Current account surplus rocketed 51.9% in first half

The nation's current account surplus soared 51.9 percent in the first half of 2002 from a year earlier to 7.928 trillion yen, the second-largest figure for a six-month period, according to a preliminary report released Monday by the Finance Ministry.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Aug 11, 2002

Chill out in Tokyo's favourite haunts

Sites of assassinations, murders and suicides; dark, dank tunnels and creepy old abandoned buildings; weird creatures, the stuff of legends whose origins are lost in the mists of time . . . Tokyo harbors dozens -- perhaps even hundreds -- of "ghost spots" where inexplicable, sinister phenomena have reputedly...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / VINELAND
Aug 11, 2002

Really making a meal of it in Austria

Second of two parts One of the most heady delights for any wine lover is a visit to a vineyard. Hike or bicycle through the countryside, then sip wine and unpack a picnic near lush, green rows of vines. In the warm afternoon, tromp down into the winery's cool, dark cellar that smells of damp earth and...
COMMUNITY
Aug 11, 2002

One god to rule them all

All new regimes know their enemies. Having swept away the forces of the shogunate, the architects of the 1868 Meiji Restoration found themselves facing another foe. This fifth column was invisible: Its ranks were made up of yokai (ghosts) and bakemono (monsters), kappa (water sprites) and tengu (goblins)....
BUSINESS
Aug 10, 2002

Bridgestone recovers from tire-recall debacle

Bridgestone Corp. said Friday it posted a consolidated net profit of 24.48 billion yen in the January-June period, marking a turnaround from the 30.57 billion yen loss it logged a year earlier.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Aug 10, 2002

Wayne Hunter

Regular visitors to the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan at Yurakucho, Tokyo, are familiar with the tall young New Zealander there who speaks impressively fluent Japanese. Wayne Hunter joined the club's staff three years ago, and moved through several positions to become media liaison manager. He...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Aug 10, 2002

For country, for Coca-Cola, for cool companies

Jud Taylor is not only George Taylor, but George P. Taylor IX. His father was a psychologist, his grandfather a doctor and (according to family lore) the generations stretch back to a blacksmith who signed the American Declaration of Independence, for Pennsylvania, in 1776.
COMMENTARY
Aug 9, 2002

Surprise ups Taiwan's risks

HONOLULU -- "No surprises." This was one of the pledges Taiwan's President Chen Shui-bian made to Washington, both at the time of his inauguration and again after his Democratic Progressive Party, or DPP, made a better-than-expected showing in the December 2001 parliamentary elections and formed a virtual...
EDITORIALS
Aug 8, 2002

China's military buildup

Two annual reports released last month -- one from the U.S. Department of Defense and the other from the U.S.-China Security Review Commission, a congressional panel -- express serious concern about China's military buildup and economic development. Such a perception does not sit well with the Japanese...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 8, 2002

Aum grows again, guru still revered

Several of its senior members have been convicted of heinous crimes, including two deadly nerve gas attacks. It has been placed under tight surveillance and wherever its members try to settle, local residents and municipalities turn out to keep them away.
JAPAN
Aug 8, 2002

Koizumi to avoid Aug. 15 shrine visit

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi will not visit Yasukuni Shrine on Aug. 15, the 57th anniversary of the end of World War II, to pay his respects to the nation's war dead, the top government spokesman said Wednesday.
MORE SPORTS
Aug 8, 2002

Dream Bowl to kick season off

The Dream Bowl 2002 Matchplay tenpin bowling tournament to be held at the Shin-Yokohama Prince Bowling Center from Aug. 30-Sept. 2, will kick off the United States affiliated professional bowling league for the first time.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Aug 8, 2002

UNEP envoy strikes the right eco-chord

Tokiko Kato has been popular in Japan for decades as a singer and songwriter who is passionate about people and the planet. Two years ago, when the Environment Ministry asked her to act as a Special Envoy to the United Nations Environment Program it was a natural fit. Since then she has established herself...
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Aug 7, 2002

Kevin Mahogany: Pride and Joy

Kevin Mahogany's stunning new CD, "Pride and Joy," puts his rich baritone to work on a brand-new source of tunes -- Motown. Even though other jazz vocalists, such as Cassandra Wilson, have reworked everything from Son House to The Monkees into fresh jazz hybrids, why Motown -- with its incredibly well-crafted,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Aug 7, 2002

The Streets: Original Pirate Material

Following hard on the heels of drum 'n' bass, U.K. garage (or two-beat) was already the hippest thing in urban Britain by the time the rest of the world had even heard of it. Critics called it the purest form of dance music since '70s disco, while practitioners made much of its up-from-the-streets credibility,...

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji