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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,...
JAPAN
Aug 6, 2002

Yokohama neighborhood seeks to put lid on condos

Is it possible for people to agree on what beauty is? As far as landscapes are concerned, the answer appears to be no.
JAPAN
Aug 6, 2002

JCP relocates to new Yoyogi base

The Japanese Communist Party has moved from a converted cinema into a new 11-story building at the same site in Tokyo's Yoyogi district.
JAPAN
Aug 4, 2002

Obituary: Shinkichi Ito

Shinkichi Ito, a prize-winning poet and critic known for his writing on his mentor Sakutaro Hagiwara (1886-1942), died of pneumonia at a Tokyo hospital on Saturday, his family said. He was 95.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 4, 2002

Japan playing a vital role in Myanmar

Aung San Suu Kyi has completed two successful and delightful long-distance inland political journeys since her release from a second house arrest about 10 weeks ago. The State Peace and Development Council, or SPDC, the military regime, has provided full security for her travels in Mandalay and Mon states....
JAPAN / WEEKEND WISDOM
Aug 4, 2002

Salaryman quits to devote time to family name: Tokugawa

Tsunenari Tokugawa drew a salary for more than 38 years, climbing the corporate ladder to become executive vice president of major marine shipping company Nippon Yusen K.K.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Aug 4, 2002

The world according to a certified oddball

Once you finally know them, most people are . . . nice. A rosy sentiment paraphrased from Atticus Finch in the fiction classic "To Kill a Mockingbird." Words I now twist to match my own barbed view of life in Japan.
LIFE / Food & Drink / THE WAY OF WASHOKU
Aug 4, 2002

For a little taste of home that's not from home

There are three smells that I associate with summer in Japan: the scent of katorisenko — the green, spiral-shaped incense that is used to ward off pesky mosquitoes; the sweet-sticky smell of the colored syrup in seasonal kaki-gori shaved-ice shops; and the odors of yatai outdoor food stalls — especially...
BUSINESS
Aug 3, 2002

Household spending rises, ends five-quarter trend

Average household spending in the April-June period rose a real 1.1 percent from the same period in 2001 to 300,802 yen, marking the first rise in five quarters, the government said Friday.
JAPAN
Aug 3, 2002

Report cites 'age of anxiety' triggered by Sept. 11 attacks

In response to last year's terrorist attacks against the United States, the government's annual defense white paper, released Friday, emphasizes the unstable international security situation and the importance of the Self-Defense Forces in dealing with new types of threats.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / THE SECOND ROOM
Aug 3, 2002

Solstice weekend under the fog; Camping with the aliens

I knew it was going to be an interesting weekend the moment my press armband arrived in the mail marked No. 13, though I'm not superstitious enough to turn my back on an event like the Solstice Music Festival.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Aug 3, 2002

Keeping up with family weddings around world

Betty Glover from Perth, Australia, cannot walk too easily these days. This does not stop her from traveling however. Assisted by daughter Mo (Maureen) and son-in-law Deg (Derek), she is just coming to the end of a two-month trip to the U.K. and -- a bit of a surprise this one! -- Japan.
JAPAN
Aug 2, 2002

Private-sector leader urged for postal entity

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said Thursday that the public corporation that will take over the state-run postal service operations in April should be headed by someone from the private sector.
JAPAN
Aug 2, 2002

Tokyo cooling system in the pipeline

In an effort to curb Tokyo's ever-warming urban sprawl, the government is considering a massive project to cool the heart of the capital using an underground network of pipes -- tantamount to the world's largest radiator.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Aug 2, 2002

Flatworm

* Japanese name: Namiuzumushi * Scientific name: Dugesia japonica * Description: Flatworms are tiny animals a bit like miniature slugs, about 1 cm long. They have thin, gray-brown bodies with a brain and sense organs at the head end (you can see the eyes in the photo). Flatworms move by gliding --...
JAPAN
Aug 2, 2002

Disclaimers cause waves in scuba business

Recreational scuba divers in Japan are subject to a long-standing, and contentious, industry policy -- signing a waiver to accept all responsibility for whatever happens when they take the plunge.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 2, 2002

North Korean agent sought in abduction

Tokyo police obtained an arrest warrant Thursday for a North Korean agent who is suspected of acquiring a Japanese passport by pretending to be an Osaka man he abducted and spirited away to North Korea in 1980, police sources said.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 2, 2002

USJ struggles to save image from 'sophomore jinx'

OSAKA -- The Universal Studios Japan theme park, which drew 11 million people in the first 12 months after it opened in March 2001, is having a bad second year as it struggles to regain public trust following a series of management blunders.

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