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BUSINESS
Apr 25, 2003

Sony group profit soars sevenfold

Sony Corp. said Thursday its group net profit in fiscal 2002 skyrocketed to 115.52 billion yen -- more than 7.5 times its 15.3 billion yen profit the previous year -- on strong movie sales and cost cutting.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Apr 24, 2003

Bottlenose dolphin

* Japanese name: Bandou iruka * Scientific name: Tursiops truncatus * Description: Dolphins are marine mammals, toothed whales, with a broad dorsal fin and a long snout with a characteristic "smile." They grow to between 1.9 and 4 meters long, and weigh 90-650 kg, living for up to 50 years. The dorsal...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Apr 24, 2003

Happy b'day double helix

This week is the anniversary of what some have called the most important intellectual innovation in human history, the discovery of the structure of DNA. From a paper originally published in Nature on April 25, 1953, DNA has made it into the pantheon of chemical structures instantly known to all members...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Apr 23, 2003

"Saddle Creek 50"

To the surprise of many, the American underground's most fertile soil is now found on the parched plains of Omaha, Neb. Despite the scarcity of clubs, record shops and other hipster-habitat markers, this remote Midwestern town has cultivated a bumper crop of interesting bands. Early bloomers Tom Bascle...
JAPAN
Apr 19, 2003

Amusement parks tap nation's love of hot springs

As amusement and theme parks nationwide struggle to attract visitors, operators in Tokyo are digging deep to tap one of Japan's favorite past times and lure a wider range of patrons.
BUSINESS
Apr 19, 2003

Digital broadcasting licenses issued

The government issued provisional licenses Friday to 17 television stations planning to begin terrestrial digital broadcasts in December.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / THE SECOND ROOM
Apr 19, 2003

2003 party season gets its blessing; Credit where due in 2002

As omens go, the last two Sundays have been righteously encouraging for the Tokyo party scene.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 18, 2003

Journalist offers renewable energy as solution to wars fought over oil

OSAKA -- Humans may someday cease to fight over oil when the sun becomes our main source of energy, according to 64-year-old German journalist Franz Alt.
JAPAN
Apr 18, 2003

Pyongyang urged to heed human rights resolution

Japan on Thursday urged North Korea to take seriously a resolution issued by the U.N. Human Rights Commission that criticizes the North's human rights abuses.
JAPAN
Apr 17, 2003

Advice offered on social withdrawal

The health ministry has compiled a booklet offering advice on dealing with social withdrawal, ministry officials said Wednesday. The advice is aimed at individuals who are exhibiting behavior of this kind and to members of their families, the officials said.
BUSINESS
Apr 17, 2003

Fuji Heavy, Saab plan car together

Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. and Saab Automobile AB of Sweden said Wednesday they will collaborate on the development of a new Saab vehicle and on the distribution of Saab vehicles in Japan.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 16, 2003

McDonald's pins hopes on healthy new menu

In an attempt to lure customers back to its 3,900 outlets, McDonald's Co. (Japan) Ltd. on Tuesday unveiled menu additions it hopes will project a fresh and healthy image.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 12, 2003

Odaiba beach not even safe for sewer rats to dip in

It's Tokyo's premier beach -- a strip of wave-washed sand carefully constructed more than a decade ago in a multibillion yen project to give the sprawling capital an ultramodern waterfront.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Apr 12, 2003

Daw Aye Mi

This year's chairwoman of the Asia-Pacific festival and charity bazaar is Daw Aye Mi, wife of the ambassador of the Union of Myanmar to Japan. She fills her rule appropriately, as charity for her is imperative. A pious lady who likes to play table tennis, she reads a lot, especially religious books....
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Apr 10, 2003

Field cricket

* Japanese name: Enma korogi * Scientific name: Teleogryllus emma * Description: The field cricket is a black to dark-brown insect, about 25 mm long. Crickets are orthopterans, in the same group as grasshoppers. They have large heads and wings that are folded flat against the back, except when the...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Apr 9, 2003

Roll up, the lion tamer's in town

Hurry, hurry, step right up, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls. Right this way. The circus has come to town!
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / BEST BAR NONE
Apr 6, 2003

Your passport to the Belgian brews

Belgium is a relatively small country and yet it boasts more specialist and boutique breweries than any other nation on earth. Tokyoites have, for more than a decade, been enjoying Belgium's finest at a handful of Belgian beer bars, like the original Brussels and more recent Belgo chains -- though, without...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Apr 6, 2003

Masters of potions past

Your interest may have been aroused by a friend's story of how, after trying kanpo (Chinese herbal medicine), their pollen allergy has not been so problematic this season. Or, on the other hand, you may have been intrigued by magazine articles with eye-catching headlines like "The Chinese medicine way...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Apr 6, 2003

Whole-istic medicine: being treated the traditional Chinese way

Thanks to modern medicine, many diseases that were fatal a few decades ago can now be cured. And with the decoding of the human genome, Western medicine is on the verge of taking another mighty leap forward.
BUSINESS
Apr 4, 2003

First over-the-counter sleeping pills hit stores amid barrage of inquiries

The country's first over-the-counter sleeping pills hit shelves Thursday, with their maker forecasting that the drug could meet its original sales target for the year within the first month.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Apr 2, 2003

Thrilling theatrical polygamy

For American drama fans, the ultimate contemporary theater experience would be to have seen a Tennessee Williams play directed by the author; for Europeans, it would be to have caught a Samuel Beckett drama staged by the playwright. For Japanese theatergoers, the equivalent would be to have seen a Shuji...
BUSINESS
Mar 29, 2003

China urged to deal with piracy

Japan urged China on Friday to crack down on piracy of video games, CDs and movies.
BUSINESS
Mar 29, 2003

Expanded deregulation plan OK'd

An expanded version of a three-year deregulatory program featuring 405 more items aimed at opening up the public sector to private firms was approved Friday by the government.
BUSINESS
Mar 28, 2003

Sony robot upgrade can sing and feign dialogue

Sony Corp.'s toddler-size singing and dancing robot has expanded its vocabulary and musical repertoire and now avoids pinching human fingers with its metal joints.
EDITORIALS
Mar 27, 2003

Local election campaigns start today

A round of local elections will take place next month in Japan, with the issues of autonomy and decentralization setting the tone. Campaigning for gubernatorial elections, including the one in Tokyo, will kick off today. A total of more than 2,370 elections, including mayoral and prefectural assembly...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 27, 2003

Songwriting lawmaker blazes maverick policy trail

On Feb. 18, the day before his latest CD was set to hit store shelves, lawmaker Ichita Yamamoto met Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi at his official residence in order to hand him a copy of "Kaikaku no Uta" ("Song for Reform").

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past