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JAPAN
Jul 12, 2002

Government sees 'incipient recovery'

The government on Thursday upgraded its economic assessment on the back of brisk exports and improved production but warned that downside risks to the economy are increasing.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CLOSE NEIGHBORS
Jul 11, 2002

Japan's carmakers tooling up for China

BEIJING -- Zhao Xue Bo, an international relations researcher at Beijing Broadcasting Institute, a national university, has been saving money for some time to buy a new car.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / GARDENS FOR ALL
Jul 11, 2002

Osaka's peaceful heart

In 1972, two years after the Japan International Exposition in Osaka, redevelopment work began on the site. The result, eight years later, was the 260-hectare Expolands Green Oasis, which has now matured into a wonderful parkland with a wide range of attractions and facilities.
MORE SPORTS
Jul 11, 2002

Ex-WBA champ 'Celes' to retire

Former World Boxing Association super-flyweight champion Shoji "Celes" Kobayashi has decided to hang up his gloves, the head of Tokyo's Kokusai boxing gym revealed Wednesday.
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Jul 11, 2002

Sperm commit hara-kiri

Aldous Huxley is most famous for "Brave New World" (1932), but among scientists working on sperm competition and reproductive biology his "Fifth Philosopher's Song" (1920) is also well-known:
EDITORIALS
Jul 10, 2002

The ugly American again

There is always something disturbing about a leader that pronounces himself above the law. That only partially explains the unease surrounding the United States' decision to oppose creation of the International Criminal Court. Just as important have been the implications of that resistance -- which were...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / NEW ART SEEN
Jul 10, 2002

The Sept. 11 Care Bear Bunch

Cleveland-born, New York-based Dan Asher lives and works in an East Village apartment/studio. Although the 54-year-old artist didn't actually see the hijacked jetliners crash into the Twin Towers on Sept. 11 last year, he has followed -- with not a little consternation -- the many changes that struck...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Jul 10, 2002

Seigen Ono: 'So Peaceful, Simple and Strong'

Last month, when Marc Ribot was playing Aoyama Cay, one of Seigen Ono's people proffered an advance copy of "So Peaceful, Simple and Strong" to him backstage, saying, "It's good, Marc. It's really good." Ribot, heavy-lidded with jet lag and fatigue from touring Europe, grimaced and dropped the disc onto...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / J-POPSICLE
Jul 10, 2002

A card-carrying regular guy

One interesting aspect of Japanese meishi (name-card) etiquette is that entertainers never give them out. It took me a while to figure out that one. Several interviews with musicians I thought had begun inauspiciously when I handed the artist my meishi only to receive nothing in return.
COMMENTARY
Jul 9, 2002

Turmoil after Diet adjourns

The regular Diet session, which was extended in late June for 42 days through the end of July, is entering a critical period. Since it opened in January, the Diet has performed poorly, with a number of key bills still awaiting action.
BUSINESS
Jul 9, 2002

Include farm goods in FTAs: Takebe

Farm minister Tsutomu Takebe said Monday the country should not exclude the farm and fisheries sector when it negotiates free-trade agreements, ministry officials said.
BUSINESS
Jul 9, 2002

MMC plans aluminum-chassis truck

Mitsubishi Motors Corp. next year will introduce an extra-light, environmentally friendly truck that has an aluminum chassis, marking a world first for the automaker.
JAPAN / INTERNATIONAL RATIONALE
Jul 9, 2002

Dell turns to consumer market in quest to be No. 3

As the nation's personal computer market shrinks, competition is intensifying, and the Japanese unit of U.S.-based Dell Computer Corp. is becoming a rising force with its low-cost business model.
BUSINESS / ON MANAGEMENT
Jul 9, 2002

Burning your bridges

There was a well-known shogun who at one point was considered one of the most powerful men in the country. He built his empire swiftly and, he would be the first to admit, ruthlessly, and in the process ran over a lot of people and burned a lot of bridges. Like many feudal warlords, he rarely left the...
BUSINESS
Jul 9, 2002

Sluggish summer may yield to scoring drive

Japanese athletes have proved they can compete on a global level, as seen in the monthlong World Cup soccer finals cohosted by Japan and South Korea that ran until the end of June.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 8, 2002

Legacy-building in Beijing

CAMBRIDGE, England -- Chinese President Jiang Zemin has made another speech -- another important speech -- adding gloss to the landmark speech he made July 1 last year at the Communist Party of China's 80th birthday party.
MORE SPORTS
Jul 8, 2002

Japanese fall to France again

Setter Daisuke Usami and ace Ryu Morishige were replaced as starters in the second set but France countered with solid blocks and defeated Japan 25-16, 25-22, 23-25, 25-21 in the Tokyo round of the men's volleyball World League on Sunday.
BUSINESS
Jul 8, 2002

India now ripe for foreign investment, expert says

Conventional wisdom says that doing business in India is a difficult proposition, given its unstable politics and restrictive investment environment.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / FUZZY LOGIC
Jul 7, 2002

And the beat goes on

After locking myself in the garage for ages, banging my head against the wall and screaming the merits of the latest Japanese band that sounds remotely like Stooges brawling with MC5 in a wind tunnel, it seems logical to kind of get away from it all -- open that door, stroll outside for some fresh air,...
EDITORIALS
Jul 7, 2002

Fudging a few little fingers

I t's a good thing Mr. Steve Fossett doesn't play golf. Those other CEOs wouldn't stand a chance. On the other hand, many might do better than they should: In a survey published last week, a staggering 82 percent of top business executives admitted to cheating on the golf course. They shave strokes,...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / CLOSE-UP
Jul 7, 2002

Crusader for life on death row

Sister Helen Prejean, a nun with the Order of Saint Joseph of Medaille since 1957, has been accompanying death-row inmates to their executions since 1982. In her award-winning book "Dead Man Walking," which was made into a film in 1995, she relates the spiritual journey she went through with death-row...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Jul 7, 2002

Gone, but not forgotten

MEMORIES OF WIND AND WAVES: A Self-Portrait of Lakeside Japan, by Junichi Saga. Translated by Juliet Winters Carpenter. Illustrated by Susumu Saga. Tokyo: Kodansha International, 2002. 260 pp., with 50 photos and line drawings, 2,500 yen (cloth) Junichi Saga is a physician with a general practice in...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jul 7, 2002

Hisio: The pleasure zone is your oyster

Now that the monthlong soccer carnival has samba'd off stage, it's safe to venture back into the heartland of Roppongi again. This is highly welcome, as there are several places that we've been looking forward to trying out -- and top of the list is Hisio, with its newly opened oyster bar.
COMMENTARY
Jul 6, 2002

Pakistan's pressing diplomatic challenges

ISLAMABAD -- With thousands of Indian and Pakistani troops on high alert facing each other across front lines and global concern over the confrontation between the two nuclear-armed neighbors remaining high, Pakistan faces the challenge of revitalizing its foreign policy.
JAPAN
Jul 6, 2002

Japan, Russia talks on July 24 expected to widen ties

Japan and Russia will hold vice ministerial talks July 24 in Tokyo with a view to promoting bilateral relations in a wide range of fields, the Foreign Ministry said Friday.

Longform

Once smoky, male-dominated spaces, today's net cafes, like Kaikatsu Club, are working to make their operations more attractive to women customers.
The second life of Japan's net cafes