Search - world

 
 
JAPAN
Feb 1, 2002

37,000 pesky crows live in Tokyo area, study finds

A Tokyo Metropolitan Government study has found that about 37,000 crows are living in the area, and local officials are taking stronger measures to address public complaints about their growing numbers.
JAPAN
Feb 1, 2002

UNU forum targets mountain abuse

Mountains are being ravaged by human activities and action needs to be taken to ensure that these troves of biodiversity and natural resources are not sacrificed on the altar of development, according to a forum held Thursday at the United Nations University in Tokyo.
JAPAN
Feb 1, 2002

Cinemas raked in record 200 billion yen last year

Movie box offices in Japan rang up 200 billion yen last year for the first time ever, thanks mainly to the record-breaking performance of the animation "Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi" ("Spirited Away").
MORE SPORTS
Feb 1, 2002

Anna's pal Rios just 'having a little fun'

Much has been written on these pages over the past few days about the comments by Marcelo Rios regarding the current state of women's tennis. Rios, the former No. 1-ranked men's player in the world, put himself in the firing line by saying at last week's Australian Open that women's early-round matches...
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / LEARNING BY HEART
Feb 1, 2002

Kids learn from embracing the differences

The first thing you notice about the students at Musashino Higashi Secondary Vocational School is their uniforms. No matter the subject -- be it gymnastics or computer science -- the learning is done in a light-blue tracksuit.
BUSINESS
Jan 31, 2002

Public funds won't help banks, Mizuho exec says

A fresh injection of public funds would hamper, not help, Japan's banks, a banking official tapped to be the next president of the Mizuho Holdings Inc. banking group said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Jan 30, 2002

Ministries working on food safety agency

The farm ministry and the health ministry are negotiating the establishment of a food safety agency in fiscal 2002, ministry officials said.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Jan 30, 2002

Jan Garbarek and the Hilliard Ensemble: 'Mnemosyne'

The collaboration between saxophonist Jan Garbarek and the a cappella vocal quartet Hilliard Ensemble is an avant-garde blend of modern European jazz and early music. On "Mnemosyne," their recent collaboration, the origin of their songs extends back to the second century B.C. with a Greek hymn to Delphic...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jan 30, 2002

A real sound and light show

Ever go to an exhibition and think, "Hey, I can do that"? If the passivity of being an art gazer is getting you down, you might want to join the kids enjoying the latest innovation at the Urawa Museum of Art, a hands-on drawing room.
SOCCER / World cup
Jan 30, 2002

Get your Japan friendly tickets

Tickets for Japan's first World Cup warmup against the Ukraine, slated for March 21 (kickoff at 6 p.m.) at Nagai Stadium in Osaka, will go on sale Feb. 6-11 for anyone registered at FamilyMart's ticket service, "Famima club."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / NEW ART SEEN
Jan 30, 2002

Prizewinner who's passing on the torch

When I mentioned in a column last year that Lee U Fan had won the Japanese Art Association's Praemium Imperiale award for painting, this provoked a number of questions from readers.
EDITORIALS
Jan 29, 2002

Mr. Arafat's dwindling options

Jaffa Street is a popular thoroughfare in downtown Jerusalem, its stores and sidewalks invariably crowded with shoppers and pedestrians. It has also become one of the bloodiest frontlines in the war between Israel and Palestinians. Last week alone, there were two terrorist attacks on Jaffa Street. The...
SOCCER / J. League
Jan 29, 2002

Kyoto signs Zelic

Kyoto Purple Sanga has acquired former Australia defender Ned Zelic from TSV 1860 Munich, the J. League Division One club announced Sunday.
JAPAN
Jan 29, 2002

Olympus develops DNA computer

Olympus Optical Co. said Monday it has developed a DNA computer capable of high-speed, fully automated, quantitative gene expression profiling.
BUSINESS
Jan 29, 2002

Import curbs likely to top Bush's agenda at summit

U.S. President George W. Bush will likely raise the issue of agricultural import curbs when he meets Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi in Tokyo in mid-February, government sources said Monday.
SUMO
Jan 29, 2002

New champ Tochiazuma has good night

Newly promoted ozeki Tochiazuma had no trouble sleeping Sunday night after winning his first Emperor's Cup at the New Year Grand Sumo Tournament, the Tamanoi stable grappler told reporters Monday.
JAPAN
Jan 29, 2002

Flood of bogus bills blamed on foreign mob

More than 900 counterfeit 10,000 yen bills with finely crafted watermarks have been found in Tokyo, Osaka and Shizuoka prefectures since the beginning of 2002, and investigators suspect an overseas criminal organization.
SOCCER / J. League / ON THE BALL
Jan 29, 2002

Bellmare looking at more than just soccer

J. League second division club Shonan Bellmare is making a unique challenge to transform itself into a multi-sports organization.
BUSINESS
Jan 29, 2002

BS digital TV shipments crawling

Shipments of TVs and tuners for broadcast satellite digital broadcasting services have slumped and probably won't reach the industry's goal of 10 million units sold within 1,000 days of December 2000, an industry association said Monday.
COMMENTARY
Jan 29, 2002

Work-sharing accord nears

Amid the prolonged recession, Japanese officials are giving serious consideration to a work-sharing system that has been common in Europe for a long time. Last month, government, labor and management officials held a top-level meeting to discuss the issue under orders from Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi....
SUMO
Jan 28, 2002

Tochiazuma downs Chiyotaikai in playoff to take New Year title

Tochiazuma won his first yusho on the final day of the Hatsu Basho after defeating fellow-ozeki Chiyotaikai in a playoff for the championship, coming from behind to take the title Sunday at Tokyo's Ryogoku Kokugikan.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 28, 2002

Commission a model of global cooperation

Responding to the call by U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan in September 1999, then-Canadian Foreign Minister Lloyd Axworthy set up an independent, 12-member International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty to try to bridge the divide between international intervention and national sovereignty....
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Jan 28, 2002

The plastic nature of historic judgment

NEW YORK -- There is something mesmerizing about America's fascination with its own people of prominence, especially presidents. There is an endless stream of biographies, and some become immensely popular.
JAPAN
Jan 27, 2002

Grandson of Jews saved from Nazis by Sugihara meets diplomat's relatives

The grandson of one of the 6,000 Jewish people saved by a Japanese embassy official during World War II met with the diplomat's relatives in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward on Saturday.
EDITORIALS
Jan 27, 2002

Back on the trolley

The objects of nostalgia are always receding. In the stories of Nagai Kafu, for example, electric trolleys (also called trams or streetcars) are viewed as ugly symbols of everything that is new and un-Japanese. His characters ride them out of necessity, but walk or take a rickshaw whenever they can....
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Jan 27, 2002

You've got mail

It was one of those sharp, pithy statements that raise the hair on the back of your neck. Similar perhaps to "Godzilla Lives!" or "The Creature Walks Among Us!" or "Quayle for President!"
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Jan 27, 2002

Can't start a fire without a match

A popular format for variety specials is the omiai, bringing together single men and women for the purpose of making couples. Often the stated goal is nothing more than dating, but of course the ultimate goal is matrimony.
CULTURE / Music
Jan 27, 2002

Merchant's rich harvest

When Natalie Merchant was a member of 10,000 Maniacs, the seminal '80s folk-rock group, her songs betrayed a liberal social consciousness. In contrast, her 1995 solo debut, "Tigerlily," was willfully insular: a song cycle of love-gone-bad and a glum, some might say pissed-off, cover portrait. Characterized...

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