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JAPAN
Sep 21, 2001

First ever surgery employing remote robots is performed

The age of automated, computer-controlled surgery came closer than ever this week with the report that surgeons in New York successfully used remote-controlled robots to remove the gall bladder of a patient in France. The procedure, performed on a 68-year-old woman in Strasbourg, was the world's first...
JAPAN
Sep 21, 2001

Ogi slips out of hospital for meeting

Land, Infrastructure and Transport Minister Chikage Ogi partially resumed her official duties Thursday, one week after entering a hospital to receive liver treatment.
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Sep 21, 2001

Japanese macaque

ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Sep 20, 2001

Giant umbellifer stalks northern Japan

Towering above the surrounding lush summer herb growth stands the hollow-stemmed monster known locally as Ezo nyuu and to botanists as Angelica ursina. These pearl-headed plants appear at the height of summer, a potent reminder that the longest days are past and that, despite the heat, autumn is not...
ENVIRONMENT
Sep 20, 2001

Cranes make a song and dance about it

CHENGDU, China -- Japan and China share an age-old love for cranes. In recent years there have been many exchanges and co-operative projects between these countries, working toward the protection of cranes.
BUSINESS
Sep 20, 2001

LDP panel sets schedule on tax reform

Senior officials on the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's tax panel agreed Wednesday to compile a proposal for securities tax reforms by early October.
JAPAN
Sep 19, 2001

Bomb threats to top hotels spook Nikkei

The Nikkei stock average closed higher Tuesday but lost about 100 points in the last three minutes of trading after bomb threats were made against two top hotels in Tokyo. Police later determined the threats were pranks.
MORE SPORTS
Sep 19, 2001

Ai gives Tokyo tournament a lift

Ai Sugiyama gave the troubled Toyota Princess Cup a cheer Tuesday when the Japanese No. 1 beat eighth seed Cristina Torrens-Valero of Spain 6-1, 6-2 in a first-round singles match at Ariake Colosseum.
CULTURE / Film
Sep 19, 2001

Tinseltown, meet Chinatown

Rush Hour 2 Rating: * * * Director: Brett Ratner Running time: 90 minutes Language: English Now showing
CULTURE / Music / J-POPSICLE
Sep 19, 2001

Prepared for blastoff

The title of British pub-rocker Nick Lowe's 1978 album "Pure Pop for Now People" aptly describes the sound of Tokyo-based band The Cymbals. The trio's music is bright, intelligent, catchy and easy on the ears -- but with enough of a rock punch to avoid saccharine overkill.
JAPAN
Sep 19, 2001

BOJ eases discount rate to quell recession fears

The Bank of Japan on Tuesday decided to further ease credit to help quell fears of a global recession in the wake of last week's terrorist attacks in the United States.
CULTURE / Art
Sep 19, 2001

Land of the high-and-mighty

History seems to be a dirty word these days. Discussion of it is liable to raise questions of which country or race did what to whom, and whether financial compensation is due.
JAPAN / INTERNATIONAL RATIONALE
Sep 19, 2001

Foreign firms slowly influence job-for-life market

As foreign companies have increased their presence in Japan in recent years, many have found it difficult to hire quality local staff.
CULTURE / Art
Sep 19, 2001

Art with some things to say

When the Yokohama Triennale opened a couple of weeks ago, several people asked which of the pieces I particularly liked. When pressed, from the works of more than 100 artists on show, I singled out Yoko Ono's "Freight Train" and Casagrande & Rintala's "Bird Cage," two large outdoor installations located...
JAPAN
Sep 19, 2001

Rice monitors arrive in North Korea

A Japanese government mission arrived Tuesday in North Korea to monitor the distribution and use of rice donated by Tokyo since last year, Foreign Ministry officials said.
BUSINESS
Sep 18, 2001

Nikkei down on European tumble

Tokyo stocks plummeted Monday morning, with the key Nikkei average dipping below 9,500 at one point, as the tumble in European stocks Friday made investors nervous ahead of the restart of U.S. trading.
JAPAN
Sep 18, 2001

Cabinet job adviser warns of worse to come

The government's newly appointed adviser on employment and labor issues said in a recent interview that people should not overreact to the nation's jobless figure, but prepare for worse to come.
BUSINESS / TAKING STOCK
Sep 18, 2001

Jitters rife prior to Wall Street reopening

Last week's terrorist attacks in the United States sent stock markets reeling around the world.
BUSINESS
Sep 18, 2001

Sharp to launch 'bubble' washer

OSAKA -- Sharp Corp. said Monday it will launch on Nov. 1 what it claims to be the world's first washing machine that uses "supersonic vacuum bubbles" to remove tough stains without laundry detergent.
BUSINESS
Sep 17, 2001

Vodafone ready to make grab for Japan Telecom

British mobile phone giant Vodafone Group PLC has begun final preparations to conduct a takeover bid of Japan Telecom Co. so it can establish management control over the Japanese telecommunications firm, industry officials said Sunday.
BUSINESS
Sep 17, 2001

Mizuho changes profit forecast into 260 billion yen loss on Mycal

Mizuho Holdings Inc., the largest banking group in Japan, has announced that it will plunge deeply into the red in the first half of fiscal 2001 on losses incurred by the collapse of Mycal Corp. and losses at one of its subsidiaries.
LIFE / Travel
Sep 17, 2001

Riding the Silk Road up to the sky

BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan -- Throughout the former Soviet Union, the architectural barbarities of communist civilization have inflicted a dreadful sameness on disparate lands and peoples.
JAPAN
Sep 17, 2001

12 Japanese nationals flee Afghanistan

Twelve of the 15 Japanese in Afghanistan have left the country, the Foreign Ministry said Sunday, as fears mounted of an imminent U.S. military campaign in the country in retaliation for Tuesday's terrorist attacks on New York and Washington.
JAPAN
Sep 16, 2001

Japan vows full support, except military action, for any U.S. retaliation

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has pledged maximum support to the United States if it retaliates against the organizers of Tuesday's terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, but ruled out Japan joining a possible multinational force against them.
LIFE / Food & Drink / BEST BAR NONE
Sep 16, 2001

Nothin' but the big city blues

Kiki's Pub is a tiny blues bar tucked in behind Exit 1 of Toranomon Station. For 16 years, it has hugged the edge of a small cluster of nomiya (drinking spots) stranded between big streets and surrounded by homogenous rows of office blocks. When I called for directions, I was told to find the #10 Mori...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Sep 16, 2001

A theory in need of updating

THE ANATOMY OF SELF: The Individual Versus Society, by Takeo Doi. Translated by Mark A. Harbison. Forward by Edward Hall. Tokyo: Kodansha, Int., 2001 (1986), 168 pp., 1,800 yen. Takeo Doi, the man who made "amae" a household word, later wrote this book about "omote" and "ura" and their extensions,...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Sep 16, 2001

Come together, right now

"East is East and West is West and never the twain shall meet," Rudyard Kipling once wrote.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Sep 16, 2001

Pick a fate, any fate: it's all in the tarot

It is often said that all human life is contained within the tarot -- from shady business prospects and secret admirers to unexpected adventures and marriage plans. But can a tarot spread really contain so much meaning, or is it pure chance?

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