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CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Jan 12, 2003

Living on the edge and acting the part

There's an article in the current issue of Shukan Bunshun lambasting the "foolishness of no-talent celebrities" on all those overblown New Year's TV specials. But what's more annoying than the specials themselves is that they pre-empted the few shows that were worth watching, like "The Tetsuwan Dash!"...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Jan 12, 2003

Art that arose from the ashes of World War II

JAPANESE PRINTS DURING THE ALLIED OCCUPATION: 1945-1952, by Lawrence Smith. London: The British Museum Press, 2002, 128 pp., 40 color and 75 black-and-white illustrations, £35 (cloth) At the end of the Pacific portion of World War II, Japan was occupied by the wartime Allies, and Gen. Douglas MacArthur,...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jan 12, 2003

A price on their heads

Help wanted: Able-bodied, handsome men required to wine and dine as many women as their schedules permit; some extracurricular cosseting may be called for. Educational requirements: None. Salary: Enough to make a salaryman gag.
EDITORIALS
Jan 11, 2003

A lead to the abduction mystery

A North Korean spy is now on the wanted list of the Japanese police for directing a plot to kidnap a Japanese national to North Korea in 1977. It is the first time that an arrest warrant has been issued for a North Korean directly involved in a kidnapping case. If he is arrested, it will shed light on...
JAPAN
Jan 11, 2003

Malpractice suits up sharply since 2000

In the last 10 years, 210 lawsuits and arbitration cases were brought against the government over incidents of malpractice at national hospitals and sanitariums, according to a health ministry report released Friday.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Jan 11, 2003

Luigi Cerantola

It is unusual to meet someone so unconventional as professor Luigi Cerantola. He has impeccable credentials in his publications of poetry, art and literary criticism, and in his collaborations with musicians for opera librettos. He presents himself with whimsy as a maverick who has a nonconforming wry,...
JAPAN / PREFECTURAL FARE
Jan 11, 2003

Style, taste, color of Kyoto brought directly to Tokyo

If you want to learn some of the secrets of the ancient capital of Kyoto without leaving Tokyo, visit Kyoto-kan in the Akasaka district.
JAPAN
Jan 10, 2003

Probe into Takefuji expanded

OSAKA -- The labor ministry on Thursday expanded its investigation into consumer finance company Takefuji Corp. on suspicion it forced staff to work overtime and failed to pay wage premiums, according to ministry officials.
JAPAN
Jan 10, 2003

Deadly drug reached 296 before approval

OSAKA -- A cancer drug blamed for more than 120 deaths in Japan was administered to 296 patients before the health ministry approved it last July, with one dying of side effects in May, pharmaceutical company officials said Thursday.
JAPAN
Jan 10, 2003

Stumping begins in Aomori, Ehime

Campaigning kicked off Thursday for Jan. 28 gubernatorial elections in Aomori and Ehime prefectures, a prelude to local elections across the nation in April.
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Jan 9, 2003

Cultured 'man of forest' in peril

Culture, from a biological point of view, is behavior that is passed on through social contact. But what are the origins of culture? And what is it about humans that has allowed us to develop such rich and diverse cultures?
JAPAN
Jan 8, 2003

Shrine, temple visits up 1.31 million

An estimated 86.22 million people visited Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples across Japan during the first three days of the year, up by some 1.31 million from last year, the National Police Agency said Tuesday.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 8, 2003

Debate suffers as ruling parties dominate

LONDON -- The shape of politics is changing in the world's main democracies in a manner that Japan may find familiar. But the implications are only starting to seep through.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / CERAMIC SCENE
Jan 8, 2003

Redeemers with feet of clay

Of the 14 ceramic objects designated as national treasures in Japan, the fact that no fewer than eight are chawan (tea bowls) is a clear sign of their importance in the culture.
BUSINESS
Jan 8, 2003

Major banks opt to put greater emphasis on private banking

The banking industry has begun putting greater emphasis on private banking as it seeks to increase profitability and eradicate huge loan-loss charges.
EDITORIALS
Jan 7, 2003

Mr. Putin's resurgent Russia

Remember Russia? The government in Moscow no longer commands the international respect -- or fear -- that it did during the Cold War days, but a decade after the collapse of its empire, Russia appears ready for a comeback. President Vladimir Putin has revealed a deft touch at home and abroad, besting...
BUSINESS
Jan 7, 2003

Economic uncertainty mounting in 2003: business leaders

The leaders of Japan's three most powerful business groups said Monday that the uncertainty over Japan's economy is increasing this year due to the possibility of a U.S.-led war against Iraq, and predicted that annual economic growth will be between zero and nearly 1 percent.
JAPAN
Jan 7, 2003

New vehicles seep sick-building vapors

The interior of a brand-new vehicle could contain more than 30 times the acceptable level of volatile organic chemicals, known to cause symptoms of illnesses linked with sick building syndrome, according to a recent study by a public health researcher.
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jan 7, 2003

Japan considers a flutter on casinos

It was a rare taste of Las Vegas in Tokyo, and for two days the casino crowds -- hosted by Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara -- pumped the handles of slot machines and betted feverishly on the roulette wheel.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 6, 2003

Tsukiji market opens year with 6.38 million yen tuna sale

A single tuna sold for 6.38 million yen Sunday at the year's first auction at Tokyo's Tsukiji fish market.
COMMENTARY
Jan 6, 2003

Time for a U.S.-South Korean divorce

WASHINGTON -- The United States has defended South Korea for 50 years. But newly elected President Roh Moo Hyun suggests that his nation might "mediate" in any war between America and the North. Whatever value the U.S.-ROK alliance once had has disappeared. The presence of 37,000 troops in South Korea...
EDITORIALS
Jan 5, 2003

The tale of a Spix's macaw

Two weeks ago, a lonely specimen of one of the world's rarest birds made a very special trip. "Presley," a male Spix's macaw, had been found last summer living quietly in a Denver suburb with his owner, a woman who had no idea of his importance in the scheme of things. Now Presley was finally on a plane...
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Jan 5, 2003

Milner the hottest new kid on the block

LONDON -- James Milner will celebrate his 17th birthday on Saturday by signing a new contract with Leeds United that will earn the forward £800 a week -- 10 times his current apprentice salary of £80.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Jan 5, 2003

Staging stellar shows at bargain prices

As the commercial networks wind up their holiday offerings of low-budget blooper specials and celebrity-heavy quiz shows, regular programming slowly returns. However, things don't really get back to "normal" until next week.

Longform

A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.
If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami