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JAPAN
Aug 14, 2002

Daughter of deceased hijacker hopes to visit grandma's grave

The daughter of a deceased Red Army Faction hijacking fugitive has expressed her intention to visit her grandmother's grave on her first visit to Japan, possibly next month.
COMMENTARY
Aug 14, 2002

Antithesis to rooted hate

HONOLULU -- Contrast the hellish visions of the Mideast, where different peoples seem only to want to kill each other, or South Asia, where Indians and Pakistanis seem rooted in a festering horrid past, with the real-world achievement of a multicultural society like Hawaii.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / CERAMIC SCENE
Aug 14, 2002

Potter digs in to unearth real 'clay flavor'

The great Mashiko potter Shoji Hamada once wrote that, "the thing to remember is that the simplest clay is the best. Clay itself is already the most complex of mixtures because it is alive, a living thing." When it comes to shaping that "living thing," too many modern potters feel the need to stamp their...
CULTURE / Art / NEW ART SEEN
Aug 14, 2002

A 'fantasy war' artist who draws the lines of conflict

Wars are fought by people, but equipment has always been critical to their ability to perform in battle. Now, imagine a time machine that could equip Genghis Khan with rocket launchers, or Napoleon with a division of Panzer tanks -- that would change the course of history, wouldn't it? Tokyo artist Akira...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Aug 14, 2002

Toil -- you're on candid canvas

In the mid-19th century, the French village of Barbizon was the artistic equivalent of the reality-TV show "Big Brother." In this tiny village with a population of just 352 (according to the 1872 census), the locals were under constant observation by the 100 or so artists reputedly living among them....
BUSINESS
Aug 14, 2002

Total direct investments lose 53% of their value

The burst of the information technology bubble and other trade deterrents halved the value of the world's direct investments in 2001 to $694.8 billion, the semigovernmental Japan External Trade Organization said Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Aug 13, 2002

Current account surplus rocketed 51.9% in first half

The nation's current account surplus soared 51.9 percent in the first half of 2002 from a year earlier to 7.928 trillion yen, the second-largest figure for a six-month period, according to a preliminary report released Monday by the Finance Ministry.
JAPAN
Aug 13, 2002

Info on secret Okinawa pact placed on Web

Copies of official documents that confirm a secret pact between Tokyo and Washington concerning the 1972 reversion of Okinawa to Japanese rule have been placed on the Web site of Diet member Kinya Narazaki of the Democratic Party of Japan.
BUSINESS
Aug 13, 2002

30 million dine at McDonald's in single week

Ltd. said Monday that the fast-food hamburger chain's latest price cut, implemented last Monday, has already propelled it to a new one-week record of 30.1 million customers. Theoretically, that means one out of four people in Japan visited a McDonald's between Aug. 5 and Sunday, the holding company said....
EDITORIALS
Aug 11, 2002

Another fallen political idol

Former Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka's resignation from the Diet on Friday was a surprise even though her political fortunes had waned visibly in recent months amid a smoldering money scandal. Did she take responsibility for the "trouble" she had caused? Was she unable to bear the brunt of public criticism?...
JAPAN
Aug 11, 2002

Smog alerts in hot Kanto set to be worst in decade

Tokyo and surrounding prefectures, baking in intense summer heat, have been subject to almost daily smog alerts since the beginning of August and observers expect the number of alerts will be the highest in a decade.
COMMUNITY
Aug 11, 2002

One god to rule them all

All new regimes know their enemies. Having swept away the forces of the shogunate, the architects of the 1868 Meiji Restoration found themselves facing another foe. This fifth column was invisible: Its ranks were made up of yokai (ghosts) and bakemono (monsters), kappa (water sprites) and tengu (goblins)....
JAPAN
Aug 10, 2002

Ministry targets improved home security measures

The Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry is seeking to promote better home security, including stronger locks to deter break-ins and lights and alarms aimed at making neighborhoods safer.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 10, 2002

Former Foreign Minister Tanaka tenders Diet resignation

In a surprise move, former Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka on Friday tendered her resignation to the House of Representatives in an apparent move to take responsibility for allegations that she misappropriated her secretaries' salaries.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Aug 10, 2002

Wayne Hunter

Regular visitors to the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan at Yurakucho, Tokyo, are familiar with the tall young New Zealander there who speaks impressively fluent Japanese. Wayne Hunter joined the club's staff three years ago, and moved through several positions to become media liaison manager. He...
JAPAN
Aug 9, 2002

Gang warfare lull cuts number of gunshot victims

The number of shootings in Japan in the first half of this year declined by 43 from a year ago to 88 due to a de-escalation in gang warfare, but only 22 were probed, the National Police Agency said Thursday.
JAPAN
Aug 9, 2002

Accused killer of eight accepts competency claim

OSAKA -- The man accused of massacring eight children last summer at an Osaka elementary school said in court Thursday he does not plan to contest the prosecution's claim that he is mentally competent to be held accountable for the crimes.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CLOSE NEIGHBORS
Aug 9, 2002

Asian appliance firms seek cracks in Japanese market

Customers shopping for TVs, refrigerators, microwave ovens and other electrical appliances are increasingly likely to come across brand names Galanz, Haier, LG and Samsung, which feature stylish designs and low prices that undercut those of their Japanese rivals.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / INDUSTRY TRENDS
Aug 9, 2002

New diet for sports club chains: yen supplements

Japan's major sports club chains have been flexing their muscle in recent years, expanding their businesses through aggressive mergers and acquisitions as well as by opening new outlets.
JAPAN
Aug 8, 2002

Achievement awards to be gender-neutral

The government said Wednesday it will simplify the ranks of honors it gives individuals for distinguished achievement and make them gender-neutral to try to improve the system.
ENVIRONMENT
Aug 8, 2002

Rules with teeth required to save a natural splendor

Mikura Island, the southernmost of the Izu Islands south of Tokyo, which are administered by the metropolitan government, is a natural-history treasure house of global value.
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Aug 7, 2002

Scientist at Work

The music of trumpeter Frank London could be characterized as a product of "Radical Jewish Culture," a term coined by John Zorn that refers to post-Holocaust generations of Jews discovering on their own terms the meaning of their faith. London has spent the past couple of decades at the ancient intersections...

Longform

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.