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JAPAN
Feb 22, 2002

Psychiatrist says child-killer 'not schizophrenic'

OSAKA-- A psychiatrist who testified Thursday at the trial of Mamoru Takuma, the man charged with murdering eight children and injuring 15 other people at an Osaka primary school in June, cast doubt on Takuma's history of schizophrenia prior to the crime in question.
JAPAN
Feb 22, 2002

Detained Afghans languishing

In the shadow of Japan's pledge of $500 million in reconstruction aid for Afghanistan, asylum-seekers who fled the war-torn country remain in detention as they await deportation.
JAPAN
Feb 22, 2002

Libyan trade insurance about to be reinstated

In a move that will please domestic businesses struggling amid a deep recession but could rub the United States the wrong way, Japan is working behind the scenes to take a significant policy step toward closer economic ties with Libya.
EDITORIALS
Feb 21, 2002

Mr. Milosevic in the dock

The war crimes trial of former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, which began this month in The Hague, is the most important such case in history. For the first time since those crimes were codified in international law, a former leader is being tried for atrocities committed while he was in power....
JAPAN
Feb 21, 2002

Find something worth saying, then build skills: translator

Natsuko Toda, a leading writer of Japanese subtitles for English-language movies, said Wednesday that Japanese people should learn how to be more expressive in their own language before worrying about learning English.
JAPAN
Feb 21, 2002

Accused killer Hayashi wins redress

OSAKA -- The Osaka District Court has ordered Shinchosha Co. and its president to pay 6.6 million yen in compensation to Masumi Hayashi, who is on trial for mass murder in a 1998 curry poisoning incident, for running a photo and drawing of her without permission.
JAPAN
Feb 21, 2002

Fake bills land three on Interpol list

Police on Wednesday put three people from Taiwan on an Interpol wanted list for allegedly using fake 10,000 yen bills in Asakusa, Tokyo.
CULTURE / Stage
Feb 20, 2002

Master of life's joys and sorrows

Chikamatsu Monzaemon (1653-1724), Japan's foremost playwright, was born Sugimori Nobumori, the second son of a samurai of the feudal lord of Yoshie in Echizen (now Fukui Prefecture). Because he could not inherit his father's samurai status, Nobumori resolved to be a playwright, and took the pen name...
JAPAN
Feb 20, 2002

Ex-Ishioka mayor, aide hit with fresh bribe charges

Prosecutors on Tuesday brought fresh charges against a former mayor of Ishioka, Ibaraki Prefecture, and a former aide to a lawmaker over a 2 million yen bribe allegedly made during bid-rigging for a public waterworks project.
CULTURE / Art
Feb 20, 2002

From 'kimono as canvas' to modest couture

What is so fascinating about royal dress? Clearly, in the case of Diana, Princess of Wales, her fame and glamour set the style for millions of people worldwide. But for countless centuries, the dress of the ruling classes has been about far more than just setting a trend: It has confirmed the high status...
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Feb 20, 2002

Shibusa Shirazu Orchestra

For those lucky enough to catch a live performance of Japanese jazz-animals Shibusa Shirazu Orchestra, one look at the legion of raised microphones in the crowd is enough to reassure that recordings of the orchestra aren't in short supply. Fans seem to collect and trade bootlegs like comics or Star Wars...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / NEW ART SEEN
Feb 20, 2002

Views from a place you've been before

It's always a pleasure to discover an exhibition space in Tokyo that you've never been to before, especially during these difficult economic times when old favorites are closing down. My latest find is Gallery Senkukan, tucked into a tiny Yoyogi side street, which opened a little more than a year ago....
LIFE / Travel
Feb 19, 2002

Back to nature on Yakushima Island

If you live in urban Japan, probably the only sky you see is sliced up by powerlines; trees grow in tiny parks hemmed in by concrete buildings and polluted expressways. Whatever happened to Japan's traditional love of nature?
BUSINESS / TAKING STOCK
Feb 19, 2002

Luring individuals to stocks a key challenge

Individual investors turned net buyers of stocks for the first time in four months in January.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 19, 2002

Celebration of folk traditions keeps national identity alive for Peruvian

TSU, Mie Pref. (Kyodo News) Her family's playing of the traditional Peruvian folk song "El Condor Pasa" for a Japanese audience helps Rosa Ochante Muray keep her national identity alive.
JAPAN
Feb 18, 2002

Bush arrives in Tokyo, keeps hard line on 'axis'

U.S. President George W. Bush arrived in Tokyo on Sunday afternoon for his first visit to Japan since his inauguration last year, on the first leg of a six-day tour of East Asia that will also take him to South Korea and China.
JAPAN
Feb 18, 2002

Elementary schools snub Snow Brand

OSAKA -- Forty-two percent of some 14,000 municipally run elementary schools throughout Japan are boycotting products made by scandal-tainted Snow Brand Milk Products Co. and its group companies, according to the results of a poll released Sunday.
JAPAN
Feb 17, 2002

Environment activists plan chilly reception for Bush

While the government prepares to roll out the red carpet for U.S. President George W. Bush as he arrives today in Tokyo for his inaugural visit, a collection of nongovernmental groups are planning a less warm welcome.
JAPAN
Feb 17, 2002

Serious crimes by teens rising: poll

Many teenagers and adults believe the number of serious crimes committed by teenagers is on the rise, according to a government survey on juvenile delinquency released Saturday.
COMMUNITY
Feb 17, 2002

We hold competition to be self-evident

Sibling rivalry, rivals in love, factional rivals, rivalry between nations: There seems to be no level of our lives not riddled with rivalry. Like its relatives, competition and conflict, rivalry is found in all societies and cultures.
LIFE / Food & Drink / NIHONSHU
Feb 17, 2002

Great sake only a hop, skip and a jump away

There are a plethora of pubs in Tokyo where you can enjoy good sake, but all too often we only read about those in the center of town. The truth, of course, is that there are plenty of great venues outside the Yamanote loop and beyond. Here are a few worth the short or midrange trip:
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Feb 17, 2002

Let the masses consume

CHINA'S CENTURY: The Awakening of the Next Economic Powerhouse, edited by Lawrence J. Brahm. John Wiley & Sons, 2001, 421 pp., $24.95 (cloth) Pick up an international paper published before Sept. 11, and China is either on the front page or generously featured inside. Not anymore. The rising giant of...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Feb 17, 2002

Atrocity and intrigue in a troubled land

AFGHANISTAN: A New History, by Martin Ewans. Richmond, Surrey: Curzon Press, 2001, 239 pp., 12,600 yen (cloth) The exorbitant price of Martin Ewans' "Afghanistan: A New History," coupled with the word "new" in the subtitle, is enough to attract attention. But as it turns out, the book is new only in...
JAPAN
Feb 17, 2002

Memorial held for slain Osaka pupils

OSAKA -- Some 1,400 people, including education minister Atsuko Toyama, attended a memorial service Saturday for the eight schoolchildren stabbed to death in June at Osaka Kyoiku University Ikeda Elementary School.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Feb 17, 2002

Donald Richie rewinds a century of film

Donald Richie has always struck me as the ideal role model for the aspiring writer. More the distiller than the brewer, the cordon-bleu chef than the bone-cook, there is much to be learned from Richie's refinements.
JAPAN
Feb 16, 2002

Myanmar family seeking special residency loses suit

A Myanmar couple and their child seeking special residential status lost a court battle Friday in Tokyo to overturn a justice minister's rejection of their application.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Feb 16, 2002

Kanako Hayashi

To launch its upcoming lecture series, the College Women's Association of Japan invited Kanako Hayashi to give an introductory talk. A persuasive speaker, she has a background of 16 years of inside association with the world of film. As it often happens, chance, good timing and luck played major parts...
JAPAN
Feb 16, 2002

Festival focuses on Tokyo's role in animated films

A three-day international exhibition of animated films opened Friday at Tokyo Big Sight, with the aim of promoting Tokyo as the capital of the animation industry, organizers said.
COMMENTARY
Feb 16, 2002

Enron's pain will lead to future gain

WASHINGTON -- With the rubble still smoldering from Enron's bankruptcy, the U.S. Congress is attempting to score points by interrogating the international energy company's managers. Former CEO Jeffrey Skilling faced rough going before a congressional hearing; only by invoking the Fifth Amendment did...

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