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Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Feb 21, 2003

Sasano: A hidden gem of an izakaya

It's always a pleasure to revisit a favorite haunt after a gap of a couple of years, and even more so to discover that it's just as good as ever. In the case of Sasano, that doesn't just mean premium sake and fine quality provender -- after all, those are the sine qua non of any self-respecting izakaya...
JAPAN
Feb 20, 2003

Ward tests all grades for achievement

In a first for a local government, all public-school students through the ninth grade in Tokyo's Arakawa Ward are taking achievement tests, ward officials said.
BUSINESS
Feb 20, 2003

Downbeat view of economy retained

The government on Wednesday maintained its lackluster view of the economy, restating that it has weakened but refraining from indicating whether this signals an end to recovery signs that have been observed in some areas.
JAPAN
Feb 20, 2003

Ministry unveils Afghan demilitarizing project

The Foreign Ministry on Wednesday unveiled a 4.16 billion yen aid project aimed at encouraging Afghanistan soldiers to leave the military and rejoin society as civilians.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 20, 2003

Smart cards seek smarter ideas

Way too busy to waste any time, on-the-go commuters stream through Tokyo train stations, chatting on mobile phones, listening with disc-player earphones, and flicking "smart cards" instead of stopping to pull out tickets.
JAPAN
Feb 20, 2003

Korea fire prompts subway scrutiny

Japan on Wednesday started inspecting fire-safety measures on subways nationwide in the wake of a fatal subway blaze in South Korea.
JAPAN
Feb 20, 2003

Demand reviving Japanese fish sauce industry

Japanese fish sauce may not be as widely known as its counterparts from Thailand and Vietnam, but demand for it is growing sharply on the heels of the popularity of ethnic cuisine in Japan.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / THEN AND NOW
Feb 20, 2003

Down by the Edo riverside

The 1830s woodcut prints by Hasegawa Settan depict an amazing panorama of Edo as seen looking southeast from Edo Castle. The unobstructed view must have been the one the shogun enjoyed from his castle in what is now the Imperial Palace's East Garden, introduced in this column last month.
JAPAN
Feb 20, 2003

Professors targeted in blackmail bid

Some 60 professors at public universities have been sent messages alleging their "secrets" were known and would be made public unless they paid money, the education ministry said Wednesday.
COMMENTARY
Feb 20, 2003

Farcical economic flip-flops

Japan's economic debate has moved from the bizarre to the ridiculous. Just two years ago we were told that fiscal restraint was the key to economic recovery. Annual bond issues to finance government spending would not be allowed to exceed 30 trillion yen ($250 billion). In other words, cutting demand...
JAPAN
Feb 20, 2003

Opposition calls for Moriyama to resign over prison abuse case

Justice Minister Mayumi Moriyama was the focus of a Diet row Wednesday over alleged contradictions in her remarks over the death of a prison inmate that the opposition camp slammed as an attempt to cover the scandal up.
LIFE / Digital / NAME OF THE GAME
Feb 20, 2003

Nokia fails to N-Gage Japan

Nokia's N-Gage mobile telephone/video game system, unveiled earlier this month, plays better than GameBoy Advance-quality games and has a built-in cellular telephone. So why aren't Nintendo executives shaking in their boots?
JAPAN
Feb 20, 2003

Talks may focus on but won't solve fundraising scandals

A spate of recent fundraising scandals involving Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers has sent shock waves through the Diet, prompting the LDP-controlled Lower House Budget Committee to schedule a special session Thursday to discuss money in politics.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 20, 2003

Space travel must go on, veteran astronauts say

Space exploration should go ahead despite the dangers shown by the Feb. 1 disintegration of the U.S. space shuttle Columbia and the loss of its seven-member crew, astronaut Mamoru Mohri said Wednesday.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Feb 20, 2003

The real story on Beckham and the boot

LONDON -- Imagine if the boot was on the other foot -- and in this case the phrase could hardly be more appropriate.
EDITORIALS
Feb 19, 2003

No cause to celebrate GDP growth

It may come as a bit of a surprise to learn that Japan's sluggish economy expanded for four straight quarters in calendar 2002. The truth is, though, it expanded only after the effect of deflation, or the continued decline in the prices of goods and services, was applied. The nation's deflation-adjusted...
JAPAN
Feb 19, 2003

Group to plant 1,000 cherry trees in Beijing

A nonprofit organization is planning to plant 1,000 flowering cherry-tree seedlings in Beijing this summer as part of cultural exchanges and a gesture of bilateral friendship.
BUSINESS
Feb 19, 2003

Desperate firms offer shareholders incentives

The number of companies offering shareholders special benefits, including compact discs and gold coins, has been increasing and now stands at three times the figure a decade ago.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Feb 19, 2003

Don't fear deregulation failures: Koizumi

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi urged his Cabinet on Tuesday to consider the hundreds of proposals by local municipalities nationwide seeking to create special deregulated zones.
BUSINESS
Feb 19, 2003

BOJ against shouldering further risk

The Bank of Japan will not risk worsening its balance sheet by increasing its outright purchases of government bonds or by raising its purchases of banks' shareholdings, BOJ Gov. Masaru Hayami said Tuesday.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 19, 2003

It's no longer just the economy, stupid

WASHINGTON -- In recent weeks, as often in the past, many key Democrats have contributed importantly to American national-security debates. They have been trying to increase funding for homeland security efforts, prodding President George W. Bush to remain multilateral in his approach to Iraq even as...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 19, 2003

Overtime pay violations on Rengo's radar

Tomoru Yamaguchi, director of the working conditions division at the Japanese Trade Union Confederation (Rengo), knew the situation was bad. He just didn't think it was this bad.
JAPAN
Feb 19, 2003

Links to academia needed on missile shield plan: Ishiba

The government should work more closely with university-based research institutes on the missile shield project it is pursuing with the United States, Defense Agency chief Shigeru Ishiba said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Feb 19, 2003

Police arrest six over deadly Kabukicho fire

Six people were arrested Tuesday for alleged professional negligence in connection with a fire that claimed 44 lives in an unsafe building in Tokyo's Kabukicho nightlife district in 2001.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 19, 2003

I am what I play -- live

Internationally acclaimed DJ Karsh Kale has spent the last three months carrying a laptop loaded with ProTools recording and editing software through the chaos and inspiration that is India. Relishing both the miracles of technology and the wonders of the ancient, Kale stopped in Madras, Delhi and Bombay,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Feb 19, 2003

Celebrating kabuki's 400th birthday in style

Celebrating the 400th anniversary of the birth of kabuki, this month the Kabukiza in Ginza offers "Yoshitsune Senbonzakura (Yoshitsune and 1,000 Cherry Trees)" in its entirety. Performed by an excellent cast, the program runs for eight hours.
JAPAN
Feb 19, 2003

Tokyo Sowa execs guilty of fraud

Five former executives of bankrupt Tokyo Sowa Bank were found guilty Tuesday of falsely making it appear the bank had adequate capital reserves through a bogus capital increase scheme worth 18.9 billion yen.
EDITORIALS
Feb 18, 2003

Heed the voice of the people

Last weekend, more than 6 million people demonstrated worldwide, pleading for peace and protesting U.S. plans to wage war against Iraq. The demonstrations, the largest since the Vietnam War, are proof that U.S. President George W. Bush has not convinced the world that Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein poses...

Longform

An illustration features the Japanese signs for "ganbare" (good luck) and the Deaflympics, which will be held between Nov. 15 and 26.
A century of Deaf sport finds its moment in Tokyo