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COMMUNITY
Dec 30, 2001

O-Shogatsu: a custom-made holiday

Yoshio Mamiya doesn't need reminding that o-shogatsu is almost here. For several weeks, the 78-year-old craftsman has been working 12-hour days, seven days a week at his studio in the Sanno district of Tokyo's Ota Ward, where he busily stitches away to meet his customers' demand to renew their domestic...
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Dec 30, 2001

Delicious plum choices from 2001

In a city the size of Tokyo, it is simply impossible to visit every single new restaurant or to keep track of changes at all the established places. For that reason, the Food File does not presume to assign year-end rankings or pronounce its best-of lists for the year, especially since, in the end, it...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 29, 2001

Koizumi plays public relations game like a pro

This was the year of the Koizumi craze.
COMMUNITY
Dec 29, 2001

'Earthquake Bird' celebrates with Japan edition

Susanna Jones has had one terrific year. Her first novel, "The Earthquake Bird," was unanimously applauded by the British press when launched in May. Since then it has been snapped up for translation rights in 11 countries, including the U.S. and Japan. Plus an option has been taken up to make it into...
BUSINESS
Dec 29, 2001

Japan not head over heals for Cuba

Will Japan ever fall for Cuba?
JAPAN
Dec 29, 2001

Anti-Koizumi LDP faction urges return to old ways

The administration of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi will not last long unless he shifts to a policy of aggressive spending to shore up the economy in the near future, says a Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker openly critical of Koizumi's reform initiatives.
BUSINESS
Dec 29, 2001

Mizuho to write off latent losses on derivatives trading

The Mizuho Financial Group has decided to write off all unrealized losses in derivative transactions by using "merger profit" after reorganizing its group banks in April, company officials said Friday.
BUSINESS
Dec 29, 2001

Jobless rate climbed to 5.5% in November

The unemployment rate climbed to 5.5 percent in November, setting a record high for the third consecutive month with job losses by middle-aged, full-time male workers showing a marked increase, the government announced Friday.
BUSINESS
Dec 29, 2001

Household spending up 3.6%

Spending by wage-earning households rose an inflation-adjusted 3.6 percent in November from a year earlier, up for the second straight month, with a notable rise in spending on entertainment amid a decline in overseas travel, the government said Friday.
BUSINESS
Dec 29, 2001

Sony in talks with Fujitsu over Nifty

Sony Corp. is negotiating with Fujitsu Ltd. to acquire Internet service provider Nifty Corp., a Fujitsu subsidiary, industry sources said Friday.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Dec 29, 2001

Tetsuya Kobayashi

Early in his career at the Imperial Hotel, Tokyo, when he was still on the bottom rung of the ladder, Tetsuya Kobayashi was sent to the Kamikochi Imperial Hotel. Part of his duties there were the cleaning-up operations. "I shall never forget my first experience," he said. "While I was working, I was...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 29, 2001

DPJ too busy waging war on itself to threaten LDP

While Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has enjoyed sky-high popularity ratings during his eight months in office, his main opponent, the Democratic Party of Japan, has moved deeper and deeper into trouble.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 29, 2001

A step back after the euro?

LONDON -- Shopkeepers in Germany say they have never seen so many crisp 1,000-mark (about $500) bills as in the past month -- the last before the new euro replaces the mark.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Dec 29, 2001

Kitchen tips for the year's leftover snake

It's the end of the Year of the Snake and you're wondering what to do with that pet snake you bought last year to celebrate. You have just three days left to dispose of Sammy so you can make room in that aquarium for next year's animal -- the horse.
JAPAN
Dec 29, 2001

Japanese opt for domestic travel

Akihiro is planning to spend some of his New Year's holiday at a hot spring resort.
JAPAN
Dec 29, 2001

Koizumi rules out plans to call election anytime soon

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Friday ruled out any plan to call a general election in the near future, placing the implementation of his structural reform programs at the forefront.
EDITORIALS
Dec 28, 2001

No public faith in Koizumi reforms

The first year of the 21st century has seen a great change in Japan's political landscape with the appearance of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. Mr. Koizumi, who in April won the post of prime minister with an ardent call for "reforms without sacred cows," has been maintaining an unprecedentedly high...
COMMENTARY
Dec 28, 2001

Japan nears economic abyss

The story of the dimwitted man watching the rerun of a Clint Eastwood Western is relevant to current claims that the "structural reforms" urged by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi will somehow rescue the Japanese economy.
JAPAN
Dec 28, 2001

Obscene teachers hit record number

A record 141 teachers were punished for committing obscene acts in fiscal 2000, resulting in 71 dismissals, an education ministry report revealed Wednesday.
JAPAN
Dec 28, 2001

Tokyo rejects Pyongyang's 'brutal piracy' accusations

Japan rejects North Korea's accusation that the sinking of an unidentified ship after a shootout with Japanese patrol boats was "an act of piracy," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda said Thursday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 28, 2001

Japan increasingly embraces dancing

Japan is increasingly embracing all kinds of dancing.
BASEBALL / MLB
Dec 28, 2001

Kiyohara's pay hiked

Kazuhiro Kiyohara, whose five-year contract with the Yomiuri Giants is about to expire, agreed Thursday to a new four-year deal carrying an estimated 450 million yen annual salary in addition to performance incentives.
JAPAN
Dec 28, 2001

Antismoking steps seen failing to deter youths

Twenty-six percent of graduating high school males smoke every day, indicating that restrictions placed on vending machines and minors in 1996 are failing to deter youth from smoking, according to a health ministry poll.
BUSINESS / ON THE FRONT LINE
Dec 28, 2001

Yen faces months of downward pressure

Amid concern over the beleaguered Japanese economy, the dollar has reclaimed 131 yen, a level unseen since Oc- tober 1998.
JAPAN
Dec 28, 2001

Most-searched Net news was Sept. 11 terror attack

Yahoo Japan Corp. said the news most frequently searched for this year on its Web portal site was about the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington.
BUSINESS
Dec 28, 2001

Kirin to use fuel-cell power system

Kirin Brewery Co. said Thursday that it will start using a fuel-cell power supply system in October provided by Marubeni Corp.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 27, 2001

How to harmonize science and technology with humanity

The 20th century was the greatest century in human history thanks to the tremendous progress made in science and technology. The advancement of science and technology has given us a higher living standard, and the information-technology revolution has dramatically expanded our intellectual playing field....
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 27, 2001

Sake makers brew abroad to make up slack in sales

OSAKA -- Major sake brewers, hit hard by the decline in domestic demand amid the recession, are expanding overseas production in hopes of cashing in on a Japanese food boom abroad.

Longform

Ichiro Suzuki, one of the most iconic players in NPB and MLB history, was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame with 99.7% of the vote.
With Hall of Fame induction, Ichiro makes himself heard loud and clear