Search - about-us

 
 
JAPAN
Jan 5, 2002

JET Program doing its job but in need of reform: expert

The Japan Exchange and Teaching Program has improved English education in Japan and has promoted mutual cultural understanding between Japanese and people from other countries since its inception in 1987, according to the chairman of the program's evaluation committee.
BUSINESS
Jan 5, 2002

Mazda lets buyers fine-tune Roadster

If you are a fan of Mazda Motor Corp.'s Roadster, shopping for your next new car might be a little different than what you expect.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jan 5, 2002

13 another lucky number for 'surimono' albums

David Bull is as insistent as he is stubborn. No sooner has he sat me down beside his workbench (the only warm room in the house), with younger daughter Fumi (16) creating a Web page on the computer on top of the "kotatsu," then he is demanding how much I know about "hanga" (woodblock prints).
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jan 5, 2002

The trucks and bolts of perfect massage

Anyone who has spent some time in Asia has become familiar with massage. You can get all kinds of massage here: Japanese "shiatsu," Chinese foot massage, Thai, Vietnamese and even Swedish massage. But all the different methods can be confusing. Let me set it straight for you.
JAPAN
Jan 5, 2002

More to laser surgery than meets the eye

Corneal laser surgery may be a sight for sore eyes for people suffering from nearsightedness or those just tired of wearing glasses, but experts warn that people considering the increasingly popular operation need to be well-informed about the procedure and its possible results before going under the...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Jan 5, 2002

Hiroshi Ito

When he was a merry little boy in Seijo in the '50s, Hiroshi Ito disliked having to practice playing the piano. As often as he could, he escaped to play outdoors with his friends. When he advanced to Meiji University, however, with the aid of an instruction book he taught himself to play the banjo. Once...
EDITORIALS
Jan 4, 2002

In Argentina's present, Japan's future?

The New Year has been anything but festive in Argentina. Thousands of Argentines have taken to the streets, banging pots and pans, but they are venting frustrations, not celebrating. Their target is the country's political class, which has dithered and postured as Argentina has slid into an economic...
JAPAN
Jan 4, 2002

Dads take child-care leave at own risk

Minoru Omoishi, 35, took three months' leave in 1999 to care for his newborn triplets.
COMMENTARY
Jan 4, 2002

Globalization's Faustian pact

LONDON -- The glories of globalization are taking on the specious glitter of a Faustian pact. We human beings have been promised that capitalism will never die; the threats of crashes, revolution and depression have been banished by vigorous free markets and judicious state interventions, all held in...
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
Jan 4, 2002

Auction house strikes out with bogus Ichiro bat

A good friend of mine collects sports memorabilia and contacted me last month with an interesting tale.
JAPAN
Jan 4, 2002

Blizzard disrupts traffic across central Japan

The season's coldest air mass so far brought heavy snow and disrupted air and land traffic Thursday in much of central Japan.
BUSINESS
Jan 4, 2002

Tokyo stocks expected to recover by yearend

Share prices on the Tokyo Stock Exchange are predicted to gradually recover toward the end of 2002 after testing lows at the start of the year amid growing fears of credit risks.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 4, 2002

Town ties fate to remnants of an industry

KUSHIRO, Hokkaido -- Although the new year was just around the corner, there was little joy to be seen in the southeast end of this port city.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 4, 2002

Imported appliances selling well as buyers search for simplicity

Reiko Shibata, a 48-year-old housewife in Musashino, western Tokyo, occasionally visits Gaikoku Kaden, a neighborhood shop specializing in imported home appliances ranging from General Electric refrigerators and Dyson vacuum cleaners to La Pavoni espresso makers and Cuisinart blenders.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Jan 4, 2002

Medic's lifesaving mission

Human rights activist Dr. Masaki Tada leads a double life. He has just returned from Peshawar, Pakistan, where he struggled to save the lives of Afghan refugees with the meager resources at his disposal. In Japan, he plays a very different role -- as president of Josai Hospital, a modern, fully equipped...
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / JET STREAM
Jan 4, 2002

Archers learn to read the nuances of the wind

When marksman-archer Lim Han Soo arrived in Japan 3 1/2 years ago, his dream was to teach his Japanese students how to read the wind, but they were more interested in soccer and baseball.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 3, 2002

This summer it's Sydney's turn 'to sizzle'

SYDNEY -- At times like these, Australians are wondering whether they really do live upside down. While the Northern Hemisphere, shivering in the cold, was welcoming in 2002 with hot drinks, Australia has been battling bush fires.
SOCCER / J. League
Jan 3, 2002

S-Pulse kicks off new year by winning Emperor's Cup

For Shimizu S-Pulse, Tuesday's Emperor's Cup final was a chance to make it third-time lucky after losing two finals in the past three years. For Cerezo Osaka, it was a chance to finish off a miserable season with a trophy and the opportunity to start the year with a boost as the team attempts to return...
JAPAN / ANCIENT TRADITIONS
Jan 3, 2002

Religious groups grope to keep, attract flock

Second of two parts Staff writer In the crisp morning air, two young men fervently chant a sutra in front of a shining 2-meter statue of Amida Buddha, which is of cardinal importance in the Jodo sect, at Kaihoji Temple in Tokyo's Shinagawa Ward.
COMMENTARY
Jan 3, 2002

Prepare to punish side that attacks first

ISLAMABAD -- India and Pakistan, the two nuclear-armed South Asian neighbors, have slapped each other with punitive sanctions, further increasing frictions driven by a worrisome military buildup. Pakistan has responded in kind to India's decision to ban all Pakistani overflights from New Year's Day,...
COMMENTARY / WASHINGTON UPDATE
Jan 3, 2002

A changed U.S. greets 2002

WASHINGTON -- Welcome to Year One of the time thereafter. If there is a constant in the commentaries on Sept. 11, it is that it was a day whose events changed the way we will live forever.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Jan 3, 2002

Why do birds of a feather tend to flock together?

"Flocks" read the sign outside the onsen, or so I thought. My bird brain immediately clicked into "Hey, an onsen for birders." But why in remote Higashi Mokoto, Hokkaido? Surely it wasn't "Frocks?" A women-only onsen? But no, men were most definitely welcome. So what, I asked, did "flocks" mean?
EDITORIALS
Jan 3, 2002

Avoid a financial crisis

There appears to be nothing to cheer about in Japan's economy as it enters 2002. Virtually every economic indicator points to further stagnation. Unemployment is at a record 5.5 percent. Corporate earnings continue to decline. Particularly worrisome is the bad-debt problem in the banking sector, which,...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / FLOWER WALK
Jan 3, 2002

A short trip way back to Shinto's arcane roots

In the depths of winter, when their barren fields yielded no blooms to adorn their altars, Japanese farmers traditionally fashioned flowers of wood to celebrate the New Year. To make their festive flora, they cut leafless branches and carved the white wood inside in a variety of ways. Tangled curly slivers...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 3, 2002

Newly noticed whiskey makers forced to diversify products

It's winter, the perfect season to sip a glass of whisky on a long, quiet night to warm up, as well as a good time to sample the variety of quality whiskeys available on the market.
LIFE / Digital / NAME OF THE GAME
Jan 3, 2002

Sometimes the gaming is too rough

When it comes to video games, Japan generally gets the good stuff first. Nintendo, Sony, and NEC hardware generally comes out in Japan before the United States. "Devil May Cry," "Final Fantasy X," and "Luigi's Mansion" all came out in Japan before they made it to the United States.

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’