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JAPAN
Nov 18, 2001

Report calls for kids to use life jackets

The government should oblige children of elementary school age and younger to wear life jackets while aboard small boats such as yachts and motorboats, according to an interim report on a bill being drafted by the transport ministry to regulate the operation of small vessels.
COMMUNITY
Nov 18, 2001

Life on the yellow brick road

Minoru Maeda dreads going outside alone. For him, one wrong step could be fatal.
COMMUNITY
Nov 18, 2001

Charting a route through the obstacle course

Whoever said "It's a jungle out there" must have been talking about Tokyo. Or perhaps it's more of a gigantic maze, with buildings squashed together, and stations with stairs and escalators going in every direction -- all filled with crowds of irritated people.
LIFE / Food & Drink / BEST BAR NONE
Nov 18, 2001

Seriously, where are you?

Lately, I've found myself worrying about you. Yes, you -- my vicarious companions; my invisible tagalongs. You, who follow my adventures by remote control. You, whose presence is most notable by your absence. But that's not what's bothering me. It seems that your absence has also been noted in my absence,...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Nov 18, 2001

Judgment day falls on celebrity panelists

On Nov. 9, one of the long-discussed judicial reform laws was finally enacted. Next month a committee task force will be set up under the Cabinet to discuss its implementation. How should committee members start such a huge, long overdue task?
JAPAN
Nov 18, 2001

Ministry still alert for mad cow cases

Despite a rise in beef consumption in Japan, the health ministry remains on alert over the deadly mad cow disease one month after a screening program began for all cows in Japan, according to ministry officials.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Nov 18, 2001

Next stop . . . the Twilight Zone

I've heard that the greatest challenge facing linguists today lies not in understanding how the brain encodes language, nor in mapping the lexicons of the world's vanishing dialects, nor in any other such grinding academic chore.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 18, 2001

Dismal outlook for Sri Lanka's president

The political crisis is Sri Lanka appears to be worsening, and in the latest government's call for a ceasefire with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam -- fighting a long and bloody battle for the independence of the island's minority Tamil-speaking population -- one can sense a state of near panic,...
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Nov 18, 2001

New breed of bookstore born out of cafe

Ever experienced the intimidating sideways glances bookstore staff often throw your way when they feel you've been browsing too long? Ever had them state the obvious by saying, "This is not a library?" What about bookstores that wrap books in clear plastic, forcing you to judge the book by its cover?...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Nov 18, 2001

The long road to a barrier-free Japan

Compact size. Lightweight. High-speed. Extra new features. Appealing design. Competitive price. Manufacturers have long focused on criteria like these in their quest for successful product lines. In the single-minded pursuit of profits, though, consumers unable to adapt themselves to standardized products...
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Nov 18, 2001

Booksellers looking for competitive edge online

E-commerce ventures have been flourishing in Japan, and they are expected to bring dramatic changes to the nation's traditional book distribution business.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Nov 18, 2001

Aiming for the heart

ONE FOOT IN LAOS, by Dervla Murphy. Overlook Press, 2001, 284 pp., $27.95 (cloth) Dervla Murphy's journeys as a travel writer, usually in the remoter, poorer parts of the world, are made, appropriately enough, in the old manner -- on foot, by donkey or mule, or on decrepit trucks or buses on their last...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Nov 18, 2001

Too much of a good thing

YAKUZA PERFUME, by Akahige Namban. New York: Blue Moon Books, 2001, 206 pp., $7.95 (paper). This curious book is an American-published pornographic novel that purports to be written by a Japanese. Though its main aim is to excite, its interest lies in the cultural assumptions it makes, these rendered...
JAPAN / Media / CHANNEL SURF
Nov 18, 2001

Saddle up for the mystery tour

Monday night at 8 and 9:15, NHK-G will broadcast the first two parts of a six-part drama series by best-selling mystery novelist Keigo Tono, who is famous for his elaborate plot twists. Tono himself was quite surprised that NHK had picked up his novel, "Akui (Malice)," for serialization, since, according...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Nov 18, 2001

Good Moon: Fusion that waxes and wanes

There's a whole generation out there who have come of age with laid-back, low-priced, modern izakaya, where they feel just as comfortable washing down the oden with wine as they do quaffing shochu with pasta. So when these kids grow up a bit and want to hang out somewhere less boisterous and more adult,...
EDITORIALS
Nov 17, 2001

Okinawa's distress call

Okinawa, which has often suffered the fate of being associated with U.S. military bases, is being buffeted again. This time it is the Okinawan economy that has been hit by cancellations of reservations for group tours to the prefecture following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States.
JAPAN
Nov 17, 2001

Public seen in step with boosted SDF role

The Self-Defense Forces are finally crossing the line to participate in a real war for the first time in their history, even though their role will be limited to logistic support.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 17, 2001

Tobin tax: fodder for spendthrift pols

Suggestions have been made that the turmoil that swept through East Asia in 1997-98 is evidence of the instability of global capital markets. Supporters of this idea validated their claims by asserting that a contagion effect spread the turbulence to other emerging market economies.
BUSINESS
Nov 17, 2001

British firm eyes communications technology niche

After forming a partnership with a major Japanese electronics company, nCo Tec ventures Ltd., a venture capital firm based in Britain, is gearing up to promote European ventures involving communications technology in the Japanese market, according to George MacRitchie, a partner in nCo Tec.
JAPAN
Nov 17, 2001

LPD group rises against Koizumi reforms

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi got a harsh dose of reality Friday when a group of 55 lawmakers in his ruling Liberal Democratic Party formed a group opposing his reform programs.
JAPAN
Nov 17, 2001

Cut fossil fuel dependence: scientist

Japan should slash its reliance on fossil fuels and continue carving out a niche in the burgeoning area of eco-technologies to ease its economic ills and improve the environment, according to renowned environmental scientist Norman Myers.
COMMENTARY
Nov 17, 2001

Free speech includes the right to be stupid

WASHINGTON -- America is a great country. What better evidence is there than the opportunity people have to say the stupidest, most witless things?
COMMENTARY
Nov 17, 2001

Tanaka deserves much better

Japanese politics were never famous for their logic. But the fuss surrounding Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka plumbs new depths.
JAPAN
Nov 17, 2001

Ward floats shopping bag tax

In the first local government tax of its kind in Japan, Tokyo's Suginami Ward is pushing a plan to impose a 5 yen levy on each plastic bag handed out at shops and supermarkets.
JAPAN
Nov 17, 2001

Public seen in step with boosted SDF role

The Self-Defense Forces are finally crossing the line to participate in a real war for the first time in their history, even though their role will be limited to logistic support.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Nov 17, 2001

The first step to happy marriage . . . zu

Today I bring you "Real Conversations From the English Classroom."
JAPAN
Nov 16, 2001

Satellite may fall anywhere

A Japanese satellite that stopped operating in 1998 will probably enter the atmosphere and fall to Earth between Nov. 31 to Dec. 10, the National Space Development Agency of Japan has announced.
JAPAN
Nov 16, 2001

NPA instructs local cops not to get trigger-happy

The National Police Agency has instructed prefectural police nationwide in charge of training and education to ensure their officers do not overuse their service revolvers.
BUSINESS
Nov 16, 2001

Koizumi gives WTO accord his blessing

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Thursday welcomed the previous day's accord by World Trade Organization trade ministers to launch new multilateral trade negotiations.

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’