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COMMENTARY
Aug 26, 2001

Musharraf moves to rein in Islamic schools

ISLAMABAD -- The order from the government of President Gen. Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan's military ruler, to impose the syllabus of mainstream schools upon Islamic ones, known as "madrassah," is yet another attempt by a Pakistani regime to rein in what many consider to be the first stop for militant...
COMMUNITY
Aug 26, 2001

Living on the edge

It's 6 a.m. on Saturday, and Teruyuki Kato is woken at home by the beeping of his government-issued pager. The University of Tokyo professor of geophysics knows he must act fast. He calls the local police, who arrive within minutes and transport him, sirens howling, red lights whirling, to the Meteorological...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Aug 26, 2001

Hope for the best . . .and prepare for the worst

Think about how difficult it would be if all our lifelines -- water, gas and electricity -- were suddenly cut off. In the event of a major earthquake, we would have to do more than just ponder these hardships. And it would go on for longer than you might think. After the 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake,...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Aug 26, 2001

Hell on earth in '23

"The pillars of the house made groaning sounds and began to crack. An earthquake! The wall clock stopped, and the electric fan went flying." That was how Hisamatsu Yamato, then an 18-year-old living in Tokyo's Honjo district, recalled the moment.
EDITORIALS
Aug 26, 2001

Europe, the euro and you

Remember the runup to Y2K? The predictions of catastrophe? The hand-wringing over unpreparedness? It's happening all over again, on a smaller scale, with the runup to the cash launch of the euro. Although the new European currency will not be legal tender until New Year's Day, armored trucks will start...
COMMUNITY
Aug 26, 2001

Don't panic: Know what to do

As long as you are in Japan, which has about 1,500 active faults, you are at risk of experiencing a major earthquake at any moment. It could come while you're at home or at your workplace, at a movie theater or in a subway. Wherever you are, you must stay calm and determine what to do next.
JAPAN
Aug 26, 2001

Digital copyright protection test set

Two bodies promoting digital commerce and copyright protection will start large-scale testing in December of a "digital watermark" system to prevent piracy, officials with the bodies said Saturday.
JAPAN
Aug 26, 2001

205.8 billion yen job safety net planned

The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry will seek 205.8 billion yen in budget requests for fiscal 2002 to help build a safety net for people expected to lose their jobs under Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's structural reforms, ministry officials said Saturday.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Aug 26, 2001

Intimidation, deception -- and that's just the cops

Earlier this summer, when an American serviceman was accused of raping a Japanese woman on Okinawa, the U.S. military authorities were put in a difficult position.
JAPAN
Aug 26, 2001

Truck-car crashes kill six, hurt six

Six people were killed and six injured in two similar traffic accidents on expressways in southwestern and northeastern Japan on Friday night and early Saturday, highway patrol officials said.
CULTURE / Music / PLAY BUTTON
Aug 26, 2001

Between Sonic rock and a hard place

At first glance, the biggest thing happening in Makuhari last weekend was the sale at the local outlet mall. No banners. No bullhorns. No hype. Just a silent, eerie cityscape of hotels and empty family restaurants. In short, there was nothing to indicate that Summer Sonic, Japan's second-biggest music...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Aug 26, 2001

Dogs and penguins and affairs, oh my!

If you have a dog who doesn't do what you say, you might want to tune in this morning to Asahi TV's Sunday talk show "Tokusuru TV (Beneficial TV)" (9:30 a.m.), where actors Masayuki Watanabe and Wakako Shinozaki play-act at being a couple who entertain guests with interesting tips for everyday life....
JAPAN
Aug 26, 2001

METI to launch 'smart house' pilot project

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry plans to launch a project in the next fiscal year linking about 50 households to a high-speed data network that will improve their security systems and monitor their occupants' health, ministry officials said Saturday.
CULTURE / Books
Aug 26, 2001

Shaping the future:the politics of language

LANGUAGE PLANNING AND LANGUAGE CHANGE IN JAPAN, by Tessa Carroll, Richmond, Surrey: Curzon, 276 pp., 40.00 British pounds (cloth) Most countries consider their official language to be an area of state responsibility requiring "planning" by government agencies or special institutions. Language, from...
COMMUNITY
Aug 26, 2001

Millions stranded with no way home

A major earthquake hits. Just as you've practiced in disaster drills, you evacuate. Making it to a safe place, you let out a small sigh of relief.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Aug 26, 2001

Sips of high-grade tranquillity

In parts of Asia, tea is more than a mere beverage: It is a social lubricant, a sacrament of complex rituals and a vital part of national identity. Throughout history, farmers and philosophers alike have treasured a steaming cup of cha. While there is some evidence of tea's health benefits, there is...
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 26, 2001

Tuvalu: first casualty of climate change

HONOLULU -- It's too late for Tuvalu, a small island nation in the Pacific. Ten thousand people, Tuvalu's entire population, are packing their bags as their homes among nine low-level atolls are being swallowed by the rising sea. These are the facts of life: The Earth is warming, sea levels are rising,...
JAPAN
Aug 26, 2001

Eatery owner, 58, safe after Monday abduction

A 58-year-old man was found unharmed in the town of Okabe, Shizuoka Prefecture, early Saturday after allegedly being abducted Monday in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward, police said.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Aug 26, 2001

Showing, not telling: the birth of pure film

WRITING IN LIGHT: The Silent Scenario and the Japanese Pure Film Movement, by Joanne Bernardi. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 2001, 355 pp., 100 illustrations. $39.95 (cloth); $19.95 (paperback) Film evolved differently in different cultures. In the West the cinema was perceived as a new form...
LIFE / Food & Drink / VINELAND
Aug 26, 2001

There are wine souvenirs, and then there are wines

On the edge of autumn, vineyards are heavy with fruit. In the late afternoon, the air turns cool. The weeks before harvest are one of the most beautiful times of year to visit wineries. And you need not fly overseas for the experience.
EDITORIALS
Aug 25, 2001

A step in the wrong direction

Japan has a resident litigation system modeled on America's taxpayer suits. It allows residents to file suits to correct financial irregularities on the part of local officials, such as use of public money for private wining and dining. Now, a bill to change that system is pending in the Diet. The measure...
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 25, 2001

Scandals have Chirac on the defensive

LONDON -- August is the month when, traditionally, the French forget about the cares of everyday life as they head for long holidays at home or abroad. But, this year, the most eminent of them as had a far from relaxing time. Just nine months before he faces an uphill re-election battle, President Jacques...
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 25, 2001

Why Dear Leader isn't going to Seoul

SEOUL -- "All contacts have stopped. We had expected North Korea to take up the process again, but they haven't," says South Korean Foreign Minister Han Seung Soo. Since Pyongyang left negotiations last March, not much has happened diplomatically between the two estranged Koreas.
BUSINESS
Aug 25, 2001

Yen gaining, credit-easing notwithstanding

The Bank of Japan's latest move to further ease its credit grip has gone largely unheeded on the currency market.
JAPAN
Aug 25, 2001

Japan, U.S. to discuss environmental project

Japan and the United States will begin expert-level environmental talks in September aimed primarily at boosting cooperation in the development of technologies needed to better forecast and prevent global warming, government sources said Friday.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Aug 25, 2001

Where there's a will (to return), there's a way

Endre Hules is fretting about his kids. "I never imagined it would be so hard to leave them with a baby sitter. I feel incomplete."
COMMENTARY
Aug 25, 2001

Japan should borrow more

In a small rural valley where I spend weekends, peace has been destroyed for almost a year by the roar of several large machines trying furiously to convert a few hectares of swamp and abandoned farmland into usable rice paddies. The project is heavily subsidized by the government.
JAPAN / PRIVATIZING PAINS
Aug 25, 2001

Local authorities turn up noses at broke pension fund resorts

Kyodo News The sale of 12 health resorts to repay debts incurred by the now-defunct Pension Welfare Service Public Corp. is not proceeding smoothly because the local governments that were asked to purchase them are all refusing to do so.

Longform

Bear attacks have dominated Japanese news headlines in recent months, with 13 people so far having been killed by the animals.
Japan’s bears have been on their killing spree for more than 100 years