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LIFE / Travel
Feb 28, 2001

Potholes on the road to preservation in China

China's former communist radicals and today's capitalist developers appear, in some respects, to have much in common. During the Cultural Revolution, with its almost visceral hatred of tradition, Red Guards were instructed to destroy anything "bourgeois," or tainted by the past. A decade earlier, Chairman...
LIFE / Travel
Feb 28, 2001

Asia's heritage boom

Call it nostalgia or call it a self-awakening, but Asians are rediscovering the value of their architectural heritage. From ancient police courts in Shanxi, China to forest temples in Thailand, from colonial quays in Singapore to the brick kilns and iron smithies of Mao Zedong's Great Leap Forward, the...
JAPAN
Feb 28, 2001

Effect of Nissan factory closure to linger

Kazuko Shimoda, 62, wasn't surprised when she heard in October 1999 that the Nissan Motor Co. plant across the street from her tobacco store in Musashi-Murayama, western Tokyo, was to close by the end of March.
JAPAN
Feb 28, 2001

Effect of Nissan factory closure to linger

Kazuko Shimoda, 62, wasn't surprised when she heard in October 1999 that the Nissan Motor Co. plant across the street from her tobacco store in Musashi-Murayama, western Tokyo, was to close by the end of March.
JAPAN
Feb 28, 2001

Prosecutors plan to question Murakami

Prosecutors plan to summon former Liberal Democratic Party heavyweight Masakuni Murakami for questioning as early as today on suspicion that he received bribes from scandal-tainted industrial mutual-aid organization KSD, investigation sources said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Feb 28, 2001

Prosecutors plan to question Murakami

Prosecutors plan to summon former Liberal Democratic Party heavyweight Masakuni Murakami for questioning as early as today on suspicion that he received bribes from scandal-tainted industrial mutual-aid organization KSD, investigation sources said Tuesday.
ENVIRONMENT / GARDENING FOR ALL
Feb 28, 2001

Rare mangroves left unprotected

Tanegashima in Kagoshima is well-known in Japan both as the first place where Western-style muskets were introduced by the Portuguese in 1543 and for the Tanegashima Space Center, which opened in 1988 and is located in the southeast corner of the island.
EDITORIALS
Feb 27, 2001

Strains test major alliances

One month into the presidency of George W. Bush, two of the world's largest alliances face a test of strength. One, across the Atlantic, is between the United States and European nations. The other, spanning the Pacific, binds Japan and the U.S. Signs of tension have been appearing in these vital alliances...
CULTURE / Film
Feb 27, 2001

Ghosts that lurk in the machine

Someone, perhaps John Carpenter, once said that to make a good horror film, it helps to be a bit of a sadist. True enough, if your idea of horror is whacking teenage girls with a cleaver. But if, like "Kairo (Pulse)" director Kiyoshi Kurosawa, you're making a film about the dead invading the world of...
BUSINESS
Feb 27, 2001

FamilyMart to close 500 shops

FamilyMart Co., the third-largest convenience store chain operator, will close some 500 unprofitable shops during fiscal 2001, the company announced Monday.
JAPAN
Feb 27, 2001

Imperial Household irked by photo

The Imperial Household Agency said Monday it will consider demanding an apology or a correction from a German newspaper for publishing a picture of the Crown Prince with a caption inferring he may be impotent.
JAPAN
Feb 27, 2001

Residents fear Olympic bid will be mired in politics

OSAKA -- Osaka residents are voicing hope that their city will be viewed favorably by a group of International Olympic Committee officials visiting this week.
JAPAN
Feb 27, 2001

Mori faces difficult week as KSD scandal widens

Another critical week for Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori began Monday with the Upper House approving the resignation of Masakuni Murakami, one of the embattled prime minister's staunch backers.
JAPAN
Feb 27, 2001

Kamei received 30 million yen cash, witness tells court

A witness told the Tokyo District Court on Monday that he saw an Osaka real estate developer give 30 million yen to Shizuka Kamei, chairman of the Policy Affairs Research Council of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
COMMENTARY
Feb 27, 2001

A crash and a culture clash

The collision off Oahu Island between the Japanese fisheries training ship Ehime Maru and the U.S. nuclear-powered submarine USS Greeneville has drawn an unprecedentedly sensitive reaction from Japanese people. There are a number of reasons for this sensitivity on the part of the Japanese, and it is...
JAPAN
Feb 27, 2001

Kamei received 30 million yen cash, witness tells court

A witness told the Tokyo District Court on Monday that he saw an Osaka real estate developer give 30 million yen to Shizuka Kamei, chairman of the Policy Affairs Research Council of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
BUSINESS
Feb 27, 2001

Japan lacking tools to bolster economy

The economy has eroded into a pathetic situation as corporate capital spending, now the sole driving force for economic growth, is thought certain to decline in light of machinery orders received.
BUSINESS
Feb 27, 2001

Dreamcast nightmare to cost Sega 300 jobs

Moving along with its decision to quit production of its Dreamcast game console, Sega Corp. said Monday it will solicit applications from 300 of its 2,600 employees to leave their jobs.
BUSINESS
Feb 27, 2001

Japan lacking tools to bolster economy

The economy has eroded into a pathetic situation as corporate capital spending, now the sole driving force for economic growth, is thought certain to decline in light of machinery orders received.
BUSINESS
Feb 27, 2001

Towel makers call for ban on imports

An industry association representing Japanese towel makers filed a petition with the government Monday to invoke import restriction measures to combat a steep increase in towel imports from China and Vietnam.
BUSINESS
Feb 27, 2001

Towel makers call for ban on imports

An industry association representing Japanese towel makers filed a petition with the government Monday to invoke import restriction measures to combat a steep increase in towel imports from China and Vietnam.
OLYMPICS
Feb 27, 2001

Committee starts inspection of island site

OSAKA -- The International Olympic Committee's evaluation committee began their four-day visit to Osaka on Monday by discussing the city's bid for the 2008 Games with Osaka government and business leaders, and by visiting Maishima island in Osaka Bay.
CULTURE / Music / MUSIC NOMAD
Feb 27, 2001

Making music in no-man's land

Through my work in the music industry, I have secured record deals with local labels for foreign musicians and have organized releases and tours overseas. As a columnist and DJ, I've been sent CDs from countless bands seeking promotion. I know there is no easy route to success in the business. And for...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Feb 27, 2001

Soar with Madame Butterfly

MADAME BUTTERFLY: Japonisme, Puccini, and the Search for the Real Cho-Cho-San, by Jan van Rij. Berkeley: Stone Bridge Press, 2001, 192 pp., 24 b/w photos, drawings, map, $24.95 (casebound). Giacomo Puccini's "Madame Butterfly" has become more than just a pretty piece of music. It has turned into something...
JAPAN
Feb 27, 2001

MMC to cut 9,500 jobs, close Oe plant by 2003

Mitsubishi Motors Corp. said Monday it will cut some 9,500 jobs, or 14 percent of its group workforce, by 2003 and close down its key Oe plant in Nagoya as part of a major restructuring plan.
JAPAN
Feb 27, 2001

MMC to cut 9,500 jobs, close Oe plant by 2003

Mitsubishi Motors Corp. said Monday it will cut some 9,500 jobs, or 14 percent of its group workforce, by 2003 and close down its key Oe plant in Nagoya as part of a major restructuring plan.
BUSINESS
Feb 27, 2001

MHI to send generators to Belgium

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. will ship three replacement steam generators to a nuclear plant in Belgium on Wednesday to increase the plant's power generating capacity, the company said Monday.
JAPAN
Feb 27, 2001

Approval rating for Mori declines to 7%

The approval rating for Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori in the latest Kyodo News survey is down to a mere 7 percent, a drop of 12 percentage points from a similar poll in December. His disapproval rating, meanwhile, has leaped to 82 percent from 65 percent.

Longform

After pandemic-era border regulations eased, Indian migrants began returning to Japan. Their population now stands at more than 50,000 across the country.
How remote work is rewriting the migrant experience in Japan