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JAPAN
Nov 23, 2000

The pitfalls of a press run rampant

Nearly a year on, the children of the Hino district of Kyoto's Fushimi Ward at last seem as if they are getting back to normal.
COMMUNITY
Nov 23, 2000

Nurturing respect for all creatures great and small

For anyone with a passing knowledge of animal rights, or even a concern for the humane treatment of animals, Japan can seem a cold and uncaring place.
COMMUNITY / BODY AND SOUL
Nov 23, 2000

You gotta know when to fold 'em

One evening 20 years ago, Kiyomi Takahashi (not her real name) happened to stop at a coffee shop on her way home from work. She found a computer poker game machine in the corner of the shop, and started playing it just for fun. Little did she know this would be the beginning of a decade-long nightmare....
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
Nov 23, 2000

Six reasons to give thanks

A great deal of space in columns like these -- and I'm one of the culprits -- is devoted to all that's wrong with the sports world and the people who make their livings in it.
LIFE / Food & Drink / KISSA KULTUR
Nov 23, 2000

The orthodox way of milk tea

In my search for a pleasant place to enjoy a coffee or tea, I often feel like a detective. Wandering Tokyo's nooks and crannies, I diligently try to track down havens where weary souls can rejuvenate from harried schedules and the din that seems to accompany us wherever we go.
ENVIRONMENT / GARDENING FOR ALL
Nov 23, 2000

Floating island a relic of a long-gone geologic age

SHINGU, Wakayama Pref. -- Inosawa Ukishima, a bog woodland in the center of Shingu City at the mouth of the Kumano River, isn't an ordinary park.
LIFE / Food & Drink / NIHONSHU
Nov 23, 2000

The man who never forgets a sake

Haruo Matsuzaki raises the small glass to his nose, sniffs for but a couple of seconds, and takes in a small sip. Slurping in a bit of air, he scribbles for a few seconds into his ever-present tiny notebook, finally expelling the sake into the spittoon next to the table. On to the next.
LIFE / Food & Drink / WINE WAYS
Nov 23, 2000

End your festive feast with a liquid dessert

With yet another Thanksgiving, Hanuka, Christmas and so forth soon to come, the question is, should you gorge away at the big dinner or discreetly desist a bit to "make sure," as some say, "that there's still some room left for dessert"?
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Nov 23, 2000

A night at the culinary opera

Let it be stated unequivocably and from the outset: The Food File is not a great fan of gastrodomes and flashy new mega-restaurants where style outweighs substance and quality is sacrificed at the altar of fleeting fashion. Nor are we enamored of restaurant chains, where menus -- no matter how titillatingly...
JAPAN
Nov 22, 2000

Kato's momentous rebellion leaves Mori in charge -- for the moment

The failure of Koichi Kato's revolt against Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori leaves the unpopular leader at the nation's helm -- at least for the moment.
JAPAN
Nov 22, 2000

Suspect leads police to body of his partner

The body of a Tokyo company president who had been missing since last week was found Tuesday in a mountain forest in Ibaraki Prefecture after his business partner guided police to the corpse.
JAPAN
Nov 22, 2000

Mori survives ouster motion after LDP rebels get cold feet

Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori survived a no-confidence motion against his Cabinet early Tuesday after his rivals in the Liberal Democratic Party -- primarily Koichi Kato and Taku Yamasaki -- reneged on their pledge to support the motion submitted by the opposition camp.
JAPAN
Nov 22, 2000

Pair arrested for harboring Red Army founder Shigenobu

OSAKA -- Police on Tuesday arrested two supporters of Japanese Red Army founder Fusako Shigenobu for allegedly harboring the fugitive while in Japan.
JAPAN
Nov 22, 2000

Dual corporate tax system eyed

The Home Affairs Ministry on Tuesday proposed a dual corporate tax system that would force businesses to pay local taxes, even if they are operating in the red.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 22, 2000

Japan needs to abandon the 'image game'

Domestic politics is not my specialty, but I am so disturbed by recent developments that I am prompted to write down some of my thoughts. First, newspaper comments and articles suggest that the opposition parties and the media have succeeded in establishing a public image of Yoshiro Mori as an incompetent...
JAPAN
Nov 22, 2000

Public angered by Kato's flip-flop on no-confidence motion

People around the country expressed disappointment and anger Tuesday over the anticlimactic end to Koichi Kato's closely watched revolt against his Liberal Democratic Party colleague, Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori.
JAPAN
Nov 22, 2000

Some assembly required for newly found artifacts

OSAKA -- The board of education of the city of Shijonawate, Osaka Prefecture, on Tuesday announced that a number of wooden artifacts that appear to be parts of a stand dating from the early fifth century have been discovered at the city's Kamada ruins.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 22, 2000

Two countries, one system?

CAMBRIDGE, England -- Last week, Willy Wo-Lap Lam lost his job as the China correspondent on the South China Morning Post. That technically he resigned rather than be "promoted" to a non-China-related job is irrelevant, as it was clear that he was not going to be allowed to continue writing his weekly...
SOCCER / J. League
Nov 22, 2000

Dortmund wants Ono, Takahara

German League club Borussia Dortmund is hoping to sign Urawa Reds and Japan midfielder Shinji Ono, along with Jubilo Iwata and Japan Olympic team striker Naohiro Takahara, a Dortmund official said Tuesday in Tokyo.
LIFE / Travel
Nov 22, 2000

An evening out in Hua Hin, the classiest beach town in Thailand

HUA HIN, Thailand -- Like any town in Thailand, Hua Hin has its share of stray dogs, especially near the temple grounds. In this proud provincial town of sandy beaches, sea breezes and clean streets, however, even the stray mutts look healthier.
LIFE / Digital / CYBERIA
Nov 22, 2000

Connecting the dots

It's hard to believe, but there is some organization to the Internet. The libertarianism that seems to be the dominant ethos rests not-too-lightly atop a neatly organized technical foundation. It has to be this way: The Net is a network of addresses and someone somewhere has to make sure that they hook...
BASEBALL / MLB
Nov 21, 2000

Free agent Shinjo talks to Swallows

Free agent Tsuyoshi Shinjo met with officials of the Yakult Swallows on Monday to hear what the Central League club has to offer if the All-Star outfielder were to leave the Hanshin Tigers for the Tokyo team.
JAPAN
Nov 21, 2000

No-confidence motion crippled after Kato withdraws support

A no-confidence motion against the Cabinet of Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori was expected to be voted down early this morning in the Lower House after Koichi Kato, the leader of a rebel faction in the ruling party, decided to abstain at the last minute.
JAPAN
Nov 21, 2000

Panel releases judicial reform report

A government council on judicial reforms unveiled an interim report Monday that proposes drastic legal changes -- such as boosting the number of judicial personnel and allowing regular citizens to play a more pivotal role in trials.
JAPAN
Nov 21, 2000

Village whittled down to just four elderly souls

ITAIBARA, Tottori Pref. -- The death of this village's sister looms large in the collective memory of its residents.
JAPAN
Nov 21, 2000

Yokota counts itself as abacus capital

YOKOTA, Shimane Pref. -- The curator of this town's abacus museum must have a sense of black humor to have included one of the first Sharp calculators in the display.

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’