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COMMUNITY
Nov 24, 2001

Macchinesti: the accidental Ferrari of coffee shops

After the Japanese "kissaten," where coffee was coffee and not a lot more, came Doutor. Then came that all-conquering import, Starbucks, and a stream of similar lifestyle-focused camp followers of both American and Japanese descent. Now, suddenly, we have Macchinesti.
JAPAN
Nov 23, 2001

Volunteer architects build school in north Nepal village

OSAKA -- The Asian Architecture Friendship, an Osaka-based group of volunteers, is helping to build a school in a mountain village in northern Nepal, a project official said.
JAPAN
Nov 23, 2001

Poll reveals disaffected youth chase good times, shun work

Young people in Japan are more interested in having a good time than in seeking a better society, according to a government survey released Thursday. They are also overwhelmingly dissatisfied with Japanese society and have little interest in making a contribution to it.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 23, 2001

Juvenile correction system feeling strain

Teenagers in uniform tank tops and shorts, their hair all cropped in the same manner, march in lines at an athletic field. It looks like a military boot camp, but in actuality is an athletic festival at a juvenile reformatory in Hachioji, western Tokyo.
LIFE / Lifestyle / LEARNING BY HEART
Nov 23, 2001

Pioneer still speaking up and acting out

Almost 20 years ago, Teri Suzanne stood in front of a packed audience in Tokyo at the Association of English Teachers of Children, and unveiled her "English in Action" method with what was then a radical declaration: "I know that young children have the capacity to learn multiple languages by connecting...
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Nov 22, 2001

Wise words from Earth's defenders

Most of us have heard warnings that humans are destroying the Earth and all that lives on it since we were toddlers. So much so that the message has lost its urgency. More than that, we've become cynical. What good can we do when in the United States, for example, every bill aimed at cutting back on...
CULTURE / Film
Nov 21, 2001

All under the sun

The Japanese, my barber once told me, "don't really think of Hawaii as America -- for us, it's more like part of Japan." But after Sept. 11, many Japanese who might have otherwise booked a wedding in Honolulu or a golf holiday in Maui suddenly realized that Hawaii really was part of the United States...
CULTURE / Art
Nov 21, 2001

Beauty of body and spirit

It was an extraordinary sight. Guests at the Canadian Embassy Gallery's opening party for artist Claude Descoteaux could not keep their hands off the exhibits. Here, a young woman slid her hand over gleaming bronze hips. There, a man shyly stroked the calf of a leaping, athletic male.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Nov 20, 2001

Automakers now turning to 'telematics'

Automakers around the world are increasingly turning to information technology to improve the driving experience for commuters facing longer periods of time in their vehicles.
BUSINESS
Nov 20, 2001

Construction integration queried by state panel head

The chairman of a study panel on highway construction on Monday questioned the effectiveness of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's proposal to integrate four state-backed construction entities.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 20, 2001

Execs lament poor English of Japanese

Selecting English as its official language was not easy for Nissan Motor Co., but it helped facilitate a smooth tieup with Renault SA of France, Nissan Chairman Yoshikazu Hanawa said at a recent symposium in Tokyo.
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Nov 18, 2001

Book translations breaking language barriers

While the book publishing industry is feeling the pinch of Japan's economic recession, shelves in major bookstores that sell foreign publications are still filled with best-selling titles.
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.
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Nov 15, 2001

Scent of a stickleback

We all know why we find certain people attractive and want to form relationships with them. Those special people might be more than usually compassionate, intelligent or funny -- or might be physically well-endowed in some way. And neurologists know which areas of the brain become active when we meet...
JAPAN
Nov 14, 2001

Keidanren support on Kyoto Protocol sought

Environment Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi said Tuesday she has asked to meet the Japan Federation of Economic Organizations (Keidanren) to seek industry support for Japan's plan to ratify the Kyoto Protocol on global warming.
CULTURE / Music / J-POPSICLE
Nov 14, 2001

Like Sheena, only happier

Like many people, when I first heard Hitomi Yaida's music, I immediately thought: Aha, Ringo Sheena Lite. With her high-pitched, keening voice and energetic, guitar-based pop-rock style, Yaida certainly has a lot in common with Sheena, that twisted pixie.
JAPAN
Nov 14, 2001

Plan for Chichijima airport withdrawn

Tokyo officials said Tuesday they are withdrawing a plan to construct an airport on Chichijima Island in the Ogasawara Island chain, about 1,000 km south of Tokyo.
COMMUNITY
Nov 11, 2001

Japan's trepanning history is full of holes

In his 1967 study, "Prehistoric and Early History of Trepanation," Professor F.P. Lisowski of the University of Tasmania, Australia, cites the work of two anthropologists who suggested that trepanation might have been practiced in Japan.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Nov 11, 2001

Prodigies in a flash -- but maybe much too soon

"My daughter can solve algebraic differentiation and integration." "My son reads the Nikkei Shimbun every morning." "My child has read 'War and Peace.' "
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Nov 8, 2001

All the leaves are brown -- anyone know why?

In Japan, the beauty of leaves in autumn is revered with almost religious fervor. Part of the autumn weather forecast is devoted to showing the "leaf front" as the color change in trees moves across the country. Millions of tourists travel to marvel at the display.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Nov 8, 2001

Creation of wants and the damage done

Who's consuming whom? Are we consuming advertising and living a better life because it educates us about a wide range of choices? Or is advertising consuming us, urging us to want, need and buy whatever the market has to offer?
BUSINESS
Nov 7, 2001

Household spending continues to decline

Average household spending declined an inflation-adjusted 3.7 percent in September from a year earlier to 283,390 yen for the sixth consecutive monthly fall, the government said Tuesday.
CULTURE / Art
Nov 7, 2001

In search of simplicity

In turbulent times, we turn to the simple things of life with relief. But in fine art, simplicity is not easy, and it is a brave painter who spends his life depicting pots and pans, apples and pears.
JAPAN
Nov 5, 2001

Labels eyed to track cows' history

The farm ministry has begun developing a system to numerically label every package of beef to show consumers the birthplace of the cow it is from and the farms where it was raised, ministry sources said Sunday.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Nov 4, 2001

Cities that go with the flow

LEARNING FROM THE JAPANESE CITY: West Meets East in Urban Design, by Barrie Shelton. London: E. and F.N. Spon/Routledge, 2001, 210 pp., profusely illustrated, 42.50 British pounds (cloth) In this interesting study of Japanese urban space, the author writes that when he thinks of the Western city he envisions...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Nov 4, 2001

Isabella Bird's letters from Japan

UNBEATEN TRACKS IN JAPAN: An Account of Travels in the Interior Including Visits to the Aborigines of Yezo and the Shrines of Nikko, by Isabella L. Bird. New York: ICG Muse, 2000, 1,700 yen, 342 pp. (paper) "Unbeaten Tracks in Japan" documents the journeys of Isabella Bird, an extraordinary woman for...
BUSINESS
Nov 2, 2001

Metro government panel set to assess banks' management

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government will set up a third-party panel to scrutinize the management of banks that hold local government funds, metro government officials said Thursday.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji