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Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Dec 23, 2003

What three things would you take to a foreign country?

Like Survivor, but not set on a desert island — it's a vast sprawling metropolis with unfamiliar terrain, terminology and script. Armed only with compass and guidebook, knowing they must do battle with taxi drivers, ticket machines and shop attendants, Melanie Burton asked our intrepid travelers what...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Dec 21, 2003

Zen and the art of gardening

INSIDE JAPANESE GARDENS, by Shunmyo Masuno. Osaka: Commemorative Foundation for the International Garden & Greenery Exposition, 350 pp., 4,800 yen (cloth). In the formal Japanese garden -- a source of delight but also puzzlement to some visitors -- every element has a reason for being there, an ordained...
JAPAN
Dec 20, 2003

Hinomaru hoisted at all spring graduation events

All public elementary, junior high and high schools in Japan raised the Hinomaru during their spring graduation ceremonies, according to an education ministry survey released this week.
JAPAN
Dec 20, 2003

15% fall in problem pupils finds doubters

The number of students at public elementary, junior high and high schools detained by police or taken to family courts for problematic behavior fell 15.4 percent in fiscal 2002 from the previous year to 4,317, according to an education ministry report released Friday.
CULTURE / Music
Dec 19, 2003

In praise of a 'brilliant idea'

Even a cursory check of convenience store shelves these days shows how the omake giveaways that makers once offered as lures to buy certain candies have now become the main selling points themselves. After all, how many people would pay 300 yen just for the two almond chocolates in a packet of "Time...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 18, 2003

As seas rise, Tuvalu calls for emission cuts

Tuvalu Prime Minister Saufatu Sopoanga urged industrialized nations Wednesday to cut greenhouse-gas emissions as soon as possible by shifting to renewable energy sources, fearing his island nation will sink if global warming continues.
Japan Times
Events
Dec 18, 2003

U.K. journalists upbeat on economic outlook

Japan may still face some serious economic problems in the months and years to come, but the way the government and the financial authorities have handled the economy in the last 12 months mean there is today a great deal more hope for a sustainable recovery, according to five British financial journalists...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 17, 2003

NPO opens craft shop to fund effort to eradicate land mines

A nonprofit organization engaged in the elimination of land mines has opened a shop in Tokyo that sells handbags, table cloths and other items from kimono material to help fund its activities.
JAPAN
Dec 17, 2003

'Quality' of foreign students seen as key

An education ministry panel called Tuesday for changes to Japan's policy on foreign students, seeking a greater emphasis on quality rather than quantity.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Dec 14, 2003

Not letting the facts get in the way of a good 'documentary'

In the tributes to the Japanese diplomats who were killed two weeks ago, few people mentioned what they were actually doing in Iraq. Katsuhiko Oku was, among other things, encouraging Iraqis to watch NHK's popular drama series, "Oshin," which is being broadcast on Iraqi TV. The show, originally aired...
COMMENTARY
Dec 14, 2003

Getting Asia's youth behind their party

MANILA -- As elections approach, politicians remember the importance of being on good terms with the youth. Young people are easily motivated and are inexpensive workers in political campaigns. The young generation also constitutes a sizable electoral constituency.
JAPAN
Dec 13, 2003

Prize curbs an own goal for lotto?

The National Agency for the Advancement of Sports and Health, which operates the J. League soccer lottery, is worried about poor ticket sales.
JAPAN
Dec 13, 2003

Record child asthma rates tied to pollution, diet

The proportion of elementary and junior high school pupils with asthma marked a record high during health checkups last spring, up almost 2.5 times from a decade ago, according to a survey by the education ministry.
BUSINESS
Dec 13, 2003

Boards here in need of outsiders: U.S. headhunter

A leading U.S. executive search firm has found that Japan's corporate boards have a smaller number of external directors than any other nation.
BUSINESS
Dec 12, 2003

Households spend less on home tutors, piano lessons

Japanese households cut spending on home tutors and enrichment lessons for children in fiscal 2002 while spending more on cram schools.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Dec 12, 2003

'Land of Fire' with history burning in its mokkosu heart

Few things puff up local pride like a local hero. Sendai dotes on its "One-Eyed Dragon," warrior Date Masamune. Kagoshima loves its plump 19th-century rebel Saigo Takamori. And Kumamoto adores its old daimyo lord Kato Kiyomasa.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / CERAMIC SCENE
Dec 10, 2003

Desperately seeking Kyusetsu

In the world of tea, certain inherited potters' names stand out as shining stars and their works are seen almost as brand-name goods. Just as shoppers hanker for a Gucci bag, a tea devotee covets certain chawan (tea bowls), say, from the Kaneshige kiln in Bizen. Possessing one of these is a status symbol,...
EDITORIALS
Dec 8, 2003

A disquieting waste of money

A national audit report makes for dismal reading, since it is always a reminder of waste in government. So it is with the latest report, which says that government offices and agencies "mismanaged" about 45 billion yen in 2002 -- the largest amount in 20 years. That is particularly disquieting at a time...
JAPAN / TALKING SHOP
Dec 8, 2003

When lenders balk, entrepreneur banks on worthy cause, trust

When Safia Minney first learned over a decade ago the Japanese phrase "mottai-nai" (what a waste) in regard to resources, she knew she was on the right track.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Dec 7, 2003

Celebrating art far from home

"This stuff saved my life," says Amelia Toledo, one of Brazil's best-known artists. She pulls out of her handbag a tiny bottle of flower essence. "You just drop it on your tongue and it makes you feel better."
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Dec 6, 2003

The high cost of children -- don't kid yourself

At lunch with an old pal, I cannot help but notice the puffy bags hanging beneath his eyes.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 3, 2003

Balanced diet eludes kids of junk food age

Getting kids to eat their vegetables is not easy. And in fast-paced urban Japan, where both parents usually work and the landscape is dominated by convenience stores overflowing with junk food, the chore is ever more difficult.
BUSINESS
Dec 3, 2003

Companies pursue image boost via programs for disabled

Japanese corporations are steadily expanding their social action programs to support physically disabled people in an apparent bid to look better to foreign investors.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Nov 30, 2003

Power and glory of temple ruins

ANGKOR: Celestial Temples of the Khmer Empire, text by Ian Mabbett, Eleanor Mannikka, Jon Ortner, John Sanday and James Goodman; photos by Jon Ortner. New York: Abbeville Press, 2003, 289 pages, $95 (cloth).
JAPAN
Nov 29, 2003

Japan crime hit record high in 2002

A record 3.69 million crimes were committed in Japan in 2002, according to a government report released Friday.
JAPAN
Nov 29, 2003

Experts fear orbiter Nozomi will collide with, pollute Mars

Experts are growing anxious that Japan's beleaguered space probe Nozomi may contaminate Mars if it happens to collide with the Red Planet, possibly on Dec. 14.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 27, 2003

Jamaican planner given Japan-as-role-model tour

The Ameyoko food market in Tokyo's Ueno district may be just another yearend shopping stop for most people.
BUSINESS
Nov 27, 2003

Wholesaler Digicube goes belly up

Video game vender Digicube Co. said Wednesday it has filed for bankruptcy with liabilities of 9.5 billion yen, battered by a shrinking game software market.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Nov 26, 2003

Matsui, the Yankees and the PL's new free-agent trend

Hot stove league time, fans. Or should that be the hot hibachi league here in Japan? Lots going on during the off-season, so let's take a look at a few interesting happenings from last week.

Longform

A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.
If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami