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CULTURE / Books
Oct 21, 2001

In the realm of crime, torture and depravity

THE DARK SIDE: Infamous Japanese Crimes and Criminals, by Mark Schreiber. Kodansha International, 2001, 251 pp., 2,700 yen (cloth) It's unfortunate but true that the names of notorious criminals usually outlive those of their victims. We remember Jack the Ripper, not the London prostitutes he butchered....
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Oct 21, 2001

Playing to the home crowd

JAPANESE SPORTS: A History, by Allen Guttmann and Lee Thompson. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 310 pp., plates, 25. $50, cloth; $24.95, paper. When Commodore Perry arrived in Japan as an unwelcome guest in 1853, a small part of the initial interactions between the visitors and their reluctant...
BUSINESS
Oct 20, 2001

Protest made over supercomputer bid

A complaints panel for government procurements said Friday that it has accepted a complaint from IBM Japan Ltd. over a failed bid for a supercomputer.
JAPAN
Oct 20, 2001

Nine Afghans sue after being held over illegal entry

Nine Afghans detained Oct. 3 when applying for refugee status filed a lawsuit Friday claiming their detention on suspicion of illegal entry into Japan was unlawful.
JAPAN
Oct 19, 2001

Automakers rev up search for ultimate clean car

Driven by concerns over global warming and the prospect of tougher restrictions, automakers worldwide have moved up a gear in the race to build the ultimate clean car.
JAPAN
Oct 19, 2001

Tragedy is chance to unite, Baker says

Despite the massive losses in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, the incident has provided new opportunities for nations to work together to create a world free from terror, said Howard Baker, the U.S. ambassador to Japan.
LIFE / Lifestyle / JET STREAM
Oct 19, 2001

Home from home in surprising ways

When Christine Permatsari arrived in Okinawa this August, she found it to be not much different from home.
JAPAN
Oct 18, 2001

FTC probes four medical goods firms

The Fair Trade Commission on Wednesday began investigating four medical equipment companies suspected of forming a price-fixing cartel for bone-fracture materials and other medical supplies, according to sources.
JAPAN
Oct 18, 2001

Ex-Afghan ambassador fears statelessness

Former Afghan Ambassador to Japan Hassani Mohammad Asif says his greatest worry as U.S.-led forces pound his native land is that he and his family will be left stateless.
JAPAN
Oct 16, 2001

Imperial Japanese Navy trombone returned after more than 50 years

More than 50 years after being discarded in the chaos of a Pacific island combat zone, an Imperial Japanese Navy trombone has been returned to Japan -- in a condition nearly as good as when it left the factory.
JAPAN
Oct 14, 2001

Sommelier believes there's more to serving up a fine wine

Takashi Atsuta knows precisely what his customers need to round out a delicious meal. Good food and wine are essential, but the 63-year-old sommelier believes that good service -- with sincerity -- also makes a great difference. Being a sommelier is not just a matter of knowing about wines and selecting...
JAPAN
Oct 14, 2001

Steps drawn up to fight nuclear, chemical threat

Government ministries and agencies have drawn up antiterrorism measures to deal with attacks involving nuclear, biological or chemical weapons, government officials said Saturday.
CULTURE / Books
Oct 14, 2001

David Mitchell experiments with success

Like his complex and cleverly constructed novels, a conversation with British writer David Mitchell is enjoyably cerebral and full of references to books, music and out-of-the-way places he has visited. Sitting in the famous sunken garden Shukkei-en in Hiroshima, the city he now calls home, Mitchell,...
JAPAN
Oct 13, 2001

Opposition ridicules Koizumi's concept of proof

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi was challenged during a House of Representatives committee session Friday over his idea of what constitutes evidence of guilt.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Oct 13, 2001

Koh Gabriel Kameda

Ten years ago, Koh Gabriel Kameda made his debut concert tour of Japan. He was 17 then, delicate and sensitive, and already confident and polished as exclusively a violinist. As soloist he had accumulated experience in concert performances with different orchestras playing in different countries. He...
JAPAN
Oct 12, 2001

Kenya given terms to continue dam project

The government laid out conditions this week to Kenya for the continuation of a Japanese-funded project to expand the African country's capacity to generate electricity, Japanese officials said.
JAPAN
Oct 12, 2001

Political rapport to smooth cultural ties

As Japan's frosty political relations with China and South Korea head for a long-awaited thaw, its high-level cultural contacts with the two Asian neighbors are expected to follow suit.
JAPAN
Oct 12, 2001

Koizumi calls for DPJ support

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi called on the opposition camp Thursday to back a government-proposed bill that would allow SDF personnel to play a noncombat role in the U.S.-led military drama now playing out in Afghanistan.
ENVIRONMENT / GARDENING FOR ALL
Oct 11, 2001

Firmly rooted in tradition and daily life

In the foothills of Mount Fuji, there is a fascinating botanical garden devoted to the cultivation and display of bamboo plants and products. Unique in this country, the Fuji Bamboo Garden, which opened on its 4-hectare site in 1951, cultivates more than 500 species and cultivars of bamboo from around...
JAPAN
Oct 10, 2001

Tokyo-Seoul fisheries talks start today

Japan and South Korea will hold two days of fisheries talks beginning today in Tokyo to discuss fishing conditions in each other's exclusive economic zones next year, the Japanese Fisheries Agency said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Oct 10, 2001

Security measures expanded to cover 580 areas

Security has been expanded to encompass 580 locations nationwide, including those affiliated with countries supporting the U.S.-led military action against targets in Afghanistan, the chairman of the National Public Safety Commission said Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Oct 9, 2001

Nation's airlines remaining steadfast in face of aftershocks from terrorism

Declines in passenger loads and increases in insurance premiums after last month's devastating terrorist attacks in the United States are threats to Japanese airlines as they are to other carriers, but reaction in Japan may not be as drastic.
BUSINESS
Oct 9, 2001

Oil-dependent industries worry strikes may hit Middle East

Japanese industries are concerned that the U.S. retaliatory strikes on targets in Afghanistan on Sunday will expand to the Middle East, leading to a surge in crude oil prices.
JAPAN
Oct 8, 2001

Ozawa warns against unprincipled SDF action

Opposition Liberal Party leader Ichiro Ozawa reiterated his opposition Sunday to a bill aimed at allowing the Self-Defense Forces to extend logistic assistance to an expected U.S.-led military operation against terrorists.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Oct 7, 2001

Ichiro, Ichiro, Ichinooo!

"All the world's a stage," a well-known English playwright declared in "As You Like It," adding: "And all the men and women merely players . . . "
JAPAN
Oct 6, 2001

State aims to let coast guard fire first at suspected spy ships

Two years after humiliatingly failing to capture suspected North Korean spy boats violating Japan's territorial waters, the government submitted a bill Friday to the Diet that would give the Japan Coast Guard new powers to fire on suspicious vessels.
JAPAN
Oct 6, 2001

Diet receives bill for SDF to support U.S. action

The Cabinet approved a bill Friday to combat terrorism that will allow Japan's armed forces to support U.S.-led operations against terrorist suspects in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks in the United States.
BUSINESS
Oct 6, 2001

Foreign reserves top $397 billion

Japan's foreign exchange reserves hit a record high $397.02 billion at the end of September, up $24.80 billion from the previous high set in August, the Finance Ministry said Friday.

Longform

A sinkhole in Yashio, which emerged in January, was triggered by a ruptured, aging sewer pipe. Authorities worry that similar sections of infrastructure across the country are also at risk of corrosion.
That sinking feeling: Japan’s aging sewers are an infrastructure time bomb