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Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 6, 2002

Envoy seeks to boost Greece's profile

The new Greek ambassador-designate to Japan is eager to enhance his country's image and perception among Japanese during his tenure, especially through promoting the 2004 Olympics in Athens and through the country's assumption of the European Union presidency in the first half of 2003.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 4, 2002

Reserved but hardly remote

The June 8 article "A right royal celebration," by former British Ambassador to Japan Sir Hugh Cortazzi, described the Golden Jubilee celebration for Queen Elizabeth II. I was happy to read that the celebration was a great success, that the respect and affection of the British people for the queen were...
BUSINESS
Jul 4, 2002

Delay in steel dispute ruling casts doubt over WTO's intentions

The World Trade Organization has yet to come up with a ruling on a steel dispute between the United States and an unprecedented number of economies, betraying initial expectations such a move would come as early as May.
COMMUNITY
Jul 4, 2002

Seeking a foreign channel

A movement to keep the channel is developing throughout Japan in reaction to the announcement by News Broadcasting Japan that the 24-hour news service Foxnews will cease operations at the end of July.
COMMUNITY
Jul 4, 2002

The land of the early rising, and setting, sun

The issue of daylight-saving time is back in the news.
BUSINESS
Jul 3, 2002

Nation must focus on better uses for IT, white paper says

Japan should aim to make more sophisticated use of information technology now that Internet access has become widespread, the government said in an annual white paper released Tuesday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jul 3, 2002

A play that's as Japanese as . . . cherry pie

Following "The Seagull," "The Sneeze," "Three Sisters" and "Uncle Vanya," "The Cherry Orchard" is the final play in a series titled "Chekhov: The Work of the Soul" staged by the New National Theatre, Tokyo.
JAPAN / THE OKINAWA FACTOR
Jul 2, 2002

Okinawa drops bid to catch up, pitches own pace

Blue skies, blue seas and pure white sandy beaches -- a subtropical paradise and coral delight for divers.
JAPAN
Jul 2, 2002

Koizumi backs Kim's stance on shootout

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Monday told South Korean President Kim Dae Jung that he supports his demand that North Korea apologize for starting the recent maritime shootout near their border in the Yellow Sea.
COMMENTARY
Jul 1, 2002

Tough talk is no key to success

LONDON -- An article in the June 10 Nikkei Weekly by a deputy editor of political news at the Nihon Keizai Shimbun had the headline "Foreign Ministry diplomacy failing nation on all fronts." The Foreign Ministry was criticized for not being tough enough in support of national interests. And praise was...
JAPAN
Jun 30, 2002

Koizumi predicts German soccer victory, while flying home with Schroeder

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Saturday predicted Germany's success in the World Cup soccer final, and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder expressed confidence that Japan's slumping economy would recover soon.
JAPAN
Jun 30, 2002

Aging YS-11s to fly off into the sunset

Time, it seems, is sounding the final death knoll for the YS-11, Japan's only domestically produced passenger aircraft.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jun 30, 2002

Some beer to call your own

When my Japanese friends hear that I make my own beer at home, they invariably ask me, "Does it taste good?" When I pour them a glass in response, their next comment is usually, "Wow, it has foam!"
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / VINELAND
Jun 30, 2002

Matches made in Tokyo

From California-style cafes to French bistros, international restaurants in Tokyo possess world-class wine lists. But if consumers' experience of wine is limited to their forays into international gourmet dining, it will remain an exotic, special-occasion beverage. To establish a comfortable home for...
COMMUNITY
Jun 30, 2002

Sagae folk enjoying the fruits of their labor

Japan may be famously crazy about cherry blossoms, but the sakuranbo of Sagae City, Yamagata Prefecture, don't attract attention until long after their white flowers have fallen off. Sakuranbo are fruit cherries, and Sagae and neighboring Higashine cultivate more of them than anywhere else in the country....
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 29, 2002

Soccer teams show the power of reform

The drama of the World Cup has implications for politics in Japan and South Korea. To be sure, soccer and politics are two different games, one a competition for skill and physical stamina and the other a struggle for power and interests. Nevertheless, we can draw lessons from the performances of the...
JAPAN
Jun 29, 2002

Tsuruhashi, home of 'exotic' Korea in Osaka

OSAKA — You can always tell when your train reaches Tsuruhashi Station. Unlike the other, mostly nondescript, stops on the JR Osaka Loop Line, the district has an atmosphere, flavor and aroma that makes it one of the city's most interesting neighborhoods.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jun 29, 2002

Cheering on Special Olympics, seeking volunteers

It is confusing to discover that Kayako Hosokawa has three offices in a building in Tokyo's Kasumigaseki. Two are neighbors -- "so convenient," she observes, nipping to and fro. The other is on the fifth floor, below. It is even more confusing to learn she has a fourth office, in Kumamoto, close to the...
JAPAN
Jun 29, 2002

Sunken mystery ship's arms up the ante

The powerful weapons found aboard the mystery ship that sank in the East China Sea in December after a shootout with the Japan Coast Guard suggest that the authorities charged with policing and defending the nation's waters face a new challenge.
EDITORIALS
Jun 27, 2002

The shrinking U.S. dollar

The U.S. dollar continues to slide on international currency markets. Actually, slide is too polite a word: "Nosedive" seems like a more apt description of the greenback's behavior in recent weeks. Some economists now worry that a "hard landing" -- a crash in the dollar's value -- is the chief threat...
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Jun 27, 2002

Newshungry TV viewers fighting for English service

To start off, we have a request from "Friends of Foxnews," who are working to keep Foxnews, the up and coming challenge to CNN and BBC and the only non-edited English language news program on SkyPerfecTV here in Japan.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Jun 27, 2002

Swimming against the tide of marine good sense

Several years back, the Fisheries Agency of Japan began claiming that whaling is necessary to protect valuable fisheries. The agency argues that if we do not kill whales, they will eat millions of tons of fish that are rightfully destined for human consumption. Since some whale populations are increasing,...
BUSINESS / ON THE FRONT LINE
Jun 26, 2002

BOJ may have to go it alone against dollar

Japan tried to keep a low profile at the recent meeting of Group of Seven finance ministers in Halifax, Nova Scotia. However, the United States insisted that Japan take more steps to revitalize its economy.
COMMENTARY
Jun 24, 2002

There's a spoiler in China's dynamo economy

It is becoming a fad among the Japanese media to praise China as a new economic giant. Some reports say the fast-growing neighbor poses a serious threat to Japan's economy; others say China is emerging as "the factory of the world."

Longform

Ichiro Suzuki, one of the most iconic players in NPB and MLB history, was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame with 99.7% of the vote.
With Hall of Fame induction, Ichiro makes himself heard loud and clear