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JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jan 13, 2002

Skeptics searching for super powers

The laziest attributes of Japanese TV come to the fore during the New Year break, namely, the over-reliance on repetitive talk-show formats, the use of quizzes to liven things up, and lots of amateur videos and old news footage.
JAPAN / Media / CHANNEL SURF
Dec 16, 2001

Living life to the fullest in fields of dreams

This week's "Sunday Big Special" (TV Tokyo; tonight, 7 p.m.) revisits six families it has featured in the past on its occasional "Back to Nature" specials. These programs explore the burgeoning self-sufficiency movement by profiling families that have given up the rat race and moved to isolated rural...
JAPAN
Dec 4, 2001

Lawmakers cautiously back female ascension

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda said Monday that although he thinks a female member of the Imperial family should be allowed to ascend the Chrysanthemum Throne, there should be no rush to amend the male-only succession law, which dates back to the early postwar period.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 7, 2001

Imperial eyes shielded from reality of homelessness

The homeless at Ueno Park were up early Monday, with hundreds of the park dwellers quietly disassembling their tents and packing their belongings onto carts soon after dawn.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 1, 2001

Constituents mattered most to Soichiro Ito

BERKELEY, California -- For the people of Miyagi Prefecture's 4th district, the generational shift in Japanese politics has just arrived. On Oct. 28, Shintaro Ito was elected to represent Miyagi's 4th district in a special by-election to replace his father, Soichiro, who passed away on Sept. 4.
CULTURE / Film
Oct 24, 2001

TIFF take 14

Japan has one of the largest film markets in the world. Accordingly, every year the Tokyo International Film Festival serves up world cinema on a grand scale, screening more than 140 films over the course of a week.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Oct 21, 2001

Meeting baseball's Dr. Ichiro and Mr. Suzuki

Last Sunday, Nihon TV did something interesting. At the last minute, they pulled the scheduled installment of their biography series "Shitteru Tsumori" and replaced it with a hastily produced documentary about "Mr. Baseball," Shigeo Nagashima, who a few weeks ago announced that he was stepping down as...
JAPAN
Oct 4, 2001

NPA says assault team braced for terrorism

The National Police Agency is prepared to mobilize its special counterterrorism unit in the event that U.S. facilities and other designated locations in Japan come under threat of terrorist attack, NPA officials said Wednesday. Should concrete information about a potential attack become known, the Special...
JAPAN
Sep 28, 2001

Full text of Koizumi's policy speech to Diet

Following is a provisional translation of the policy speech delivered by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to an extraordinary Diet session that opened Thursday for a 72-day session.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Sep 16, 2001

Some hairy ordeals

Fans of the long-running historical drama series "Mito Komon" (Mondays at 8 p.m. on TBS) may have been slightly put off last spring when Koji Ishizaka, the actor who had just assumed the title role, opted to play it without the character's famous wispy white beard. Mito Komon just wasn't Mito Komon without...
JAPAN
Sep 1, 2001

Kinki post office linked with Koso support meeting

OSAKA -- The Kinki Postal Administration Office in March paid for a meeting in Osaka of a group of special post office heads connected with an election violation case surrounding Kenji Koso, a newly elected House of Councilors lawmaker in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, investigative sources said....
JAPAN
Aug 30, 2001

Defense Agency seeks 5 trillion yen budget

The Defense Agency will request 5.0278 trillion yen from the 2002 general account budget, an increase of 1.8 percent from this year's initial budget, according to a plan submitted to the Liberal Democratic Party's defense panel Wednesday.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Aug 5, 2001

Terrors, real and imagined

August means hot weather and ghost stories to add a little chill to the muggy air. Tonight, on TV Tokyo's "Sunday Big Special" (7 p.m.), host Tsurutaro Kataoka will explore various occultish phenomena for either your terrified delectation or your nonbelieving derision.
BUSINESS
Jun 29, 2001

Accounting-rule changes skew financial statements in 2000

During periods of economic transition, such as the introduction of new accounting standards, companies' financial statements do not necessarily reflect their actual financial soundness. Balance sheets, income statements and other financial reports, therefore, should be analyzed from multiple viewpoints....
JAPAN
Jun 22, 2001

Public firms approach day of reckoning

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi may be on the verge of opening a Pandora's box in his drive to pursue government reforms.
JAPAN
Jun 19, 2001

State schools, colleges incur huge debt

The government's special account for national universities and other state-run education facilities piled up 6.498 trillion yen in debt as of the end of fiscal 2000, according to a financial report compiled by the education ministry.
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
May 11, 2001

Water scorpion

*Japanese name: Kooimushi *Scientific name:Diplonychus japonica *Description: Water scorpions are aquatic insects that look a bit like beetles. They have wings, but they don't have the protective shell that beetles have. Their mouthparts are also unlike beetles: They have a sharp beak that is used...
JAPAN
Jan 23, 2001

Official spent 170 million yen on racehorses

A senior Foreign Ministry official who is suspected of embezzling money from a special state fund spent about 170 million yen to buy 14 racehorses and keep them since 1997, sources said Monday.
BUSINESS
Dec 2, 2000

ODA gives way to domestic political pressure

The government may be succumbing to strong domestic political pressure to make Draconian cuts in Japanese official development assistance. If you want evidence, keep a close watch on an upcoming gathering of Vietnam's aid donors.
JAPAN
Oct 7, 2000

Better links to Pyongyang seen if Tokyo and Seoul get closer

One of the winners of this year's Japan Foundation Award said he hopes promoting closer ties between South Korea and Japan will also lead to stronger links between Tokyo and Pyongyang.
LIFE / Food & Drink / KISSA KULTUR
Sep 27, 2000

Reading relaxation in tea leaves

Tokyo is a city of surprises. Take a walk down any side street, and you can be sure you'll find an interesting shop or restaurant. Such is the case with Mother Leaf, a pleasant discovery moments away from the Kabuki-za in Ginza.
JAPAN
Sep 22, 2000

Full text of prime minister's speech to the Diet

Following is the full text of Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori's policy speech given to the 150th Diet session Thursday.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 18, 2000

North Korea drawing the right lessons

CAMBRIDGE, England -- We may never know if North Korea's Dear Leader Kim Jong Il went to Beijing in May, ahead of his historic meeting with South Korean President Kim Dae Jung in June, on his own initiative or at the insistence of Chinese President Jiang Zemin. What we do know is that, very unusually,...
EDITORIALS
Sep 10, 2000

Old friends are the best

Reports from the United States tell us that some Americans are having their faith restored in a popular postwar Japanese export. The subject of their revived affection is not a car or a motorcycle, not a camera or an audiovisual device, not a laptop personal computer or other advanced information-technology...
CULTURE / Art
Aug 31, 2000

Covering the fine arts: Frank Stella speaks

Frank Stella As part of the celebration of the art collection at the U.S. ambassador's residence, Ambassador Foley invited celebrated artist Frank Stella to take part in the reception and media tour. The day after the media tour, The Japan Times interviewed Stella at the residence. Following are excerpts...
JAPAN
Aug 19, 2000

Two Iranian families file lawsuit to stay in Japan

Two Iranian families with a total of three children filed a lawsuit Friday at the Tokyo District Court demanding that Justice Minister Okiharu Yasuoka withdraw his rejection of their applications for special residence permits.
JAPAN
Jul 12, 2000

Okinawans grew up with U.S. military, differ on acceptance

Staff writer

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