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JAPAN
Nov 8, 2002

NPA reports hackers attacking its computers

The National Police Agency said Thursday there were about 51,000 attempts by hackers to break into police computer systems throughout the country during the three-month period from July to September.
BUSINESS
Nov 7, 2002

Overseas jobless rates 'intolerable'

Hiroshi Okuda, chairman of the Japan Business Federation (Nippon Keidanren), said Wednesday that Japanese people cannot tolerate unemployment levels as high as those in other nations.
JAPAN
Nov 7, 2002

15 firms control Hanshin Expressway bids: police

OSAKA -- Fifteen firms effectively control the repair and maintenance work for Hanshin Expressway Public Corp., even after public bidding was introduced in fiscal 2001 in a bid to end collusion, police sources said Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Nov 7, 2002

FSA team's talks could be disclosed

Financial Services Minister Heizo Takenaka hinted Wednesday that in the future, he may publicize talks by a project team set up within his agency to discuss speeding up the disposal of bad loans.
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Nov 7, 2002

Say 'baaa' if you're glad to be gay

When domestic rams eschew female sheep, and instead hang around in the corner of the field with other rams, rubbing each other up, necking and even mounting each other, what is going on? Lord Alfred Douglas, Oscar Wilde's lover, coined the phrase "The love that dare not speak its name," in his poem "Two...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / NEW ART SEEN
Nov 6, 2002

Feminist charts no-woman's-land between peaceniks and the SDF

On Sept. 3 and 4 this year, soldiers at a Ground Self-Defense Force base in Kumamoto Prefecture in Kyushu were joined by an improbable guest: Japan's premier feminist and antiwar artist, Yoshiko Shimada.
BUSINESS
Nov 6, 2002

Execs expect to adopt IP phones: poll

More than half of small businesses expect to adopt discount Internet Protocol phones in the near future, according to a survey released Tuesday by a developer of information technology equipment.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 5, 2002

Nisei seeks 'kiyomoto' doctorate

Mark Oshima first wanted to study Japan's prewar colonial policy and become an academic, changed his mind and decided to earn a doctorate in 19th century kabuki, and ended up studying "kiyomoto" -- musical accompaniment to kabuki dancing.
JAPAN
Nov 5, 2002

53 of top 100 firms have whistle-blower section

Fifty-three of the nation's top 100 companies have created sections for accepting in-house whistle-blowers' reports about wrongdoing in their companies, according to a Kyodo News survey released Monday.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 5, 2002

Welcome weapons cutbacks

WASHINGTON -- According to recent reports, Pentagon officials are considering cuts in several weapons programs as they develop their 2004 budget proposal. If defense spending is to be kept within reasonable bounds, these are exactly the sorts of reductions that will be required.
JAPAN
Nov 4, 2002

Road entity raided over bid rigging

OSAKA -- Police searched on Sunday the headquarters of Hanshin Expressway Public Corp. for evidence to support allegations that the company illegally favored a particular bidder for road-related work.
COMMENTARY / JAPAN IN THE GLOBAL ERA
Nov 4, 2002

Contributing to the crisis of capitalism

YAOUNDE, Cameroon -- During a conversation at a dinner in Shanghai recently with some Chinese friends, the comment was made that Japanese businessmen in China were now known quite willingly to accept various forms of bribes and kickbacks. The man who was making this comment, who knows Japan quite well...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / CLOSE-UP
Nov 3, 2002

A 'young blood' at Yokohama's helm

Hiroshi Nakada shocked the nation in March when, at the age of 37, he was elected as the mayor of Yokohama, beating 72-year-old Hidenobu Takahide. Takahide, who died in August, ran the city for 12 years and was backed in the election by the ruling coalition and the opposition Social Democratic Party....
SOCCER / J. League / ON THE BALL
Nov 3, 2002

Sapporo makes quickest ever exit from J1

Consadole Sapporo was relegated to Division Two with four more matches remaining in the season -- the quickest ever exit from the top division of the J. League.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 2, 2002

Back to the future via broken promises

BRUSSELS -- Next year's crisis on the Korean Peninsula has come early. The year 2003 was to see an explosive conjuncture of events: a change of regime in South Korea, markedly less sympathetic to engagement with the North than that of current President Kim Dae Jung; the final failure of the United States...
EDITORIALS
Nov 2, 2002

A disappointing economic package

The economic package that the government unveiled on Wednesday, together with the Bank of Japan's decision to expand the credit supply, represents a concerted attempt to fight deflation. The comprehensive program includes measures to accelerate disposal of bad bank loans, help rebuild debt-heavy but...
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Nov 1, 2002

A good result with Japan's health insurance system

Traveling a lot you begin to be truly thankful for what we take for granted in Japan.
COMMENTARY
Oct 31, 2002

EU facing a bumpy road to expansion

PARIS -- In December 2000, the 15 members of the European Union signed the Nice Treaty, which was designed to remove the obstacles to the proposed expansion of the EU by 10 countries -- eight from the former Soviet bloc plus plus Cyprus and Malta. Like all treaties, it had to be ratified. Fourteen governments...
EDITORIALS
Oct 31, 2002

Low-key polls mirror political reality

Just as expected, no change whatsoever. That is the prevailing impression of the by-elections held on Sunday in five Lower House constituencies and two Upper House districts. The by-elections ended in an overwhelming victory for the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, whose candidates scored five wins....
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Oct 27, 2002

An unflinching look at the face of suffering

FEAR AND SANCTUARY: Burmese Refugees in Thailand, by Hazel J. Lang. Cornell Southeast Asia Publications: Ithaca, New York, 2002, 240 pp., $24 (paper) An army column enters a small farming village without warning. The soldiers have been taught that everyone there is a potential enemy. Should any villagers...
COMMENTARY
Oct 26, 2002

Bali crisis energizes Indonesian democracy

HONG KONG -- The Bali bombing atrocity demonstrated, in a profoundly tragic fashion, how a politically weak, poorly organized, yet struggling democracy like Indonesia is intensely vulnerable to the forces of extremism and terrorism.
COMMUNITY / NOTES FROM THE SMOKE
Oct 25, 2002

Intestines, orange squash spur Celtic reverie

Culturally speaking, yakitori is as about Japanese as sumo wrestling, origami and the cultivation of square watermelons.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / ON THE BOOK TRAIL
Oct 25, 2002

"The Thief Lord," "The Witch Trade"

"The Thief Lord," Cornelia Funke, The Chicken House; 2002; 345 pp. "Who does this child belong to?"
EDITORIALS
Oct 24, 2002

Mr. Koizumi's answers lack candor

The current extraordinary Diet session, dubbed an "economy Diet," has its work cut out: debating measures for economic recovery and banking reform. As it turned out, the Lower House's opening debates on Monday and Tuesday did not measure up to that billing. Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's answers...
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 22, 2002

North Korea's last gambit

WASHINGTON -- North Korea's surprise announcement of a secret nuclear-weapons program has thrown cold water on a recent warming of relations with South Korea and Japan that included family reunions, rejuvenated economic cooperation and, in particular, a stunning admission of past misdeeds against Japanese...
COMMENTARY
Oct 21, 2002

Confessions from North Korea

SEOUL/PUSAN -- They say that a little bit of confession is good for the soul, but North Korea's sudden burst of religion is creating a moral dilemma for Washington, Tokyo, and Seoul. First, Pyongyang decides to come clean on the kidnapping of Japanese citizens, admitting to Japanese Prime Minister Koizumi...
EDITORIALS
Oct 20, 2002

All the news, period

Ever since news first met the Internet, informed observers have been predicting the death of print newspapers. When it didn't happen after people began retrieving their daily news with the help of Internet search engines, the sages said it would happen after the major newspapers launched their own online...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Oct 20, 2002

Sommeliers ride high on Japan's wine wave

The last five years have seen an explosion in the number of certified sommeliers in Japan. Certain high-profile Japanese sommeliers have even achieved an almost rock star-like status, an unexpected development in a country where the title of sommelier did not even exist 30 years ago. Despite its lack...
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 19, 2002

Bali blast brings war home to Australians

SYDNEY -- In the wake of the Bali bombing, Australia's relations with Indonesia, never much better than guardedly cordial at the best of times, have sunk to a new low.

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