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LIFE / Food & Drink / NIHONSHU
May 13, 2001

Reading, writing and fermenting

It is likely that few of us remember -- or put much value on -- our high school curriculum. After all, the three Rs and a dollop of foreign language is hardly a memorable course of study. Now, of course, if we were able to study and practice something like, say, sake brewing, well that would be fun --...
BUSINESS
May 13, 2001

Isuzu to slash 10% of total workforce

Isuzu Motors Ltd., the financially beleaguered truck-making affiliate of General Motors Corp., has outlined a reconstruction plan that calls for the abolition of 3,000 jobs -- 10 percent of the Isuzu group's 28,000-strong workforce -- and cutting 30 percent of its output capacity, Isuzu officials said...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
May 13, 2001

From the farm to your table

Finding restaurants that serve food seasoned with herbs isn't that difficult in Japan. In fact, it would be more difficult to find a French or Italian restaurant that doesn't have herbs in its pantry.
BUSINESS
May 12, 2001

Economy gets fourth downgrade in a row

The government downgraded its assessment of economic conditions for the fourth straight month in its May report released Friday, saying the economy is "further weakening."
BUSINESS
May 11, 2001

Ripplewood rescues Nippon Columbia

Nippon Columbia Co., a troubled audiovisual equipment maker and music producer, said it will seek rehabilitation under the wing of U.S. investment firm Ripplewood Holdings LLC and split into separate companies.
BUSINESS
May 10, 2001

Growth indexes deep in the doldrums

Japan's key gauge on the state of the economy stood at 14.3 percent in March, staying well below the boom-or-bust line of 50 percent for the second straight month, after February's 10 percent, the government said Wednesday in a preliminary report.
BUSINESS
May 9, 2001

'Yu-Gi-Oh!' goods headed for U.S.

Konami Co. said Tuesday it will market game software and card games in the United States based on the popular Japanese "manga" comic series "Yu-Gi-Oh! Duelmonsters."
BUSINESS
May 8, 2001

Nagasakiya gets breathing room

Supermarket chain operator Nagasakiya Co., which is currently protected from creditors under the corporate rehabilitation law, said Monday it has been granted six more months to compile a business rehabilitation plan, due partly to the large number of its creditors.
JAPAN
May 8, 2001

Authorities concerned over legal but risky drugs

The recent spread of so-called legal drugs among youngsters in the Tokyo metropolitan area has alarmed drug officials.
JAPAN
May 6, 2001

USJ limits entrance for third day

OSAKA -- Universal Studios Japan in Osaka temporarily restricted entry Saturday for the third day in a row after the number of visitors reached the daily maximum capacity of 39,000.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
May 6, 2001

Drumming up some PR for the old neighborhood

Most of the current travel-information programs you see on TV are stylistic offshoots of TBS's long-running "Soko ga Shiritai," which has been off the air for several years now. One of the few variety shows that has done something different with the format is TV Tokyo's "Shutsubotsu! Ad-Machikku Tengoku"...
COMMENTARY
May 5, 2001

Give Taiwan the means of self-defense

The Bush administration won't sell Taiwan the most advanced weapons available, but it says it will defend Taipei from a Chinese attack. Instead of initiating a new military commitment, Washington should use increased weapons transfers to distance itself from any conflict in the Taiwan Strait.
JAPAN
May 5, 2001

USJ restricts entry for second day

OSAKA -- Universal Studios Japan in Osaka temporarily restricted admission Friday for a second straight day, after the number of visitors to the theme park reached the daily maximum capacity of 39,000.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
May 5, 2001

Yoshihiro Takishita

Although Yoshihiro Takishita spent 18 months looking for land on which to place a house, he had his reward. The site he found is superlative, on a Kamakura hilltop surrounded by countryside and overlooking an expanse of sea. The unusual part is that he had already bought the house, "one with big columns...
COMMENTARY
May 3, 2001

Bush administration's Asian policy gets off to a rocky start

HONOLULU -- The Bush administration's first 100 days have been rocky ones as far as Asia policy is concerned. The positive spin emanating from President George W. Bush's initial meeting with Chinese Vice Premier Qian Qichen quickly degenerated into a potential tailspin in Sino-U.S. relations after the...
BUSINESS
May 2, 2001

REITs banked on to ease market fears

As stock market woes and asset deflation continue to cast a cloud over Japan's economic recovery, a new type of investment trust will be introduced this month in a bid to solve these problems in one fell swoop.
CULTURE / Music / J-POPSICLE
May 2, 2001

Power Puffy girls

Is America ready for Puffy? The pop duo's record label, Sony Music Entertainment (Japan), apparently thinks so. Sony Music Imports released Puffy's most recent album, "Spike," in the U.S. on May 1, in the hope that Americans will go gaga over Ami and Yumi in the same way Japanese and other Asians have....
Events
May 1, 2001

'Memoirs of a Geisha' muse vents spleen at author

KYOTO -- Arthur Golden's "Memoirs of a Geisha" sold over 4 million copies and lingered on the New York Times best seller list for 58 weeks. The story of a country girl sold into virtual slavery who rises to become one of Japan's most celebrated geisha captivated the world.
LIFE / Travel
May 1, 2001

Taking Japan's back trails to far towns

Lonely Planet Publications has recently added to its 560-strong stable of travel books by producing a series of hiking guides, including one dedicated to the tracks and trails of Japan.
JAPAN
May 1, 2001

'Rose of Versailles' comic to be made an Italian opera

A hit 1970s comic book about tragic love in 18th-century France that spawned its own musical is to become an opera, the author of "Berusaiyu no Bara" ("The Rose of Versailles") said in a recent interview with Kyodo News.
MULTIMEDIA / TALK OF THE TIMES
Apr 30, 2001

Top JAWOC official says FIFA should have studied local culture

Yasuhiko Endo assumed the post of general secretary of the Japan World Cup Organizing Committee (JAWOC) two years ago, a position that requires all the patience and diplomatic skills he acquired during his years serving in the Ministry of Home Affairs.
JAPAN
Apr 28, 2001

State held liable for Minamata disease

OSAKA -- The Osaka High Court on Friday ordered the central and Kumamoto Prefectural governments and a chemical company to pay 320 million yen in damages to people recognized as suffering from Minamata disease and the families of victims who have died.
BUSINESS
Apr 28, 2001

Falling trend in output called 'very rare'

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry on Friday downgraded its assessment of industrial production activities for the fourth consecutive month, saying they are on a "falling trend."
JAPAN
Apr 28, 2001

People want social support, hope, economic stability from the Cabinet

Support for the victims of a volcanic eruption and economic stability are just two of the many things the public wants from the Cabinet of new Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.
BUSINESS
Apr 28, 2001

Household spending marks record decline

Salaried workers' households spent less in fiscal 2000 than the previous year for a record fourth straight yearly fall, the Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications said Friday.
SOCCER / World cup
Apr 27, 2001

FIFA happy about 2002 ticket requests

David H. Will, the chairman of FIFA's World Cup Ticketing Sub-Committee, told a news conference in Tokyo on Thursday that he was "astonished " at the demand for tickets in the host countries, particularly Japan.

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