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COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM MOSCOW
Nov 21, 2004

Now for 'Arafat,' the movie

MOSCOW -- Lawfully elected leaders are rarely charismatic. There must be something about a democratic vote that is incompatible with intense political charisma.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / FUZZY LOGIC
Nov 21, 2004

Toilet humor in the Tokyo underground

"Tell Franck he's an asshole," barks David Pallash down the phone to me. "And that he is just tooooo French."
EDITORIALS
Nov 21, 2004

Japan's burger king

I f money sets off conflicting emotions, food is right behind it. Challenge anyone in the developed world to a word-association game, and chances are good that two of the top ideas linked to eating will be pleasure and guilt. We love to eat, yet see thinness as a virtue and fat as a moral failing. That...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Nov 21, 2004

A boy detective of Old Edo

THE GHOST IN THE TOKAIDO INN, by Dorothy and Thomas Hoobler. New York: Puffin Books, 2001, 214 pp., $6.99 (paper). Other books by same authors:
Features / WEEK 3
Nov 21, 2004

Discordant notes...

Bacteriologist Hideyo Noguchi (1876-1928), who became a star researcher with the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research in New York, was a great man. He was so great that he is now the face on the new 1,000 yen bill issued Nov. 1.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Nov 21, 2004

Daring to break the rules: Japan's first modern novelists

TWO JAPANESE NOVELISTS: SOSEKI & TOSON, by Edwin McClellan. Tuttle, 2004, 166 pp., 1,500 yen (paper). Even if they do recognize the man, Natsume Soseki (1867-1916) for many non-Japanese is no more than the prim blue gent in the mustache that once peered out from the 1,000 yen bill. Yet Soseki is the...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Nov 21, 2004

TV Tokyo's "Monday Entertainment" and more

In Japan, many people believe that blood type affects personality and health. Though the belief is based more on fashion than science, it's started to spread. Korea is now going through a blood-type craze. Interestingly, the traits attributed to certain blood types are different in Japan than they are...
JAPAN
Nov 20, 2004

DPJ again floats bill to consolidate pension plans

The Democratic Party of Japan submitted a pension reform bill Friday to the Diet aimed at integrating the National Pension System and the pension programs covering salaried workers and public servants into an all-in-one system in fiscal 2008.
EDITORIALS
Nov 20, 2004

Keep the assistance flowing

Four weeks have passed since the Niigata-Chuetsu Earthquake struck. The good news is that reconstruction is making progress. Schools in the disaster zone have resumed classes, the Kan-etsu Expressway has reopened to traffic, and the region's well-known sake breweries have started shipping again. The...
JAPAN
Nov 20, 2004

Doshisha to offer college entrance exams in China

Doshisha University in Kyoto Prefecture will hold an entrance examination in China next July to attract gifted Chinese students, university officials said Friday.
JAPAN
Nov 20, 2004

Bush eyes Shieffer to replace Baker

Washington is considering appointing U.S. Ambassador to Australia Thomas Shieffer as new ambassador to Japan to replace Howard Baker, sources said Friday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Nov 20, 2004

Big leaguer Riggs to join Swallows

The Yakult Swallows have reached an agreement to acquire former Anaheim Angels outfielder Adam Riggs, the Central League club said Friday.
BUSINESS
Nov 20, 2004

Converted offices now used as trendy housing

Construction companies are busy these days in cities nationwide converting old office buildings with high vacancy rates into housing complexes.
BUSINESS
Nov 20, 2004

Fiscal panel calls for tax increases

An finance advisory panel Friday recommended the government drastically cut spending and increase revenue by raising taxes in order to restore Japan's fiscal health -- a prerequisite to ensuring a sustained domestic demand-led economic recovery.
JAPAN
Nov 20, 2004

Metro government plans 300-inmate jail near Harajuku

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government announced Friday that it plans to build a new police station near JR Harajuku Station that will have a jail capable of holding 300 people.
JAPAN
Nov 20, 2004

Koizumi faces heavy APEC weekend

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi left Friday for a summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Chile, where he will have to juggle a wide range of diplomatic issues that span the Pacific.
JAPAN
Nov 20, 2004

Woman, 77, must hang: top court

The Supreme Court on Friday upheld lower court rulings sentencing a 77-year-old woman to death for killing her husband and another woman for insurance money.
JAPAN
Nov 20, 2004

Ajinomoto settles aspartame suit for 150 million yen

Seasoning maker Ajinomoto Co. and a former employee reached a court-mediated settlement worth 150 million yen Friday to settle a dispute over patent transfers dealing with the production method for the artificial sweetener aspartame, the company said.
BUSINESS
Nov 20, 2004

NTV stock to return to first section

The Tokyo Stock Exchange said Friday it will move Nippon Television Network Corp.'s stock from the monitoring post back to the first section Saturday.

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