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Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / THE WAY OF WASHOKU
Oct 6, 2002

Simmered veggies just like mama used to make

In a traditional Japanese restaurant's kitchen, the head chef — the oya-kata, literally the boss — wields the knife and rules the cutting board. He watches and directs each phase of food preparation, beginning with the early-morning procurement of fish. Standing close to the chef and performing an...
CULTURE / Stage
Oct 6, 2002

Yukio Ninagawa: visionary player on the world's stage

Internationally acclaimed theater director Yukio Ninagawa has staged countless plays in Japan, elsewhere in Asia, and in the United States and Europe.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 5, 2002

AIDS: a medical and social epidemic

The rapidly increasing number of AIDS orphans worldwide is one of the most serious consequences of the AIDS epidemic today. It is estimated that more than 13 million children currently under 15 have lost one or both parents to AIDS, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa. In Asia, the rapid spread of the infection...
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Oct 4, 2002

Solution to halting racist behavior not easy

LONDON -- UEFA is currently investigating three cases of racism during recent European ties -- Hajduk Split vs. Fulham, Valencia vs. Liverpool and PSV Eindhoven vs. Arsenal.
EDITORIALS
Oct 4, 2002

Clarifying the whole truth

The government's investigation into the fate of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korean agents in the 1970s and 1980s has made some progress, although the findings include shocking details. Credit goes to an 11-member fact-finding mission that returned Tuesday from two days of difficult activities...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Oct 4, 2002

Sea cucumber

* Japanese name: Torafunamako * Scientific name: Holothuria pervicax * Description: Despite their name, sea cucumbers are not plants but animals, close relatives of sea urchins and starfish. They are all echinoderms, and members of this group are radially symmetrical. This kind of symmetry is most...
JAPAN
Sep 30, 2002

N. Korean aid depends on abductions' resolution

Japanese economic aid to North Korea must be based on the settlement of the abductions of Japanese nationals by North Korean agents, a Japanese official said Sunday.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 30, 2002

Peacemaking efforts deserve applause

CHIANG MAI, Thailand -- International public opinion seems focused almost exclusively on the issue of Iraq these days while other important regional developments are relegated to the back burner. Among the developments that deserve greater attention are the moves toward peace in Sri Lanka.
JAPAN
Sep 29, 2002

Law to cut illegal bidding lags at local level, ministry says

The implementation of a new law to correct improper bidding processes has been lagging at the local level, the land ministry said Friday.
COMMENTARY
Sep 29, 2002

Signs the EU is coming of age

PARIS -- The most striking fact to emerge from the recent Germany elections is that for the first time a majority of voters in a EU member-state has been motivated by foreign-policy concerns. In the past, the country's worsening economic situation and high unemployment rate would have cost Chancellor...
EDITORIALS
Sep 28, 2002

Pyongyang must tell the full story

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's meeting Friday with the families of those abducted by North Korean agents made it unmistakably clear that the understanding and support of those relatives -- and of the Japanese public in general -- is essential to progress in the normalization talks that are expected...
BUSINESS
Sep 28, 2002

State's handling of banks under scrutiny

All eyes are on how the government will try to prop up the nation's banks and get them to shed their nonperforming loans. With many experts viewing capital injections as a key step in this regard, we take a closer look at the issue:
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 28, 2002

Stick to the facts on Saddam Hussein

WASHINGTON -- The claims of U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and Vice President Dick Cheney that Iraq might join with terrorists to strike the United States at any time are far-fetched. Very little about the historical record or current intelligence lends credence to that view. It cannot be...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 28, 2002

Relatives demand details on abductees, rap Koizumi

The families of Japanese nationals abducted to North Korea met for the first time with Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Friday and demanded that the government confirm the information from the Stalinist state regarding the fates of the missing people.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Sep 27, 2002

Plenty of reasons to enjoy the predictable pleasures of fall

The Japanese have long described themselves as people who value the solidity of sameness. Anyone who has ever seen "Mito Komon" on TV will know what this means: the same dialogue, the same roles and the same big sword fight exactly 45 minutes into the program, all going on for many decades to general...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 26, 2002

'Nursing taxis' popular but status shaky

As taxi driver Hirohisa Mitsuda washes his vehicle prior to a day's work, he tries to make sure the windows are spotless because his passengers hardly ever get to enjoy the outdoors.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 26, 2002

It's not the economy, stupid!

Gerhard Schroeder will remain the German Chancellor after Germany's recent elections, but his majority in Parliament has become extremely narrow. His Social Democrats (SPD) got 38.5 percent of the vote, and so did the Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU) of his rival, Edmund Stoiber. The main reason Schroeder...
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Sep 26, 2002

Neither here nor there: recipe for mayhem

Swimming against the current in Japan has never been a good idea, even if you are armed to the teeth with logic and common sense.
JAPAN
Sep 25, 2002

North Korea may face grilling

Japan may bring up additional cases of possible abductions of Japanese nationals by North Korea if it finds sufficient evidence to back its claims, Foreign Ministry Press Secretary Hatsuhisa Takashima said Tuesday.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Sep 25, 2002

From the mailbox: What's wrong with Ichiro?

Wayne: Have there been any negative or questioning press comments about Ichiro's (Suzuki) recent slump in batting here in Seattle? From my perspective it almost looks like he might be hiding a health problem; he seems to have no fire in the belly and is almost running on empty, so to speak. Also, do...
COMMENTARY
Sep 25, 2002

Strengthen Sino-Japanese ties

Japan and China will soon observe the 30th anniversary of their normalization of relations, which took place Sept. 29, 1972. The bilateral relationship was placed on a solid foundation with the conclusion of a treaty of peace and friendship in 1978. Economic relations have since dramatically expanded....
EDITORIALS
Sep 24, 2002

Corporate ethics remain in peril

Safety should be the highest priority of any nuclear power-generating program. Japan, the world's only victim of atomic bombings, has every reason to be particularly sensitive about nuclear safety. However, some of the nation's electric power companies have been found wanting in the safety management...
BUSINESS / ON MANAGEMENT
Sep 24, 2002

What the U.S. Open can teach you about managing big changes

The recent U.S. Open at the Bethpage Black Course has been bountifully praised, and for all the right reasons: for being the first true public Open, for restoring a historic course to its original design and playing conditions, and for attracting fans from a considerably more populist demographic. The...
Japan Times
JAPAN / WEEKEND WISDOM
Sep 22, 2002

Wheelchair designer hopes to get more users on the streets

Etsumi Okigawa hopes to design as many wheelchairs as possible so their users can become everyday fixtures at schools, offices and street corners.
COMMUNITY
Sep 22, 2002

William Tyndale: A martyr's memory heals old wounds

ANTWERP, Belgium -- William Tyndale, the first translator of the Bible into English from its original Greek and Hebrew texts, is making a comeback that -- if not miraculous -- is considered by many to be at least long overdue.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / VINELAND
Sep 22, 2002

Recession? What recession?

For many, the mere thought of Champagne is enough to make the pulse race and the tongue tingle. Josephine de Beauharnais, the wife of Napoleon and Empress of France 1796-99, once remarked that "making love without a bottle of Champagne alongside my bed is merely silly." For those looking to indulge in...

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