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COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Aug 15, 2002

A load of computer clubs and a wad of financial advice

This column may be produced in Tokyo, but the newspaper circulates nationwide and indeed is read online worldwide. So we feel we are not doing our jobs properly to focus on Tokyo alone. While we have heard of a Macintosh computer group in Osaka, there must be others -- and in Nagoya, Fukuoka and Sapporo,...
JAPAN
Aug 14, 2002

Settler, 22, struggles in bid to come to grips with Japanese, Chinese roots

Guan Lingxiang first came to Japan nine years ago with his parents and sister after his maternal grandmother, a war-displaced Japanese left behind in China in the chaos after World War II, returned to her native country.
JAPAN
Aug 11, 2002

Meteor shower expected Monday

The Perseid meteor shower, a midsummer favorite of stargazers, is likely to light up the moonless skies over Japan on Monday night when it peaks, according to the national observatory. The National Astronomical Observatory of Japan said the moon will set around 9 p.m. Monday. This will make it possible,...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Aug 11, 2002

Days of the dead: O-bon and the ghosts of Japan

It's that time of year again. The whole of Japan seems to be on the move as people head to their hometowns for the mid-August O-bon festival. And it's not just the living who make travel plans this month. O-bon is the Buddhist holiday when the spirits of the dead are believed to visit the homes of their...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Aug 11, 2002

Book industry cries murder

Although everyone agrees that the Japanese publishing industry is in trouble, there is less consensus as to the causes. Book and magazine sales have been declining for five years and book revenues for last year were at roughly the same level as a decade earlier; indeed, some say that if it were not for...
JAPAN
Aug 10, 2002

Cops search USJ; exec admits error

OSAKA -- Osaka police searched two Universal Studios Japan offices Friday in connection with the unauthorized use and storage of explosives at the Hollywood theme park.
BUSINESS
Aug 10, 2002

Bridgestone recovers from tire-recall debacle

Bridgestone Corp. said Friday it posted a consolidated net profit of 24.48 billion yen in the January-June period, marking a turnaround from the 30.57 billion yen loss it logged a year earlier.
COMMENTARY
Aug 9, 2002

Surprise ups Taiwan's risks

HONOLULU -- "No surprises." This was one of the pledges Taiwan's President Chen Shui-bian made to Washington, both at the time of his inauguration and again after his Democratic Progressive Party, or DPP, made a better-than-expected showing in the December 2001 parliamentary elections and formed a virtual...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Aug 9, 2002

Chestnut tiger

* Japanese name: Asagi madara * Scientific name: Parantica sita * Description: Chestnut tigers are large butterflies, with a 43-65 mm wingspan and a striking blue-green marbled pattern on the wings. The body is black with white spots. Butterflies from this family (Danaidae) are also distinctive because...
BUSINESS
Aug 9, 2002

Bank lending sees 55th month of decline

Lending by Japanese banks fell 4.6 percent in July from a year before, declining for the 55th month in a row, the Bank of Japan said Thursday.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Aug 8, 2002

UNEP envoy strikes the right eco-chord

Tokiko Kato has been popular in Japan for decades as a singer and songwriter who is passionate about people and the planet. Two years ago, when the Environment Ministry asked her to act as a Special Envoy to the United Nations Environment Program it was a natural fit. Since then she has established herself...
BUSINESS
Aug 8, 2002

Kao to enter mayonnaise market

Kao Corp. will enter the mayonnaise market in early September with a product that uses its low-fat Econa cooking oil.
BUSINESS
Aug 8, 2002

Marubeni's profit surges on cost-cutting

Trading house Marubeni Corp. said Wednesday its group operating profit for the April-June quarter surged 237.9 percent from a year earlier to 17.36 billion yen due to cuts in marketing and administrative expenses.
JAPAN
Aug 7, 2002

Suzuki bribe info faxed to property firm

The Tokyo District Public Prosecutor's Office mistakenly faxed a witness account about indicted lawmaker Muneo Suzuki's bribery case to a Tokyo real estate firm in June, a top official of the office said Tuesday.
CULTURE / Stage
Aug 7, 2002

Adult 'Fosse' is setting the stage alight

"Fosse" is here again, back in Japan after its first, hugely successful tour last year mobilized 100,000 fans of the late choreographer-director-actor-dancer Bob Fosse's astonishing oeuvre.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Aug 7, 2002

Sonic Youth: Murray Street

Jim O'Rourke is on a roll. First, post-rock's poster child released his best solo effort, "Insignificance," late last year, and now he's on two of the best albums of 2002. As well as having produced Wilco's breakthrough album, "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot," O'Rourke has become producer for -- and a member of...
BUSINESS
Aug 7, 2002

Airlines, railway firms fight to increase business in west Japan

The nation's two major airlines and the Japan Railway group carriers are engaged in a cutthroat fare war in western Japan.
JAPAN
Aug 6, 2002

Koizumi rating up amid dearth of alternatives

The popular approval rating for the Cabinet of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has inched up to 45.2 percent, according to the results of a Kyodo News opinion poll released Monday.
BUSINESS
Aug 6, 2002

Complete privatizationof postal services sought

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's advisory panel on postal services is set to issue a report featuring proposals about their future management, such as full privatization, the panel chief said Monday.
MORE SPORTS
Aug 5, 2002

Spurrier a winner in NFL debut

OSAKA -- A rejuvenated Danny Wuerffel threw three touchdown passes to lead the Washington Redskins to a 38-7 rout of the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday at the Osaka Dome in a preseason game that marked the NFL coaching debut of Steve Spurrier.
JAPAN
Aug 5, 2002

Antiterror law won't cover Iraq: Nonaka

Liberal Democratic Party senior member Hiromu Nonaka said Sunday that Japan's antiterrorism law does not enable its defense forces to extend help to the U.S. military in the event of a military strike against Iraq.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Aug 5, 2002

Failure to cap deposit insurance means banking system will fester

Starting in April 2003, the government will no longer protect deposits when banks fail and instead introduce a "payoff" scheme offering partial protection of up to 10 million yen per depositor per bank.
JAPAN
Aug 5, 2002

Osaka to seek USJ disclosure

OSAKA -- In the wake of a spate of problems at the Universal Studios Japan theme park, the Osaka Municipal Government will call for greater disclosure of information and a review of the park's public relations, it was learned Sunday.
MORE SPORTS
Aug 4, 2002

Kawaguchi, Amaya to stay on with NFL teams

OSAKA -- Two Japanese football players participating in the American Bowl have taken a big step toward making their dreams come true.
COMMUNITY
Aug 4, 2002

Stars in your eyes: fireworks in Japan

Living with Tokyo Disney Resort in their midst, residents of Urayasu in Chiba Prefecture can enjoy its fireworks displays every night in summer. Even for them, though, the annual Noryo Fireworks Festival is something else altogether.

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