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COMMENTARY
Mar 7, 2002

Zimbabwe: 11th hour questions

LONDON -- The situation in Zimbabwe goes from bad to worse. Sunday's presidential election approaches amid a crescendo of violence and intimidation, with the army, the state police and the thugs of the ruling Zanu-PF political party rampaging through every region of this enormous and once-rich Central...
BUSINESS
Mar 7, 2002

Aoki identifies rehab sponsors

Bankrupt second-tier general contractor Aoki Corp. said Wednesday it has persuaded midsize general contractors Takamatsu Corp. and Komatsu Construction Co. to sponsor its court-led rehabilitation plan.
BUSINESS
Mar 7, 2002

Moody's analyst tells Japan it needs to stoke inflation

Japan's measures to combat deflation and revive the floundering economy are insufficient, and the nation instead should concentrate on stimulating inflationary expectations, Moody's Investors Service Inc. said in a special report Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Mar 6, 2002

Lawson Inc. names new president

Convenience store chain Lawson Inc. said Tuesday that trading house Mitsubishi Corp. executive Takeshi Niinami will become its next president on May 29, replacing Kenji Fujiwara who will become a chairman the same day.
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Mar 5, 2002

Deciding who has the right to life

DUBLIN -- A familiar sight once again adorns lampposts and billboards in every town and village in Ireland. The posters scream conflicting messages to a confused public: "Babies will die, vote no"; "Protect women and save babies, vote yes."
SOCCER / J. League / TALK OF THE TIMES
Mar 4, 2002

Cerezo hopes to take Kashima to third J. League title

Kashima Antlers boss Toninho Cerezo has had a remarkable two seasons with his J. League Division One club despite his short coaching experience.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 4, 2002

Bush suffers economic jet lag

What is it about a trip to East Asia that turns the minds of shrewd politicians like President George W. Bush and his national security advisers into mush? Once again, an American president and his entourage have traveled to Asia. And once again, jet lag, inadequate oxygen in Air Force One or something...
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 3, 2002

Who will limit the U.S. defense budget?

WASHINGTON -- Earlier last month, the Bush administration requested a $46 billion defense budget increase for 2003. That would come on top of a combined $45 billion increase in the annual budget from 2000 to 2002, and be followed by a further increase of $75 billion after 2003. Even factoring out the...
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Mar 3, 2002

It takes a lot of work to fool a fish

One late summer afternoon, in the village of Oshino, Yamanashi Prefecture, I was sitting by a stream against the backdrop of Mount Fuji, my fly-fishing rod at my side. On a gentle breeze, a large mayfly came along and started fluttering on the water. It soon fell, getting its wings wet while trying to...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Mar 3, 2002

Substance with style on the side

Any fashion boutique worth its salt has a cafe attached these days. Offering cappuccinos and cheesecake is, after all, a good way to draw reluctant window-shoppers through the doors. Too often, though, style wins out over substance. The requisite ambience is installed along with the espresso machine,...
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 2, 2002

Bush fails to show Korean peace map

SEOUL -- The stage was set for a summit showdown when U.S. President George W. Bush arrived in Seoul last week, and it did not disappoint. At stake was not only the future of Kim Dae Jung's "sunshine policy" of engagement with North Korea -- which is highly dependent on the resumption of talks between...
BUSINESS
Mar 2, 2002

Matsushita and union haggle over bonuses

OSAKA -- Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. and its labor union are at an impasse regarding next year's bonuses, with the company hoping to slash payouts below a threshold equal to four months' pay due to a sharp decline in earnings.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / JET STREAM
Mar 1, 2002

A prizewinning talk from the heart

When Jason Hancock took the grand prize at the NHK-televised 42nd International Speech Contest last June, he surprised everyone -- not least of all himself. After a series of impeccable orations by the other finalists (on such topics as the Japanese political system and Japanese linguistics), Hancock...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Mar 1, 2002

Marsh crab

* Japanese name: Sawagani * Scientific name: Geothelphusa dehaani * Description: Crabs are decapods, which means "10 legs." Marsh crabs are usually red-and-cream colored, but may be found in other colors -- perhaps caused by mutations -- in different parts of the country. Crabs have exoskeletons like...
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / LEARNING BY HEART
Mar 1, 2002

For special kids, his music is the message

Ramsey King Montana's funky fashion sense might be a bit overwhelming for some parents who sign their children up for his family music classes. He wears checkered pantaloons, a fierce studded leather belt, a pierced earring that belonged to his mother (a Blackfoot Indian) and braids in his beard.
JAPAN
Feb 28, 2002

Ministry drawing up strict auto emission standards

An Environment Ministry panel has come up with a plan that would force auto makers to reduce the diesel particulate matter their vehicles spew by up to 85 percent and nitrogen oxide emissions by 50 percent.
JAPAN
Feb 27, 2002

NHK to show lost episode of 'Astro Boy'

NHK will air in April a long-lost episode of the popular animated series "Tetsuwan Atom" ("Astro Boy)" penned by late cartoonist Osamu Tezuka, according to NHK officials.
BUSINESS
Feb 27, 2002

METI panel holds first meeting on revising corporate taxes

A Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry study panel met Tuesday to discuss revisions to some corporate taxes as part of comprehensive government tax reforms.
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Feb 27, 2002

Epoca de Ouro: 'Cafe Brasil'

Brazil has produced more than its fair share of indigenous popular music, but the most basic is choro, which in Portuguese literally means "sobbing." That isn't to say all choro songs are designed to make the listener break down in tears. It has more to do with the ensemble sound, a kind of contrapuntal...
JAPAN
Feb 26, 2002

Mob boss slain while under police guard

A gunman shot and killed a yakuza boss who was under police guard Monday morning in the intensive care unit at Nippon Medical School Hospital in Bunkyo Ward, Tokyo.
BUSINESS
Feb 26, 2002

Misawa Homes considering 120 billion yen writeoff

Misawa Homes Co. said Monday that it is considering writing off 120 billion yen in latent losses on property-backed loans, property assets and shareholdings in the business year ending March 31.
JAPAN
Feb 26, 2002

World Cup coins go on sale today

Orders for commemorative coins for this year's World Cup soccer finals to be cohosted by Japan and South Korea will be accepted from today to March 11, the Finance Ministry said Monday.
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Feb 25, 2002

Memoir sheds light on Chinese atrocity

NEW YORK -- My businessman friend Michio Hamaji, whose avowed mission is to improve international understanding, recently brought me a Japanese book titled "Charz." He told me it's a childhood memoir describing a Chinese atrocity in the late 1940s. If translated into English and published in the United...
COMMENTARY
Feb 24, 2002

Campaign reform: elites win, voters lose

WASHINGTON -- Only in Washington could a measure designed to gut First Amendment freedoms and entrench incumbents be declared to be "reform." Only in Washington could such "reform" advance with so much sanctimonious support from media and self-anointed public-interest elites.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Feb 24, 2002

The suspense is just killing them

Director and screenwriter Yoji Yamada, who helmed all 48 installments of the record-setting "Otoko wa Tsurai-yo" movie series, and actor Toshiyuki Nishida, who has starred in Yamada's other two movie series, "Tsuri Baka Nisshi" and "Gakko," team up for a one-shot two-hour TV drama Monday night at 9 p.m....
BUSINESS
Feb 23, 2002

LDP housing committee advocates giving home-buyers a break on gift tax

The Liberal Democratic Party's housing and land research panel adopted Friday a proposal to change the gift tax scheme to benefit home buyers and promote housing demand as part of the party's measures to fight deflation.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Feb 23, 2002

Martha Stewart does a Japanese house

Today I will give Martha Stewart a tour of my house.
BUSINESS
Feb 22, 2002

Sakakibara calls Koizumi a chicken

Former financial diplomat Eisuke Sakakibara said Thursday the government of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has "failed miserably" to resolve the bad-loan problem, making it impossible to push ahead with any real reforms.
LIFE / Language / FOR KIDS
Feb 22, 2002

Don't let big economic words daunt you

It's never too early to get your facts straight about the economy. Many people, even the leaders of powerful countries, still get them mixed up. Using the wrong terms, like U.S. President George W. Bush did this week, can create a lot of confusion for everyone.

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