Search - special

 
 
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Feb 17, 2002

Shonzui: Right at home with fruits of the vine

We finally made it to Shonzui the other day. Not that it's particularly hard to find, it's just that it has taken us far too long to get around to visiting this friendly little wine bar down in Roppongi.
JAPAN
Feb 16, 2002

How safe will bank accounts be after March 31?

On April 1, the full guarantee on bank deposits will expire, and you owe it to yourself to make sure your savings are not at risk. Here are some frequently asked questions about what happens if a bank fails after March 31:
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Feb 16, 2002

Kanako Hayashi

To launch its upcoming lecture series, the College Women's Association of Japan invited Kanako Hayashi to give an introductory talk. A persuasive speaker, she has a background of 16 years of inside association with the world of film. As it often happens, chance, good timing and luck played major parts...
JAPAN
Feb 15, 2002

Chongryun figure pleads not guilty to embezzlement

A former senior official of the pro-Pyongyang General Association of Korean Residents in Japan (Chongryun) pleaded not guilty in his first court appearance Thursday to charges of embezzling more than 800 million yen.
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Feb 15, 2002

Greater horseshoe bat

* Japanese name: Kikugashira-koumori * Scientific name: Rhinolophus ferrumequinum * Description: Quite a large bat, the greater horseshoe bat is a buff-brown color, body length 60-80 cm, wing length 60-65 cm. Its distinguishing feature, however, is the complex and grotesque horseshoe-shaped nose that...
COMMENTARY
Feb 14, 2002

Forget Marx -- Beijing now looks to U.S.

HONG KONG -- If imitation is the highest form of flattery, Washington should feel highly complimented by Beijing. Over and over, China has shown that America is its role model and that its goal is to be more like the United States.
JAPAN
Feb 14, 2002

Ozawa CD reaches No. 2 on charts

A compact disc featuring the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra led by Japanese maestro Seiji Ozawa has jumped to No. 2 on Japan's album charts, according to figures compiled earlier this week.
BUSINESS
Feb 14, 2002

Antideflation steps to be devised

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Wednesday formally instructed his Cabinet ministers in charge of the economy to compile a comprehensive package of antideflation measures, following the launch Tuesday of such discussions by a key government policy panel.
BUSINESS
Feb 14, 2002

Aioi expects greater loss after terror attacks

Aioi Insurance Co. will likely incur a loss of 126.1 billion yen from reinsurance claims on its U.S. agent in the fiscal year to March 31, or 28.2 billion yen more than it expected.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 13, 2002

Southeast Asia receives terrorism wake-up call

HONG KONG -- The wake-up call has been loud and clear. As the alarm sounded, it confirmed that terrorism in Southeast Asia is a problem in need of attention. The most urgent wake-up call did not come from the southern Philippines, where around 650 U.S. troops are now being deployed as Washington opens...
EDITORIALS
Feb 11, 2002

Space business still awaiting liftoff

The second H-2A rocket, which is touted as the leading player in Japan's space development at the beginning of the 21st century, was successfully launched last Monday, deploying one of the two probes it was carrying into orbit. Following the successful launching of the first H-2A rocket in August 2001,...
JAPAN
Feb 9, 2002

WWF warns of mass extinction by 2100

If greenhouse gas emissions continue to climb, ecosystems within a century may recede at speeds greater than 1 km a year, raising the specter of mass extinctions of plant and animal species in globally important nature areas, according to a World Wide Fund for Nature report.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 9, 2002

Diplomats: more than traveling salesmen

CHIANG MAI, Thailand -- Recently, the order of a prominent European political leader to his country's ambassadors to begin acting as salesmen made waves all the way to Asia. This is not an isolated case: To various degrees, politicians from Europe to Asia and Oceania are now calling for a new diplomacy...
JAPAN
Feb 8, 2002

Law eyed to target trade in stolen antiques on Net

The National Police Agency is hoping to revise the antiques business law to counter the increasing number of stolen antiques that are being traded on Internet auction sites, agency officials said Thursday.
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Feb 8, 2002

Japanese hare

* Japanese name: Nihon-nousagi * Scientific name: Lepus brachyurus * Description: Hares are like rabbits, only bigger and faster, with longer legs and ears. In winter, their fur is thick and white (with black tips to the ears), but as the weather gets warmer, hares molt and grow a lightweight brown...
Japan Times
JAPAN / WORKING IT OUT
Feb 7, 2002

Early retirement, outplacement, or just pink slip?

Makoto Kawamura, 51, felt he had few options left when the medium-size life insurer he worked for collapsed and a U.S. firm took over management.
JAPAN
Feb 6, 2002

Vocational aid to be more strict

The prolonged economic slump has, paradoxically, led to flourishing trade at a variety of vocational schools around the country.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Feb 6, 2002

Impressionist master of time and space

If the world seems like a dark place at the beginning of the present century, an exhibition of work completed at the beginning of the last may help put things back in a more optimistic perspective. "Monet -- Later Works: Homage to Katia Granoff," is on show at the Iwate Museum of Art till Feb. 11 and...
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 5, 2002

French imitations of a banana republic

LONDON -- Is corruption a Third World disorder? Not if the French are any guide.
Japan Times
Events
Feb 5, 2002

Artificial jellyfish find niche market with aquarium hobbyists

NARA -- Jellyfish swimming up and down inside a water tank may be a comforting sight to see, but keeping them alive is another matter entirely. Help, however, is on the way, said Hideaki Okuda, a maker of artificial jellyfish.
JAPAN
Feb 5, 2002

Exec of Jichiro affiliate denies 80 million yen graft

Yoko Hasegawa, 59, a former managing director of UBC Corp., pleaded not guilty Monday to embezzling 80 million yen from the data-processing firm between 1994 and 2000.
COMMENTARY
Feb 3, 2002

Judge Beijing by its deeds

NEW DELHI -- At a time of growing U.S.-Indian strategic engagement, Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji's unusually conciliatory tone during his visit to India last week reflected his country's desire to decelerate that process by emphasizing areas of potential Sino-Indian cooperation. China is suddenly signaling...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Feb 3, 2002

A little bit of Martha in every rabbit hutch

Considering the state of the Japanese economy, the current popularity of penny-pinching advice in the media is hardly surprising. There seems to be a fundamental paradox at work here, in that advertisers prefer programs and articles which encourage the spending of money, while the advice given out these...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Feb 3, 2002

It's not just who's cast but how they're cast out

A nother milestone in Japan-Korea cultural relations is achieved with the two-part drama special "Friends" (TBS, Monday and Tuesday, 9 p.m.). Japanese idol Kyoko Fukada and Korean heartthrob Wonbin portray a couple who meet in Hong Kong and then strike up a cross-Japan Sea e-mail exchange that turns...
COMMUNITY
Feb 3, 2002

The long journey from rice to ambrosia

Sake is brewed -- and not distilled -- from rice. The alcohol content is initially about 20 percent, but this is usually watered down to about 16 percent, which is just a tad more than most wine. But sake is closer to beer than wine, at least in terms of how it is made.
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Feb 3, 2002

Tower's Bar Bellovisto: You're the tops, baby

There's not long to go till we see off the cold days of winter with pagan festivities of fertility and wild abandon -- no, not Mardi Gras and the Rio Carnival but the ritual observances of St. Valentine's Day. Some people like to send out cards; others mark the occasion through the selfless receiving...
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 2, 2002

Ten years of Japan-Ukraine friendship

Japan recognized the independence of Ukraine on Dec. 28, 1991 and established diplomatic relations with it a month later, on Jan. 28, 1992.
JAPAN
Feb 2, 2002

HIV-positive blood donors hit record high rate in 2001

Seventy-nine of some 5,770,000 blood donations last year in Japan were from HIV-positive donors, making the rate of positive donors the highest ever at 1.368 per 100,000, according to a survey by the health ministry's special committee on AIDS.

Longform

Bear attacks have dominated Japanese news headlines in recent months, with 13 people so far having been killed by the animals.
Japan’s bears have been on their killing spree for more than 100 years