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BUSINESS
Aug 9, 2001

With election over, focus turns to reforms

The Tokyo stock market has reacted little to the ruling coalition's victory in last month's Upper House election, as the outcome was well within expectations.
BUSINESS
Aug 9, 2001

Smart phones to link with Coca-Cola machines

Co. and trading house Itochu Corp. said Wednesday they will launch a joint trial service linking DoCoMo's multimedia cellular phones with beverage vending machines in Tokyo's Shibuya and Odaiba districts in September. After subscribing via i-mode, DoCoMo's cellular-based Internet service, users will...
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Aug 9, 2001

Injunction process hopeless; fate of Bullfrog Pond sealed

The fate of Bullfrog Pond now rests in the hands of a Tokyo District Court judge, but the wheels of justice turn slowly in Japan. The court has yet to grant a crucial injunction, and hearings have dragged into their third month. Meantime, the pond in Tokyo's Minato Ward, known as Gama-ike, is being destroyed....
CULTURE / Film
Aug 8, 2001

Siegfried finds a home on streets with no name

In an industry where self-advertisement is practically a prerequisite, filmmaker Siegfried is amazingly reticent about his personal background. From his refusal to disclose his last name to his disdain of promotional tours and interviews, Siegfried is and remains a mystery.
CULTURE / Art
Aug 8, 2001

Teddy bears dress for success

The great attraction of the Mona Lisa is the ambiguity of her expression. This allows the viewer to imagine, construct or project their own feelings onto the woman's face. This quality, which Da Vinci was only able to create by skillfully blurring the corners of the Mona Lisa's eyes and mouth, is perhaps...
JAPAN
Aug 8, 2001

Inoue is re-elected as president of Upper House

The House of Councilors re-elected Yutaka Inoue as its president and Shoji Motooka as vice president Tuesday during the first Diet session since last month's nationwide election.
SOCCER / THE BALD TRUTH
Aug 7, 2001

Japanese soccer stars shocked by encounters with outside world

First the good news: Five Japan internationals now play abroad. With Naohiro Takahara playing for Boca Juniors and Hidetoshi Nakata, Junichi Inamoto, Shinji Ono and Akinori Nishizawa all employed in Europe, Japan coach Philippe Troussier has good reason to be optimistic ahead of next year's World Cup....
EDITORIALS
Aug 7, 2001

Legacies of the Gulf War

Eleven years ago, Iraq invaded Kuwait and set in motion a series of events that would culminate in the Persian Gulf War. The U.N. coalition drove the invader from Kuwait and humiliated the once-vaunted Iraqi war machine. But in the decade since that defeat, Iraqi President Saddam Hussein has retaken...
BUSINESS
Aug 7, 2001

Toyota Corolla keeps vehicle sales pole position for 11th straight month

Toyota Motor Corp.'s Corolla retained top spot on the best-selling Japanese vehicle rankings for July, marking its 11th straight month in pole position, the Japan Automobile Dealers Association said Monday.
JAPAN
Aug 6, 2001

Yasukuni visit 'will certainly be made,' says Yamasaki

Taku Yamasaki, secretary general of the governing Liberal Democratic Party, said Sunday that Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi will definitely pay a visit to Yasukuni Shrine, where Class A war criminals are honored, despite strong opposition from neighboring Asian countries.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Aug 5, 2001

Getting (hic) hitched in the sticks

Imagine you are a bride. At your wedding reception, you visit each table for "candle service." Lighting one on each table you greet guests, all of whom congratulate you, clapping their hands. This would be a scene from an ordinary reception. But what if half the guests are nodding off? Such was my case....
CULTURE / Music / FUZZY LOGIC
Aug 5, 2001

We had joy, we had fun, our season in the sun

OK, I'm completely fugged after the Fuji Rock Festival. Fugged up, that is. Sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll. Fuji was too much drugs, just about enough music and no sex at all. Everything in the wrong order. The usual insanity. So, I'm under a bush in the Niigata mountains, hold on, that's just a flashback,...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Aug 5, 2001

If at first you don't succeed . . .

FUKUOKA -- Divorce and remarriage have been possible in Japan since feudal times, though until recently shame and social stigma ensured that few unhappy couples formalized their differences -- let alone took the plunge again.
BUSINESS
Aug 4, 2001

Food firms facing polarized market

The nation's food companies are facing increasingly polarized consumption trends, and any firm that fails to meet the needs of such a market faces future downgrading, Moody's Investors Service Inc. said Friday.
EDITORIALS
Aug 4, 2001

Balloting system falls short

Use of the new open-list balloting system in the proportional representation segment of the July 29 Upper House election has exposed a number of defects. The basic flaw is that it favors candidates from major parties, particularly those who count on organized votes.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 3, 2001

Trade, security top agenda

SYDNEY -- A new regional security mechanism involving the United States, Japan and Australia that risks offending China is high on the agenda of Australian Prime Minister John Howard for his Tokyo visit.
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Aug 3, 2001

Common toad

* Japanese name: Nihon hikigaeru * Scientific name: Bufo japonicus * Description: This is one of the biggest amphibians in Japan. Adults are between 8-18 cm long; tadpoles are 3.5-4 cm long. They have the classic toad traits of poisonous, warty skin and yellow, bulging eyes. Male toads are yellowish-brown...
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Aug 2, 2001

Salt tolerance and life's dispersal derby

Salt is an interesting mineral. We all need it. It is crucial to the operation of the cells that make up our bodies.
BUSINESS
Aug 2, 2001

Heat of summer ups demand for electricity, beer

The relentless summer sizzle has pushed electric power consumption to record highs and boosted consumer demand for summer-season staples -- especially beer.
CULTURE / Art
Aug 1, 2001

A century down along the Sumida

In most of the great European capitals, wide, impressive rivers flow through the very heart of the cities, providing the perfect setting for stately buildings such as the Houses of Parliament in London or the Orsay Museum in Paris.
JAPAN
Aug 1, 2001

Victims to get info on criminals

This fall, the Justice Ministry will begin notifying people victimized by crimes, in advance if necessary, of the prison release date of perpetrators and where they will live after their release, Justice Minister Mayumi Moriyama said Tuesday.
EDITORIALS
Jul 30, 2001

Mr. Kim goes to Moscow

North Korean leader Kim Jong Il is on his way for two-day talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. A special train carrying him and his entourage arrived in the Russian Far East Thursday en route to Moscow. This is the first Moscow trip by a North Korean head of state since Mr. Kim's father, the...
COMMENTARY
Jul 30, 2001

Foreign policy falls short

LONDON -- Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi cannot afford to let Japanese foreign policy become a hostage to nationalist agitation and populist pressures. Japan needs friends in Asia as well as in the rest of the world. Its relationship with the United States remains crucial. Koizumi has worked hard to...
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jul 29, 2001

Shochu appeal goes supersonic

FUKUOKA -- Kyushu folk are feeling quite tickled about something at the moment: a shochu boom in bars around Japan. The surging popularity of this once-lowbrow spirit, which originated in Kyushu, suggests that its old-fogy image may be disappearing for good and that lucrative times lie ahead for the...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Jul 29, 2001

Tie the knot, raise a family, take the plunge

TBS's new daily, 30-minute hiru-dora (afternoon drama) series premieres Monday at 1:30 p.m. "Kids War 3," which TBS is promoting as a "home comedy," is the third 45-episode series about the ups and downs of the Imais, a Brady Bunch-like family trying to make do in contemporary Japan. Haruko (Akiko Ikuina)...
EDITORIALS
Jul 27, 2001

Reviving 'PKO' for shares

The Financial Services Agency this month worked out a detailed plan to set up a quasi-public body to purchase surplus shares unloaded by private banks. A related bill is expected to reach the Diet floor perhaps during an extraordinary session that opens this autumn. The problem is that the plan is designed...
LIFE / Lifestyle / JET STREAM
Jul 27, 2001

Hawaiian JETs sing a new island song

The song "Neba Neba Natto" may never make the Japanese music charts, but it is becoming a classic of a sort. The song, by Nikkei Aloha, has a laid-back Hawaiian tempo and humorous lyrics paying homage to natto (fermented soybeans).
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Jul 27, 2001

Racoon dog

* Japanese name:Tanuki * Scientific name: Nyctereutes procyonoides viverrinus * Description: Tanuki look a bit like fat foxes, with short legs and black and gray fur. They grow up to 60 cm long and have distinctive stripes of black fur under their eyes, a bit like pandas. * Where to find them:Standing...

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