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CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
May 2, 2001

'The Facts of Life': Black Box Recorder

Artists who harbor ambitions that outstrip their talent often try to pre-empt accusations of pretentiousness by hiding behind surface ironies. Luke Haines called his first rock band the Auteurs, thus placing quotation marks around whatever they produced, which was mostly literary-minded rock descended...
JAPAN
May 2, 2001

Myline glitch frustrates hundreds of NTT subscribers

The two regional units of Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. on Tuesday experienced malfunctions with Myline, an automatic connection service that debuted the same day.
BUSINESS
May 2, 2001

IY Bank aims to change banking Monday

The battleground for retail banking will shift to convenience stores Monday when Ito-Yokado Co.'s IY Bank opens on a vast network of ATMs at Seven-Eleven stores nationwide.
BUSINESS
May 1, 2001

Major retailers strive to form new identity

One of the most popular areas on the food floor at Isetan's Tachikawa branch offers not groceries, but quick recipes for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
COMMENTARY
May 1, 2001

Bush strains cross-Atlantic ties

LONDON -- In a world of disorder, fluidity and shifting power centers, one factor has remained fixed and constant for all states, all governments and all national leaders: the supreme importance of relations with the United States, and how to handle them.
MORE SPORTS
May 1, 2001

Kiwi Sevens rally to beat Australia

New Zealand won the Japan Sevens final 26-12 against Australia at a soggy Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium on Monday. Trailing 12-7 at halftime with a player in the sin bin for violent conduct, New Zealand rallied in the second half scoring three unanswered tries to come away with the victory.
Events
May 1, 2001

Baseball fans clear air about stars 'Spaceman' Shinjo, 'boring' Ichiro

OSAKA -- While most of Japan has celebrated the American success of Ichiro Suzuki, baseball fans in the Kansai region are sharply divided in their enthusiasm for the Seattle Mariners newest superstar.
JAPAN
Apr 30, 2001

Yamasaki eyes draft to revise Article 9

Liberal Democratic Party Secretary General Taku Yamasaki has drawn up a tentative draft for constitutional revisions that include changing the wording of Article 9 to clarify that Japan will maintain land, sea and air forces and has the right to self-defense, political sources said Sunday.
LIFE / Food & Drink / NIHONSHU
Apr 29, 2001

How Tiger got his game back in five easy sips

Recently Tiger Woods secured his place in golfing history by winning this past Masters tournament. But there's a secret to Woods' recent success that few know about: sake.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Apr 28, 2001

Clothes from heart shaping up for Golden Week

As dusk falls on an unseasonally cold and rainy Saturday, Michiyo Masago is bent over her computer. We meet at her atelier now because she is just returned from Yokohama, and tomorrow she flies to Okinawa -- direct to Ishigakijima, from where she will take a boat to Iriemote.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 27, 2001

Is Asia's little dragon awakening at last?

CAMBRIDGE, England -- When Vietnam set out on the path of economic liberalization in the early 1990s, everyone expected another Asian miracle, Chinese-style. The liberalization program adopted by the country, known as Doi Moi, was expected to bring about the same radical reforms of economic policy that...
LIFE / Lifestyle / JET STREAM
Apr 27, 2001

I know! Let's put on a show in the barn!

Peals of laughter erupt in the audience as the performers onstage go through their routines. It's not every day that the residents of Kitagawa, a village outside of Kochi, have the opportunity to see a musical performed entirely in the local Tosa dialect, and they're relishing every minute of it -- especially...
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Apr 27, 2001

Scorpion fly

*Japanese name:Shiriage mushi *Scientific name: Panorpa japonica * Description: Males are unmistakable -- the abdomen is curled like a scorpion's. The wings, which are held flat when resting, are clear with black spots at the ends, and the head has a large "beak" that is used for feeding. Adults...
JAPAN
Apr 25, 2001

Hospitals hurt by competition

Medical institutions are struggling to survive in the wake of a government policy to curb national medical expenses from the current 30 trillion yen a year.
CULTURE / Stage
Apr 25, 2001

Undying loyalty in ancient China

Ennosuke Ichikawa is presenting his latest "Super Kabuki" production, "Shin Sangokushi II (New Record of the Three Kingdoms, Part II)" at Tokyo's Shinbashi Enbujo Theater through May, leading members of his personal troupe including Danshiro (his younger brother), Ukon, En'ya, Emiya, Emisaburo and Shun'en....
BUSINESS
Apr 23, 2001

Seven rules for privatizing government assets

When approaching a major decision relating to new laws or measures, leaders should give careful consideration to existing examples of efforts by other countries to solve the same underlying issues and their subsequent success or failure.
JAPAN
Apr 23, 2001

Virtual-reality therapy launched

The National Cancer Center Hospital is introducing a virtual-reality exposure therapy to ease cancer patients' pain and nausea, according to hospital officials.
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM MOSCOW
Apr 23, 2001

Moscow exiles a mogul with good taste

The Kremlin wins one: President Vladimir Putin's bitter critic, Media-Most media empire, is dead. Its assets have been transferred to pro-Kremlin stockholders, its journalists have been fired or silenced and its owner, Vladimir Gusinsky, is hiding abroad.
COMMUNITY
Apr 22, 2001

Fashion cuts above and shapes to come

The offerings by over 40 designers at the recent Tokyo collections mapped out the direction for next autumn/winter: bias or asymmetrical cuts, draping and wrapping, patchwork, fringing and quilting, and lots of stripes (both vertical and horizontal).
CULTURE / Music
Apr 22, 2001

A new drumbeat resounds around the world

The powerful beat of taiko (Japanese drums) of different sizes vibrates the air, while the delicate sound of shinobue (bamboo flute) adds spice to the dynamic rhythm. On stage is taiko troupe Tokyo Dageki Dan: four muscular men drumming and another with the flute.
CULTURE / Music
Apr 22, 2001

Nurturing the next generation of traditional musicians

Many observers attribute the steep decline of Japanese traditional music in the 20th century in large part to the fact that Japan's school system teaches Western music intensively and hogaku almost not at all. That situation is due to change as the Education Ministry introduces new guidelines, effective...
LIFE / Food & Drink / THE WAY OF WASHOKU
Apr 22, 2001

Taking stock of basics

All great food begins with perfect dashi (stock).
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Apr 22, 2001

Big novels get the small-screen treatment

Jiro Asada won Japan's prestigious Naoki Prize for literature in 1997 for his novel "Poppoya," which was later made into a hit movie starring Ken Takakura. His followup, "Tengoku made no Hyaku Mairu (The One Hundred Miles to Heaven)," was published in the fall of 1998. Veteran TV director Katsumi Oyama...
JAPAN
Apr 21, 2001

Diet members, proxies visit Yasukuni Shrine

Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine hosted 86 Diet members and 97 proxies for other legislators Friday during a special memorial service dedicated to Japan's war dead.
BUSINESS
Apr 21, 2001

Chiyoda Life returns as AIG unit

Failed insurer Chiyoda Mutual Life Insurance Co. started anew Friday as AIG Star Life Insurance Co., with regaining customer confidence as the first order of business.
COMMENTARY
Apr 21, 2001

U.S. must seek three-way balance in Asia

LOS ANGELES -- China is about to get a new U.S. ambassador. But will it get a new U.S. China policy?
COMMENTARY / WASHINGTON UPDATE
Apr 19, 2001

Bush's mettle gets put to test

Chinese pilot Wang Wei gave U.S. President George W. Bush his first critical foreign-policy test. Wei's collision over the South China Sea with a Navy reconnaissance plane, which dropped 24 U.S. military personnel into the hands of the Chinese military on Hainan Island, provided an excellent course in...
JAPAN
Apr 19, 2001

LDP race: popular appeal vs. vote machines

Garnering support in the Liberal Democratic Party for former Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto before Tuesday's LDP presidential poll was no easy task for staffers.
BUSINESS
Apr 19, 2001

Singapore and Japan to hold new trade talks

Japan and Singapore will hold a second round of negotiations on a bilateral free-trade agreement for four days starting Tuesday in Tokyo, the Foreign Ministry said Wednesday.
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Apr 19, 2001

Up to your ears in, um, you know, uh...

About 18 months ago, someone who knew that I was a naturalist asked me, in all seriousness, why we humans shouldn't just eradicate all insects and similar creepy-crawlies.

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