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JAPAN / Science & Health
Mar 28, 2001

Cash, traditions standing between elderly and proper care

For 61-year-old Nayako Yamaguchi, taking care of her 66-year-old sister, Etsuko, is a job she does 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
BUSINESS
Mar 28, 2001

Government waters down bills for breaking NTT phone monopoly

The government will impose looser regulations than previously planned on Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. according to a new outline of two amendments to laws governing the dominant carrier's operations, government sources said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Mar 28, 2001

Japan set to join 'guns for butter' aid program in Cambodia

In a fresh show of solidarity with Europe toward arms control and prevention of regional conflicts, Japan will launch its portion of a unique "guns for butter" joint project in Cambodia next month.
JAPAN
Mar 28, 2001

Bill on data protection approved by Cabinet

The Cabinet approved Tuesday a privacy protection bill designed to set a legal framework to regulate the acquisition and dissemination of personal information for commercial use.
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM MOSCOW
Mar 26, 2001

Russians living 'la vida loca'

This semester I am teaching a Dostoevsky course. Implausible plots, stumbling dialogues, everybody in love with everybody, romantic triangles overlap like mating frogs, passions mount, money changes hands and is thrown into the fire -- the normal Dostoevsky stuff.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 26, 2001

Bush's crash course in global diplomacy

U.S. President George W. Bush has just concluded a crash course in Northeast Asian politics. In the past three weeks, he has hosted South Korean President Kim Dae Jung, Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori and Chinese Vice Premier Qian Qichen. Now Bush has to make sense of those visits, digest the various messages...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Mar 25, 2001

Hot rod 'tribes' roar into the night

It's 2:30 a.m. on a Friday night outside the Shibaura parking area, a thin strip of concrete and pavement stuck to a pillar under the belly of Tokyo's Rainbow Bridge. There's a flash of red taillights as vehicles speed in. New arrivals are greeted by leather-clad bikers revving their engines, spitting...
JAPAN
Mar 25, 2001

Japanese doctor confirms Afghanistan statues destroyed

A Japanese doctor living in Pakistan said Saturday he has confirmed that the two world-famous Buddha statues in Bamyan have been destroyed by the country's Taliban authorities.
CULTURE / Film
Mar 24, 2001

Ritchie's rogues return

"Snatch" is more than a movie: It's a bubbling, babbling comic strip on wheels. Not fitting into the usual British movie mold -- it's neither a Merchant-Ivory rendition of upper-crust angst, nor a working-class saga passed on by Ken Loach -- "Snatch" is in a genre by itself, showcasing a crack ensemble...
JAPAN
Mar 24, 2001

Convicted youths to finish schooling

Children aged 14 and 15 sentenced to jail terms under the revised Juvenile Law will be able to complete their compulsory education before starting their sentences, the Justice Ministry said Friday.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Mar 23, 2001

How diplomats express Japan

An Australian diplomat found modern Japanese weddings exciting and representing of the adaptability of the nation's culture, while a British participant described how much he loves "onsen" hot springs. And both did so in smooth Japanese.
JAPAN
Mar 22, 2001

LDP's Kato suspended for failing to vote

The Liberal Democratic Party decided Wednesday to suspend Koichi Kato, the LDP's former secretary general, from his current party post for three months as punishment for abstaining from a Diet vote on a no-confidence motion against the Cabinet of Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori.
JAPAN
Mar 22, 2001

BOJ's action lifts Nikkei above 13,000

Tokyo share prices soared virtually across the board on Wednesday, reacting positively to the Bank of Japan's moves to funnel more money into the ailing economy.
BUSINESS
Mar 22, 2001

Sato in Sega hot seat

Sega Corp. announced Wednesday that Vice President Hideki Sato has taken over the firm's presidency, following the death of Isao Okawa from heart failure Friday.
SOCCER / J. League
Mar 22, 2001

J. League plans to change to European-style soccer schedule

The J. League has decided to shift its regular season from the current spring-to-autumn format to an autumn-to-spring style beginning in 2006.
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Mar 22, 2001

Islands in the stream of Indian cuisine

It was no accident that led us to Athara Petara -- we always keep an ear to the ground for the latest of good new venues for foods from other parts of Asia. But anyone fortunate enough to stumble upon this friendly little eatery by chance will understand immediately why the word serendipity was coined...
LIFE / Digital
Mar 21, 2001

'Metal Gear Solid 2' is worth waiting for

"Zone of the Enders," a new game for PlayStation2 from Konami, is one of the finest giant robot games ever made. But it has been upstaged by a freebie -- a bonus demo Konami packed in with ZOE.
COMMENTARY
Mar 20, 2001

Japan wasting its top resource

LONDON -- In Britain, the Equal Opportunities Commission is a powerful body that has been working hard to ensure that there is no discrimination in the workplace, particularly on grounds of gender. Women have still not achieved complete equality in pay and conditions, but much progress has been made....
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 19, 2001

Good signs for Japan-U.S. alliance

Since the end of the Cold War, Japan-U.S. relations have been in turmoil. A highly significant development was a 1996 Japan-U.S. summit, in which Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto and President Bill Clinton redefined the terms of the bilateral security system. The 50-year-old alliance will continue into...
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Mar 19, 2001

Earthlings, meet your parent

The four planets closest to the sun are siblings of a sort. Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars have similar core properties and densities, suggesting that they probably formed from the same dust cloud in the early solar system, but they have very different surfaces and atmospheres. Mercury is hot, has low...
JAPAN
Mar 19, 2001

Japan to push ties with Latin America

East Asia and Latin America should shore up their cooperation and exchanges across the Pacific not only in politics and economics, but also in social areas, according to a report compiled by the Japanese government.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 18, 2001

Torture continues to be big business

Recent events highlight the importance of the torture-weapons trade and the role that private companies in some countries, notably the United States and Britain, have in it. Their role was stressed in a recent Amnesty International document, "Stopping the Torture Trade," which calls for a stop to the...
JAPAN
Mar 18, 2001

Three Fukuoka judges reprimanded

Three judges have been reprimanded in connection with a scandal involving copies of police investigative documents concerning a Fukuoka High Court judge's wife, who was arrested on suspicion of sending death threats.
JAPAN
Mar 18, 2001

Heir to reed traders promotes appreciation of the marsh grass

OMIHACHIMAN, Shiga Pref. -- When the wind blows, common reeds in front of Yoshihiro Nishikawa's house make a unique sound. Inside, the house is filled with all kinds of products made of the reeds. Nishikawa's head is also filled with reeds, or at least knowledge about them.
JAPAN
Mar 17, 2001

Mori, Bush expected to confirm macroeconomic cooperation

Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori and U.S. President George W. Bush are expected to issue a joint statement mainly on bilateral cooperation regarding macroeconomic policies when they meet in Washington on Monday, in an attempt to quell concerns over recent steep falls in stock markets in both countries.
CULTURE / Film
Mar 17, 2001

Upon further meditation . . .

Sometime after Gus Van Sant had released "Goodwill Hunting," he took a trip to India. During his stay, he was faxed a screenplay from Sony Pictures. Written by an unknown anchorman called Mike Rich, "Finding Forrester" had everything that prompted Van Sant to cut off his journey and return to LA. Three...
CULTURE / Stage
Mar 17, 2001

Two women, a ghost and a very big fish

An abridged version of Tsuruya Nanboku IV's 1809 play "Okuni Gozen Kesho no Sugatami" is being presented at the National Theater in Tokyo until Tuesday under the title "Imayo Kasane Kesho no Sugatami (Kasane Putting on Her Makeup)."

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