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EDITORIALS
Jul 7, 2002

Fudging a few little fingers

I t's a good thing Mr. Steve Fossett doesn't play golf. Those other CEOs wouldn't stand a chance. On the other hand, many might do better than they should: In a survey published last week, a staggering 82 percent of top business executives admitted to cheating on the golf course. They shave strokes,...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Jul 7, 2002

Are you calling me a diphthong?

I have a friend who became an English teacher mainly because of his fondness for phonetics.
JAPAN
Jul 7, 2002

Emperor, Empress on Europe tour

Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko left for the Czech Republic on Saturday morning, the first leg of a two-week European tour that will also take them to Poland, Austria and Hungary.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / NIHONSHU
Jul 7, 2002

As benchmarks rise, honjozo takes a hit

Last year, sake production dropped below 1 million kiloliters for the first time since the industry's postwar recovery. Much of this drop was seen in the realm of cheap sake and honjozo, whereas the higher grades of junmaishu and ginjoshu stayed the same or made very modest production gains. Fewer people,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 7, 2002

Violinist who plays off the scale

Most people expect the kind of music played on a violin to be classical. Unless they're listening to internationally known violinist and composer Taro Hakase, that is, whose violin demonstrates melodies that can't be easily pigeonholed into any one musical category.
LIFE / Food & Drink / BEST BAR NONE
Jul 7, 2002

The lord of the dance

To Tokyo clubbers, the name Pylon conjures images of overly tanned and underdressed young women teetering precariously on high clogs as they dance para-para style -- glow sticks in hand -- atop a bar (or other elevated surface). And at their center will be a handsome young man, shirt slipping off his...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / CLOSE-UP
Jul 7, 2002

Crusader for life on death row

Sister Helen Prejean, a nun with the Order of Saint Joseph of Medaille since 1957, has been accompanying death-row inmates to their executions since 1982. In her award-winning book "Dead Man Walking," which was made into a film in 1995, she relates the spiritual journey she went through with death-row...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Jul 7, 2002

Japan's diplomatic balancing act

JAPANESE FOREIGN POLICY IN ASIA AND THE PACIFIC: Domestic Interests, American Pressure and Regional Integration, edited by Akitoshi Miyashita and Yoichiro Sato. Palgrave, 2001, 208 pp., $40 (cloth) Japan is frequently criticized for "punching below its weight" in international affairs. That is another...
COMMUNITY
Jul 7, 2002

Look to the stars

Here's what the stars have in store for readers for the second half of 2002.
MORE SPORTS
Jul 7, 2002

Japan humbles Taiwan in qualifier, matches record with 155-3 victory

Japan took another step toward qualifying for the 2003 Rugby World Cup with a world-record equaling 155-3 win over Taiwan at National Stadium, Tokyo on Saturday.
COMMUNITY
Jul 7, 2002

Until we meet again

For as long as men and women have looked at the stars, they have read in the distant constellations stories of life close to home, filling the sky with maidens and monsters, lovers and heroes, hunters and beasts.
JAPAN
Jul 7, 2002

Government to rate nuclear plants on safety levels

Plans are being drawn up to rate Japan's nuclear power plants for safety to better monitor risk-prone plants and reduce inspection costs.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Jul 7, 2002

Gone, but not forgotten

MEMORIES OF WIND AND WAVES: A Self-Portrait of Lakeside Japan, by Junichi Saga. Translated by Juliet Winters Carpenter. Illustrated by Susumu Saga. Tokyo: Kodansha International, 2002. 260 pp., with 50 photos and line drawings, 2,500 yen (cloth) Junichi Saga is a physician with a general practice in...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jul 7, 2002

How we wonder what we are

Stargazing is like traveling through time and space; imagining as best we can such unimaginable distances, such wondrous, unknown possibilities out there in the vast, star-spangled sky.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / THE WAY OF WASHOKU
Jul 7, 2002

Rooting for the nutritious fruits of the earth

Fall is the season for the tubers in the taro family, but the stalks of several taro are just coming to their midsummer peak. In Japan, these taro stalks are referred to as zuiki in general, and they feature prominently on the classic summer washoku menu.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jul 7, 2002

Hisio: The pleasure zone is your oyster

Now that the monthlong soccer carnival has samba'd off stage, it's safe to venture back into the heartland of Roppongi again. This is highly welcome, as there are several places that we've been looking forward to trying out -- and top of the list is Hisio, with its newly opened oyster bar.
EDITORIALS
Jul 6, 2002

Unemployment insurance in peril

Rising unemployment is creating serious financial problems for the government, making it likely that jobless insurance premiums will be increased. In fact, Health, Labor and Welfare Minister Chikara Sakaguchi suggested the other day that the premium rate would be raised on an emergency basis, perhaps...
BASEBALL / MLB
Jul 6, 2002

Rhodes, ex-big leaguers in Japan quietly remember Kile

The two were the same age and drafted in the same year by the Houston Astros. They started in Single A, came up together through Double A and Triple A, and eventually made it big time in 1990 and '91 in Houston.
JAPAN
Jul 6, 2002

Mitsui blocked JGC tie: sources

Mitsui & Co. employees arrested Wednesday on charges of interfering in the bidding process for a government-funded project pressured engineering firm JGC Corp. to cancel a tieup with Marubeni Corp., sources familiar with the case said Friday.
SOCCER / World cup
Jul 6, 2002

Zico set to become new Japan boss

The Japan Football Association has reached a basic agreement with former Brazil international and Kashima Antlers technical director Zico to hire the 49-year-old Brazilian as the new Japan coach, a JFA top official said Thursday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 6, 2002

Chinese priests slate Shaolin kung fu show

A group of Chinese Zen priests will stage the "Shaolin Wheel of Life" in four Japanese cities later this summer to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between Japan and China.
JAPAN
Jul 6, 2002

Refugee's wife given entry permission

Immigration authorities on Friday gave the wife of a Myanmar refugee living in Nagoya permission to enter the country, reversing a previous decision, support group members said.
JAPAN
Jul 6, 2002

Plea made over prisoner in Australia

Tokyo has asked the Australian government to release a 69-year-old Japanese man serving a 15-year prison sentence in Melbourne for drug-smuggling due to poor health, Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi said Friday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Jul 6, 2002

Passing of 'Pancho' a loss for baseball

Our good friend, Kazuo 'Pancho' Ito, one of the most colorful characters on the international baseball scene over the past 40 years, died in Tokyo on July 4 after a long illness. He was 68.
JAPAN
Jul 6, 2002

Diet OKs limited changes to wildlife protection law

The Diet on Friday approved a revision to the Wildlife Protection and Hunting Law that will reduce the level of lead shot used in certain hunting areas and give it jurisdiction over a limited number of sea mammals for the first time.
BUSINESS
Jul 6, 2002

Nissan Diesel to follow Ghosn's plan

The president of Nissan Diesel Motor Co. said Friday his company will promote team work among middle-management personnel, in line with the business strategy of Nissan Motor Co. President Carlos Ghosn.
Japan Times
JAPAN / MUSEUM MUSINGS
Jul 6, 2002

Everyone's a winner at Tokyo sports gallery

One of most heart-warming memories of the soccer World Cup will be the rival players exchanging their shirts after each game.

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