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JAPAN
May 9, 2001

Shinmachi takes lead in sports for kids

Kyodo News Shinmachi, a small town of about 13,000 people in Gunma Prefecture, has drawn the attention of several municipalities because of its comprehensive regional sports club -- a concept common in Europe but relatively new to Japan.
BUSINESS
May 9, 2001

Fuji Photo Film announces increased group net profit

Fuji Photo Film Co. announced Tuesday a 38.9 percent jump in group net profit in fiscal 2000 from the preceding year to 117.90 billion yen, boosted mainly by appraisal profit in stockholdings that it transferred to its pension fund. The group's pretax profit rose 45.8 percent to 197.33 billion yen in...
BUSINESS
May 9, 2001

Takefuji reports 10th straight year of record profits

Takefuji Corp., the nation's largest consumer finance company, on Tuesday reported a record group net profit for fiscal 2000 for the 10th straight year on the strength of ultralow interest rates that have dramatically reduced its fundraising costs.
BUSINESS
May 9, 2001

Debt-waiver talks may use outsiders

Financial Services Minister Hakuo Yanagisawa said Tuesday he is considering involving independent experts, including lawyers, in talks between banks and corporate borrowers over guidelines on waiving debts.
BUSINESS
May 9, 2001

Ministry urges NTT to voluntarily reform

The Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications on Tuesday urged Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. to submit a voluntary business plan to boost competition among NTT group firms, a ministry official said.
JAPAN
May 9, 2001

Tokyo says it understands Bush's missile defense plan

Japan expressed "understanding" Tuesday toward the controversial new defense strategy announced last week by U.S. President George W. Bush.
EDITORIALS
May 9, 2001

Human rights are worth the fight

The U.N. Commission on Human Rights just wrapped up its annual six-week session. The meeting was a study in frustration -- as usual. Human-rights offenders stuck together, blocking motions of censure, effectively shielding themselves from international scrutiny. The lengths to which those governments...
JAPAN
May 9, 2001

Seven arrested over forged graduation certificates, passports

The Tokyo Regional Immigration Bureau in March confiscated forgeries of graduation certificates from Kyoto-based Ritsumeikan University during a search of a Tokyo apartment, bureau officials said Tuesday.
JAPAN
May 9, 2001

Youth held over fatal Tokyo stabbing

A 19-year-old youth was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of fatally stabbing a 64-year-old woman in Tokyo's Edogawa Ward in February, police sources said.
JAPAN
May 9, 2001

Patient approach advocated

Japan will continue to "patiently" pursue normalization talks with North Korea, although the two countries remain at odds on key issues, the Foreign Ministry said in its annual report released Tuesday.
BUSINESS
May 9, 2001

Domestic PC shipments surge with Internet use

Domestic shipments of personal computers hit record highs in value and volume in fiscal 2000, amid growing demand from individuals as the Internet continues to gain popularity, an industry group said Tuesday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
May 9, 2001

Aiha Higurashi

Aiha Higurashi makes both girls and boys swoon. Boys because they want her. Girls because they want to be her. The tight dresses and frankly erotic gaze have inspired a million wet dreams, but the strutting guitar and in-your-face f**k-you attitude are provocative, too. Higurashi's group, Seagull Screaming...
BUSINESS
May 9, 2001

DoCoMo to cut phone fees by offering free calls

NTT DoCoMo Inc. will effectively cut its monthly mobile phone fees by adding free calls worth up to 400 yen starting in June, company officials said Tuesday.
CULTURE / Music / J-POPSICLE
May 9, 2001

3G phones -- putting your music where your mouth is

Today's topic, class, is how to promote music in Japan and keep the Japanese music biz afloat. Are you ready? Then I'll begin.
CULTURE / Art
May 9, 2001

Links in a chain of ambiguity

As the spring exhibition season hits its stride, the Hara Museum of Contemporary Art has come up with an accessible and quite interesting show in the diffusely titled "Chain of Visions -- Family, Politics and Religion in the Last Generation of Italian Contemporary Art." The exhibition features about...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
May 9, 2001

Daiei's pitching shuttle service

What in the world are they thinking? That's the question many Japanese baseball observers were asking when the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks announced the signing of left-handed American pitcher Chris Haney in mid-April.
CULTURE / Art
May 9, 2001

The shock of the Nouveau

Like a femme fatale, Art Nouveau has long guarded her secrets well. Were her sinuous lines symbolic or erotic? Did she bring fresh beauty into the modern world, or exploit a fin de siecle taste for the decadent? And why did she suddenly disappear, after a rapid rise to fame?
CULTURE / Film
May 9, 2001

Talent aside, some people were born to dance

Center Stage Rating: * * * Director: Nicholas Hytner Running time: 115 minutes Language: English, with Japanese subtitlesOpens May 12 Ballet lessons (along with violin and piano) are often forced upon us at a certain age and continue until we or our parents throw a major tantrum and we call it quits....
CULTURE / Art / CERAMIC SCENE
May 9, 2001

The evolution of ceramic form

The creative journey for many an artist begins with an inner dialogue, a conflict, questioning. A voice in the inquisitive mind doubts existing rules and boundaries while challenging the artist to redefine and broaden them.
SUMO
May 9, 2001

JSA to downsize training tours

said Monday it will downsize the scale of its regional training tours which have lost their profitability over the last few years. The JSA board of directors agreed to shorten the tours from the current 50-60 days a year and hold them at smaller venues in the wake of declining popularity and a decrease...
JAPAN
May 9, 2001

Mystery man's passport used three times in Japan

The forged passport used in a recent illegal entry attempt by a man believed to be the eldest son of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il had been used three times before to successfully enter Japan, Justice Minister Mayumi Moriyama said Tuesday.
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
May 9, 2001

'Free All Angels': Ash

Rock music right now seems to be concentrated into two factions. On one side, you have the shouty angry Limp Bizkit, Slipknot, At The Drive In types and on the other there's Mogwai, Radiohead and a million other slow-fi bands drooling onto their fretboards. What's common to both camps is that neither...
CULTURE / Art
May 9, 2001

Lines that trace a restless life

There is a French maxim that says "Style is the man." If there was ever an embodiment of that phrase, it was the French poet, novelist, playwright, filmmaker and artist Jean Cocteau. Considered one of the most creative talents of the 20th century, Cocteau's prodigious creativity is being currently showcased...
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
May 9, 2001

'Movimento': Madredeus

The musical form fado takes off from the Portuguese concept of saudade, or "yearning," which dwells on things that are lost: a mother, a sweetheart, home. However, the music of Madredeus, Portugal's most popular group, has always contained an element of hopefulness, a yearning for things still possible....
BUSINESS
May 9, 2001

'Yu-Gi-Oh!' goods headed for U.S.

Konami Co. said Tuesday it will market game software and card games in the United States based on the popular Japanese "manga" comic series "Yu-Gi-Oh! Duelmonsters."

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