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BUSINESS
Apr 11, 2001

Quota for South Korea nori to rise

The government will increase the 2001 import quota of nori from South Korea to 150 million sheets -- an increase of 30 million sheets -- as a result of a poor seaweed harvest in Ariake, a major seaweed producing region in southern Kyushu, officials said Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Apr 11, 2001

Japan supports China over U.S. ahead of APEC summit

Japan is opening cover fire to help China defeat the United States. It's not a real battle, off course. It's a trade skirmish being fought at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 11, 2001

The Bank of Japan's new policy is sound

On March 19, the Bank of Japan decided that it would focus more on money supply than on interest rates and that the new policy would be continued until it was confident that the consumer price index, which has been declining continuously for over two years, was rising.
BUSINESS
Apr 11, 2001

Nippon Life, Dai-ichi tie up to administer corporate pensions

Nippon Life Insurance Co. and Dai-ichi Mutual Life Insurance Co. said Tuesday they will jointly establish a company in October specializing in administering corporate pension fund assets.
JAPAN
Apr 11, 2001

Net-based labor union resolves disputes online

A cyberspace labor union set up two years ago to settle disputes via the Internet is expected to play a major role in the future as working conditions continue to diversify.
CULTURE / Film
Apr 11, 2001

Heartbreak at its finest moment

In the Mood for Love Rating: * * * * 1/2 Director: Wang Kar-wai Running time: 98 minutes Language: CantoneseNow playing A man and a woman sit in a coffee shop, the table between them maintaining the proper distance. Neighbors in the same cramped apartment building, they have agreed to meet away...
JAPAN
Apr 11, 2001

Seoul recalls ambassador over textbook controversey

South Korea's ambassador to Japan returned to Seoul on Tuesday in a move to protest Japan's approval last week of a history textbook that many Asian nations say brushes over descriptions of Japan's wartime atrocities.
CULTURE / Film / SHORT TAKES
Apr 11, 2001

Nostalgic views of youth and rebellion

Almost Famous Rating: * * * * Japanese title: 'Ano Kono Penny Lane To' Director:Cameron Crowe Running time: 122 minutes Language: English This spring's pure pop treat is a largely autobiographical tale by Cameron Crowe, a superior piece of '70s nostalgia that deals with his own memories of working...
CULTURE / Film
Apr 11, 2001

Wong for mature audiences

It's quite a feat when an art-house director like Wong Kar-wai can fill a room at the Park Hyatt with more media than, say, Anthony Hopkins for "Hannibal." But that's exactly what he did, accompanied by his two stars, Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung, and it's testament to the director's successful mix of...
JAPAN
Apr 11, 2001

Abe's acquittal in HIV case appealed

Prosecutors on Tuesday appealed a March 28 Tokyo District Court ruling that cleared hemophilia expert Takeshi Abe of professional negligence charges stemming from the AIDS death of one of his patients.
COMMENTARY
Apr 11, 2001

The hazards of reform -- British-style

LONDON -- Forget sagging stock markets and omens of world recession. Forget global warming and U.S. President George W. Bush's rejection of the Kyoto treaty on carbon emissions. Forget, even, the foot-and-mouth disease that is currently paralyzing Britain's farming and tourist industries and has caused...
JAPAN
Apr 11, 2001

Ex-Sogo chairman faces charges of hiding assets

Hiroo Mizushima, former chairman of the failed Sogo Co. department store chain, is suspected of concealing assets by illegally withdrawing some 155 million yen, investigative sources said Tuesday.
COMMENTARY
Apr 11, 2001

A turning point for the LDP

The result of the election to choose a new president of the Liberal Democratic Party will be announced today. This will end a domestic political vacuum that has persisted since Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori revealed his intention of stepping down, over a month ago.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Apr 11, 2001

So far, so good for Tigers' foreign contingent

Most everyone (including this writer) picked the Hanshin Tigers to finish last in the Central League standings in 2001 for the third straight season. However, nine games into the schedule, the team does not look so bad. There are some good looking young players (rookie shortstop Yoshinori Okihara, for...
CULTURE / Film
Apr 11, 2001

Comical Sturm und Drang , all in the family

Rendan Rating: * * * * Director: Naoto Takenaka Running time: 104 minutes Language: JapaneseNow playing "What does woman want?" Freud famously asked -- a question that is just as famously unanswerable. At the dawn of the modern feminist era, however, many women seemed to want what Anais Nin, in a 1974...
JAPAN
Apr 11, 2001

EU envoys urge climate teamwork

Intensified contact between countries in the runup to international climate change talks in July is needed to save the Kyoto Protocol, said a European delegation in Tokyo on Tuesday.
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Apr 11, 2001

Hara's crackling horn

Jazz has always been "retro." Outstanding jazz players develop their sound through an immersion in past innovations. The important thing, of course, is not to get stuck in them. All too many players end up as archivists, or technicians. Not trumpeter Tomonao Hara.
BUSINESS
Apr 11, 2001

DaimlerChrysler to increase MMC stake

Mitsubishi Motors Corp. will allow a raise in the capital ratio of DaimlerChrysler AG because Swedish truck maker AB Volvo plans to sell its 3.3 percent stake in MMC to DaimlerChrysler to end Volvo's tieup in the truck and bus business, a top MMC official said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Apr 11, 2001

Man guilty of selling fake cigarettes

The Tokyo District Court on Tuesday sentenced a 59-year-old company president to two years in prison, suspended for three years, for selling counterfeit Japan Tobacco Inc. brand cigarettes.
CULTURE / Art / CERAMIC SCENE
Apr 11, 2001

Abe's enchanted villa inspires sublime pottery

In peaceful hamlets throughout Japan, local potters work at their own pace while garnering a loyal local following. There are literally thousands of such ceramists, and the serene environment in which they work nurtures and supports their artistic endeavors in subtle ways.
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Apr 11, 2001

Hang on the Box's 'Yellow Banana'

All-girl Beijing band Hang on the Box is one of the few punk rock bands right now who literally wear their credentials on their sleeves, dressing the part as well as playing the music. They wouldn't look out of place in 1976 London. It's all a bit naff, you might think. But remarkably, Hang on the Box's...
CULTURE / Art
Apr 11, 2001

An eyeful of the best new contemporary art

The galleries of Tokyo don't exactly have an open-door policy when it comes to new art. In fact, many artists -- established or not -- have to shell out precious yen to exhibit here.
CULTURE / Art
Apr 11, 2001

Buddhist treasures undimmed by time

Daigoji Temple has maintained its status as one of Japan's leading Buddhist temples upholding the Shingon sect since its foundation in Kyoto over 1,100 years ago. Named a World Cultural Heritage Site in 1994, the temple is a veritable treasury of Japanese Buddhist sculpture, scripture, esoteric paintings...
CULTURE / Music
Apr 11, 2001

K-pop, ya don't stop

BoA Last month, 500 members of the media gathered for the debut of singer BoA at the Roppongi club Velfarre.

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