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JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Sep 19, 2004

9/11 conspiracy theories enthrall Japanese audiences

Only three years after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, American mainstream media are providing scant coverage of ceremonies to mark the tragedy, according to Japanese reporter Akihiko Reizei on the Internet news service Japan Mail Media. A resident of New Jersey, Reizei said that unlike the...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 19, 2004

Katia Guerreiro

Fado is the sad, slow music of Portugal, whose achingly beautiful songs overflow with the anguish of love, supplication and desire. Like American blues, fado holds out the promise of transcending love's pain, and like flamenco ballads, it offers a joyousness that eases the suffering. The most recent...
MORE SPORTS
Sep 18, 2004

Injured Suetsugu pulls out of meet

Shingo Suetsugu, the 200-meter bronze medalist at last year's World Championships, has withdrawn from the upcoming Seiko Super Meet 2004 Yokohama, organizers said Friday.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Sep 18, 2004

Referees an easy target of blame for managers, players, media

LONDON -- Last weekend was such a bad one for referees that the man from the Daily Mirror was desperately searching for someone to speak up on behalf of the off-form officials.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 18, 2004

Uniqlo chain plans to enter U.S. market in 2006

Fast Retailing Co., a casual-clothing store chain known for its Uniqlo brand, will try to enter the U.S. market as early as 2006, company President Genichi Tamatsuka said in a recent interview.
BUSINESS
Sep 18, 2004

NTT firms set to enter price war

Two firms in the Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. group will probably lower charges for their fixed-line phone service in the face of discount campaigns by rival carriers, including KDDI Corp. and the Softbank Corp. group, sources said Friday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 18, 2004

Summit not expected to see beef ban's end

Japan and the United States will probably not make major progress toward lifting Japan's ban on U.S. beef imports during next week's bilateral summit, farm minister Yoshiyuki Kamei indicated Friday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Sep 18, 2004

Players strike

Japanese baseball players elected to stage the first strike in the history of the sport in Japan on Friday after extended negotiations with team officials failed to reach an agreement.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Sep 18, 2004

Shakespeare goes Gothic at New National Theater

As a law unto himself, Dwayne Lawler is well named. Tense -- intense is the better word -- and charismatic, he is driven by powerful forces to make his mark on Japan, his native Australia and the world at large. At the same time he is incredibly nervous, and so polite and desperate to please that I want...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Sep 18, 2004

Ian Nish

LONDON -- Forward-thinking programs drawn up during World War II gave opportunity to many non-Japanese young people to become specialists in Japanese studies. An undergraduate at that time, Ian Nish joined the ranks of those who embarked upon sterling work that turned them into Japan experts. He speaks...
BUSINESS
Sep 18, 2004

Road tolls to get cheaper -- for some

The government plans to cut expressway tolls nationwide by 30 percent between midnight and 4 a.m. for cars equipped with an electronic toll collection system, transport minister Nobuteru Ishihara said Friday.
EDITORIALS
Sep 18, 2004

Strengthen monitoring in Sudan

The dispute that is continuing in the western part of Sudan is threatening the stability of the surrounding region. Peace negotiations mediated by the African Union have run into difficulties and there are no signs of an imminent settlement. The United Nations is reportedly considering imposing economic...
BUSINESS
Sep 18, 2004

San-Ai Oil to buy Exxon Mobil unit Kygnus Sekiyu

Oil retailer San-Ai Oil Co. said Friday it will purchase Kygnus Sekiyu K.K., an oil distributor affiliated with Exxon Mobil Corp., in December.
BUSINESS
Sep 18, 2004

MTFG jumps gun on UFJ capital boost

Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group Inc. said Friday it has injected 700 billion yen into UFJ Bank, two weeks ahead of schedule, apparently to block a hostile takeover bid for UFJ Holdings Inc. by Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc.
BUSINESS
Sep 18, 2004

Environment tax plan flatly opposed by top biz lobby

The Japan Business Federation (Nippon Keidanren) said Friday a proposed environment tax carries the danger of undercutting firms' international competitiveness.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Sep 18, 2004

The perfect touch for fall: Christmas

Every eight years, our neighborhood has "matsuri toban," or festival duty, which means we are in charge of all the island festivals for the year. One house within that neighborhood volunteers to set up decorations, receive guests at festival times and host the Shinto gods for the year.
BUSINESS
Sep 18, 2004

IRCJ begins assessing Daiei's assets

The state-backed Industrial Revitalization Corp. of Japan has begun analyzing financial data provided by Daiei Inc. without a formal request from the struggling retailer, the minister in charge of industrial revitalization said Friday.
EDITORIALS
Sep 17, 2004

Mr. Putin's power grab

I t should come as no surprise that Russian President Vladimir Putin has used the horrific terrorist attack in Beslan in southern Russia to justify the consolidation of power in his own hands. Plainly, the Russian government has not been able to counter the threat posed by Chechen separatists. The problem...
Rugby
Sep 17, 2004

Rugby's top stars hoping to help Top League live up to its name

Toutai Kefu, Matt Cockbain, Jaco van der Westhuyzen, Tony Brown, Leon MacDonald. Besides being a who's who of some of the biggest names to have played in the Super 12 in recent years they are also just a few of the world-class players who will be turning out this year in Japan's Top League.
BUSINESS
Sep 17, 2004

Food body seeks swift end to ban on U.S. beef

A federation of nine food industry associations called on the government Thursday to quickly end its ban on U.S. beef imports, saying it has disrupted supply and demand in the beef market.
BUSINESS
Sep 17, 2004

Ministry issues wake-up call on food self-sufficiency target

The government target of raising Japan's food self-sufficiency ratio to 45 percent by fiscal 2010 is a pipe dream, the farm ministry said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Sep 17, 2004

Chinese firm wins Mothers IPO nod

The Tokyo Stock Exchange said Thursday it has given approval for Xinhua Finance Ltd. to become the first Chinese firm to make an initial public offering on the TSE Mothers market for startups Oct. 28.

Longform

Figure skater Akiko Suzuki was once told her ideal weight should be 47 kilograms, a number she now admits she “naively believed.” This led to her have a relationship with food that resulted in her suffering from anorexia.
The silent battle Japanese athletes fight with weight