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BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Feb 4, 2004

It's now or never for new Giants catcher

The story made headlines on the front page of several Japanese sports newspapers Jan. 25: The Yomiuri Giants in a money trade bought the contract of catcher Katsunori Nomura from the Hanshin Tigers, and just why would the transfer of a back-up backstop who, in fact, did not play a game at the varsity...
JAPAN
Feb 4, 2004

Japan to bring up abductions issue

Japan will take up the issue of Japanese nationals abducted to North Korea in the 1970s and 1980s during six-party talks later this month in Beijing, a senior Foreign Ministry official said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Feb 4, 2004

DPJ to support Korean pundit for Upper House

The Democratic Party of Japan will field the head of the Tokyo bureau of the South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo in the House of Councilors election this summer.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 4, 2004

Crooked path pays off

Yudan Daiteki Rating: * * * * (out of 5) Director: Izuru Narushima Running time: 110 minutes Language: Japanese Currently showing [See Japan Times movie listings] Cops and crooks aren't supposed to be pals, but in any society they often become . . . acquaintances, if not quite allies....
JAPAN
Feb 4, 2004

Probe into dental group widens

Prosecutors have grilled former lawmaker Yukihiro Yoshida regarding donations from the Japan Dental Association, a major backer of the Liberal Democratic Party, investigative sources said Tuesday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 4, 2004

GSDF to build high-tech Iraq fort

The roughly 90 Ground Self-Defense Force members who left Tuesday for Iraq will oversee the construction of what is expected to be one of the most high-tech, well-equipped forts on Earth.
JAPAN
Feb 4, 2004

Online conflict-prevention symposium ends on positive note

The fourth online symposium on conflict prevention closed last week with a review session that provided an overview of the nine-day Internet-based event.
JAPAN
Feb 4, 2004

Diet impasse comes to an end

Diet business returned to normal Tuesday afternoon.
JAPAN
Feb 4, 2004

Aum chemist fights to avoid the rope

Aum Shinrikyo's one-time chemist filed an appeal Tuesday against the death sentence he received last week for his role in producing the sarin gas used in two deadly nerve gas attacks and six other criminal counts.
BUSINESS
Feb 4, 2004

JAL to introduce new passenger class

Japan Airlines System Corp. said Tuesday it will offer a new class featuring larger seats on its domestic flights in June.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Feb 4, 2004

G7 communique unlikely to touch on dollar's fall: 'Mr. Yen'

Japan will probably not gain support from the European Union in raising concerns over the dollar's recent decline during an upcoming meeting of Group of Seven finance chiefs, the man known as "Mr. Yen" said Tuesday.
EDITORIALS
Feb 4, 2004

More turmoil in Iran

Every year, Iran marks the return of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini to his home country in 1979 with a 10-day celebration that begins on Feb. 1. This year, Iranians will have a special opportunity to ponder the meaning of the Islamic Republic that the Ayatollah created as Iran is in the midst of an unprecedented...
BUSINESS
Feb 4, 2004

Seiyu to push Olsen twins' products

A clothing line linked to Hollywood celebrity twins Mary-Kate Olsen and Ashley Olsen will be sold at 90 supermarkets operated by Seiyu Ltd., beginning in August, Seiyu and U.S. partner Dualstar Entertainment Group said Tuesday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 4, 2004

We wantsss it, we needsss it!

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Rating: * * * * (out of 5) Director: Peter Jackson Running time: 203 minutes Language: English Opens Feb. 14 [See Japan Times movie listings] It's February, so we must be in Middle Earth. The annual magical mystery tour through Tolkien's...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Feb 4, 2004

UNESCO top honor for bunraku puppet theater

On Nov. 7, 2003, bunraku was recognized by UNESCO as a World Intangible Cultural Heritage. The award cited the unique nature of Japan's indigenous puppet theater, and praised the realism with which it portrays human emotions.
BUSINESS
Feb 4, 2004

Digital goods boost Casio profit

Casio Computer Co. said Tuesday it posted a group net profit of 7.58 billion yen in the April-December period, reflecting brisk sales of digital consumer electronics products such as digital cameras and mobile phones.
BUSINESS
Feb 4, 2004

Mitsubishi group, DaimlerChrysler plan MMC rescue

The Mitsubishi group and DaimlerChrysler AG of Germany are devising a 300 billion yen rescue package for Mitsubishi Motors Corp.
BASEBALL / MLB
Feb 4, 2004

Sasaki inks deal with former club BayStars

The Seattle Mariners all-time saves leader Kazuhiro Sasaki said Tuesday he has signed a contract with the Yokohama BayStars, though details of the deal were undisclosed.
BUSINESS
Feb 4, 2004

Monetary base up 13.6% in January

Japan's monetary base expanded 13.6 percent in January from a year earlier for the 36th straight monthly rise, the Bank of Japan said Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Feb 4, 2004

Pioneer to buy NEC's plasma unit

Pioneer Corp. announced Tuesday it will acquire NEC Corp.'s plasma display panel business in a bid to remain a leading player within the increasingly competitive flat-panel TV sector.
JAPAN
Feb 4, 2004

Language panel says children need more talk, less TV

Less television and more conversation at home are important first steps in improving children's language proficiency, a council tasked with discussing how to improve young people's command of Japanese said Tuesday.
COMMENTARY
Feb 4, 2004

The not-so cordial entente

LONDON -- 2004 marks the 100th anniversary of the Entente Cordiale -- the accord between Britain and France of 1904 that marked a new era of friendship, the ending of numerous disputes and, as it turned out, intimate military alliance in two world wars.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 4, 2004

Chicken, beef scares seen as good time for ostriches to swoop

The recent mad cow disease case in the United States and the bird flu epidemic sweeping Asia have disrupted food imports to Japan, but some restaurateurs here say it's whetted diners' appetites for the offbeat: ostrich meat.
JAPAN
Feb 3, 2004

Opposition boycotts Upper House

The opposition parties continued Monday their boycott of all Diet debate following the ruling coalition's approval of the Self-Defense Forces dispatch to Iraq, effectively putting House of Councilors deliberations on hold.

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past