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JAPAN
May 31, 2002

Building fire near Yoyogi Station halts JR trains

Tokyo's Yamanote Line was halted for more than four hours Thursday evening after a fire broke out in a building near JR Yoyogi Station, the Tokyo Fire Department and East Japan Railway Co. said.
COMMENTARY / World
May 31, 2002

The World Cup: more than just a game

"Si, Senor, It's War" read the headline in an English newspaper a few days before the national team of England and Argentina met in their semifinal soccer game during the World Cup in Mexico in 1986. The headline was an exaggeration, of course. It was just a game. Yet, the Falklands War was fresh in...
BUSINESS / ON THE FRONT LINE
May 31, 2002

All signs point to 13,000

In a rare development in recent months, the daily turnover on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's first section topped 1 trillion yen on May 17 and stayed above this level on four of five trading days last week.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CUP COUNTDOWN
May 31, 2002

Hooligan phobia triggers siege mentality

KAWAGUCHI, Saitama Pref. -- Soccer fans hoping to stop for a cup of coffee on their way to or from World Cup games at Saitama Stadium won't be able to do so at Katsura cafe here. Whenever matches are being played -- and hooligans might be in the area -- the cafe will be closed.
BUSINESS
May 31, 2002

Lower House takes up postal bills

The House of Representatives Committee on Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications opened debate Thursday over a set of four postal services deregulation bills.
BUSINESS
May 31, 2002

Hakuhodo eyes TSE listing in fall

Toshio Miyagawa, president of advertising agency Hakuhodo Inc., said Thursday his company hopes to list on the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange in the fall. "Our aim to be listed next fall remains unchanged," Miyagawa told reporters during a briefing on Hakuhodo's earnings reports for fiscal...
LIFE / Language / THE PARENT TRIP
May 31, 2002

Footloose in 'Holland'

Sue stared intently from across the sandbox and asked, "Have you ever heard of Asperger's Syndrome?"
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
May 31, 2002

Black soldier fly

* Japanese name: Amerika mizuabu * Scientific name: Hermetia illucens * Description: Black soldier flies look a bit like wasps, but they have no sting and are not interested in humans -- at least while we are alive. They are robust black flies about 15 mm long, with wings that lay over the body when...
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 31, 2002

Ex-DJ spins Japan-China differences

The biggest problem between Japan and China is their lack of mutual understanding -- due largely to prejudice and ignorance, said Akiko Aoki, a former host for China Radio International, the sole Chinese national radio station broadcasting programs overseas.
BUSINESS
May 31, 2002

Aid-policy coordination to help fight terror

Japan and the United States will expand cooperation in the U.S.-led campaign against terrorism to include closer aid-policy coordination for Afghanistan and other strategically important countries, government sources said Thursday.
BUSINESS
May 31, 2002

'Shinkin' banks get national network back online

The nationwide online network for "shinkin" credit, savings and loans banks resumed normal operations at 8 a.m. Thursday after a computer problem that crippled the system the previous day was fixed, a shinkin bank information center said.
BASEBALL / MLB
May 31, 2002

Arias powers Tigers past Swallows in 10

With the bases loaded in the bottom of the 10th inning, Hanshin's George Arias drove in the game-ending run with a single down the third-base line, giving the Tigers a 3-2 "sayonara" win over the Yokohama BayStars at Koshien Stadium on Thursday.
JAPAN
May 31, 2002

Students bringing soccer to Afghan kids

A Tokyo student group hopes to use the World Cup to cheer up kids in Afghanistan.
JAPAN
May 31, 2002

Ministry to reprimand top prosecutor over underling's gangland dealings

The Justice Ministry decided Thursday to reprimand the public prosecutor general over a bribery and fraud scandal involving a former senior official of the Osaka High Public Prosecutor's Office, Justice Minister Mayumi Moriyama said.
JAPAN
May 31, 2002

Prosecutors seek prison for Nakao

Prosecutors on Thursday sought a 3 1/2-year prison term for former construction minister Eiichi Nakao, claiming he took 60 million yen in bribes from Wakachiku Construction Co. while he was a Cabinet member in 1996.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CLOSE NEIGHBORS
May 31, 2002

Tourism offers one path to better understanding

The pamphlets lined up at tourist centers scream, "Experience the real Korean-style aesthetic treatment and make your skin smooth!" "Spend three full days in Seoul sightseeing and shopping!"
JAPAN
May 31, 2002

English teachers in public schools face retraining

Japan's 60,000 public junior high and high school English teachers may be retrained in order to boost the English ability of Japanese people, education ministry officials said Wednesday.
LIFE / Lifestyle / MATTER OF COURSE
May 31, 2002

Encouraging kids to think for themselves

"Is it really OK for school to be this much fun?"
Japan Times
BUSINESS / THE WRITERS' SPIN
May 31, 2002

Keio professor applies soccer tactics to business

Watching World Cup soccer games may give corporate managers a good clue about productive organization. Shunsuke Takahashi, an expert on human resources management, said that in a "soccer style" organization, team members work autonomously and flexibly. Even defenders can take shots on goal.
BUSINESS
May 31, 2002

Cyclical upswing no time to relax reforms: Hayami

BOJ Gov. Masaru Hayami said Thursday that Japan should not relax its efforts to promote structural reforms and dispose of banks' nonperforming loans despite the recent economic uptick.
BUSINESS
May 31, 2002

Toshiba tips hand by raising stake in U.S. Audiovox unit

Electrical machinery maker Toshiba Corp. said Thursday it has raised its stake in U.S. wireless product distributor Audiovox Communications Corp. as a step toward expanding its mobile phone business in the North American market.
BUSINESS
May 31, 2002

Civil servants face reductions in salary, benefits

A Finance Ministry advisory panel has drafted a proposal for the fiscal 2003 budget that calls for curtailing the salaries of civil servants, as well as unemployment and other welfare benefits, panel sources said Thursday.
COMMENTARY
May 30, 2002

Chirac chooses neutral team

PARIS -- Not so long ago, a majority of the EU members had leftist governments. Most have since shifted to the right, starting with Spain followed by Austria, Portugal, Italy, Denmark and, on May 16, the Netherlands -- despite very low unemployment figures under the Socialist Cabinet.
JAPAN
May 30, 2002

Man nabbed in stolen car linked to land-transfer plot

OSAKA -- Osaka police said Wednesday they have arrested a man in Ishikawa Prefecture wanted on suspicion of forging public documents to help an acquaintance obtain the assets of a man who has gone missing.
BASEBALL / MLB
May 30, 2002

'Rami' plays hero for Swallows

Alex Ramirez arched a two-run homer into the right-field stands in the bottom of the ninth inning to lift the Yakult Swallows to a 2-1 "sayonara" triumph over the Yomiuri Giants on Wednesday evening at Jingu Stadium.
JAPAN
May 30, 2002

Personal data leaked on 3,500 Web-site users

Personal information on about 3,500 users of Web sites at two companies and a university has been leaked via the Internet, company and university sources said Wednesday.
JAPAN
May 30, 2002

Strong math, science skills boost salary: study

Bachelor of art graduates in Japan who are strong in mathematics and science tend to earn higher salaries than those who hate these subjects, a Kyoto University survey released Wednesday indicates.
JAPAN
May 30, 2002

Rokkasho is fusion-reactor candidate

Council for Science and Technology Policy on Wednesday formally selected the village of Rokkasho, Aomori Prefecture, as the candidate site for an international experimental nuclear reactor.
EDITORIALS
May 30, 2002

The only way to clear debt burden

Stock prices for Japan's top banks have been rising lately despite the huge deficits they have suffered in the business year that ended March 31. Increases in loan losses are good news in the sense that they reflect progress in bad-debt write-offs. In the same year, the nation's seven banking groups...

Longform

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