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JAPAN
May 15, 2002

35% of firms monitor staff e-mail

Thirty-five percent of Japanese companies monitor the Internet browsing and e-mail records of their employees to ensure that company online facilities are not used for private purposes, according to a survey conducted by the Japan Institute of Labor.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / NEW ART SEEN
May 15, 2002

Weird science, but great art

It's the old quantity-versus-quality problem. Though there are only a couple of private contemporary-art museums in Tokyo (the Watari-Um and the Hara), their shows are almost always good and focus on providing authoritative coverage of some of the domestic and international art scenes' most important...
COMMENTARY
May 15, 2002

EU's costly quest for world leadership

LONDON -- Nowadays the European Union and the United States seem to be locked in almost permanent quarrels. One moment it's bananas, then it's steel, land mines, the Kyoto Protocol on global warming, European defense arrangements and NATO. Then it's the question of whether there should be a permanent...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
May 15, 2002

Cornershop: 'Handcream for a Generation'

Repetition is both the substance and the curse of pop music. It doesn't take much for even the most delicious hook to become a nagging bore once it's had a chance to pass a certain saturation point.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / J-POPSICLE
May 15, 2002

Misora's ship has come in

Die-hard fans of the late Hibari Misora -- the greatest enka diva ever -- may want to book passage on the "Queen Hibari Misora cruise," a unique, if somewhat morbid, maritime event being held June 12 and 13 to mark the 14th anniversary of Misora's death at the age of 52 after a prolonged illness.
BUSINESS
May 15, 2002

Shiokawa says economy has finally bottomed out

Finance Minister Masajuro Shiokawa on Tuesday said Japan's economy has hit bottom, citing improvements in exports, the price trend and the job situation.
BUSINESS
May 15, 2002

LDP approves two bills to break apart JNOC

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party gave the go-ahead Tuesday to two bills designed to effectively dissolve the debt-ridden Japan National Oil Corp. in March 2004.
JAPAN
May 15, 2002

Tourists heading abroad fall 9%

The number of Japanese tourists traveling abroad dropped a record 9 percent in 2001 from the previous year to 16.22 million, while tourists visiting Japan rose a marginal 0.3 percent to a record 4.77 million, the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry said in a report Tuesday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
May 15, 2002

The Black Dog

I can feel the beast closing in, feel it out there making its moves. I'm standing in the center of this dingy apartment listening to the intense howl of the pre-attack silence, too scared to turn on the lights. I bolt the door. I screw shut the windows. I nail down the toilet seat. You never know from...
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
May 15, 2002

Sage Francis: 'Personal Journals'

The marriage between art and entertainment in music has always been a dubious one, with hip-hop no exception. That's what makes Sage Francis, the spoken-word poet and freestyle-rhyme champion, one of the medium's brightest hopes. Hailing from Rhode Island (not exactly a hip-hop mecca), Francis bagged...
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
May 15, 2002

Japan Blues Carnival

The term "living legend" fits Buddy Guy as accurately as anyone. A leader of Chicago's West Side blues school (as distinct from South Side blues), Guy began recording in the 1950s and has never stopped. Still, "Damn Right I've Got the Blues," released in 1991, somehow felt like a comeback, with a rejuvenated...
JAPAN
May 15, 2002

Pricey Chiyoda Ward offers housing subsidies

In stark contrast to Koto Ward's moves to curb its rising population, Chiyoda Ward last month began offering rent subsidies to eligible residents.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 15, 2002

Just a word in your ear

A visitor to "Sesshu -- Master of Ink and Brush" at the Tokyo National Museum, Ueno, stops in front of one of the paintings. She has just been told to do so by the audio guide she's holding in her hand, which then launches into a detailed explanation of the painting's historical background and notable...
SUMO
May 15, 2002

Maru, leading grapplers maintain perfect records

Yokozuna Musashimaru played the playground bully beating up Aminishiki on Tuesday but ozeki Kaio was flipped to his second loss of the Summer Grand Sumo Tournament.
JAPAN
May 15, 2002

Respirator errors left seven dead last year

Seven people died and two were left comatose in 11 accidents involving respirators at 10 medical institutions nationwide in fiscal 2001, according to a health ministry report released Tuesday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
May 15, 2002

Still treading the boards after 1,100 years

To commemorate the 1,100th anniversary of the death of Sugawara no Michizane, the celebrated Heian-Period scholar-politician, the National Theater is presenting "Sugawara Denju Tenarai Kagami (Sugawara Certifies a Disowned Disciple to Perpetuate His Line of Calligraphy)." One of three bunraku masterpieces...
EDITORIALS
May 14, 2002

Suffer the children

The United Nations has decided that the world's 2 billion youngest citizens need healthier, more peaceful lives. To do that, member states last week cobbled together an action plan that sets ambitious goals -- yet failed to create a consensus on how to get there. It will take considerably more than lofty...
BASEBALL / MLB
May 14, 2002

Nakamura, Buffs hand Matsuzaka first loss

Norihiro Nakamura homered twice to drive in three runs Monday and Katsuhiko Maekawa held the Seibu Lions to five hits over 8 2/3 solid innings as the Kintetsu Buffaloes won their second straight with a 3-1 victory in the Pacific League.
SUMO
May 14, 2002

Maru remains unbeaten, Kaio, Musoyama fall to upsets

Yokozuna Musashimaru barreled over Toki just in time to remain unbeaten Monday but ozekis Kaio and Musoyama both were toppled to their first losses of the Summer Grand Sumo Tournament.
JAPAN
May 14, 2002

Rain could leave seriously ill people stranded: study

Extremely heavy rain once in five years would block access to key roadways, increasing the number of seriously ill patients unable to reach major medical facilities within one hour by 2.27 million, according to a government scenario.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 14, 2002

Dream Jumbo lottery tickets go on sale

Tickets for the Dream Jumbo lottery went on sale nationwide Monday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 14, 2002

Toyota's record-setting profits top 1 trillion yen

Toyota Motor Corp. announced Monday that its consolidated pretax profits jumped 14.5 percent from last year to a record 1.113 trillion yen during the 2001 business year, becoming the first Japanese company ever to post pretax profits exceeding 1 trillion yen.
BUSINESS
May 14, 2002

Mitsubishi Pharma profits up 229%

Mitsubishi Pharma Corp. said Monday that its group net profit soared 229.4 percent to 8.99 billion yen in fiscal 2001 due to cost-cutting and the U.S. government's authorization of a resumption of shipments from a U.S. plant.
JAPAN
May 14, 2002

Sex-determining gene of fish detected

A group of researchers has detected a gene in a Japanese freshwater fish that determines male sex, according to the group's thesis published Monday in Nature magazine.
BUSINESS
May 14, 2002

Koizumi vows to keep pursuing privatization in second year

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has told a British financial newspaper that his top priorities for his second year in office are to privatize the postal services and public organizations, including Japan Highway Public Corp., and to accelerate the disposal of banks' bad loans.

Longform

After pandemic-era border regulations eased, Indian migrants began returning to Japan. Their population now stands at more than 50,000 across the country.
How remote work is rewriting the migrant experience in Japan