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SUMO
Mar 13, 2002

Chiyotaikai suffers first loss

OSAKA -- Ozeki Chiyotaikai was toppled by Tosanoumi for his first loss of the Spring Grand Sumo Tournament on Tuesday to suffer an early dent in his chances for possible promotion to yokozuna.
BUSINESS
Mar 13, 2002

Tapping of methane hydrate gas raises energy hopes

An intergovernmental research team has succeeded in tapping methane hydrate in an economically viable gas form for the first time, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Mar 13, 2002

What names, things standing thus unknown, shall live behind me

William Shakespeare
BUSINESS
Mar 13, 2002

Banks told not to lower efforts

Banks should not become lax in their efforts to dispose of nonperforming loans, despite speculation that the risk of a financial crisis occurring this month has receded, Financial Services Minister Hakuo Yanagisawa said Tuesday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Mar 13, 2002

Jad Fair: 'Words of Wisdom and Hope'

Though many consider it a dubious distinction, Jad Fair has fashioned a lasting career out of what is essentially a negative musical talent. Willfully ignorant of theory and mostly tone-deaf, Fair, first with his groundbreaking group Half Japanese and more recently as a kind of plug-in solo artist, creates...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Mar 13, 2002

In the nihongo words of the Bard . . .

Kazuko Matsuoka is the Shakespeare translator whose work directors and actors in Japan most like to use. A 59-year-old Tokyo resident, she is the translator appointed for the Saitama Arts Theater's project of staging Shakespeare's complete works. To date, she has translated 11 of the plays, and is now...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Mar 13, 2002

The power and the glory of the Prado

It was the age of Spain's Inquisition and its Age of Gold. King Felipe II, who ascended the throne in 1556, lost an "invincible" armada to the fleet of Protestant England, but he also built the breathtaking palace of El Escorial near Madrid. In swift succession, he married four wives from the four great...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / J-POPSICLE
Mar 13, 2002

I take it back, gladly

When writing recently about Seiji Ozawa's very successful "New Year's Concert 2002" album, I made a passing reference to his "nasally voiced" nephew, Kenji Ozawa.
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Mar 13, 2002

Trail of Dead: 'Source Tags & Codes'

At last year's Summersonic festival, Texas four-piece . . . And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead gave us the best, and most incendiary, live performance Japan saw all year. They ended a phenomenal show by trashing every piece of equipment on stage -- even the drum kit was hurled into the mosh pit...
BUSINESS
Mar 13, 2002

Nichimen to sell oil, coal divisions

Nichimen Corp. has agreed to sell its oil-carbon and coal-ore divisions to Nissho Iwai Corp. by the end of the month, the two trading houses said Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Mar 13, 2002

Beer, 'happoshu' sales post 3.5% rise

Shipments of beer and "happoshu," a low-malt, low-cost, beer-like beverage, rose 3.5 percent in February from a year earlier to 434,770 kiloliters, according to data released Tuesday by Japan's five top brewers.
BUSINESS
Mar 13, 2002

Nippon Steel to enter China housing market

Nippon Steel Corp. said Tuesday it will enter the house-building business in China by licensing its construction technology to a Chinese building materials firm.
BUSINESS / ON THE FRONT LINE
Mar 13, 2002

Deflation package a salve to market's woes

The government's package of measures to fight deflation has helped underpin the falling stock market.
SOCCER / J. League / ON THE BALL
Mar 12, 2002

JFA introduces new status for experienced refs

The Japan Football Association has this season introduced a new status for its top referees, called "S.R."
COMMENTARY
Mar 12, 2002

Asia changed little by 9-11

HONOLULU -- While the way Americans look at the world may have fundamentally changed since Sept. 11, the basic Asian issues confronting U.S. decision-makers remain largely unchanged. A look at regional concerns shows more similarities than differences to those that existed before Sept. 11.
SUMO
Mar 12, 2002

Tochiazuma, Maru stay perfect

OSAKA -- Yokozuna hopeful Tochiazuma overcame a shaky start to keep his promotion push at full speed with a win over Tochinonada on Monday to stay perfect on the second day of the Spring Grand Sumo Tournament.
BUSINESS
Mar 12, 2002

'Economy watchers' see rise in business

Sentiment on the front lines of the workforce improved for the fourth month in a row in February, although pessimistic workers continue to outnumber those with an optimistic outlook, according to a government report released Monday.
BUSINESS
Mar 12, 2002

Machinery orders dive 15.6%

Japan's core private-sector machinery orders fell a seasonally adjusted 15.6 percent in January to 763.8 billion yen, due to a sharp fall in orders from nonmanufacturers, the Cabinet Office said Monday.
BUSINESS
Mar 12, 2002

Kansai business groups look to consolidate efforts

OSAKA -- The three largest Kansai-area business organizations on Monday announced they will study ways to consolidate their efforts but insisted there would be no merger into a single entity.
BUSINESS
Mar 12, 2002

JR Freight expects revenues to fall

JR Freight Co., the cargo operator of the JR group, unveiled Monday its business plan for 2002, predicting the economic slump will continue and push down the firm's overall revenues by 7.1 billion yen from the previous year to 159.3 billion yen.
BUSINESS
Mar 12, 2002

Banking crisis looks like mirage

Japan will probably avoid a banking crisis at the end of the month because of the recent triple rise of stocks, bonds and the yen, Takashi Imai, chairman of the Japan Federation of Economic Organizations (Keidanren), said Monday.
BUSINESS / TAKING STOCK
Mar 12, 2002

Unswayed by GDP fall, Nikkei rally sets in

The Tokyo stock market has turned bullish and an unexpectedly strong rally has kicked off.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / NATURE TRAVEL
Mar 12, 2002

Fairy-tale castles dreamt up by a mad king

King Ludwig II (1845-1886), absolute ruler of Bavaria, had his little ways.
BUSINESS / ON MANAGEMENT
Mar 12, 2002

Honesty as a policy

Although it seems that everybody now has an opinion on the Enron debacle, I still think that the business lessons to be learned have been slighted. In a sense, what has happened with this three-card monte version of a corporation is a reflection of the worst single tendency of the last quarter-century...
BUSINESS
Mar 12, 2002

WTO should review rules of investment: Hiranuma

Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Takeo Hiranuma on Monday told the next director general of the World Trade Organization that investment rules should be negotiated during the recently launched new round of international trade talks.
MORE SPORTS
Mar 12, 2002

Tamura returns to training

Olympic and world champion judoka Ryoko Tamura will begin training this week after an eight-month layoff, judo sources said Monday.

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