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BUSINESS / ANALYSIS
Apr 16, 2002

Economic panel wants to go its own way on FTAs, farm trade

In a rather belated move aimed at giving the languishing Japanese economy a badly needed shot in the arm, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's key economic panel has put yet another sacred cow on its reform agenda: agriculture.
JAPAN
Apr 16, 2002

Pilot survives U.S. fighter jet crash

A U.S. Air Force F-16 fighter jet crashed Monday into the Sea of Japan off Aomori Prefecture, and the pilot was rescued safely, Aomori prefectural officials said.
JAPAN
Apr 16, 2002

Anonymous postings on Net entitled to royalties: court

The Tokyo District Court on Monday ruled that writings posted on the Internet under fictitious names are literary property, and ordered a Tokyo publisher and a Web site operator to suspend publication of a paperback that reprinted comments posted by 11 people on the site without their consent.
BUSINESS
Apr 16, 2002

Daiei offloads part of stake in Ichiken

Debt-saddled retailer Daiei Inc. said Monday it has agreed to sell slightly more than half of the group's equity stake in midsize construction firm Ichiken Co. to Toyo Techno Corp.
JAPAN
Apr 16, 2002

Yohei Kono readied to receive son's liver

Former Foreign Minister Yohei Kono, who is suffering from hepatitis C, may undergo a transplant operation Tuesday in which he will receive part of his son's liver, hospital sources said Monday.
BUSINESS
Apr 16, 2002

U.S. software guru in talent probe

U.S. computer pioneer Alan Kay has joined the judging panel of a government program aimed at promoting the creation of state-of-the-art software, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said Monday.
BUSINESS
Apr 16, 2002

Debate brews over easing trade with poor countries

A tug-of-war is brewing behind the scenes within the government over whether Japan should do more to help the world's poorest countries by granting their products, especially seafood, greater access to its lucrative market.
BUSINESS
Apr 16, 2002

Banks not short of capital: Hayami

Bank of Japan Gov. Masaru Hayami on Monday said he does not think Japan's major banks are short of capital, but cautioned they need to make further efforts to increase profitability.
EDITORIALS
Apr 14, 2002

Beyond Oprah's book club

Last week, U.S. fiction publishers heard to their dismay that they are about to lose the single biggest booster their industry has known in the past six years: television talk-show host Oprah Winfrey's astonishingly influential monthly book club. True, the same period also saw the advent of "Harry Potter"...
COMMENTARY
Apr 14, 2002

Mideast legacy could spread militancy

ISLAMABAD -- When terrorists struck the United States last September, many people were keen to downplay suggestions that the attack on the World Trade center had grown out of the anger generated by Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people.
JAPAN
Apr 14, 2002

Teen eating disorders increasing

About one in every 20 girls enrolled at high schools in the Tokyo metropolitan area suffers from anorexia nervosa, according to a government-funded survey.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 14, 2002

Population-fund cuts come at deadly price

NEW YORK -- The Bush administration's recent decision to cut back funds appropriated by Congress to the United Nations Population Fund, or UNFPA, will have serious repercussions in that agency's support for reproductive health in developing countries. The U.S. decision is aggravated by reduced contributions...
JAPAN
Apr 14, 2002

Emperor and Empress to attend World Cup soccer final

Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko will attend the final match of the World Cup soccer tournament as well as the closing ceremony in Yokohama on June 30, government sources said Saturday.
JAPAN
Apr 14, 2002

Obituary: Yaeko Nukada

Yaeko Nukada, a translator of screen scripts, died Tuesday of liver failure at a hospital in Shinjuku, Tokyo. She was 74.
BASEBALL / MLB
Apr 14, 2002

Hawks climb back on top

The Fukuoka Daiei Hawks rallied for three runs in the 11th inning with a little help from Seibu relief pitcher Shinji Mori on Saturday and regained first place in the Pacific League standings with a 6-3 win over the Lions.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 14, 2002

Britain and the euro: victory for the brave

BRUSSELS -- The introduction of the euro in 12 of the 15 member states of the European Union has been an unqualified success. The changeover had none of the hitches and glitches that many -- including myself -- thought would mar its early days.
JAPAN / WEEKEND WISDOM
Apr 14, 2002

The story of the global village; concise but unabridged

If such complex problems as globalization and the war in Afghanistan seem difficult to grasp, simplified figures could come in handy.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Apr 14, 2002

Reflecting the author at twice his natural size

A PILGRIMAGE TO ANGKOR. By Pierre Loti. Translated by W.P. Baines. Edited and introduced by Michael Smithies. With photographs by Euayporn Kerchouay. Chiang Mai: Silkworm Books, 1999 (revised edition), 107 pp., 22 color plates, 395 baht (paper) On an April evening in 1865, Louis Marie Julien Viaud, then...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Apr 14, 2002

It's not what you're thinking . . .

The way the rock business works is, you buy the record and if you like what you hear, you go to see the band in concert, which more likely than not, will be scheduled within two months of the record's release. Or, you see a band (by accident?) at a concert and then you rush out to your nearest record...
JAPAN
Apr 14, 2002

Obituary: Motoyuki Naganuma

Motoyuki Naganuma, a special adviser to Rissho Koseikai, Japan's second-largest lay Buddhist organization, and a former chairman of the Niwano Peace Foundation, died of heart failure at 4:40 p.m. on April 7 at a hospital in Tokyo's Nakano Ward. He was 78.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / JAZZNICITY
Apr 14, 2002

Bigger, fresher, louder

In the last Jazznicity column, I focused on meat-and-potatoes big bands in Tokyo. But in addition to those bands that work directly in the jazz tradition, there are many others seeking to extend its range of possibilities.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Apr 14, 2002

It's spring and renewal is in the air

English teachers will definitely want to check out Sunday's two-hour "SmaStation Spring Berabera Festival" (TV Asahi, 6:56 p.m.). "SmaStation" is the latest SMAP-related hit variety series, normally broadcast Saturday nights at 11 p.m. Taking its name from TV Asahi's influential nightly news program,...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / BEST BAR NONE
Apr 14, 2002

Not that Nobu, just the opposite

Mention the name Nobu to most jet-setters and they will recall the international restaurants serving "nouvelle Japonais" cuisine. The one in Tokyo occupies a sprawling, bungalow-style structure that hogs an impressive chunk of street front on Roppongi-dori near Shibuya. But what all the globe-hopping...
JAPAN
Apr 14, 2002

Japan considering creation of East Asia free-trade area before 2010

Japan is considering establishing an East Asia free-trade zone well ahead of 2010, Japanese trade ministry officials said Saturday.
SOCCER / World cup / EXCERPTS FROM PHILIPPE TROUSSIER'S BOOK
Apr 14, 2002

We mustn't forget our humanity

"Passion" is the story of Japan soccer team coach Philippe Troussier, his struggle to make it as a player and manager and his travels around France, Africa and Japan. In the book, Troussier also details his philosophy and thinking as he prepares for the World Cup in June.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Apr 14, 2002

Desperate times call for innovative measures

No quick recovery is on the horizon for the slumping Japanese book business. That is the consensus of commentator Kazuhiro Kobayashi, writing in Shuppan News (January), and of three experts discussing the matter in Tsukuru (March) -- Yasuo Ueda, Yoshiaki Kiyota and Hiroyuki Shinoda. Unit sales, revenues...
COMMUNITY
Apr 14, 2002

Off on the road of laughs

Paul Betney is perpetually in motion. It's the first thing that everyone notices about him. To put it bluntly, he shakes. Sometimes he looks like he's going to rattle himself apart, but then he arches his eyebrows and says, "Can you imagine me at airports?" and the audience is in fits.
JAPAN
Apr 14, 2002

Research vessel returns home from Antarctica

The Japanese icebreaker Shirase returned home Saturday, concluding a five-month Antarctic research mission.

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’