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SOCCER / THE BALD TRUTH
Aug 7, 2001

Japanese soccer stars shocked by encounters with outside world

First the good news: Five Japan internationals now play abroad. With Naohiro Takahara playing for Boca Juniors and Hidetoshi Nakata, Junichi Inamoto, Shinji Ono and Akinori Nishizawa all employed in Europe, Japan coach Philippe Troussier has good reason to be optimistic ahead of next year's World Cup....
JAPAN
Aug 7, 2001

Obituary: Masahisa Aoki

Masahisa Aoki, a former director general of the Environment Agency who turned to politics after a career in newspapers, died Monday of a heart attack at a hospital in Saitama Prefecture, his family said. He was 78.
EDITORIALS
Aug 7, 2001

Legacies of the Gulf War

Eleven years ago, Iraq invaded Kuwait and set in motion a series of events that would culminate in the Persian Gulf War. The U.N. coalition drove the invader from Kuwait and humiliated the once-vaunted Iraqi war machine. But in the decade since that defeat, Iraqi President Saddam Hussein has retaken...
BUSINESS / TAKING STOCK
Aug 7, 2001

TSE slump yields to bulls

The Tokyo stock market appears poised to test its upside, counting on Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's economic policies.
BUSINESS
Aug 7, 2001

Toyota Corolla keeps vehicle sales pole position for 11th straight month

Toyota Motor Corp.'s Corolla retained top spot on the best-selling Japanese vehicle rankings for July, marking its 11th straight month in pole position, the Japan Automobile Dealers Association said Monday.
Events
Aug 7, 2001

Toxic island may be turned into foreign enclave

OSAKA -- What do you do with an island far from the center of town on which no one wants to live because methane gas leaks from landfill boasting high dioxin levels?
BUSINESS
Aug 7, 2001

Debt-hit Daiei to unload healthy Printemps store

Daiei Inc. is considering selling its shares in subsidiary department store Printemps Ginza S.A. to reduce its debt, Daiei sources said Monday.
JAPAN
Aug 7, 2001

Attitudes shifting on separate names for married people

The government sees a big change in attitudes about separate surnames by married couples and plans to discuss the possible introduction of a two-name system, the top government spokesman said Monday.
BUSINESS
Aug 7, 2001

DDI Pocket to lease PHS network to newcomer

DDI Pocket Inc., an affiliate of KDDI Corp., has basically agreed to lease out its personal handy-phone system communications network to a Tokyo-based startup telecommunications company, industry sources said Monday.
BUSINESS
Aug 7, 2001

Ruling bloc agrees on need for extra budget

Policymakers from the three ruling parties agreed Monday on the need to compile a supplementary budget for the current fiscal year to help buoy the faltering economy.
JAPAN
Aug 7, 2001

Kansai airport late-night flights proving popular

OSAKA -- More and more travelers are taking advantage of bargain late-night flights departing from Kansai International Airport off Osaka, according to airport officials.
BUSINESS
Aug 7, 2001

Fast Retailing to enter China market

Fast Retailing Co., operator of the popular Uniqlo-brand casual wear retail shops, said Monday it will establish a subsidiary in Kumshan in the Chinese coastal province of Jiangsu on Wednesday.
Events
Aug 7, 2001

Kansai hoping to revitalize with return to cultural roots

KYOTO -- The Kansai region is about to host a unique performing arts festival that organizers hope will spark a regional renaissance at a time when the nation is facing a bleak future.
LIFE / Travel / NATURE TRAVEL
Aug 7, 2001

Rubbing noses with a musk ox

The Northwest Territories cover approximately one-third of Canada. Given that Canada is the second-largest country in the world, it can therefore be said without fear of contradiction that the NWT is rather large.
BUSINESS
Aug 7, 2001

Minicar presence gains on automaker innovation

Minicars were once regarded by Japanese consumers as second-class, cheap vehicles.
EDITORIALS
Aug 6, 2001

Restoring a MAD world's sanity

Fifty-six years ago, on the morning of July 16, 1945, the United States exploded the first atomic bomb at a testing range at Alarmogordo, New Mexico. Watching the blast, Dr. Robert Oppenheimer, who played the leading role in the last stages of the Manhattan Project, reminded himself of a doomsday passage...
COMMENTARY
Aug 6, 2001

Voodoo economics rule the day

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's oft-repeated slogan, "There will be no economic recovery without structural reforms," sounds familiar to most Japanese.
COMMENTARY
Aug 6, 2001

Now Koizumi's battle begins

HONOLULU -- Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi delivered on his promise to revive the fortunes of the Liberal Democratic Party the weekend before last. LDP candidates steamrollered their opposition, claiming 64 of the 121 seats that were contested in the Upper House ballot. After an independent candidate...
JAPAN
Aug 6, 2001

N. Korean media finally report Kim's Russia visit

SEOUL -- North Korean media on Saturday reported a visit to Russia by the country's leader, Kim Jong Il, for the first time since he crossed the Russian border by train July 26, nine days ago.
COMMENTARY
Aug 6, 2001

Powell earns top marks on Asian tour

LOS ANGELES -- Colin Powell's first week in Asia as U.S. secretary of state broke what almost has become an unfortunate tradition. It was a success.
BASEBALL / MLB
Aug 6, 2001

Birds down Dragons on bad throw

The Yakult Swallows took advantage of a throwing error by Chunichi catcher Takeshi Nakamura in the seventh inning Sunday to edge the Dragons 2-1 at Jingu Stadium. Yakult won its fifth consecutive game.
JAPAN
Aug 6, 2001

No-interest loans for city roads planned

The Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry is planning to introduce a new system to provide interest-free loans to local governments to accelerate the building of roads in urban areas, ministry officials said Sunday.
SOCCER / World cup
Aug 6, 2001

'Europeans' out of Japan squad

Philippe Troussier has omitted his quartet of European stars from Japan's provisional 25-man squad for this month's Asia-Oceania Challenge Cup clash with Australia, the Japan Football Association announced Sunday.
SPORTS / TALK OF THE TIMES
Aug 6, 2001

Iwabuchi hoping for big season this year

Saracens and Japan flyhalf Kensuke Iwabuchi is hoping for a great season this year in England.
JAPAN
Aug 6, 2001

S. Korea praises Moscow Declaration as positive step

SEOUL -- A senior official of the South Korean Foreign Affairs and Trade Ministry on Sunday praised the Moscow Declaration issued Saturday by Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Il as a positive step for inter-Korean relations.
BUSINESS
Aug 6, 2001

Wine exporters focus on Asia

BORDEAUX, France -- Japan is firmly back on the agenda for many wine exporters despite its continued economic slump, and value for money at the lower end should improve further. However, futures prices already indicate the prestige 2000 Bordeaux vintages won't be cheap.

Longform

Koichi Tagawa’s diary entry from Aug. 9, 1945, describes the day of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki.
The horrors of Nagasaki, in first person