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BUSINESS
Dec 12, 2001

Sumitomo Metal to bolster Nippon-Kobe steel alliance

Sumitomo Metal Industries Ltd. said Tuesday it had decided to reinforce its tieup with Nippon Steel Corp., Japan's largest steelmaker, in a move that will divide the Japanese steel industry into two major forces.
BUSINESS
Dec 12, 2001

Gist of deregulation steps

The following is a summary of key deregulation measures proposed Tuesday in a report drafted by the Council for Regulatory Reform, a 15-member panel consisting of academics and business leaders:
JAPAN
Dec 12, 2001

Aid in works for hibakusha living abroad

The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry is considering earmarking about 500 million yen from the budget to help hibakusha living overseas come to Japan for treatment beginning in fiscal 2002, ministry officials said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Dec 12, 2001

Satellite to help Japanese in danger zones

Japan will start using a satellite system early next year to communicate with and verify the safety of Japanese nationals working in dangerous regions across the globe, according to a senior Foreign Ministry official.
CULTURE / Stage
Dec 12, 2001

Going full circle for sex and romance

Love is in the air at the Benisan Pit theater in Tokyo's Koto Ward. There, downtown by the Sumida River, Theatre Project Tokyo is staging its latest production, "The Blue Room," based on Viennese playwright Arthur Schnitzler's "Reigen."
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Dec 12, 2001

The Silver Jews: 'Bright Flight'

David Berman's band suffers from an image problem. People are confused by the name, The Silver Jews (a reference to The Silver Apples and slang for Jewish people with blonde hair). Moreover, the music press seems convinced that they're a side project of influential indie-rockers, Pavement. True, Berman...
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Dec 12, 2001

Sloan

Like a lot of indie guitar bands, the Halifax, Nova Scotia quartet Sloan regard rabid rock fandom with a certain degree of ambivalence. Unlike a lot of indie guitar bands, however, Sloan itself enjoys the attention of a sizable Tiger Beat-like international cult. They show how they deal psychologically...
BUSINESS
Dec 12, 2001

Japan, Mexico to hold FTA talks

Japan and Mexico will hold a two-day meeting in Mexico City to study details of a proposed bilateral free trade agreement, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said Tuesday.
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Dec 12, 2001

The Warm Inventions: 'Bavarian Fruit Bread'

The late, lamented Mazzy Star was -- like all quiet rock bands -- a classic case of "love 'em or hate 'em." They never seemed to be having a good time on stage or on record (a song called "happy" being particularly ironic), they loathed stardom and media attention, and it seemed all they could do was...
CULTURE / Art
Dec 12, 2001

The world according to Bucky

Naming himself "Guinea Pig B," Buckminster Fuller vowed that his whole life would be an experiment "to see what an unknown individual . . . might be able to do effectively on behalf of all mankind."
CULTURE / Stage
Dec 12, 2001

Celebrating 'doing the rounds'

David Leveaux, the English director of "The Blue Room," has been working regularly in Japan since 1993. In these highlights from a lengthy discussion last week, TPT's artistic director speaks about his work here, Japanese audiences . . . and the message of "The Blue Room."
BUSINESS
Dec 12, 2001

Marubeni, Microsoft to launch shared-hosting business

Marubeni Corp. and Microsoft Co. said Tuesday they will launch a business to enable firms to access and use Marubeni's server center as their own local area networks.
CULTURE / Stage
Dec 12, 2001

The tall tale of an unholy trinity

Celebrating the 35th anniversary of its establishment this month, the National Theater of Japan is presenting in its entirety Kawatake Mokuami's 1860 kabuki masterpiece "Sannin Kichisa (Three Men Named Kichisa)."
CULTURE / Film
Dec 12, 2001

The school of hard knocks

Mabudachi Rating: * * * * Director: Tomoyuki Furumaya Running time: 99 minutes Language: Japanese Now showing
CULTURE / Film
Dec 12, 2001

Walking a fine line between silly and smart

Monkeybone Rating: * * * Director: Henry Selick Running time: 93 minutes Language: English Now showing
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Dec 12, 2001

The Park Tower Blues Festival

Heaping portions of soul-satisfying blues are served up in Tokyo only twice a year -- once in May, at the Blues Festival at the Hibiya Park Open Air Amphitheater, and then in December at the Park Tower Blues Festival at the top of Shinjuku's Park Tower Hotel complex. The latter event is coming up this...
CULTURE / Art / CERAMIC SCENE
Dec 12, 2001

Diverse splendor in many a jar

The depth and variety of Japanese pottery has enraptured the senses for many a season. As the seasons change and the baton of life is passed on, the beauty of older Japanese pottery remains unwithered, even in this winter season and amid all the changes that have occurred within and without. In a sense,...
CULTURE / Music / J-POPSICLE
Dec 12, 2001

You go, girls

Cute girls. Snarling guitar. Strong hooks. A pounding beat. What more do you need?
CULTURE / Stage
Dec 12, 2001

Kyogen with a twist

KYOTO -- What do kyogen, noh, nihon buyo, the works of Samuel Beckett, W.B. Yeats and Woody Allen have in common?
BUSINESS
Dec 12, 2001

Chemical firms agree to pay $23 million in U.S. lawsuit

Daicel Chemical Industries Ltd. and Nippon Synthetic Chemical Industry Co. said Tuesday they will pay a combined $23.2 million as part of an out-of-court settlement of a U.S. antitrust lawsuit launched against them over their sales of sorbic acid.
CULTURE / Art
Dec 12, 2001

Sculpting the lights fantastic

At the Morioka Crystal Gallery in Iwate Prefecture, Kate Thomson's brilliant collection of marble sculptures are on display till Dec. 29.
EDITORIALS
Dec 11, 2001

The Diet that set a precedent

The Diet session that closed last Friday set a significant precedent for Japan's evolving security policy debates, paving the way for the first "wartime" deployment overseas of the Self-Defense Forces. That was the most important feature of the extraordinary session. What prompted the SDF move was, of...
Events
Dec 11, 2001

Kobe Hash House joggers chalk up white powder snafu to experience

KOBE -- The recent anthrax attacks in the United States have caused panic throughout the world over the deadly bacteria.
JAPAN
Dec 11, 2001

Accusation filed against Jichiro

The Tokyo Regional Taxation Bureau filed a criminal accusation Monday against the nationwide union of local government employees and former union executives for allegedly evading about 200 million yen in taxes, sources close to the tax authorities said.

Longform

Members of the nonprofit group Japan Youth Memorial Association search for the remains of dead soldiers in a cave in Okinawa Prefecture in February.
The long search for Japan’s lost soldiers