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Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / NAME OF THE GAME
Nov 7, 2002

PlayStation stays ahead of the pack

When it comes to video games, Sony is the company that does no wrong.
JAPAN
Nov 7, 2002

'Muneo House' bid-riggers get suspended terms

Two construction company employees were handed suspended prison terms after being found guilty Wednesday of interfering in the bidding process for a government-funded building on Kunashiri Island connected to scandal-tainted former lawmaker Muneo Suzuki.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OLD NIC'S NOTEBOOK
Nov 7, 2002

Bear facts about honey traps

Twenty years ago, in arguments with officials of the Forestry Agency, which was clear-cutting great swaths of old mixed forest and selling off much of the timber to be turned into wood chips, I tried to stress the individual value of various trees. In those days, a 150- to 200-year-old horse chestnut...
JAPAN
Nov 7, 2002

Intruder who threatened maid avoids prison

A 66-year-old man was handed a suspended one-year prison term Wednesday for entering the home of former Yomiuri Giants manager Shigeo Nagashima and threatening a maid with a knife.
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Nov 7, 2002

Say 'baaa' if you're glad to be gay

When domestic rams eschew female sheep, and instead hang around in the corner of the field with other rams, rubbing each other up, necking and even mounting each other, what is going on? Lord Alfred Douglas, Oscar Wilde's lover, coined the phrase "The love that dare not speak its name," in his poem "Two...
Japan Times
SOCCER / World cup
Nov 7, 2002

Zico reveals his plans for Japanese team

In an exclusive interview with The Japan Times, Brazilian soccer legend and newly appointed Japan national team coach Zico aired his views on his philosophy and plans for the future of Japanese soccer.
JAPAN
Nov 6, 2002

Afghans at broadcasting conference for first time in decade

More than 400 delegates from broadcasting organizations in 39 countries will attend a three-day meeting starting Wednesday in Tokyo to discuss issues facing the broadcasting industry, including cooperation in the areas of news and technology.
JAPAN
Nov 6, 2002

Pyongyang warns it may test missiles if Japan talks fail

BEIJING -- Pyongyang may lift its moratorium on missile tests if normalization talks with Japan drag on without any progress, the North Korean Foreign Ministry warned Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Nov 6, 2002

Itochu to help frozen-food company

Yukijirushi Access Inc., a frozen-food distributor operating within the Snow Brand Milk Products Co. group, said Tuesday it will take on two Itochu Corp. officials as directors.
JAPAN
Nov 6, 2002

Empress' house faces wrecking ball

Finance Minister Masajuro Shiokawa on Tuesday rejected calls to preserve the former Tokyo home of Empress Michiko, wife of Emperor Akihito, and said it will be torn down as scheduled.
JAPAN
Nov 6, 2002

China silent over missing Japanese

Chinese authorities have not provided any information on a missing Japanese working to help North Korean refugees in northern China and his interpreter, Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi said Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Nov 6, 2002

Hiranuma urges protection for smaller firms

Industry minister Takeo Hiranuma called Tuesday for a "fairly large" extra budget to safeguard small businesses against funding problems that are expected to worsen as banks accelerate their cleanup of bad loans.
JAPAN
Nov 6, 2002

Osaka man slain in a parking lot close to his home

OSAKA -- A man was found dead of apparent stab wounds Tuesday morning in a parking lot in Kishiwada, Osaka Prefecture, police said.
BUSINESS
Nov 6, 2002

Economic zones bill approved by Cabinet

The Cabinet approved a bill Tuesday to establish special zones in which progressive deregulatory measures would be introduced on a trial basis in a bid to buoy regional economies.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Nov 6, 2002

MLB stars arrive; A's, M's in March?

Welcome to Japan to all the players, coaches, manager, umpires, officials and staff members arriving Wednesday for the 2002 Major League All-Star Japan Series beginning Saturday. Thanks for coming, and all the best for a successful tour.
BUSINESS
Nov 6, 2002

Work insurance costs on the rise

The government on Tuesday proposed raising the monthly employment insurance premiums 0.2 percentage point to 1.6 percent to help rebuild the deteriorating national unemployment benefit system.
BUSINESS
Nov 6, 2002

BOJ looks to limit banks' stock risks

Members of the Bank of Japan Policy Board indicated during their September meeting that the central bank needs to reduce financial institutions' exposure to the stock market, according to minutes of the meeting released Tuesday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Nov 6, 2002

Hillman takes Fighters' helm

Anyone hoping the Nippon Ham Fighters' new American manager will shake things up may be in for a disappointment.
JAPAN
Nov 6, 2002

Victims of over-zealous media weigh new human rights bills

The media are both Kenichi Ino's worst enemy and strongest ally.
BUSINESS
Nov 6, 2002

No growth without reforms, report says

Persistent deflation and massive bad loans in the nation's banking system have weakened Japan's economy and no improvement will be seen until structural reforms are implemented, according to an annual government white paper released Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Nov 6, 2002

Keizai Doyukai chief wins award

The chairman of the Japan Association of Corporate Executives (Keizai Doyukai) on Tuesday received the annual Zaikai Prize, awarded by the publisher of business magazine Zaikai.
BASEBALL / MLB
Nov 6, 2002

Nakamura to become free agent

Kintetsu Buffaloes slugger Norihiro Nakamura declared free agency Tuesday and is considering several options, including a possible move to the Japan Series champion Yomiuri Giants.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Nov 6, 2002

Mekons: "OOOH!"

Many bands will admit to being politically minded, but the Mekons are one of the few who put their politics ahead of their music. It's not so much that the band, formed by art students in Leeds, England, in the late '70s, want to advance an agenda, but rather that they believe art and commerce are inseparable...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / NEW ART SEEN
Nov 6, 2002

Feminist charts no-woman's-land between peaceniks and the SDF

On Sept. 3 and 4 this year, soldiers at a Ground Self-Defense Force base in Kumamoto Prefecture in Kyushu were joined by an improbable guest: Japan's premier feminist and antiwar artist, Yoshiko Shimada.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Nov 6, 2002

Lemper takes lyrical leap

NEW YORK -- "I don't find inspiration in harmony, but in the darker corners of life," says actress and cabaret singer Ute Lemper at her home in New York City, where I caught up with her last week. On Nov. 9, she will be singing at the Akasaka Act Theatre in Tokyo, which will be the entertainer's fourth...
JAPAN
Nov 6, 2002

Tepco in hot seat as inspectors move in

The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency launched special safety inspections Tuesday at Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s three nuclear plants as part of punitive administrative steps over recent revelations it tried to coverup faults in its reactors.

Longform

Figure skater Akiko Suzuki was once told her ideal weight should be 47 kilograms, a number she now admits she “naively believed.” This led to her have a relationship with food that resulted in her suffering from anorexia.
The silent battle Japanese athletes fight with weight