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COMMENTARY
Jun 5, 2002

Debunking free-market dogmatism

Washington's propensity to say one thing and then do something quite different wins few friends. But U.S. determination to protect its domestic steel industry with high antidumping tariffs may not be quite as wicked as most assume. The move flies in the face of claimed U.S. devotion to free-trade principles....
BUSINESS
Jun 5, 2002

Nissan Construction to receive aid

The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry said Tuesday it has designated failed Nissan Construction Co. eligible for an employment aid program.
JAPAN
Jun 5, 2002

Opposition parties to demand Nakatani resign over info list

Secretaries general of the four biggest opposition parties agreed Tuesday to demand the resignation of Defense Agency chief Gen Nakatani over his agency's systematic compilation of information on individuals who made information disclosure requests from the agency.
JAPAN
Jun 5, 2002

Japan officially ratifies Kyoto climate protocol

Japan ratified the Kyoto Protocol on Tuesday, officially committing to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, nearly 4 1/2 years after the pact was inked.
JAPAN
Jun 5, 2002

Info seekers not on file: Kawaguchi

Amid revelations that the Defense Agency and Self-Defense Forces compiled private data on individuals requesting disclosure of information, Foreign Minister Yuriko Kawaguchi said Tuesday she does not believe her ministry has conducted a similar practice.
BUSINESS
Jun 5, 2002

As yen rises Shiokawa talks of 'volatility'

Finance Minister Masajuro Shiokawa on Tuesday again tried to talk down the yen, demand for which is growing as confidence in the U.S. economy melts and New York stock prices slide.
BUSINESS
Jun 5, 2002

Key gauge points to continuing economic expansion

The key gauge of the current state of the economy topped the boom-or-bust line of 50 percent in April for the second month in a row, the government said Tuesday in a preliminary report.
BUSINESS / ON THE FRONT LINE
Jun 5, 2002

BOJ resolve to keep yen weak faces test

The currency market remains caught in the crosscurrents of a growing wave of dollar selling -- or speculation about it -- and fears of central bank intervention.
BUSINESS
Jun 5, 2002

Drastic changes proposed for telecom sector

An advisory panel charged with studying ways to promote information technology-related competition on Tuesday proposed drastically deregulating the nation's telecommunications sector.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jun 5, 2002

Billy Childish: cool way before your time

Being dyslexic hasn't stopped Billy Childish from writing two novels and 30 volumes of poetry. Being tone-deaf hasn't stopped him from singing in a bunch of garage bands. And his determination to do things his own way without giving a damn about being ignored by the mainstream has made him into an icon...
JAPAN
Jun 5, 2002

Kawaguchi eyes peace talks in India

Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi said Tuesday that she might visit India later this week, while en route to the Middle East, to urge the country's leaders not to escalate tensions with Pakistan over Kashmir.
BUSINESS
Jun 5, 2002

Food Ministry not in cards: Takebe

Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Tsutomu Takebe on Tuesday denied a newspaper report his ministry is considering changing its name by as early as fiscal 2003.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jun 5, 2002

Celebrate football's field of dreams

It's twenty minutes before England's opening World Cup game at Saitama Stadium and I'm sitting almost directly behind the goal, sacred posts that I'm hoping Michael Owen will tune his gold-plated radar into the moment he walks onto the pitch.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 5, 2002

Shigenobu daughter pushes peace

OSAKA — While international calls are growing for another round of peace talks between Israeli and Palestinian leaders, May Shigenobu, daughter of the Japanese Red Army guerrilla group's founder, said little progress will be made unless Palestinian grievances are recognized.
BUSINESS
Jun 5, 2002

Hitachi, IBM to integrate their hard disk operations

Hitachi Ltd. and International Business Machines Corp. on Tuesday announced an agreement to integrate their hard disk drive businesses under a joint company to be majority-owned by Hitachi.
JAPAN
Jun 5, 2002

METI enters fray over secondhand game software sales

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry has announced that it will set up a distribution study group to mediate the protracted dispute between game software makers and secondhand shops that sell their products.
JAPAN
Jun 5, 2002

Suzuki to recall four minicar models

Suzuki Motor Corp. will recall four of its minicar models, including two it produces for Mazda Motor Corp. and Nissan Motor Co., to fix air-bag defects, the transport ministry said Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Jun 5, 2002

Life insurance giants growing weaker

Hit by slumping share prices and mounting policy cancellations, the nation's top 11 life insurers are continuing to lose strength, earnings reports released Tuesday showed.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / NEW ART SEEN
Jun 5, 2002

A Japan-Korea joint show that's wide of goal . . .

By this time, even the most blinkered of Tokyo's art enthusiasts will be aware that the planet's premier sporting event, the World Cup, is taking place in Korea and Japan. There is just no ignoring the newspaper and magazine coverage, the live television broadcasts and the hordes of dumbfounded soccer...
BUSINESS
Jun 5, 2002

TSE, NYSE to share info

The Tokyo Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange said Tuesday that they have agreed to share information on market transactions to ensure fairness and transparency in both markets.
BUSINESS
Jun 5, 2002

Computer server shipments down

Shipments of computer servers fell in the first quarter of 2002 for the first time in four years on a quantitative basis, a market research agency said Wednesday.
CULTURE / Music
Jun 5, 2002

It all starts here: a garage rock primer

Wondering how to start your garage-rock record collection? We asked a bunch of players on the scene to name their top picks, and this is what they came up with.
JAPAN
Jun 5, 2002

Foreign Ministry pair indicted over fund fraud

A Russian affairs expert and his former Foreign Ministry colleague were indicted Tuesday on charges of using more than 33 million yen in funds earmarked for an international aid panel to pay for a trip to Israel.
BUSINESS
Jun 5, 2002

Political wrangling continuing over steel import curbs

Delaying a decision on whether to retaliate against U.S. steel import curbs will be possible if the United States offers further compromises over product exclusions, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Takeo Hiranuma said Tuesday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jun 5, 2002

She's with the band

Basking in the spotlight has never been the way of jazz instrumentalists; they know how much they owe the band. But for jazz vocalists, the opposite tends to be true. Female singers, in particular, tend to be seen as center-stage divas more than an integral part of the group.
SOCCER / World cup
Jun 5, 2002

Japan draws with Belgium in seesaw thriller

SAITAMA -- Tuesday was a historic day for Japanese soccer as the boys in blue earned the first-ever World Cup point for the cohosting nation after fighting to a 2-2 draw with Belgium.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jun 5, 2002

. . . but soccer hosts are a dream team on stage

As in soccer, so on stage. Japan-Korea collaboration (or is it Korea-Japan collaboration?) is happening all over.

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past