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BUSINESS
Jun 4, 2002

Listen to an ad, get a free call

Telecom venture Third Line Communications Co. said Monday it has launched a new fixed-line phone service that allows users to speak for free for about three minutes if they first listen to corporate ads for about 15 seconds.
BUSINESS
Jun 4, 2002

IDB chief backs Okinawa as meeting venue

Enrique Iglesias, president of the Inter-American Development Bank, said Monday he supports Japan's bid to hold the 2005 annual meeting of the bank in Okinawa, Finance Ministry officials said.
JAPAN
Jun 4, 2002

Opposition seeks Fukuda's head

Four major opposition parties agreed Monday to demand the resignation of Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda over his suggestion last week that Japan could abandon its three nonnuclear principles.
SOCCER / World cup
Jun 4, 2002

Italy continues impressive run in World Cup play

SAPPORO -- Italy had only lost one game (vs. Ireland in U.S.A '94) in regulation time in the World Cup since Mexico '86, conceding only 10 goals in those 19 games. This record was to remain untarnished as Italy used two goals from Christian Vieri to cruise to a 2-0 win over Ecuador in their Group G game...
BUSINESS
Jun 4, 2002

New automobile sales down 1.4% in May

Domestic sales of new motor vehicles excluding minivehicles and specialty vehicles fell 1.4 percent in May from a year earlier to 284,826 units, down for the ninth consecutive month, the Japan Automobile Dealers Association said Monday.
JAPAN
Jun 4, 2002

Kawaguchi pushes Mideast peace

Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi met with an Israeli official Monday and urged Israel to make efforts to resume peace talks with the Palestinians.
COMMENTARY
Jun 3, 2002

Time to leave European defense to Europe

WASHINGTON -- The 19 members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization have gathered in Rome to initiate a new partnership with Russia; they are also planning to add several new members to the alliance. The usual fatuous rhetoric emanating from the meeting cannot hide the fact that NATO is an organization...
SOCCER / World cup
Jun 3, 2002

England thwarted by Swedish jinx as teams draw 1-1

SAITAMA -- Thirty-four years and counting.
SOCCER / World cup
Jun 3, 2002

South Africa rallies to tie Paraguay

PUSAN, South Korea -- A last-minute penalty capped a quite remarkable comeback for South Africa, giving it a 2-2 draw against Paraguay after it had been outplayed and out-thought for long periods of its Group B match on Sunday.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 3, 2002

An occasion for peace and reconciliation

The cohosting of the World Cup that began Friday is a great occasion for fostering peace and reconciliation not merely between South Korea and Japan but also throughout the world. Although the World Cup is mainly a sporting event that takes place every four years, the current contest portends special...
JAPAN
Jun 3, 2002

11th-hour reversal on online ticket sales has Cup fans' heads spinning

The Japan World Cup Organizing Committee reversed its policy Sunday and sold tickets online for the day's match between England and Sweden, some said adding to the confusion and frustration over ticket distribution for World Cup soccer finals.
JAPAN
Jun 3, 2002

Survey shows regional gaps in Internet use

A wide regional digital divide exists in Japan despite government efforts to spread Internet use, according to a recent telecom ministry survey on household consumption.
COMMENTARY
Jun 3, 2002

Too cozy for visions of reform

Japan is groping in the dark politically, economically and diplomatically. Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's reform initiative is deadlocked; there is even a sense that it might end up as an empty slogan. Prospects for the postal deregulation bills, a top item on his reform agenda, are at best uncertain...
SOCCER / World cup
Jun 3, 2002

Argentina downs Nigeria 1-0

KASHIMA, Ibaraki Pref. -- A second-half goal from striker Gabriel Batistuta helped Argentina beat Nigeria 1-0 and earn three precious points in Group F, known as the "Group of Death," on Sunday at Kashima Soccer Stadium.
JAPAN
Jun 3, 2002

Internet-auto system may become global norm: METI

Japan's Intelligent Transportation Systems, based on Internet data transmission, may become the global norm.
BUSINESS
Jun 3, 2002

U.S. energy policy pushes new course

KANSAS — The Bush administration is attempting to direct global energy policy in a new direction five years after the landmark Kyoto agreement to roll back emissions of greenhouse gases.
BUSINESS
Jun 3, 2002

Will next-generation autos be in time to save Earth?

U.S. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham said that today 700 million cars navigate the industrialized world. He projected there will be 3.5 billion cars in 50 years.
COMMENTARY / JAPAN IN THE GLOBAL ERA
Jun 3, 2002

Can a nation learn from Nissan's success?

LAUSANNE, Switzerland -- The twin announcements that Nissan made a record profit of 372 billion yen last year and that Carlos Ghosn has been appointed chief executive officer of the parent company, Renault, as well as retaining the presidency of Nissan, are an extraordinary landmark.
EDITORIALS
Jun 3, 2002

Mr. Arafat's failures

Real peace between Palestinians and Israelis will be preceded by two conditions: an Israeli withdrawal from most, if not all, of the occupied territories and genuine democracy in the Palestinian Authority. Attention has usually focused on the first factor, but it has become increasingly evident that...
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Jun 3, 2002

Balance of payments and intervention signal danger for economic reforms

Japan's international balance of payments for fiscal 2001, released by the Finance Ministry on May 15, highlighted a year-on-year fall in the trade and current account surpluses. But it also revealed a 24.4 percent increase in the nation's income surplus to a record-high 8.68 trillion yen.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 3, 2002

Start Indo-Pakistani peace process by recognizing LOC

The recently concluded conference on South Asia, held at the United Nations University during an especially tense week in that region, confirmed three things.
BASEBALL / MLB
Jun 3, 2002

Lions' Chang pounces on Fighters

Taiwanese right-hander Chang Chih Chia -- making his debut in Japan -- held Nippon Ham to just two hits over six innings to earn the win as the Seibu Lions defeated the Fighters 5-0 Sunday afternoon at the Seibu Dome.
SOCCER / World cup
Jun 2, 2002

Tomasson hits two as Denmark beat Uruguay 2-1

ULSAN, South Korea -- With a late headed goal from Jon Dahl Tomasson -- his second in a game that for periods descended into scrappiness and bad-tempered fouls -- Denmark started its 2002 World Cup campaign here on Saturday with an important 2-1 victory over Uruguay.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 2, 2002

Rebuilding Argentines' shattered hopes

NEW YORK -- After returning from Argentina, my native country, I am deeply puzzled. It is difficult to reconcile the image of the proud country I left more than 30 years ago with the one I saw again recently. How can I explain the hundreds -- or thousands -- of people who go scavenging every day as soon...
JAPAN
Jun 2, 2002

Koizumi downplays nonnuclear policy quip

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and Liberal Democratic Party officials on Saturday moved to reassure the world again that his government would not break with the nuclear taboo following remarks by one of his closest aids the previous day that Japan may revise its three nonnuclear principles.

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