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JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Nov 8, 2001

All the leaves are brown -- anyone know why?

In Japan, the beauty of leaves in autumn is revered with almost religious fervor. Part of the autumn weather forecast is devoted to showing the "leaf front" as the color change in trees moves across the country. Millions of tourists travel to marvel at the display.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 8, 2001

Memorial held for Mike Mansfield, longest-serving U.S. envoy to Japan

A memorial service for former U.S. Ambassador to Japan Mike Mansfield, who died Oct. 5 in Washington at the age of 98, was held Wednesday at a hotel in Tokyo.
BUSINESS
Nov 8, 2001

Japan, China trade row remains at stalemate

Japan and China failed to break an impasse over a trade dispute stemming from curbs on three farm imports mainly from China as they resumed public and private-sector talks Wednesday, Japanese officials said.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Nov 8, 2001

Creation of wants and the damage done

Who's consuming whom? Are we consuming advertising and living a better life because it educates us about a wide range of choices? Or is advertising consuming us, urging us to want, need and buy whatever the market has to offer?
BUSINESS
Nov 8, 2001

DoCoMo's interim group net profit dives

Suffering from huge appraisal losses on an overseas investment, cellular operator NTT DoCoMo Inc. said Wednesday its group net profit in the first half of fiscal 2001 plunged to 103.8 billion yen, down 52.2 percent from a year earlier.
JAPAN / STAGING A COMEBACK
Nov 8, 2001

Japanese firms urged to better protect patents

Having lost its edge as a mass-production base, Japan's future economic prosperity depends on its innovativeness in offering high value-added products and services.
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
Nov 8, 2001

Baseball hits cricket for a home run

"Baseball is better than cricket."
LIFE / Digital / NAME OF THE GAME
Nov 8, 2001

Take your golf game with you

"ESPN Final Round Golf 2002" from Konami for the Game Boy Advance may surprise you.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 8, 2001

Ex-Sogo chief denies hiding assets

Hiroo Mizushima, former chairman of failed department store chain Sogo Co., pleaded not guilty Wednesday before the Tokyo District Court to charges of concealing assets to avoid their seizure by creditors.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Nov 8, 2001

Natural-born killers rich in grace and guile

When all that separates you from the night is a thin layer of canvas, and when that night consists of a darkness that is thick and soft like a blanket, sounds seem very close.
EDITORIALS
Nov 7, 2001

How to cope with 'classroom chaos'

The teacher-student relationship at elementary schools is breaking down. A nationwide survey by the National Institute for Educational Research, an affiliate of the Education Ministry, finds that 26 percent of principals and 32 percent of teachers faced "gakkyu hokai" (classroom chaos) in 2000. The figures...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 7, 2001

Former investment firm chief, 18 others arrested over fraud

OSAKA -- The former president of a failed firm here that sold mortgage-backed securities was arrested along with 18 others Tuesday on suspicion of defrauding clients of about 1.1 billion yen by misrepresenting the financial products of the firm's affiliates, police said.
CULTURE / Film
Nov 7, 2001

Just how low can they go?

Swordfish Rating: * Director: Dominic Sena Running time: 99 minutes Language: English Now showing
BUSINESS
Nov 7, 2001

Hiranuma to pitch unified antiterror stand

Takeo Hiranuma, minister of economy, trade and industry, said Tuesday he plans to call for world unity to combat terrorism in a speech at the upcoming meeting of the World Trade Organization starting Friday in Qatar.
JAPAN
Nov 7, 2001

35.7 billion yen wasted trying to ease traffic

Metropolitan Express Public Corp. sank 35.7 billion yen into an assortment of projects to fix chronic congestion on Tokyo expressways, only to find that the money did little to remove the bottlenecks, according to a government audit report Monday.
JAPAN
Nov 7, 2001

Surname law now said out of sync

After years of debate and shifting social trends, legislation that would allow Japanese married couples to keep separate surnames may finally hit the Diet floor.
JAPAN
Nov 7, 2001

Russian offer points to end of fishing row

The fishing dispute involving Japan, Russia and South Korea may be settled this month following a reported offer by Moscow to grant Seoul new fishing rights in waters not claimed by Tokyo.
JAPAN
Nov 7, 2001

Ministry eyes cutting down sea emissions

The Environment Ministry has decided to set a target for reducing nitrogen and phosphorus emissions into Tokyo Bay, Ise Bay and the Seto Inland Sea to avoid fouling the waters with too many nutrients, ministry officials said.
BUSINESS
Nov 7, 2001

S&P gives IYBank strong ratings

Standard & Poor's Corp. said Tuesday it has assigned A long-term and A-1 short-term counterparty credit ratings to IYBank, the banking unit of major retailer Ito-Yokado Co.
JAPAN
Nov 7, 2001

Red Army member faces 30-month term

Prosecutors on Tuesday demanded a 30-month prison term for Japanese Red Army member Mariko Yamamoto for allegedly obtaining a passport illegally for a fellow member in 1974.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 7, 2001

Officials plead guilty in G8 limo scam

Two former Foreign Ministry officials and two former executives of a Tokyo-based limousine company pleaded guilty to fraud at the Tokyo District Court on Tuesday in the first hearing of a trial related to last year's Group of Eight summit in Okinawa.
BUSINESS
Nov 7, 2001

Moody's may downgrade Softbank

Moody's Investors Service Inc. said Tuesday it will review and may downgrade Softbank Corp's Ba3 senior unsecured long-term debt ratings.
BUSINESS
Nov 7, 2001

0.9% contraction is expected

The government looks set to revise downward its economic forecast for fiscal 2001 to negative growth of around minus 0.9 percent from its original projection of 1.7 percent growth, government sources said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Nov 7, 2001

Tanaka pursues meetings as shenanigans continue

Embattled Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka said Tuesday that she has still not given up on attending U.N. General Assembly and Group of Eight foreign ministers' meetings in New York, despite her request again being turned down by the Diet.
JAPAN
Nov 7, 2001

Teenager held in fatal break-in

OSAKA -- A 17-year-old boy was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of killing a 16-year-old female, police said.
BUSINESS
Nov 7, 2001

Mitsui Sumitomo selling derivatives

Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co. said Tuesday it has begun marketing financial derivatives to enable companies to hedge against the risk of falls in the price of shares they hold in other firms.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 7, 2001

Imperial eyes shielded from reality of homelessness

The homeless at Ueno Park were up early Monday, with hundreds of the park dwellers quietly disassembling their tents and packing their belongings onto carts soon after dawn.
BUSINESS
Nov 7, 2001

Nagasakiya to close about 30 stores

Failed supermarket chain Nagasakiya Co. will close around 30 of its 84 outlets as part of a rehabilitation program, according to company sources.

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