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JAPAN
Jul 28, 2000

JR Bon holiday travelers up 11%

The number of reserved train seats for the Bon holiday season in mid-August totaled 3.06 million as of Wednesday, up 11 percent from the same period last year, the Japan Railway group said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Jul 28, 2000

Ichikoh signs parts deal with French firm

Ichikoh Industries Ltd. said Thursday it and French auto parts manufacturer Valeo SA have signed an agreement to form a wide-ranging business alliance in the global automotive lighting equipment market.
JAPAN
Jul 28, 2000

Quick-change teens strut 'visual music'

When Naoko Kamui leaves home on Sunday mornings, her parents have little idea of how their 14-year-old daughter will spend the day. Certainly, they would not recognize her among the hundreds of youth who flock to Tokyo's Harajuku every Sunday.
JAPAN
Jul 28, 2000

China tourism pact welcomed

Kyodo News Japan's travel industry is hoping that this year will see an official agreement to allow Chinese from selected areas to visit Japan on package tours, and that more than 1 million Chinese tourists will visit in less than a decade.
BUSINESS
Jul 28, 2000

Matsushita's quarterly profit slides 2%

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. said Thursday that it registered a consolidated net profit of 9.4 billion yen in the April-June quarter, down 2 percent from a year earlier.
SOCCER / J. League
Jul 28, 2000

Antlers alone atop J. League table

ICHIHARA, Chiba Pref. -- The Kashima Antlers took a clear lead in the J. League Division One second stage standings on Wednesday night by beating JEF United Ichihara 2-1 for their sixth straight win against no losses, coupled with second place Gamba Osaka's 2-1 defeat to Avispa Fukuoka.
BUSINESS
Jul 28, 2000

Chuo Mitsui to invest in asset venture

Chuo Mitsui Trust & Banking Co. announced Thursday that it will invest in an asset management joint venture formed last month by Sumitomo Trust & Banking Co. and Daiwa Bank.
BUSINESS
Jul 28, 2000

Sogo factor dampening optimism, yen

Having moved in the 104-109 yen range in June and July, the dollar appears poised to break 110 yen. The greenback last surpassed that level on May 11, when it touched 110.08 yen.
CULTURE / Music
Jul 28, 2000

Free tickets to AYO concerts

The Asian Youth Orchestra returns to Japan next month, for concerts on Aug. 7 and 8 in the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Space (Tokyo Geijutsu Gekijo). This is the 10th year that AYO will perform in Japan. The 104 talented young men and women of the AYO represent the finest young musicians in Asia. The San...
JAPAN
Jul 28, 2000

Transport Ministry to beef up defect-inquiry system

The Transport Ministry will launch investigations after directly gathering information from users on defective motor vehicles, Vice Transport Minister Hisashi Umezaki said Thursday.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 28, 2000

Pessimists in the mist: Japanese still mired in crisis of confidence

It's hard to find a word that has so traumatized a generation as has "globalization." The term has become a convenient shorthand for all the uncertainties and unknowns of daily life, a catch-all for the problems that tug at economies and threaten to unravel traditional social structures.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 28, 2000

Yasser Arafat draws the line

BEIRUT -- At one fraught moment during Camp David, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak reportedly warned Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat: "If we don't finish the job now, at the next meeting I will no longer be prime minister." To which the Palestinian leader retorted: "If I give in on Jerusalem, I will...
JAPAN
Jul 28, 2000

Improved Pyongyang situation needs new policies

Experts at a Tokyo-based think tank have recently issued a five-point proposal to bring about stability on the Korean Peninsula, calling on the Japanese government to clarify its policies toward North Korea.
CULTURE / Music
Jul 28, 2000

The sonic dream life of global voyagers

With the recent release of their second CD, the Tokyo-based world-music trio Tatopani sums up two years of experimentation and growth. Following their 1998 release, "Forbidden Fruit," members Robert Belgrade, Andy Bevan and Christopher Hardy brought their eclectic brand of music to audiences around the...
JAPAN
Jul 27, 2000

Rail hazards threaten Sydney Games

Michael Knight, president of the Sydney Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games, on Wednesday said he could not rule out major accidents on Sydney's rail network during the Games, as investigations began into a fire and a collision on Sydney's disaster-prone rail network Tuesday night.
JAPAN
Jul 27, 2000

HIV debacle may get Abe three years

Prosecutors demanded three years in prison for former Teikyo University Vice President Takeshi Abe, 84, for professional negligence resulting in the death of a male patient through the use of HIV-tainted blood coagulants at the university hospital.
BUSINESS
Jul 27, 2000

Yen may lose waiting game on interest rates

The currency market is looking for clues on whether monetary policy shifts are in the offing in Japan and the United States.
BUSINESS
Jul 27, 2000

NCB sale to Softbank group delayed

The Financial Reconstruction Commission said Wednesday that it will delay for one month the planned sale of the nationalized Nippon Credit Bank to a consortium led by Softbank Corp. due to political pressure over one of the clauses contained in the contract.
BUSINESS
Jul 27, 2000

Posts ministry panel to examine telecom industry

The Posts and Telecommunications Ministry on Wednesday commissioned an advisory panel to compile a report on the desired future structure of the nation's telecom industry.
JAPAN
Jul 27, 2000

Aum trio in gas attack file appeals

Three Aum Shinrikyo figures, two of whom were sentenced to death for their involvement in the 1995 sarin attack on the Tokyo subway system, filed appeals Tuesday with the Tokyo High Court, sources close to the defendants said.
SOCCER / J. League
Jul 27, 2000

Yokohama FC struggling to survive despite JFL success

Yokohama FC, the club formed by the former Yokohama Flugels supporters 1 1/2 years ago, is fighting hard, both on and off the pitch, in its quest to gain promotion from the Japan Football League to the J. League's second division next season. But the club is struggling financially and this has put...
JAPAN
Jul 27, 2000

Snow Brand returns to churn

Snow Brand Milk Products Co. announced Wednesday that it will resume milk production at six of its 20 factories that were closed earlier this month after a major food-poisoning outbreak.
BUSINESS
Jul 27, 2000

Independent watchdog sought to disable NTT's monopoly

As a level playing field has yet to be laid down in the Japanese telecom market, the establishment of an independent watchdog to keep in check the otherwise formidable NTT Corp. group would be one good option to realize free and fair competition, according to a top executive of the Japanese unit of British...
BUSINESS
Jul 27, 2000

AOL, DoCoMo eye phone tieup

Japan's top mobile phone operator, NTT DoCoMo Inc., is negotiating with the world's largest Internet service provider, America Online Inc., to tie up in online business for cellular phones, it was learned Wednesday.
JAPAN
Jul 27, 2000

Heavy rain to drench large areas again today

Heavy rain was expected to continue falling over large parts of Japan early today, with rainfall of up to 200 mm forecast for some areas in Hokkaido and southern Kyushu, the Meteorological Agency said.

Longform

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