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COMMENTARY / World
Oct 6, 2000

Singapore media monopolies break into rival's turf

SINGAPORE -- Competition in Singapore's expanding media industry is growing more intense as the two rival main players prepare to slug it out, having pumped in millions of dollars to upgrade existing projects and invest in new ones.
CULTURE / Books
Oct 6, 2000

'Exodus' to a country of hope?

In recent years Murakami Ryu has received much attention for his uncanny knack of writing novels taking up themes, such as teen crime and hikikomori (withdrawing from the world and shutting oneself up in one's room), just before they come to public awareness as social problems. Now Murakami's new novel...
EDITORIALS
Oct 5, 2000

The Middle East boils over

Since the Middle East peace talks broke off last summer, following the failure of U.S. President Bill Clinton's high-profile Camp David initiative, there have been fears that mounting frustrations would explode in violence. Those fears were realized last week when tensions boiled over in Jerusalem. Over...
JAPAN
Oct 5, 2000

Mindan petitions lawmakers

The pro-Seoul Korean Residents Union in Japan (Mindan) petitioned Diet lawmakers Wednesday to pass a controversial bill to grant local-level suffrage to permanent foreign residents by the end of this year.
JAPAN
Oct 5, 2000

Firms plan atomic waste disposal unit

The Federation of Electric Power Companies applied Wednesday to the Ministry of International Trade and Industry for approval to set up an organization aimed at disposing of high-level radioactive waste from nuclear power plants.
BASEBALL / MLB
Oct 5, 2000

Hawks one away from PL title

Tomohiro Nagai scattered five hits over seven-plus scoreless innings Wednesday and the Daiei Hawks moved to within one win of their second straight Pacific League pennant with a 3-0 triumph over the Seibu Lions.
JAPAN
Oct 5, 2000

Siblings arrested after five adults starve to death

OSAKA -- Osaka Prefectural Police on Wednesday arrested a 66-year-old man and his 64-year-old sister for allegedly allowing her five adult offspring to starve to death.
COMMUNITY
Oct 5, 2000

Vanity, thy name is . . . Vince?

SAN FRANCISCO -- Clairol, the staid manufacturer of women's hair dyes, tried something new this year: It went after kids.
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
Oct 5, 2000

Japan must build on Takahashi's golden moment

She arrived in Sydney an athlete and returned to Japan an icon.
JAPAN
Oct 5, 2000

Shareholders plan suit against Hazama execs

OSAKA -- Shareholders of restructuring general contractors Hazama Corp. and Kumagai Gumi Co. said Wednesday that they will seek damages of 120 million yen from executives of the two firms for making hefty political donations when the companies were not paying dividends.
JAPAN
Oct 5, 2000

Drugs charges against Aum's Asahara dropped

Prosecutors on Wednesday notified the Tokyo District Court that they have dropped four drug-manufacturing related charges against Aum Shinrikyo founder Shoko Asahara in an attempt to speed up his trial.
JAPAN
Oct 5, 2000

Cancer linked to cigarettes, drinks, inertia

Heavy smokers and heavy drinkers who do little exercise are five to six times more likely to develop cancer than healthy people who exercise every day, according to a recent study.
COMMENTARY
Oct 5, 2000

No rush to grant foreigners voting rights

A major domestic political debate is brewing over whether non-Japanese permanent residents should be granted the right to vote in local elections of prefectural governors, prefectural legislators, and chiefs and council members of lower local administrative entities. Those foreigners will still be ineligible...
CULTURE / Art
Oct 5, 2000

The vertical 'floating world' of Hiroshige

"The World of Tate-e Tokaido," a special fall exhibition of the great ukiyo-e artist Utagawa Hiroshige's works, will be held at Ginza Tokai Gallery Art Hiroshige Oct. 11-Nov. 5 and Nov. 8-Dec. 3. Divided into two parts, Hiroshige's masterpieces from his last years: all 55 works of "Goju-santsugi Meisho-zue,"...
JAPAN
Oct 5, 2000

Food aid to North Korea gains approval

A key Liberal Democratic Party panel approved a plan Wednesday to send 500,000 tons of rice as food aid to North Korea, effectively paving the way for an aid program the government hopes will add impetus to normalization talks.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Oct 5, 2000

Celebrate the elderly when they stop saving

On Sept. 15, the country "celebrated" Respect for the Aged Day, when we honor our elders, who pass their wisdom and experience down to us so that our lives and those of our children will be happier and more fulfilling. Of course, nothing is farther from the truth. We in the industrialized world seem...
JAPAN
Oct 5, 2000

Ex-JICA chief volunteers for the trenches

Upon retiring after a 38-year career with the Foreign Ministry followed by six years as head of the Japan International Cooperation Agency, Kimio Fujita was naturally expected to accept an honorary post, such as on a government panel.
CULTURE / Music
Oct 5, 2000

Passionate affairs with flamenco

MADRID, Spain -- At a recent flamenco show in downtown Madrid, guitars strumming to furious crescendos and sudden stops, a spectator might have found himself thinking, "Hey, there's a long-haired guy clapping at the back of the stage who looks Japanese. Wait a second, he is Japanese!"
JAPAN
Oct 5, 2000

Activists find endangered birds for sale in shops

About 90 species of native wild birds are on sale in pet shops across the nation despite regulations forbidding their sale, the Wild Bird Society of Japan said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Oct 5, 2000

Support rate for Mori up marginally to 33.4%

The public approval rate for Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori's administration is up 1 percent to 33.4 percent but remains far below his disapproval rate of 58.2 percent, according to a Kyodo News poll released Wednesday.
COMMENTARY
Oct 5, 2000

Today's Luddites go global

LONDON -- The Seattle protesters who fought the World Trade Organization and those in Prague who demonstrated recently against the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank are a mixed crew: anarchists, anticapitalist thugs and groups anxious to help the poorer people of the world. None of them...
LIFE / Style & Design / BEAUTY EAST AND WEST
Oct 5, 2000

The power of St. John's wort: A herb to make you happy

In these days of miracle medication for nearly any psychological complaint, the botanical alternatives are getting a lot of attention. There have been happiness remedies around for millennia, of course; as with most botanical treatments, the knowledge is ancient.
SOCCER / J. League
Oct 5, 2000

Japan scores unimpressive JOMO win

First-half goals from Naoki Matsuda and Naohiro Takahara gave the Japan national team a 2-0 win over the J. League foreign XI team in the JOMO Cup on Wednesday at Tokyo's National Stadium.
LIFE / ALTERNATIVE LUXURIES
Oct 5, 2000

A dance of color, space and line

"Sometimes just to touch the ground is enough for me," says Wakako Oe with all the warmth of her plenteous years, "even if not a single plant grows in the garden."
MORE SPORTS
Oct 5, 2000

Seles, Serena pass first tests at Toyota Princess Cup tennis

Monica Seles and Serena Williams, the first and second seeds, respectively, who both had byes in the first round, cruised through their first tests at the Toyota Princess Cup on Wednesday to advance to the quarterfinals.
OLYMPICS
Oct 4, 2000

Highs and lows of Sydney 2000

Citius, Altius, Fortius -- faster, higher, stronger.
SOCCER / J. League
Oct 4, 2000

Baggio wants to play in 2002 World Cup

Former Italy striker Roberto Baggio said on Tuesday he's eyeing a return to the national team for the 2002 World Cup.

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’