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CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Apr 18, 2001

Mogwai

I've made my ex-girlfriend cry a few times, but this is the first time I've been proud of it.
JAPAN
Apr 18, 2001

Discretionary funds used in wining and dining inspectors

Discretionary diplomatic funds have been routinely used to entertain inspection officials -- normally former bureau heads and ambassadors -- visiting Japanese diplomatic missions abroad, Foreign Ministry sources said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Apr 18, 2001

Decision imminent on Lee visa problem

Japan may decide by as early as this afternoon whether to issue a visa to former Taiwan President Lee Teng-hui, who wants to visit Japan later this month to undergo a medical checkup for his heart condition, government sources said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Apr 18, 2001

JAMA urges automakers to 'clarify' own complaint systems

The Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association on Tuesday compiled a report on the industry's responses to consumer complaints in an effort to regain trust in the wake of last summer's scandal in which Mitsubishi Motors Corp. admitted to covering up complaints for decades.
CULTURE / Film
Apr 18, 2001

Journey to the center of the human volcano

HotaruStyle to Kill Rating: * * * Director: Naomi Kawase Running time: 164 min. Language: JapaneseEnds April 20 Rating: * * * * * Director: Seijun SuzukiLanguage: Japanese Now showing In 1997, a young documentary filmmaker named Naomi Kawase won the Camera d'Or prize at the Cannes Film Festival...
JAPAN
Apr 17, 2001

Zeus' foot dug up in Afghanistan on show

A Greek stone figure unearthed in Afghanistan some 40 years ago but taken out of the country amid armed strife will be on display in a museum in Tokyo's Ikebukuro district in the near future, according to museum officials. The marble foot of Zeus, dating back to the third century B.C., will be exhibited...
Events
Apr 17, 2001

Indian couple to talk about diversity in India

Minoh Association for Global Awareness, a foundation based in Minoo, Osaka Prefecture, is hosting an English discussion meeting from 10 a.m. till noon on April 28 at the foundation's conference room in Minoo.
JAPAN
Apr 17, 2001

More youth exchanges

OSAKA -- New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark on Monday called for more youth exchanges between New Zealand and Japan.
JAPAN
Apr 17, 2001

Stress hits 80%, mars lives of 40%

Nearly 80 percent of Japanese surveyed say they experience stress in work and in human relations, with about 40 percent saying it has an adverse effect on their lives, according to a recent survey by the health ministry.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 17, 2001

Hopes for peace are fading

WASHINGTON -- Last year, U.S. President Bill Clinton spent his final months in office trying to cobble together a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Today, the Middle East teeters on the edge of the largest-scale violence since the Persian Gulf War and the greatest involving...
Events
Apr 17, 2001

Co-op undercuts pricey new recycling law

OSAKA -- A group of garbage collectors and recycling firms in Osaka Prefecture claim that the Electrical Appliance Recycle Law that went into effect earlier this month deprives them of income they have relied on for years, and to combat this, the group has undercut the fees set by the law.
Events
Apr 17, 2001

Makers won't throw in towel amid cheap import threat

KUMATORI, Osaka Pref. -- In a bid to survive fierce competition from foreign makers, some towel manufacturers and related firms here have joined forces to launch eco-friendly towels next month.
JAPAN
Apr 17, 2001

Decision on Lee visa still in the air

The government has not decided whether to issue a visa to former Taiwan President Lee Teng-hui, who wants to visit Japan for a medical checkup, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda said Monday.
JAPAN
Apr 17, 2001

Debate surges over need for dams

Staff writer NAGANO -- Does this country really need more dams?
JAPAN
Apr 17, 2001

Japan stays glued to fence on GMO 'traceability' issue

Kyodo News Japan is the focus of mounting attention over its stance on the issue of establishing standards for foods made from genetically modified organisms, a subject taken up by a U.N. task force during a meeting in Japan in March.
JAPAN
Apr 17, 2001

Clark vows to push Kyoto Protocol

OSAKA -- New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark wrapped up her visit to Japan in Osaka on Monday with a vow that her country will not give up trying to implement the Kyoto Protocol, despite a decision by neighboring Australia on Sunday that it would not sign the 1997 agreement to reduce greenhouse gases...
JAPAN
Apr 17, 2001

Crown Princess showing signs of pregnancy

The Crown Princess, 37, is showing signs that she might be pregnant, the Imperial Household Agency announced Monday.
Events
Apr 17, 2001

Kansai leaders brainstorm on ways to kick-start the region

OSAKA -- Since the end of the bubble era, the Kansai region's economy has fared worse than many other parts of Japan.
Events
Apr 17, 2001

German center to host free classical concert

Goethe Institut Kansai, a center for German culture, is organizing a free classical music concert by a French alto singer and a German pianist, starting at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at its Osaka center in Kita Ward.
SOCCER / World cup
Apr 17, 2001

Talk straight, chew gum

Give us more backup to win the World Cup. That was the message manager Philippe Troussier had for Japan's soccer fans Sunday.
BUSINESS
Apr 17, 2001

Toyota sells off J-Phone stake, backs KDDI

Toyota Motor Corp. has sold its stakes in the J-Phone group to the mobile phone operator's parent, Japan Telecom Co., to clarify its commitment to rival carrier KDDI, Toyota officials said Monday.
BUSINESS
Apr 17, 2001

Stocks to soon bottom out

Tokyo stocks remain lackluster amid concern over economic and corporate earnings prospects and political chaos.
Events
Apr 17, 2001

Showings of German films at Goethe Institut

Goethe Institut Kansai is inviting people to its free monthly showings of German films at 6:30 p.m. on the last Wednesdays in April, May and June.
Events
Apr 17, 2001

Primary school venue for multicultural festival

Tobiuo International, a Kyoto-based network supporting foreign residents and promoting multicultural exchanges, is hosting an international festival next Sunday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Seibo Primary School in Fushimi Ward, Kyoto.
BASEBALL / MLB
Apr 17, 2001

Marines win again

Derrick May singled home the go-ahead run to break a 1-1 tie in the top of the eighth inning as the Pacific League-leading Chiba Lotte Marines won their fourth consecutive game by beating the Daiei Hawks at the Fukuoka Dome.
JAPAN
Apr 17, 2001

Hero's parents to set up scholarship

The parents of a South Korean student who died in January while trying to rescue a man who fell onto the tracks at a train station in Tokyo said on Monday they will use donations received in the name of their son for scholarships.

Longform

A sinkhole in Yashio, which emerged in January, was triggered by a ruptured, aging sewer pipe. Authorities worry that similar sections of infrastructure across the country are also at risk of corrosion.
That sinking feeling: Japan’s aging sewers are an infrastructure time bomb