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BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Mar 4, 2001

Readers write about Monday night ball

In my column of Feb. 18 about the Pacific League's plan to play lots of games on Monday night during the coming season, I asked readers to send in their comments and ideas regarding the MPL (Monday Pacific League) format. Following are two e-mails I received and my response to each:
JAPAN
Mar 4, 2001

Panel split over Isahaya Bay dike

A panel of third-party experts ended its first meeting Saturday by postponing a decision on whether the gates of a huge reclamation dike traversing Isahaya Bay in Nagasaki Prefecture should be opened.
BUSINESS
Mar 4, 2001

DoCoMo to raise discounts, reduce rates in price war

NTT DoCoMo Inc. plans to raise its family phone discount rate to 20 percent from the current 15 percent and to reduce call rates for its mobile phone service, although the size of the cut has not yet been decided, in response to competition from other carriers, company officials said Saturday.
JAPAN
Mar 4, 2001

NPO fosters solar power solution to fix transport problems for aged

KOBE -- The lack of interest in solar power among residents of Kobe's Uozaki district does not discourage Mana Enomoto from giving detailed explanations of the benefits of this clean energy source.
SOCCER / J. League
Mar 4, 2001

S-Pulse stuff Antlers in Xerox Super Cup

Shimizu S-Pulse gave Kashima Antlers a taste of their own medicine Saturday, overpowering last season's treble winners 3-0 to win the Xerox Super Cup and avenge their extra-time defeat in the Emperor's Cup final on New Year's Day.
JAPAN
Mar 4, 2001

Gynecologist takes sex crusade to Roppongi streets

When Tsuneo Akaeda opens his mouth to speak about the sex culture of Japan's younger generation, a tirade of sexual slang all the more surprising because of his professional and smart-suited exterior flows out.
CULTURE / Art
Mar 4, 2001

Edo children depicted in ukiyo-e prints

What were the daily lives of children in the Edo Period like? What kind of toys did they play with? What did they study? If you have ever pondered questions like these, the answers can soon be found at the Tobacco and Salt Museum in Shibuya, Tokyo.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Mar 4, 2001

Lydia Gomersall

Each year for 11 years now, Refugees International-Japan has been sponsoring its Art of Dining Exhibition. In this display, participants present highly individual, beautiful and imaginative tabletop settings for viewers' admiration and inspiration. Proceeds from the event go to RIJ's programs for the...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Mar 4, 2001

A trip to the sports club really wipes you out

I'm wiped out. I've never been to a gym where people spend so much time wiping the machines after they used them. They wipe the mats after they stretch. They even wipe the drinking fountain after drinking -- excruciatingly polite. And if you forget to bring your towel to wipe, they've got wiping mitts...
COMMUNITY
Mar 4, 2001

Japanese estate agent right at home in London

"I'll have the agreement drafted by Monday, then fax it over," Kazuyuki Nakamura was saying to a client over the phone last week in northwest London. "It's not your property? So who is the landlord? Well, he can appoint you to collect (rents) on his behalf. Otherwise we can, but then that will cost you;...
JAPAN
Mar 4, 2001

Political donations fell 2.2% in 1999

Political funds raised by local political organizations in Japan's 47 prefectures totaled 172.1 billion yen in 1999, down 2.2 percent from a year earlier, according to a government report released Saturday.
JAPAN
Mar 4, 2001

KSD paid Murakami's 'rent' in cash: prosecutors

Masakuni Murakami, a senior LDP lawmaker who resigned before being arrested in connection with the KSD bribery scandal, had an affiliate of the mutual aid organization hand over the monthly rent for his offices in cash rather than having it paid into a bank account, investigative sources said Saturday....
JAPAN
Mar 4, 2001

Osaka to emphasize dangers of lighting up

OSAKA -- Forget the bid for the 2008 Olympic Games or the opening of Universal Studios Japan. For those Osaka residents who have long suffered in the presence of cigarette smokers, a recent announcement by the city came as some of the best news in years.
CULTURE / Art
Mar 4, 2001

Marilyn Monroe photo show: Some like it nostalgic

Marilyn Monroe, who died at the age of 36 in 1962, would have celebrated her 75th birthday this year.
MORE SPORTS
Mar 4, 2001

'Toto' soccer lottery kicks off -- slowly

Sales of the J. League's "toto" soccer lottery kicked off Saturday at around 6,200 officially sanctioned sales points across the country.
CULTURE / Art
Mar 4, 2001

Japan's art for all seasons

Japan is a country with four seasons. This has long been an accepted fact, and most visitors to the country have been assured of it on numerous occasions. The progress of the seasons is a usual topic of conversation and is always mentioned at the beginning of any personal letter. Poetry, especially haiku...
LIFE / Travel
Mar 4, 2001

Shangri-La: Paradise beyond the clouds

LIJIANG, China -- The mystical land of Shangri-La, lost and found in recent years, has moved. It has also upgraded its attractions. This eastern Utopia still offers the tea shops, Tibetan lamas and snow-capped peaks of James Hilton's 1933 bestseller "Lost Horizon," but today's pilgrims can also sample...
CULTURE / Art
Mar 4, 2001

Into the dark maw of Kabukicho

There are a few Tokyo districts sufficiently unique and well-known to stand independent in their respective identities, glamorous Ginza, chic Shibuya and rockin' Roppongi being among the most obvious examples.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 3, 2001

South Korea's media and transparency

SEOUL -- As so often, one opinion stands against another: South Korea's opposition party has leveled an accusation against the government that by launching a tax investigation of the media it is in effect waging a war against the press. The government retorts that the tax investigation is a routine matter,...
CULTURE / Film
Mar 3, 2001

Gwyneth and Ben's last tango in L.A.

My friend Mari has a dilemma -- she just split up with her boyfriend of three years. They work in the same company, on the same floor, and Mari had hoped it was leading to a church wedding in Tuscany. Instead, it ended after a screaming, 10-hour argument, and with the boyfriend owing Mari a total of...
BUSINESS
Mar 3, 2001

Plunge of Nikkei spells more trouble for banks

The plunge of the key Nikkei 225 index on the Tokyo Stock Exchange to a 151/2-year low on Friday brings additional risks for Japanese banks, which are facing escalating pressure to write off bad loans as it is becoming increasingly difficult to do so.
EDITORIALS
Mar 3, 2001

Breaking stones and hearts

Of all the treasures in Afghanistan, the most famous by far are the two colossal Buddhas of Bamiyan Province. Carved out of a rocky cliff-face in the fourth or fifth centuries A.D., the statues have gazed out benevolently over the old Silk Road route below for centuries. According to scholars, the Bamiyan...
BUSINESS
Mar 3, 2001

Fukui to be vice chair of execs' group

Keizai Doyukai, a powerful business group also known as The Japan Association of Corporate Executives, plans to name Toshihiko Fukui, the former senior deputy governor of the Bank of Japan, as a vice chairman.
COMMENTARY
Mar 3, 2001

Two unloved bureaucratic behemoths

LOS ANGELES -- With the free-market Bush administration settling into power, what's to become of those controversial twin pillars of the world economic system, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank? Those two institutions -- both based in Washington, D.C. and sharing reputations for arrogance...
JAPAN
Mar 3, 2001

Fujimori must return to face accusers: new Peru envoy

The newly appointed Peruvian ambassador to Japan has urged deposed Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori to return to Lima to answer accusations leveled at him following his decision to resign as president last year from Tokyo.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji