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CULTURE / Film
Feb 24, 2001

Space . . . the funny frontier

Think of it as a "Seven Samurai" in outer space. OK, well there are only six warriors in "Galaxy Quest" but the comparison kinda works. They are a group of has-been actors whose sole claim to fame is a TV series called "Galaxy Quest" that went off the air 18 years ago. But American human beings weren't...
JAPAN
Feb 24, 2001

S&P downgrades Japan's credit

NEW YORK -- Standard & Poor's Corp. said Thursday it had lowered its long-term local and foreign currency credit ratings on Japan from AAA to AA plus.
JAPAN
Feb 24, 2001

Children set up network to tackle own problems

About 700 Japanese children have established a network affiliated with the U.N. Children's Fund to study and tackle problems that they and children all over the world face.
JAPAN
Feb 24, 2001

S&P downgrades Japan's credit

NEW YORK -- Standard & Poor's Corp. said Thursday it had lowered its long-term local and foreign currency credit ratings on Japan from AAA to AA plus.
JAPAN
Feb 24, 2001

Sega humanoid robot can walk, 'talk'

Sega Corp. subsidiary Sega Toys will begin selling in May a humanoid robot that is able to walk, dance and "communicate" with people through facial expressions, body language and messages that appear on monitors.
JAPAN
Feb 24, 2001

Children set up network to tackle own problems

About 700 Japanese children have established a network affiliated with the U.N. Children's Fund to study and tackle problems that they and children all over the world face.
JAPAN
Feb 24, 2001

Sega humanoid robot can walk, 'talk'

Sega Corp. subsidiary Sega Toys will begin selling in May a humanoid robot that is able to walk, dance and "communicate" with people through facial expressions, body language and messages that appear on monitors.
COMMENTARY
Feb 24, 2001

Mori's lame-duck maneuvers

Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori is coming under increasing pressure to resign. One likely scenario, according to sources in the ruling coalition, goes something like this: In early March, after the fiscal 2001 government budget clears the Lower House, he announces his intention to step down, and later that...
BUSINESS
Feb 24, 2001

Hitachi Zosen, NKK to merge shipbuilding units

Hitachi Zosen Corp. and NKK Corp. said Friday they will merge their shipbuilding operations into a fifty-fifty joint venture to be established Oct. 1, 2002, as the global industry becomes increasingly competitive.
CULTURE / Music
Feb 24, 2001

Asian music celebration

Next time you feel like pulling your hair out over the bureaucratic pitfalls of overseas travel, spare a thought for Richard Pontzious.
BUSINESS
Feb 24, 2001

Hitachi Zosen, NKK to merge shipbuilding units

Hitachi Zosen Corp. and NKK Corp. said Friday they will merge their shipbuilding operations into a fifty-fifty joint venture to be established Oct. 1, 2002, as the global industry becomes increasingly competitive.
CULTURE / Music
Feb 24, 2001

Yasuji Kiyose's lifelong quest for a modern Japanese voice

Music can be a passive history lesson. Sometimes, it can take us on a fantastic, aural journey, as with Japanese composers active before World War II who reflect in their music nearly half a century of tumultuous, societal change.
CULTURE / Art / CERAMIC SCENE
Feb 24, 2001

Names writ in letters of fire

The leading ceramics quarterly Honoho Geijutsu recently published a very interesting survey in its 65th issue, listing the names of the most important (juyo) and popular (ninki) ceramic artists of the 20th century.
JAPAN
Feb 24, 2001

Murakami quizzed on KSD bribe allegations

Prosecutors on Friday began questioning Masakuni Murakami, a former senior Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker, about money and favors he allegedly received from KSD, a government-authorized industrial mutual aid organization at the center of a widening bribery scandal, prosecution sources said.
JAPAN
Feb 24, 2001

Students turn tables on job recruiters

Fed up with the difficulties of securing employment during the continued economic slump, a group of college students have launched an initiative to radically alter the nation's recruitment practices.
JAPAN
Feb 24, 2001

Murakami quizzed on KSD bribe allegations

Prosecutors on Friday began questioning Masakuni Murakami, a former senior Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker, about money and favors he allegedly received from KSD, a government-authorized industrial mutual aid organization at the center of a widening bribery scandal, prosecution sources said.
JAPAN
Feb 24, 2001

Students turn tables on job recruiters

Fed up with the difficulties of securing employment during the continued economic slump, a group of college students have launched an initiative to radically alter the nation's recruitment practices.
JAPAN
Feb 24, 2001

Hemophilia expert awaits verdict

Japan's former top authority on hemophilia, who is at the center of an HIV infection scandal involving the death of more than 500 hemophiliacs, will be back in court in one month to hear whether he is to be held legally responsible for the death of one of his patients in 1991.
JAPAN
Feb 23, 2001

Coast guard unveils fast patrol boat

The Japan Coast Guard on Thursday unveiled the first of three high-speed patrol boats the government ordered built after Japanese warships and coast guard vessels failed to stop two intruding North Korean spy ships during a sea chase in 1999.
JAPAN
Feb 23, 2001

Han's passing prompts peace offer

The pro-Seoul Korean Residents Union in Japan (Mindan) issued a statement Thursday to its pro-Pyongyang counterpart calling for an end to the hostility and resistance between the two groups.
JAPAN
Feb 23, 2001

Missing U.S. kids' safety bemoaned

It was a routine visit for Tokyo metropolitan child-care officials when they checked on five American children early this month. Only this time, the Kasukabe, Saitama Prefecture, apartment where they had been living since November was empty.
BUSINESS
Feb 23, 2001

Return to 'zero rate' not ruled out

UTSUNOMIYA, Tochigi Pref. -- The Bank of Japan should not completely rule out the possibility of a return to its "zero-interest-rate" policy, a member of the central bank's Policy Board said here Thursday.
BUSINESS
Feb 23, 2001

MMC to cut 10 models, close plant, trim payroll

Mitsubishi Motors Corp. has finalized the details of a major restructuring plan under which it will slash passenger car production and implement large-scale job cuts, company sources said Thursday.

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