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Aug 25, 2000

Japan set for Asian Cup hockey defense

The Japan national ice hockey team will play in the Asian Cup early next month in its quest to defend its title at the annual three-nation tournament and qualify for the 2001 World Championship Pool A, the Japan Ice Hockey Federation announced Thursday in Tokyo.
JAPAN
Aug 25, 2000

Japan and North Korea spin wheels in normalization talks

KISARAZU, Chiba Pref. -- Japanese and North Korean negotiators resumed their 10th round of bilateral normalization talks here Thursday but failed to narrow their differences on Pyongyang's demand for an apology and redress for Japan's colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 25, 2000

Wahid battered but still kicking

SINGAPORE -- The threat of impeachment from angry legislators stared Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid grimly in the face on Aug 7., when the 695-member People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) convened in Jakarta to review Indonesia's progress.
COMMENTARY
Aug 25, 2000

Turbulent times await Mori

Japan's new political season will open in late September, when an extraordinary Diet session starts after the summer recess. Politics in the upcoming year will be marked by three potential turning points.
JAPAN
Aug 25, 2000

Government unveils guidelines for axing works projects

The three ruling parties have adopted a set of four criteria for deciding whether to scrap or suspend ongoing public works projects as part of a plan to make Japan's huge construction budgets more effective, according to coalition officials.
EDITORIALS
Aug 24, 2000

The children must be protected

Increasing media coverage of horrendous cases of child abuse, complete with gruesome details of serious injury or death, seems to indicate that the problem is getting out of control in this country. Until not so long ago, an issue that was widely believed to be a private family matter received scant...
BUSINESS
Aug 24, 2000

Bridgestone to boost tire output in Japan to assist U.S. unit

Bridgestone Corp. said Wednesday that it will boost production at its three domestic plants to facilitate the recall of 6.5 million tires that its U.S. unit, Bridgestone/Firestone Inc., announced earlier this month.
JAPAN
Aug 24, 2000

Defense Agency to seek tanker aircraft

The Defense Agency plans to seek government approval to acquire a tanker aircraft for aerial refueling for the Air Self-Defense Force in the next fiscal year.
BUSINESS
Aug 24, 2000

State needs to publicize economic reality

When the Bank of Japan ended its 18-month-old "zero-interest-rate" policy it capped speculation over the controversial shift in monetary policy.
BUSINESS
Aug 24, 2000

Nifty ties up with South Korean ISP

Nifty Corp., a leading Japanese Internet service provider, said Wednesday that it has agreed to promote Internet-based services with two Samsung Group companies of South Korea.
BUSINESS
Aug 24, 2000

Japan, EU to study joint Cambodian aid project

Japan and the 15-nation European Union will start talks as early as next month on drafting a unique guns-for-butter joint assistance project for Cambodia by the end of this year, government sources said Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Aug 24, 2000

MITI to abolish subsidy for solar power in homes

The Ministry of International Trade and Industry plans to scrap government subsidies for solar power generation equipment for household use at the end of fiscal 2002 in order to boost competition in the industry, ministry sources said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Aug 24, 2000

Toxic powdered milk sees Snow plant closure

SAPPORO -- The Hokkaido Prefectural Government on Wednesday ordered Snow Brand Milk Products Co. to suspend operations for an unspecified period at its plant in Taiki, Hokkaido, after discovering a bacterial toxin in samples of powdered skim milk produced there, officials said.
JAPAN
Aug 24, 2000

Prisoners get nursing care job training

Two prisons for women, one each in Gifu and Wakayama prefectures, will start job-training courses in nursing care for the elderly, officials of the prefectural governments said Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Aug 24, 2000

NCB sale to proceed unchanged, Aizawa tells Son

The government confirmed Wednesday that it will sell the nationalized Nippon Credit Bank to a Softbank Corp.-led consortium Sept. 1 under the original contract terms, government officials said.
BUSINESS
Aug 24, 2000

MMC to be reprimanded for concealing vehicle defects

The Transport Ministry plans to issue orders to Mitsubishi Motors Corp. next month demanding that the firm make its operational procedures concerning vehicle recalls more transparent after it was revealed that defects had been concealed for decades, ministry officials said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Aug 24, 2000

Agency bill would force polluters to clean up soil

The Environment Agency is planning to draft a bill that would oblige polluters to remove toxic chemicals and heavy metals from polluted soil, according to agency sources.
JAPAN
Aug 24, 2000

Chinese sue over wartime forced labor

Beijing -- Li Yunde (far left) and other Chinese plaintiffs talk to the press at a hotel here Wednesday. LOS ANGELES (Kyodo) A group of nine people filed suit Tuesday against Mitsui and Mitsubishi group companies operating in the United States, demanding compensation on behalf of all Chinese who were...
BUSINESS
Aug 24, 2000

Sogo to close down Yurakucho store

Sogo Co., the failed department store operator that has applied for rehabilitation measures under court protection, will close its store in the Yurakucho district of Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward on Sept. 24, the company announced Wednesday.
COMMUNITY
Aug 24, 2000

A new deal for man's best friend

Theta was a month-and-a-half-old puppy when she first came to live with Fuyumi Morita and her husband in the city of Kakegawa, Shizuoka Prefecture, one year after the couple's marriage. Morita remembers Theta's little paws scrabbling at her when she picked her up, Theta's little eyes looking into her...
MULTIMEDIA / SPORTS SCOPE
Aug 24, 2000

Shooting the breeze with affable Eddie

Sanfrecce Hiroshima manager Eddie Thomson HIROSHIMA -- Former Australian national team coach Eddie Thomson is the longest-serving manager in the J. League, but two weeks ago he announced that he would be leaving Sanfrecce Hiroshima at the end of the current season. However, the affable, 53-year-old...
JAPAN
Aug 24, 2000

Panel urges revisions to law on transplants

A Health and Welfare Ministry panel on organ transplantation has drafted a report proposing that the current law be revised to enable the harvesting of organs from brain-dead patients with the written consent of family members, sources said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Aug 24, 2000

Yokoyama's suspended term won't be appealed

OSAKA -- Prosecutors said Wednesday that they will not appeal the Aug. 10 court ruling that gave former Osaka Gov. "Knock" Yokoyama a suspended jail term for molesting a 22-year-old former campaign worker last year.
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM MOSCOW
Aug 24, 2000

Handling of Kursk fiasco belies Putin's promise of change

"Shameful and disgraceful" -- these are the words many Russians are using now to describe the attitude of their government toward the sunken nuclear submarine in the Barents Sea. Slow and incompetent rescue attempts, an inability to assess the scope and nature of the damage and, above all, a stubborn...
LIFE / Food & Drink / WINE WAYS
Aug 24, 2000

Sampling the best the world of wine writing has to offer

Next to a good wine, I might settle for a good wine book, if only I had time to read them. Having just finished writing a 20,000-word thesis last week on a rather weighty subject, I decided to reward myself with a little wine reading. Fate recently fed my bibliophilia with a few wine books, some of them...
BUSINESS
Aug 24, 2000

Phones to give location-specific data

Cellular operator J-Phone Tokyo Co. said Wednesday that the J-Phone group will launch a new service in October that automatically sends geographically specific information to the screen of smart phones.
BASEBALL / MLB
Aug 24, 2000

Diaz ruins Saito return

Eddy Diaz hit a three-run homer in the top of the ninth inning Wednesday as the Hiroshima Carp rallied to defeat the Yomiuri Giants 4-3 and hand the Central League leaders their third straight loss.

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