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BASEBALL / MLB
May 5, 2001

Kuroki sparkles on return to Marines

Lotte ace Tomohiro Kuroki pitched a two-hitter over eight scoreless innings to stay unbeaten for his fourth win as the Marines beat the Orix BlueWave 2-0 at Chiba Marine Stadium on Friday.
JAPAN
May 5, 2001

Covert entry puzzling, analysts say

Japanese experts were divided over why a man claiming to be Kim Jong Nam, the eldest son of Pyongyang leader Kim Jong Il, tried to enter Japan under an alias with a forged passport.
EDITORIALS
May 5, 2001

EU enters the Korean minefield

No doubt European Union leaders acted with the best of intentions when they undertook their Korean initiative. Concerned about a perceived lack of U.S. support for reconciliation between North and South, they have interjected themselves into the Korean dialogue. Their first foray has paid off: North...
JAPAN
May 5, 2001

Aging U.S. POWs still await slave labor redress

OSAKA -- For 56 years, Ben Comstock, 82, an American captured by Japanese forces on Wake Island in December 1941, has been waiting.
JAPAN
May 4, 2001

Internet signals making waves with radio astronomy project

The growing number of Internet service providers using fixed wireless access technology is posing a problem for radio astronomers in Japan because the transmissions are threatening a project to explore the outer reaches of space.
COMMENTARY / World
May 4, 2001

BJP's bond with nationalists quietly eases

NEW DELHI -- India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has now begun to play a tune which is embarrassingly jarring to its much-touted Hindutva ("Hinduness") policy.
JAPAN
May 4, 2001

Constitution turns 54 as battle lines drawn up for and against reform

Groups for and against revision of the Constitution held rallies in Tokyo on Thursday to mark the 54th anniversary of the supreme law amid increasing calls for its revision from political leaders, including Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.
JAPAN
May 4, 2001

Humanitarian groups yet to hit their stride

Staff Writer When the Diet was immersed in heated debate in 1992 over whether to send Self-Defense Forces troops to Cambodia for U.N. peacekeeping operations, Toshihiro Shimizu thought that something very important was missing from the discussions.
JAPAN
May 2, 2001

Koseki admits embezzlement, breach of trust as KSD chief

Tadao Koseki, former president of mutual aid foundation KSD, pleaded guilty Tuesday to embezzling about 81 million yen from the organization and to breach of trust that caused it to incur losses of 168 million yen.
EDITORIALS
May 1, 2001

A new generation in Hanoi

By all appearances, Vietnam has concluded its Ninth Party Congress with a ringing endorsement of reform. The decision to remove Mr. Le Kha Phieu as Communist Party secretary general and replace him with Mr. Nong Duc Manh is a clear sign of growing impatience with old-style ideologues. Mr. Manh is the...
BUSINESS
May 1, 2001

Major retailers strive to form new identity

One of the most popular areas on the food floor at Isetan's Tachikawa branch offers not groceries, but quick recipes for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
JAPAN / CABINET INTERVIEW
May 1, 2001

Moriyama eyes judicial reform, backs death penalty

It is important to carry out judicial reforms in order to ensure that the public has better access to legal services, according to newly appointed Justice Minister Mayumi Moriyama.
JAPAN
May 1, 2001

OECD environment strategy faces hurdles

In its first environmental strategy to be adopted later this month, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development is expected to embrace a five-point plan calling for members to slash subsidies that hurt the environment and introduce incentives to stem environmental damage.
BUSINESS
May 1, 2001

Katayama against privatizing posts, favors stronger NTT

Junichiro Koizumi's inauguration as prime minister might have lifted the hopes of those who seek the privatization of the nation's postal services.
BUSINESS
Apr 30, 2001

Monetary policies may collide as globalized economy emerges

As the globalization of the world's economies goes on, it will become natural for the monetary policies of one major country to affect the policies of others. After all, money flows across national borders.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 30, 2001

Myanmar solutions require three-way talks

Myanmar's junta, the State Peace and Development Council, is engaged in secret reconciliation talks with democratic leader Aung San Suu Kyi. For now, exiled dissidents and ethnic opponents of the junta watch cautiously from the sidelines. Any solution to Myanmar's problems, though, will have to consider...
JAPAN
Apr 29, 2001

New Defense Agency chief seeks clarification of Article 9

Newly appointed Defense Agency chief Gen Nakatani on Friday expressed opposition to reinterpreting the war-renouncing Constitution to allow Japan to engage in collective defense.
JAPAN
Apr 29, 2001

Japan and ASEAN mull free trade pact

Japan and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations will next week set up a study group on the conclusion of a free trade agreement in a bid to compete with emerging powerhouse China and growing trade blocs in Europe, as well as both North America and Latin America, government sources said Saturday....
CULTURE / Books
Apr 29, 2001

Oral history exposes Japan's wartime enslavement of POWs

UNJUST ENRICHMENT: How Japan's Companies Built Postwar Fortunes Using American POWs, by Linda Goetz Holmes. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 2001, 202 pp., $24.95. During World War II, nearly 50,000 U.S. soldiers and civilians became prisoners of the Japanese. Approximately half of this total "were...
JAPAN
Apr 28, 2001

Ordinance to preserve strait-separated cityscapes

The municipalities of Shimonoseki in Yamaguchi Prefecture and neighboring Kitakyushu are set to enact identical ordinances aimed at preserving the landscape of the Kammon Strait separating them.
JAPAN
Apr 28, 2001

Koizumi floats popular vote for nation's prime minister

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, who has broken the norm in his Cabinet lineups, on Friday called for revising the Constitution to introduce a popular vote for the nation's top leader.
BUSINESS
Apr 28, 2001

Hiranuma reiterates themes toward economic revitalization

Reappointed Economy Minister Takeo Hiranuma said a comprehensive approach of combining the disposal of problem loans and assets, creating new businesses and implementing regulatory reforms is needed to revitalize the economy.
EDITORIALS
Apr 28, 2001

Fit punishment for tragic error

Cmdr. Scott Waddle, skipper of the USS Greeneville, the nuclear submarine that collided with the Japanese fisheries training vessel Ehime Maru, resulting in the loss of nine lives, has been found guilty of violating military law. Offered a choice between retiring or explaining his actions at another...
JAPAN
Apr 28, 2001

Opinions split on Tanaka promotion

While Junichiro Koizumi's appointment of Makiko Tanaka as foreign minister took the nation by surprise, some experts warn she could be a mixed blessing for the new prime minister despite her strong popular appeal.
JAPAN
Apr 27, 2001

Incoming economic ministers promise to work hard

Economic ministers in the newly formed Cabinet of Junichiro Koizumi said Thursday that they will try hard to pull the nation out of its long economic downturn and help accelerate the disposal of banks' bad loans.
JAPAN
Apr 27, 2001

Koizumi chooses his top party officials

Junichiro Koizumi, the newly elected Liberal Democratic Party president, set about putting the party's house in order Wednesday by selecting the three lawmakers who will hold the top LDP slots.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 27, 2001

Is Asia's little dragon awakening at last?

CAMBRIDGE, England -- When Vietnam set out on the path of economic liberalization in the early 1990s, everyone expected another Asian miracle, Chinese-style. The liberalization program adopted by the country, known as Doi Moi, was expected to bring about the same radical reforms of economic policy that...

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