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JAPAN
Jun 6, 2005

Frenchman to try to row from Chiba to San Francisco

Emmanuel Coindre, the French sailor who has crossed the Atlantic five times in a rowboat, is planning to set out this month on the first-ever solo nonstop rowboat voyage from Japan to the U.S.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Jun 5, 2005

MLB Japan tries to reassure NPB on World Baseball Classic

Disturbed by repeated media reports saying Nippon Professional Baseball is dissatisfied with the organization and conditions of next year's proposed World Baseball Classic, Major League Baseball's Managing Director in Japan Jim Small invited the media to a coffee session in his Tokyo office on May 30...
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM MOSCOW
Jun 5, 2005

Denial of existential needs

MOSCOW -- The blackout that hit Moscow late last month wasn't any better or worse than others that have struck big cities recently, say New York in August 2003. It is the same old thing over and over again -- people stuck in subways and elevators, hospitals canceling lifesaving surgeries, crowds grimly...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jun 5, 2005

Yo La Tengo: the band next door

Ira Kaplan and Georgia Hubley are a nice, mellow couple in their mid-40s from Hobokken, N.J. They like homemade peach pie, watching TV and going to the occasional baseball game. Oh, and they also founded one of the most critically acclaimed bands of the last decade, Yo La Tengo.
JAPAN
Jun 5, 2005

Separation of war criminals 'will never happen': Yasukuni

Yasukuni Shrine will not separate Class-A war criminals from the ranks of Japan's war dead honored there, because the outcome of the Tokyo war crimes tribunal that convicted them remains controversial, officials from the Shinto shrine have said in a written statement.
JAPAN
Jun 4, 2005

Tokyo denies excessive JCG force in South Korea boat standoff

Tokyo on Friday dismissed accusations that Japan Coast Guardsmen used excessive force when they boarded a South Korean boat suspected of poaching and roughed up one of its crew members.
JAPAN
Jun 4, 2005

Guardrails in all prefectures apparently sabotaged to hurt

Sharp pieces of protruding metal blamed for injuring passing cyclists and pedestrians have been found on guardrails in all 47 prefectures, central and prefectural government officials said Friday.
BUSINESS
Jun 4, 2005

IY Bank plays name game

It may be just a name -- but it matters a whole lot to the people who count.
JAPAN
Jun 3, 2005

Fishing boat standoff resolved

Japan and South Korea reached an accord Thursday to end a 33-hour standoff over control of a South Korean fishing boat suspected of poaching in Japan's exclusive economic zone, the Japan Coast Guard said.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jun 3, 2005

Da Pasquale: Premium pizza in a spiced-up setting

The hunt for the perfect pizza, much like the surfer's search for the ultimate wave, is an unending quest. That doesn't mean we are never satisfied. On occasion we have come tantalizingly close to achieving our goal. And for that we must thank the good folks at Isola.
JAPAN
Jun 3, 2005

223,000 homes stop paying fees to NHK; many cite neighbors' refusal

An additional 223,000 households have elected to no longer pay their NHK fees since the end of March, the public broadcaster announced Thursday.
JAPAN
Jun 2, 2005

Government bureaucrats adopt 'Cool Biz' hues

The commuter color scheme of Tokyo's Kasumigaseki district underwent a dramatic transformation Wednesday as thousands of bureaucrats took off their dark gray jackets as recommended by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi ahead of the hot, humid summer.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 2, 2005

Most efficient exit from extreme poverty

For years, the world has looked to Asia as a leader in many areas, particularly business and technology. Now Asia is serving as an important example to follow in the international race to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
JAPAN
Jun 2, 2005

LDP lawmaker urges resumption of whaling in exclusive economic zone

Japan should resume whaling in its 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone if its disagreement at the International Whaling Commission is not resolved this year to allow resumption of commercial hunting, a senior Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker said Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Jun 1, 2005

Kanebo posts net profit on cosmetics selloff, debt waiver

Kanebo Ltd. said Tuesday it logged 314.97 billion yen in net profit for the year ended in March, thanks mostly to gains from the selloff of its mainstay cosmetics business and a debt-waiver from lenders.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 1, 2005

Rise in defamation suits threaten media: journalists

The increasing number of lawsuits being filed in response to allegedly defamatory news articles is posing a threat to media organizations and freedom of expression by discouraging aggressive reporting, several journalists said at a recent symposium in Saitama.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 1, 2005

Hokkaido's Shiretoko may get UNESCO Heritage status

A site on the Shiretoko Peninsula in eastern Hokkaido is expected to be added to UNESCO's World Heritage List this summer following a recommendation by an advisory body, government officials said Tuesday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 1, 2005

JR West vows to relax strict timetables

West Japan Railway Co. said Tuesday it will increase the flexibility of its timetables to reduce the pressure on drivers to be on time, according to a report on safety measures submitted to the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry.
JAPAN
Jun 1, 2005

Japan and Russia again fail to arrange date for Putin visit

Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov failed Tuesday to set a date for President Vladimir Putin's long-delayed visit to Japan as the two countries remained "poles apart" over the bilateral territorial row.
JAPAN
Jun 1, 2005

China sub being towed to Hainan

Japan is looking into a report that a Chinese submarine is being towed in the South China Sea toward Hainan Island, government sources said Tuesday.
COMMUNITY / COUNTERPOINT
May 29, 2005

Causes and effects can encompass far more than 'specifics'

In January 1977, an express train traveling from the Blue Mountains of New South Wales to Sydney derailed on a curve near Granville Station, 21 km west of the city. The train -- which was three minutes late when it left the last stop on its 2 1/2-hour journey -- smashed into the pillar of a bridge, killing...
Japan Times
Features
May 29, 2005

Tragedy and miracles on the same wave

COLOMBO -- In Sri Lanka, it seems everyone has a tsunami story to tell. Wherever you go, from Jaffna in the north, Tricomalee in the east, Kalutara in the west and Hambantota in the south, people recount near-miraculous escapes and tragic, life-changing episodes.
Japan Times
Features
May 29, 2005

Aftershocks in Sri Lanka

HAMBANTOTA, Sri Lanka As the sun sets on another sultry Sri Lankan day, a small crowd gathers outside tent No. 68, home of Thuwan Rashid Kaseer and his three children. The 45-year-old carpenter is well known in the southern town of Hambantota for his fine, emotion-filled voice, and this evening his song...
COMMENTARY
May 28, 2005

The serious side of Britain

LONDON -- The takeover of the Manchester United soccer (ManU) club by American businessman Malcolm Glazer dominated the news in Britain for some days this month. By May 16, Glazer had managed to purchase more than 75 percent of the shares by paying £3 (£1 equals approximately 200 yen) per share, a...
BUSINESS
May 28, 2005

Toyota ponders new China plant

NAGOYA (Kyodo) Toyota Motor Corp. is thinking of building a factory in Tianjin, China, to produce small cars beginning in 2007, company officials said Friday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 27, 2005

Tamagotchi's rebirth sparking new sales binge

Every day for more than a year, phones at Hakuhinkan Toy Park have been ringing off the hook when the store opens at 11 a.m.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language
May 26, 2005

Parenting book gets princely praise

Parenting expert Dorothy Law Nolte enjoys a huge following worldwide; her 1998 book, "Children Learn What They Live," sold over 700,000 copies in her native U.S. and has been translated into 36 languages. The Japanese version was a steady seller -- until February this year, when the father of a certain...

Longform

Figure skater Akiko Suzuki was once told her ideal weight should be 47 kilograms, a number she now admits she “naively believed.” This led to her have a relationship with food that resulted in her suffering from anorexia.
The silent battle Japanese athletes fight with weight