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Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 20, 2004

Tama-chan battles flab, sassy new rival

A year has passed since the bearded seal nicknamed Tama-chan moved to the Ara River in Saitama Prefecture from Tama River in Yokohama.
JAPAN
Apr 20, 2004

Average value of assets held by Lower House members falls

The average value of assets held by 478 House of Representatives lawmakers elected last November stands at 51.6 million yen, excluding stocks, according to a Kyodo News survey released Monday.
JAPAN
Apr 20, 2004

Industry wants reactor-check intervals extended

The power utility industry will urge the government to extend the interval between regular checkups of nuclear reactors by up to five months to raise their operation rates and competitiveness against low-cost new suppliers, industry sources said Monday.
JAPAN
Apr 20, 2004

Top court to nix state appeal of lung disease ruling

A court ruling ordering the government to compensate former coal miners for pneumoconiosis is expected to be upheld April 27 because the Supreme Court decided Monday to hand down its ruling then without holding any hearings.
OLYMPICS
Apr 19, 2004

Murata secures Olympic berth

Yukari Murata secured a berth at this summer's Athens Olympics after dominating in all four disciplines and placing first in the all-around standings in an Olympic qualifying event for rhythmic gymnastics Sunday.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Apr 18, 2004

Surviving uncharted waters, unknown lands and shogun's scrutiny

SAMURAI WILLIAM: The Englishman Who Opened Japan, by Giles Milton. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2002, 337 pp., $14 (paper). Samurai William is, of course the English navigator, William Adams, whose story was so effectively fictionalized by James Clavell in the novel "Shogun." Giles Milton has...
JAPAN
Apr 17, 2004

Bribes get Suzuki aide suspended term

A former aide to former lawmaker Muneo Suzuki received a suspended two-year prison term Friday for conspiring to accept 1.1 million yen in bribes and concealing 100 million yen in income from Liberal Democratic Party-related ticket sales and donations in 1997 and 1998.
JAPAN
Apr 17, 2004

Pension scheme 8.13 trillion yen in arrears

National pension premiums were in arrears to the tune of a total 8.13 trillion yen for fiscal 1986 through fiscal 2002, the government said during a Cabinet meeting Friday.
BUSINESS
Apr 17, 2004

Mitsubishi Fuso chief steps down in disgrace

Takashi Usami, chairman of Mitsubishi Fuso Truck & Bus Corp., resigned Friday to take the blame for wheel hub problems that caused numerous accidents, including one fatality, and led to a mass vehicle recall.
JAPAN
Apr 16, 2004

Dental lobby chief, six others held over bribery allegation

Prosecutors have arrested Sadao Usuda, chairman of the Japan Dental Association, and Takeshi Shimomura, a member of a government advisory body, in connection with bribes the former allegedly paid to the latter for lobbying efforts aimed at boosting dental-service fees.
SOCCER / J. League
Apr 15, 2004

Jubilo stays perfect by defeating Reysol

Leader Jubilo Iwata brushed aside 10-man Kashiwa Reysol 3-1 in Kashiwa on Wednesday to make it five wins out of five and maintain pole position in the standings in the J. League first division.
LIFE / Lifestyle / MATTER OF COURSE
Apr 15, 2004

When foreign children run afoul of the law

My kids generally don't mind it when I write about them in this column, although on occasion my older son has accused me of exploiting him for professional gain. It happened again when he heard the topic for today's column. "You're writing about foreign kids who get in trouble with the police?" He rolled...
CULTURE / Film
Apr 14, 2004

Drawn to the future

Born in 1964, Fumihiko Sori joined Tokyo Broadcasting System, one of Japan's Big Four TV networks, in 1988. In 1996 he entered the film department of the University of Southern California and later assisted James Cameron with the VFX work for "Titanic." After returning to Japan he worked as a VFX supervisor...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 14, 2004

Sowing the seeds of a new genre

Appleseed Rating: * * * 1/2 (out of 5) Director: Shinji Aramaki Running time: 103 minutes Language: Japanese Opens April 17 [See Japan Times movie listings] Japanese animation is edging into the mainstream internationally, while insinuating itself into everything from "Kill Bill Vol....
BUSINESS
Apr 14, 2004

Japan wholesale prices post first rise since 2000

Wholesale prices nationwide edged up in March from a year earlier for the first increase in three years and eight months, the Bank of Japan said Tuesday in a preliminary report.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Apr 14, 2004

Lessons still unlearned

Timely or what! Just as Japan's autocratic leaders appear to have junked war-renouncing Article 9 of the Constitution -- with news last week of SDF aircraft even having transported armed U.S. soldiers into Iraq -- along comes "Taiko Tataite Fue Fuite (Playing Drum and Flute)," which vividly portrays...
BUSINESS
Apr 14, 2004

Japan Post sees international business as cornerstone

Japan Post aims to beef up its international business to survive intensifying global competition ahead of its planned privatization beginning in 2007, according to Masaharu Ikuta, president of the government-owned entity.
BUSINESS
Apr 13, 2004

Game watchdog looks to shield innocent eyes

"For players aged 18 and older" proclaim the labels on some of the most popular and violent computer and video games on the market -- and children are snapping them up as never before.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Apr 11, 2004

On a High with Teens

Friday, March 19: There's an explosion of noise and color in the heart of the Ten-jin district in Fukuoka City and the locals don't know what has hit them.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Apr 10, 2004

Rattlin' around globe making her kind of music

With a stage name like Rattlesnake Annie, it's easy to imagine a musical cowgirl with a guitar in one hand and a lasso in the other. Instead, waiting in front of Tokyo's Yoyogi Station is a grandmother with great bones, piercing blue eyes and long softly graying hair. She has just come from Tachikawa,...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 9, 2004

Local governments crack down on pilferers of recyclable paper

Vexed by rampant thefts of used paper, many local governments have tightened patrols of trash-collection sites and have issued new regulations claiming ownership of discarded newspapers, magazines and other printed matter.

Longform

Rock group The Yellow Monkey played K-Arena Yokohama in June as part of a nationwide tour. Concerts are increasingly popular in the age of social media as users value in-person experiences.
Inside Japan’s arena boom: Sports, sound and city-building