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COMMENTARY / World
Aug 31, 2003

Enthusiasm for EU club has evaporated

PRAGUE -- When communism in Eastern Europe collapsed, the region's new democratic leaders agreed that joining the European Union -- fast -- must be their priority. "Back to Europe!" became the slogan, one enthusiastically backed by a majority of their populations. Yet eight months before that dream formally...
MORE SPORTS
Aug 30, 2003

Sugiyama leads Japanese trio into third round of U.S. Open

NEW YORK -- Japan's Ai Sugiyama, Shinobu Asagoe and Saori Obata all advanced to the third round of the U.S. Open on Thursday, an impressive Grand Slam showing by rising tennis stars from the Land of the Rising Sun.
COMMENTARY
Aug 30, 2003

Governments must plan today for tomorrow's energy needs

LONDON -- Electric power -- or lack of it -- is once again in the news. It is not just the millions of East Coast Americans and Canadians who have suffered with monster blackouts. Power cuts have become drearily regular in France, Japan, China, Spain, Italy, not to mention in struggling Iraq. And shortages...
COMMENTARY
Aug 30, 2003

A tax hike for God? Don't you believe it

WASHINGTON -- It has long been said that patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel. Today religion plays that role in the United States. At least it does for Gov. Bob Riley of Alabama, who is pushing a massive tax hike in the name of God.
EDITORIALS
Aug 30, 2003

Justice served in Osaka

On June 8, 2001, a disgruntled jobless man stormed an Osaka elementary school, wielding a kitchen knife, and killed eight children and wounded 13 others and two teachers. "This is an unprecedented case of atrocity in the nation's criminal history," the Osaka District Court stated in its death sentence...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Aug 30, 2003

Scones, fresh lemon curd and cream teas, anyone?

Glen Taylor is on a mission. He wants to help dispel the notion that English food is terrible. "Forget any negative image. I'm out to prove it's easy to make, tastes terrific and is very healthy."
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Aug 30, 2003

'Hari': acupuncture or body piercing?

I had already tried massage, but my back and shoulders were still hurting from a pinched nerve. So, I tried "hari." Hari is acupuncture. "Hari," also the Japanese word for needle, but with a different kanji, is almost always written in hiragana, perhaps to make it seem less threatening. I had spotted...
BUSINESS
Aug 30, 2003

Spending slashed as incomes fall again

Spending by wage-earner households fell 6 percent in July in real terms from a year earlier for the largest monthly contraction in nine years and reversing the previous month's 0.4 percent increase, the government said Friday.
BUSINESS
Aug 30, 2003

Ogi questions validity of IRCJ revival plan for bus firm

Transport chief Chikage Ogi expressed reservations Friday about an industry revival plan announced the day before by the government's Industrial Revitalization Corp. of Japan.
BUSINESS
Aug 30, 2003

BTM to launch revival task force for borrowers

The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi will launch a special task force in September to deal exclusively with corporate rehabilitation for some 3,000 troubled borrowers.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Aug 30, 2003

Howard hoping to end revolving door in goal for Man United

LONDON -- Tim Howard, an American goalkeeper who has a tattoo on his right bicep and suffers from Tourette's Syndrome, never thought he would have the chance to play for a big Premiership club, let alone the biggest club in the world.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Aug 30, 2003

Andy and Karla Morris

WOORE, England -- This small Shropshire village in the Midlands of England is set in countryside that, even in the 21st century, keeps a picture postcard quality. Although it is near the thriving towns of the Potteries, and is on a major highway to the ancient cathedral city of Chester and the rugged...
EDITORIALS
Aug 29, 2003

More bombings in Bombay

They never miss an opportunity. Every time the governments of India and Pakistan appear ready to build better relations, those efforts are countered with violence by militants. This week two bomb blasts in Bombay claimed 50 lives and wounded more than 150 others. In keeping with the current spirit of...
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 29, 2003

Washington lays siege to WTO system

LONDON -- In the last few weeks the U.S. Congress has approved free-trade agreements with Chile and Singapore and has approved the opening of talks on FTAs with Bahrain and the Dominican Republic.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 29, 2003

Aussies discover cost of being Big Brother

SYDNEY -- No good deed goes unpunished, says the cynic. And that's the way it's looking for Australia's efforts to bring peace and stability to the South Pacific.
BUSINESS
Aug 29, 2003

Mizuho ATMs to be open till 9 p.m.

Mizuho Bank said Thursday it will start extending the operating hours of about 500 automated teller machines to 9 p.m. from 7 p.m. on Sept. 16, with around 100 more to follow by the end of March.
BASEBALL / MLB
Aug 29, 2003

Tigers whitewash Giants 11-0

Katsumi Hirosawa and George Arias connected for two home runs each while four Hanshin pitchers combined on a seven-hit shutout as the Tigers whitewashed the Yomiuri Giants 11-0 at Koshien Stadium on Thursday.
JAPAN
Aug 29, 2003

Yen sought for 'green' businesses

The Environment Ministry said Thursday it will seek 26.6 billion yen to promote environmentally friendly business practices in its budgetary request for fiscal 2004.
COMMENTARY
Aug 28, 2003

Brinkmanship in Beijing

HONOLULU -- "Surrender means death!" This pretty much sums up North Korea's opening position at the six-nation talks in Beijing this week. U.S. insistence that North Korea dismantle its nuclear program "fully, verifiably, and irreversibly" in advance of dialogue (or rewards) "is little short of demanding...
COMMENTARY
Aug 28, 2003

Asia needs export controls to keep terrorist forces at bay

SINGAPORE -- The recent bomb blast at the J.W. Marriott hotel in downtown Jakarta is only the most recent reminder of the ruthless cruelty of international terrorism. The topic dominates every discussion of Asian security. Those talks have become increasingly sharp in the face of a rising death toll...
BUSINESS
Aug 28, 2003

Mitsui unit to become part of IRCJ

Mitsui Mining Co. will be granted debt waivers of 170 billion yen and will become a unit of the governmental Industrial Revitalization Corp. of Japan, sources said Wednesday.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / GARDEN PATHS
Aug 28, 2003

All manor of delights

Gentle hills dotted with sheep and ancient villages set beside flowing streams: Scenes such as these attracted William Morris and other members of the Arts and Crafts movement to the Cotswolds in the late 19th century.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Aug 28, 2003

Japanese black face fly

* Japanese name: Kuroi ebae * Scientific name: Musca bezzii * Description: Face flies are similar to common house flies, but they are larger and darker. If in doubt, check the eyes: Those of the face fly almost touch at the top, but those of house flies have a wider gap between them. The face of...
Japan Times
LIFE / Language
Aug 28, 2003

Finding a sense of balance in the face of DSI

Every day, at a musk-melon-colored building near Okayama Station, children gather to play in a rather unusual-looking indoor playground. Guru Guru Meron Shima (Twirly Melon Island) is a privately-run day-care center for autistic and other special-needs children that started up in July. It is also, most...
BUSINESS
Aug 28, 2003

Nissan to start sales company in Russia firm

Nissan Motor Co. said Wednesday it will establish a sales company in Russia in January to distribute Nissan vehicles and parts.
LIFE / Digital / NAME OF THE GAME
Aug 28, 2003

A horror smorgasbord

With monsters in the hallways, blood on the wall and gross-outs lurking behind every corner, "Silent Hill 3" is an all-out assault on the player's sensibilities.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Aug 28, 2003

The answer is blowing in the wind

Let me be honest from the outset: I'm a serious fan of wind power, and I'd love to see Japan become a world leader in wind-power generation. I'll admit, too, that my reasons are partly selfish.
JAPAN
Aug 28, 2003

Environment panel calls for carbon tax in 2005

A government advisory panel tasked with studying environmental taxes adopted a proposal Wednesday for the introduction of a carbon levy by as early as 2005.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Aug 27, 2003

Richard Bona: "Munia (The Tale)"

One of the encouragements jazz players often shout to each other during intense solos is "Tell the story!" On Cameroonian Richard Bona's third release, "Munia (The Tale)," he does just that by weaving lovely epic tales in melody and rhythm that combine West African music with New York jazz.

Longform

An illustration features the Japanese signs for "ganbare" (good luck) and the Deaflympics, which will be held between Nov. 15 and 26.
A century of Deaf sport finds its moment in Tokyo