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EDITORIALS
Aug 29, 2002

Inching toward normalization talks

Japan and North Korea are moving toward resuming the long-stalled talks to normalize relations. Foreign ministry officials from the two nations met in Pyongyang for two days earlier this week and agreed to continue consultations to explore the possibilities for restarting the negotiations. Also, Prime...
COMMUNITY
Aug 29, 2002

Telephone counselors sought

TOKYO ENGLISH LIFE LINE (TELL) is offering a training program for volunteer telephone counselors. TELL is a 365 days-a-year free counseling line for English speakers and has been serving the international community in Japan since 1973.
JAPAN
Aug 29, 2002

Mitsui workers suspected of bribing foreign official

Employees of trading house Mitsui & Co. are being questioned on suspicion that they bribed a Mongolian government official last year to secure an order for a power project financed by the Japanese government, informed sources said Wednesday.
MORE SPORTS
Aug 29, 2002

U.S. swimmers win four out of five finals

YOKOHAMA -- Sachiko Yamada had the home crowd screaming their lungs out. Same with Ian Thorpe, who proved he was fastest regardless of length.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Aug 29, 2002

Prehistory still abounds in everyday life

In the course of a normal day, the word "fossil" may quite possibly never occur to you. Fossils are, however, crucial to many aspects of daily life.
BUSINESS
Aug 29, 2002

Fitch leaves ratings of 10 major Japanese banks unchanged

Fitch Ratings said Tuesday it has left unchanged the credit ratings of 10 Japanese banks, including a holding company, in anticipation that the Japanese government will extend support if needed.
JAPAN
Aug 29, 2002

Ministry asks for 2.49 billion yen for English lessons

The Education Ministry on Wednesday submitted a 7.01 trillion yen budget request for fiscal 2003, up 6.7 percent from its initial fiscal 2002 budget and with a major increase in funds earmarked for English teaching, ministry officials said.
JAPAN
Aug 29, 2002

Ministry hopes to pay for babies

The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry plans to press for a 4.6 percent increase in its fiscal 2003 budget in order to introduce a 1.04 trillion yen incentive program to boost the nation's birthrate, officials said Wednesday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 29, 2002

Shangri-La banks on China's future

The growth potential of China's markets is well known, but if there is any concern, it's that growth may come too fast, according to Al Wymann, Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts group director of operations in China.
LIFE / Digital / NAME OF THE GAME
Aug 29, 2002

'Dead to Rights' feels like John Woo with a joystick

Forget all the moralizing. "Dead to Rights," a new game for Xbox from Namco, is a mature game that earns the right to have strippers in thongs, dogs ripping out men's throats and more shootouts than Charles Bronson and Arnold Schwarzenegger saw in their entire careers.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Aug 29, 2002

Questions over foreigners' phone deposit

Last April, telecoms giant NTT announced the largest annual corporate loss in Japanese history -- 2 trillion yen. More than a third of it came from its cell phone subsidiary, NTT Docomo.
BUSINESS
Aug 29, 2002

J-Phone to recall faulty new handset

Cell phone service operator J-Phone Co. said Wednesday that one of its newly introduced handsets is experiencing problems with software related to Internet access.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT
Aug 29, 2002

Japan and U.K. forge new green links

NAGANO -- Last weekend in Johannesburg, 65,000 people were limbering up for the U.N. World Summit on Sustainable Development.
EDITORIALS
Aug 28, 2002

Perils of attacking Iraq

The debate on the pros and cons of a U.S. attack on Iraq is heating up in the United States and elsewhere. Whether Iraq is a member of the "axis of evil" or not, there is no doubt that President George W. Bush sees its continuing development of weapons of mass destruction as a serious threat to U.S....
COMMENTARY
Aug 28, 2002

George W. Bush's two-faced foreign policy

NEW DELHI -- Which country poses a serious threat because of its established links with international terrorism, proven program to develop weapons of mass destruction and close ties with other dictatorships in WMD-related matters? To a resident of New Delhi, the answer may be obvious: Pakistan, bristling...
JAPAN
Aug 28, 2002

Persian-language court interpreter lives life on a tightrope

Keiko Kawashima's job as a Persian-language court interpreter sometimes requires her to respond to calls in the middle of the night.
JAPAN
Aug 28, 2002

Ministry begins latest Nippon Ham inspection

The farm ministry on Tuesday began checking all uninspected beef submitted by a Nippon Meat Packers Inc. subsidiary, which is at the center of a scandal for mislabeling beef in a bid to receive state buyback subsidies for unsold domestic meat.
JAPAN
Aug 28, 2002

Psychiatric group to investigate alleged abuse by China

YOKOHAMA -- The World Psychiatric Association has agreed to send a team of experts to China next spring to investigate claims that the communist government is confining political dissidents, including members of the Falun Gong sect, in mental wards, WPA president Juan Lopez-Ibor said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Aug 28, 2002

Ruling recognizes Unit 731 used germ warfare in China

The Tokyo District Court on Tuesday acknowledged that Japan waged germ warfare in China during World War II and caused harm to residents, but dismissed a claim by Chinese plaintiffs suing the government for compensation over the atrocities.
COMMENTARY
Aug 28, 2002

'Sweet and sour' diplomacy

HONOLULU -- "U.S.-North Korean military meet to reduce tensions." "North Korea threatens to withdraw from nuclear agreement with U.S."
BUSINESS
Aug 28, 2002

Duel between gas, electric appliance makers heats up

A race pitting electric appliance makers against gas appliance makers is quietly heating up in Japanese kitchens.
BUSINESS
Aug 28, 2002

Road panel ready to back private firms

A government advisory panel formulating ways to privatize four public road-construction firms will pave the way for them to later invest in highway projects that are deemed profitable, according to a draft report unveiled Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Aug 28, 2002

Postal panel narrows options

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's private advisory panel on postal services agreed Tuesday to propose three options for privatizing the services in its final report to be compiled in early September.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / NEW ART SEEN
Aug 28, 2002

All things in the universe, and some

The very idea of a comprehensive retrospective of Tadanori Yokoo's work is a daunting one. How to bring together an oeuvre that spans almost a half-century and is, by turns, strident, nationalistic, homoerotic, funny and cosmic; that is both representational and abstract; that comprises posters, photographs,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Aug 28, 2002

Amadou and Mariam: "Amadou and Mariam"

This album smokes. Amadou and Mariam play a rollicking, good-natured blend of bluesy R&B and Malian dance band music. Amadou sings and plays a seamless rhythm guitar and the occasional crackling lead, while Mariam sings in a voice of sweet fragility.
JAPAN
Aug 28, 2002

Opera on exiled Christian daimyo aimed at boosting Philippine ties

An opera about the life of a daimyo who was exiled for his Christian faith will be staged next year to mark the 100th anniversary of Japanese migration to the Philippines, according to organizers.
JAPAN
Aug 27, 2002

Eager parents boost demand for English picture books

Imports of English picture books for children have risen to meet demand among parents eager for their children to start learning English at an early age.

Longform

"Shake hands with Lima-chan," a statue that shares the name of the Peruvian capital looks in the direction of Peru, where a sister statue, "Sakura-chan," is located. Erected in Yokohama's Rinko Park in 1999, it commemorates Peruvian-Japanese friendship.
The journey of Peru’s Nikkei: Finding identity in Japan