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EDITORIALS
Jun 12, 2002

Unsure sign of recovery

The latest government report on Japan's gross domestic product -- that the economy in the first quarter of this year expanded 1.4 percent from the previous quarter, or at an annual rate of 5.7 percent -- has met with some skepticism. The general feeling appears to be that it is too good to be true. In...
SOCCER / World cup
Jun 12, 2002

Japan's Ono all set for Tunisia match

KAKEGAWA, Shizuoka Pref. -- "If we can stay focused, I think we can win the next match as well," Japan and Feyenoord midfielder Shinji Ono said Tuesday of his team's upcoming game against Tunisia, set for Friday at Osaka's Nagai Stadium.
JAPAN
Jun 12, 2002

78% of consumers distrust food labels: poll

Seventy-eight percent of consumers across the country do not trust information provided in food labels, according to a recent survey by the Japanese Consumers Cooperative Union.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 12, 2002

NPO helping to rehabilitate drug users released on bail

While authorities are finding it difficult to prevent people arrested for drug-related crimes from returning to substance abuse, one nonprofit organization has been successful in helping those who once relied on narcotics such as amphetamines.
JAPAN
Jun 12, 2002

Chinese killers' sentences upheld

The Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld death sentences for two Chinese men convicted for a 1992 triple murder and robbery at a pachinko parlor in Tama, western Tokyo.
SOCCER / World cup
Jun 12, 2002

Ireland storms through with 3-0 win

YOKOHAMA -- Ireland qualified in second place in Group E for a spot in the Round of 16 -- where it will meet the winner of Group B -- after a 3-0 win over Saudi Arabia in Yokohama on Tuesday night.
BUSINESS
Jun 12, 2002

Shiokawa to fill in G7 on tax-cut plans

Finance Minister Masajuro Shiokawa said Tuesday that he will tell Japan's Group of Seven partners that the nation is ready to bolster its fragile economy by cutting taxes and accelerating the disposal of bad loans held by Japanese banks.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jun 12, 2002

Life of the party

Thai artist Rirkrit Tiravanija has an original recipe for success: "I can't paint," he said, "but I can cook."
CULTURE / Art
Jun 12, 2002

Where the art action is

The Opera City show -- the plastic foods, the videos and the Web site -- are, as Rirkrit Tiravanija puts it, "an appetizer" to the community-oriented projects the artist is doing in Sumida Ward.
JAPAN
Jun 12, 2002

Prosecutors grill Togo on funds scandal in Europe

Japanese prosecutors in Europe have repeatedly quizzed former elite diplomat Kazuhiko Togo over a breach of trust case involving two Foreign Ministry officials now under arrest and a government-funded committee on aid to Russia, investigative sources said Tuesday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jun 12, 2002

Zazen and the roundabout road to enlightenment

In his classic book "Zen in the Art of Archery," Eugen Herrigel makes it clear that trying too hard to hit a target is a sure way to miss it. One wonders whether, conversely, the easiest way to achieve one's aim is to take a roundabout route to it. That would certainly seem to be the case with the art...
JAPAN
Jun 12, 2002

Only half of 35,000 child-abuse cases probed

There were an estimated 35,000 cases of child abuse nationwide in fiscal 2000, but only about 18,000 were probed by child welfare consultation centers, according to a Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry report released Tuesday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 12, 2002

Rainy season under way in Honshu and Shikoku

The rainy season began Tuesday in Honshu and Shikoku following its start in Kyushu on Monday, the Meteorological Agency said.
BUSINESS
Jun 12, 2002

Builders launch recycling venture

Construction firms Kajima Corp., Taisei Corp. and Shimizu Corp. said Tuesday they have formed a joint venture to develop and sell recycled building materials.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 12, 2002

New softener bolsters UV protection

OSAKA — Times have changed from the days when young girls were eager to get a dark tan and be called "ganguro," or "black-faced."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / J-POPSICLE
Jun 12, 2002

Message in a pop song

You've probably noticed a big mascara-lined eye staring out at you from billboards all over town lately. The eye in question belongs to Lisa, former vocalist with hip-hop/R&B trio m-flo, and the billboard is plugging her new single, "Babylon no Kiseki (Miracle of Babylon)," which was released on May...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / NEW ART SEEN
Jun 12, 2002

Two for one at the Tokyo Opera City Gallery

Tokyo's Opera City Art Gallery has taken a novel approach with its summer show: Instead of the usual one-man or themed group exhibition, it is running a couple of concurrent but totally unrelated one-man shows at its Shinjuku exhibition space.
COMMENTARY
Jun 11, 2002

Optimist has lost his bearings

The government of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi continues to face greater difficulties than perhaps ever before. I previously criticized his Cabinet as beset with troubles, both at home and abroad, as a result of scandals involving lawmaker Muneo Suzuki, former Liberal Democratic Party secretary general...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 11, 2002

Who's winning the 'coca war'?

LA PAZ, Bolivia — On a hot December afternoon last year, 150 farmers in Chimore, a town in the Chapare region of central Bolivia, unloaded bananas and pineapples onto the Santa Cruz-Cochabamba highway. There was no market in sight and even if there was, the goods were not for sale. Rather, they were...
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 11, 2002

Flaws in Japan's nuclear-arms debate

The ongoing debate in Japan on nuclear arms lacks sophistication. On May 31, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda said if the international situation were to change, public opinion might favor a nuclear-armed Japan. He was commenting on the government's long-standing three nonnuclear principles of not...
JAPAN
Jun 11, 2002

Hiranuma adds green points for review before Aichi expo

Industry minister Takeo Hiranuma released his comments Monday on a draft environmental assessment by the organizer of the 2005 World Exposition in Aichi Prefecture, in which he calls for further review on several points.
JAPAN
Jun 11, 2002

Maglev test train gives quick thrill to select few

A test ride at the foot of Mount Fuji on a magnetically levitated (maglev) train is proving extremely popular with curious people who want to experience a ride on the world's fastest train, which runs at a speed of 500 kph.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 11, 2002

'Gringo mayor' does local politics his way

PORONGO, Bolivia — Mike Bennett came to Bolivia 18 years ago looking for gold. And he found it. But as he searched the nation for the precious metal, the 46-year-old geologist from Staffordshire, England, also uncovered other treasures — Spanish, which he speaks fluently, a farm, two hotels and a...
SOCCER / THE BALD TRUTH
Jun 11, 2002

World Cup brings out worst in Dachshund Ron

So far so weird, then. France on the brink of elimination, England beating Argentina 1-0 and Rivaldo being fined for cheating were just some of the biggest headlines to come out of the first week and a bit of the World Cup.
BUSINESS
Jun 11, 2002

Domestic retailers brace for Seiyu-Wal-Mart impact

Japan's retail industry, suffering from a decade-long economic slump and the advance of powerful specialty discount stores, is gearing up to compete with another formidable player.
JAPAN
Jun 11, 2002

Local beer gets German touch

Christian Mitterbauer clenched his fist and brought it to his chest to mark his moment of triumph in April 2001, when he turned out a local Japanese beer.

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