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EDITORIALS
Mar 14, 2002

Death of a warmonger

The death of Mr. Jonas Savimbi offers Angola its first real chance for peace in a decade. War has been a constant feature of Angola's history; Mr. Savimbi has been a key antagonist in the fighting. His death deprives UNITA, the rebel group he commanded since 1966, of its chief source of inspiration and...
BUSINESS
Mar 14, 2002

Sasebo Heavy cuts profit outlook

Sasebo Heavy Industries Co. said Wednesday it has lowered its unconsolidated net profit forecast for the current business year through March 31 because it has been forced to return government money obtained by fraud.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 14, 2002

Noam Chomsky: America is a leading terrorist state

CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts -- Noam Chomsky, a linguistics professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is world-famous as the originator of the "Transformational Grammar" theory, a framework of principles accounting for all language-specific rules.
COMMENTARY
Mar 14, 2002

A demand-starved economy

What do you do if you are Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and the "structural reform" policies you have been advocating with tight lips and a steely gaze are now hit by the deflation you have caused? Simple. You do an about-face and tell the world with tight lips and a steely gaze that you are now absolutely...
BUSINESS
Mar 14, 2002

Japan firms open to hackers: group

About 20 percent of Internet servers at Japanese companies use deficient software that leaves them vulnerable to attacks by hackers, a Tokyo-based nonprofit organization said Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Mar 14, 2002

S&P downplays drug price cuts

Standard & Poor's Corp. said Wednesday that the Japanese government's planned cuts in drug reimbursement prices will have a limited impact on its ratings for seven Japanese pharmaceuticals.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Mar 14, 2002

You win some and you lose some . . .

Ten years ago, on March 12, 1992, this column began its life on these pages. Though it's still "green," when compared with colleagues who have graced The Japan Times for several decades, Our Planet Earth has now appeared more than 245 times.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 13, 2002

No alternative to Saudi peace 'vision'

BEIRUT -- There is little new about Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah's proposal for full Arab "normalization" with Israel in return for a full Israeli withdrawal from the occupied territories and the establishment of a Palestine state. A vision more than a plan, it leaves vague or unmentioned potential stumbling...
SOCCER / World cup
Mar 13, 2002

Troussier bans media

SUSONO, Shizuoka Pref. -- Japan coach Philippe Troussier, concerned about his players' lack of concentration ahead of two upcoming friendlies, shut out the media Tuesday from the final day of the two-day training camp in Gotenba.
BUSINESS
Mar 13, 2002

Nissan to sell factory site to Buddhists

Nissan Motor Co. said Tuesday it will sell most of the site of a former auto plant in western Tokyo to a Buddhist organization for 73.9 billion yen.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Mar 13, 2002

An adopted son of the circus

It was a small advertisement in the paper that led Koichi Yano to one of Canada's leading circus companies, Montreal-based Cirque Eloize. It was 1996, he was in Canada helping his sister settle in and was still under the spell of a recent performance by renowned circus company Cirque du Soleil, also...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / NEW ART SEEN
Mar 13, 2002

Electric Town project tunes into public art

Typically, from the moment Tokyoites step out the front door, they are subjected to an unrelenting barrage of visual and aural advertising. I've never seen a city that even comes close: Down the street from my place in Kabukicho, squeezed in between the neon signs of a sex club and the golden arches...
BUSINESS
Mar 13, 2002

Tapping of methane hydrate gas raises energy hopes

An intergovernmental research team has succeeded in tapping methane hydrate in an economically viable gas form for the first time, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Mar 13, 2002

What names, things standing thus unknown, shall live behind me

William Shakespeare
BUSINESS
Mar 13, 2002

Banks told not to lower efforts

Banks should not become lax in their efforts to dispose of nonperforming loans, despite speculation that the risk of a financial crisis occurring this month has receded, Financial Services Minister Hakuo Yanagisawa said Tuesday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Mar 13, 2002

Jad Fair: 'Words of Wisdom and Hope'

Though many consider it a dubious distinction, Jad Fair has fashioned a lasting career out of what is essentially a negative musical talent. Willfully ignorant of theory and mostly tone-deaf, Fair, first with his groundbreaking group Half Japanese and more recently as a kind of plug-in solo artist, creates...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Mar 13, 2002

In the nihongo words of the Bard . . .

Kazuko Matsuoka is the Shakespeare translator whose work directors and actors in Japan most like to use. A 59-year-old Tokyo resident, she is the translator appointed for the Saitama Arts Theater's project of staging Shakespeare's complete works. To date, she has translated 11 of the plays, and is now...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / J-POPSICLE
Mar 13, 2002

I take it back, gladly

When writing recently about Seiji Ozawa's very successful "New Year's Concert 2002" album, I made a passing reference to his "nasally voiced" nephew, Kenji Ozawa.
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Mar 13, 2002

Trail of Dead: 'Source Tags & Codes'

At last year's Summersonic festival, Texas four-piece . . . And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead gave us the best, and most incendiary, live performance Japan saw all year. They ended a phenomenal show by trashing every piece of equipment on stage -- even the drum kit was hurled into the mosh pit...
BUSINESS
Mar 13, 2002

Nippon Steel to enter China housing market

Nippon Steel Corp. said Tuesday it will enter the house-building business in China by licensing its construction technology to a Chinese building materials firm.
BUSINESS / ON THE FRONT LINE
Mar 13, 2002

Deflation package a salve to market's woes

The government's package of measures to fight deflation has helped underpin the falling stock market.
SOCCER / J. League / ON THE BALL
Mar 12, 2002

JFA introduces new status for experienced refs

The Japan Football Association has this season introduced a new status for its top referees, called "S.R."
COMMENTARY
Mar 12, 2002

Asia changed little by 9-11

HONOLULU -- While the way Americans look at the world may have fundamentally changed since Sept. 11, the basic Asian issues confronting U.S. decision-makers remain largely unchanged. A look at regional concerns shows more similarities than differences to those that existed before Sept. 11.
BUSINESS
Mar 12, 2002

Banking crisis looks like mirage

Japan will probably avoid a banking crisis at the end of the month because of the recent triple rise of stocks, bonds and the yen, Takashi Imai, chairman of the Japan Federation of Economic Organizations (Keidanren), said Monday.
BUSINESS / ON MANAGEMENT
Mar 12, 2002

Honesty as a policy

Although it seems that everybody now has an opinion on the Enron debacle, I still think that the business lessons to be learned have been slighted. In a sense, what has happened with this three-card monte version of a corporation is a reflection of the worst single tendency of the last quarter-century...
COMMENTARY
Mar 11, 2002

Reform takes back seat to economic values

HONOLULU -- Despite the hype, Japan's antideflation package has failed once again to impress the critics. This failure is remarkable given the international attention that has focused on the proposal, the vote of no-confidence that had been delivered by the markets and the pressure applied by the U.S....
SUMO
Mar 11, 2002

Trio of dragons open with wins

OSAKA -- Sumo's trio of wrestlers born in 1976 -- the year of the dragon -- kicked off their bids for promotion to the yokozuna and ozeki ranks with convincing wins Sunday at the Spring Grand Sumo Tournament.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 11, 2002

Bush-league diplomacy mars Asian tour

They have taken the Stars and Strips down in Tiananmen Square. Meanwhile, in the Great Hall of the People, U.S. President George W. Bush's visit is almost forgotten as the last meeting of China's National People's Congress before the 16th Party Congress in November has begun.
COMMENTARY
Mar 11, 2002

Keeping politicians on leash

In a report published March 4, the Foreign Ministry acknowledged that Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Muneo Suzuki exerted exceptional influence over ministry affairs. The report, based on an in-house probe and released by Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi, confirmed allegations that Suzuki intervened...
COMMENTARY / JAPAN IN THE GLOBAL ERA
Mar 11, 2002

Business schools buck international trend

Seventh in a series

Longform

Ichiro Suzuki, one of the most iconic players in NPB and MLB history, was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame with 99.7% of the vote.
With Hall of Fame induction, Ichiro makes himself heard loud and clear