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JAPAN
Aug 22, 2001

Space agencies to be integrated

The science and technology ministry decided Tuesday to integrate three government-affiliated space agencies and create a new space development organization by fiscal 2003.
CULTURE / Stage
Aug 22, 2001

'We all felt this could be a masterpiece'

Midway through the triumphant two-week run of his summer-festival kabuki classic "Togitatsu no Utare," cutting-edge director Hideki Noda took time to reflect on his remarkable crossover from contemporary theater to the Kabuki-za in Ginza (no less).
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Aug 22, 2001

Rodney Hylton Smith: 'Run Come Save Me'

If you think the only thing Britain has to offer hip-hop is a bunch of arenas for the likes of Eminem and other Americans to fill when they make the short trip across the Atlantic, then it's time to listen to Rodney Hylton Smith and reconsider.
BUSINESS
Aug 21, 2001

Misfortunes in tough times spur new breed of insurance plans

In May, Yamagata University disclosed that it had bungled its entrance exam grading, irretrievably altering the course of applicants' lives.
JAPAN
Aug 21, 2001

Japan hopes to improve ties through intellectual exchanges

In a bid to put Japan's often stormy relations with China and South Korea on a more stable footing over the long term, the government is embarking on a multimillion-yen program to promote friendship and mutual understanding among the three Asian neighbors.
JAPAN
Aug 21, 2001

Koizumi lodges protest with Russia over fishing

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi lodged a protest Monday with Russian President Vladimir Putin for granting fishing rights to third countries in waters around disputed islands off Hokkaido, claiming Moscow has ignored Japan's repeated requests not to allow fishing in the area.
COMMENTARY
Aug 21, 2001

Koizumi's unfinished business

HONOLULU -- Last week was rough for Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. The last thing he wants to do now is revisit the Yasukuni Shrine question, but there is unfinished business that he must attend to.
Events
Aug 21, 2001

Kansai airport ignoring feasibility concerns

OSAKA -- As Kansai International Airport approaches its seventh birthday Sept. 4, a number of serious problems are casting clouds over the occasion.
JAPAN
Aug 21, 2001

Big typhoon sets sights on western Japan coast

Typhoon Pabuk, a massive, powerful storm system, is moving northward in the Pacific Ocean south of the Japanese archipelago and may directly hit western Japan this evening or early Wednesday, the Meteorological Agency said Monday.
JAPAN
Aug 21, 2001

Actor Ishida held over cannabis

OSAKA -- The health ministry arrested actor and singer Issei Ishida, 26, in Osaka on Monday on suspicion of possessing 2 grams of cannabis resin.
JAPAN
Aug 21, 2001

Sugiura was reprimanded: Tanaka

Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka said Monday she severely reprimanded Seiken Sugiura, senior vice foreign minister, last week for earlier agreeing to conceal a diplomatic scandal.
BUSINESS
Aug 21, 2001

Fujitsu to cut 16,400 jobs worldwide

Fujitsu Ltd. announced Monday it will cut its global workforce by 9 percent, or 16,400 jobs, by the end of the fiscal year amid a global slump in the semiconductor market.
JAPAN
Aug 21, 2001

Many youths dissatisfied with sex education: study

Nearly 90 percent of young couples surveyed in Tokyo say they are dissatisfied with the sex education they receive at school and elsewhere, and feel adults should not hesitate to teach them how to avoid contracting sexually transmitted diseases, according to a health ministry study.
Events
Aug 21, 2001

Osaka hotel's rooftop garden refreshing in the concrete jungle

OSAKA -- This summer Osaka is living up to its reputation as Japan's hottest city. Temperatures have not fallen under 25 since July 19.
JAPAN
Aug 21, 2001

Courts' shift giving hope to war redress claimants

Kyodo News There is a change in the air as lawsuits filed by Asian victims of Japanese wartime conquest are receiving a more sympathetic hearing, but the government and Diet have been slow to respond.
BUSINESS
Aug 21, 2001

Nikkei hits fresh 17-year low amid U.S., Japanese economic malaise

The benchmark 225-issue Nikkei stock average fell to a new 17-year closing low Monday, reflecting concern over the economies of Japan and the United States.
SOCCER / THE BALD TRUTH
Aug 21, 2001

Clowns at the circus of soccer

I was buttering my muffins the other morning when my Australian mate Nezbo called. So obviously I had to tell him how crap the Aussies are at soccer, didn't I?
JAPAN
Aug 21, 2001

Woman found dead on bank of Edo River

A 27-year-old South Korean woman was found dead early Monday on the bank of a river in Tokyo's Edogawa Ward, police said.
EDITORIALS
Aug 20, 2001

Macedonians give peace a chance

A deal has been struck to end the six-month insurgency in the tiny, impoverished country of Macedonia. Now everything depends on whether a genuine peace can be established. Serb and ethnic Albanian leaders signed an agreement, which embodies the essence of the demands of the guerrilla Albanian forces....
COMMENTARY
Aug 20, 2001

No place for arrogant science

LONDON -- Scientific and technological research and development have contributed significantly, particularly in the last century, to our understanding, health and general well-being.
JAPAN
Aug 20, 2001

Typhoon Pabuk targets west Japan

Typhoon Pabuk, a massive, strong typhoon brewing in the Pacific Ocean south of the Japanese archipelago, has shifted course from northwest to north and may hit land Tuesday in western Japan, the Meteorological Agency warned Sunday.
COMMENTARY
Aug 20, 2001

Cleaning up Clinton's unfinished business

WASHINGTON -- Three years ago, in the midst of the Monica Lewinsky scandal, U.S. President Bill Clinton launched a missile strike against a Sudanese pharmaceutical factory, claiming that it manufactured chemical weapons. It is now widely recognized that the United States acted hastily and mistakenly....
BUSINESS
Aug 20, 2001

Fujitsu to slash 10,000 jobs in North America, Asia

Leading computer maker Fujitsu Ltd. plans to slash about 10 percent of its group workforce, or more than 10,000 jobs, at home and abroad as the main part of a restructuring plan designed to counter a slowdown in the information technology market, company officials said Sunday.
JAPAN
Aug 20, 2001

Nakatani climbs Fuji to warm ties with U.S.

Defense Agency chief Gen Nakatani on Sunday climbed Mount Fuji, Japan's highest peak, along with about 40 U.S. servicemen stationed in Okinawa in an effort to improve relations between Japan and the United States.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 20, 2001

Kim Jong Il's quaint trip to Moscow

BANGKOK -- Decades before European socialism crumbled, taking the Soviet Union down with it, young Russian communists were already having a hard time taking North Korea seriously. There on the distant Pacific coast was this bizarre and demanding little client state; extreme in its isolation, brutal in...

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