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BUSINESS
Sep 20, 2001

Mitsubishi Electric to ax jobs in wake of global IT slump

In a bid to cope with the slumping demand for information technology products, Mitsubishi Electric Corp. on Wednesday announced a midterm business plan that calls for cutting 2,000 jobs by the end of March 2003 and considering the possibility of a tieup in the cell phone business.
BASEBALL / MLB
Sep 19, 2001

History still on hold as Buffs righty sizzles

OSAKA -- Hisashi Iwakuma fired a two-hitter as the Kintetsu Buffaloes scored a key 5-0 victory over the Seibu Lions at the Osaka Dome on Tuesday night, boosting their lead in the Pacific League to 11/2 games, and keeping the dream of going worst to first in just one season alive.
JAPAN
Sep 19, 2001

Bomb threats to top hotels spook Nikkei

The Nikkei stock average closed higher Tuesday but lost about 100 points in the last three minutes of trading after bomb threats were made against two top hotels in Tokyo. Police later determined the threats were pranks.
CULTURE / Film
Sep 19, 2001

Tinseltown, meet Chinatown

Rush Hour 2 Rating: * * * Director: Brett Ratner Running time: 90 minutes Language: English Now showing
CULTURE / Music
Sep 19, 2001

They'll do it theeeeeeir way

Girl bands . . . you've gotta love them.
CULTURE / Art
Sep 19, 2001

Land of the high-and-mighty

History seems to be a dirty word these days. Discussion of it is liable to raise questions of which country or race did what to whom, and whether financial compensation is due.
JAPAN
Sep 19, 2001

Ex-head of Tokyo Shogin held over embezzlement

The Tokyo District Public Prosecutors' Office has arrested the former head of Tokyo Shogin Shinyo Kumiai, a failed credit union mainly serving South Korean residents, for allegedly embezzling 86 million yen from the union, the office said.
JAPAN
Sep 19, 2001

Bomb threats made against offices, hotels

Bomb threats were made Tuesday afternoon against major hotels and office buildings housing U.S. banks in and near Tokyo, but the Metropolitan Police Department said it believes they were pranks.
CULTURE / Art
Sep 19, 2001

Art with some things to say

When the Yokohama Triennale opened a couple of weeks ago, several people asked which of the pieces I particularly liked. When pressed, from the works of more than 100 artists on show, I singled out Yoko Ono's "Freight Train" and Casagrande & Rintala's "Bird Cage," two large outdoor installations located...
CULTURE / Stage
Sep 19, 2001

Puppet-actors drum up enthusiasm

Using the unique device of actors performing as bunraku-style puppets, complete with visible, black-clad puppeteers, France's Theatre du Soleil is in Tokyo to present its 1999 creation, "Tambours sur la Digue (Drummers on the Dike)." Directed by Ariane Mnouchkine, the play's unusual nature is indicated...
CULTURE / Music
Sep 19, 2001

Girl's night out! OI! OI! OI!

Tokyo-based Lolita No. 18 is billed as the headliner of the "Wild Wacky Party Asia" tour, and they're probably the craziest bunch of rock chicks you'll ever see. They are party animals (vocalist Masayo Ishizaka lists alcoholism as her favorite hobby) and nothing if not extreme. They've even started wearing...
CULTURE / Film
Sep 19, 2001

Poetry and the pursuit of freedom

Before Night Falls Rating: * * * Director: Julian Schnabel Running time: 133 minutes Language: Spanish, English Now showing
BUSINESS
Sep 19, 2001

Arabian Oil given ray of hope

Tokyo-based Arabian Oil Co. has agreed with the Kuwaiti government to the principles of operation regarding its continued drilling in the Kuwait-controlled portion of the Khafji oil field, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said Tuesday.
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Sep 19, 2001

Bob Dylan: 'Love and Theft'

You can tell how much the critical establishment needs Bob Dylan by the praise heaped on his last studio album, 1997's "Time Out of Mind," which contained five excellent songs, five pretty good ones and one 161/2-minute bore. Music critics decided the album was all about death, and as this was, after...
JAPAN
Sep 19, 2001

Public housing strategy at the crossroads

National housing policy is set for change with the reformist Koizumi Cabinet having launched a political battle to abolish or privatize all unprofitable semigovernmental corporations.
Events
Sep 18, 2001

Matsushita woes mean more pain for Kansai

OSAKA -- Matsushita Electric Industrial Co.'s announcement that it will post operating losses of 38.7 billion yen in the April-June quarter and begin restructuring shocked the Kansai business community and prompted worries about what it would mean for the region's economy.
JAPAN
Sep 18, 2001

Suspect feed shipped only to Tokushima

The farm ministry said Monday it has confirmed that a feed factory in Ibaraki Prefecture that produced meat and bone meal from a cow suspected of having mad cow disease shipped the MBM only to a company in Tokushima Prefecture.
JAPAN
Sep 18, 2001

Bin Laden followers may be here

The government has received information that 12 foreign Islamic extremists may have entered Japan shortly before last week's terrorist attacks in the United States, informed sources said Monday.
BUSINESS
Sep 18, 2001

Nikkei down on European tumble

Tokyo stocks plummeted Monday morning, with the key Nikkei average dipping below 9,500 at one point, as the tumble in European stocks Friday made investors nervous ahead of the restart of U.S. trading.
JAPAN
Sep 18, 2001

U.S. ships depart Yokosuka naval base

U.S. military bases in Japan are stepping up activity as the United States prepares to retaliate for the devastating terrorist attacks last week in New York and Washington.
Events
Sep 18, 2001

Kobe airport foes marshall forces

KOBE -- Although construction began on controversial Kobe airport two years ago, citizens opposed to the facility continue pursuing all avenues to try to stop it, including new public disclosure laws and the upcoming mayoral election.
JAPAN
Sep 18, 2001

Cabinet job adviser warns of worse to come

The government's newly appointed adviser on employment and labor issues said in a recent interview that people should not overreact to the nation's jobless figure, but prepare for worse to come.
BASEBALL / MLB
Sep 18, 2001

Buffs' Mizuguchi puts on a show for salarymen

OSAKA -- Eiji Mizuguchi stole the show from the big names at the Osaka Dome on Monday night, going 3-for-4, reaching base four times and driving in the decisive run for the Kintetsu Buffaloes in a 2-1 victory over the Seibu Lions.
JAPAN
Sep 18, 2001

Government aims to cut its elderly medical bill

The government may raise the age at which people can receive elderly medical care to 75 from 70 within five years, according to health ministry sources.
BUSINESS / TAKING STOCK
Sep 18, 2001

Jitters rife prior to Wall Street reopening

Last week's terrorist attacks in the United States sent stock markets reeling around the world.
BUSINESS
Sep 18, 2001

Consumer confidence plunged to record low in August

Consumer confidence about the nation's economic conditions for the remainder of the year plunged in August to a record low, Nippon Research Institute said Monday.
SOCCER / THE BALD TRUTH
Sep 18, 2001

Japan's taxi drivers will nip hooligans in the bud

If a bunch of terrorists can reduce the World Trade Center towers to rubble, imagine what they could do at next year's World Cup finals in Japan and South Korea. Unfortunately, this is not mere scare mongering.

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’