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JAPAN / OF SOUND MIND
Jun 22, 2001

Ikeda massacre puts judicial psychiatry in spotlight

The June 8 killing of eight children by a knife-wielding man at an Osaka elementary school has inevitably rekindled the old debate about whether — and how much — judicial authorities should be able to intervene when dealing with mental patients accused of committing serious crimes.
BUSINESS
Jun 22, 2001

Oil firm announces Vietnam output

Nippon Mitsubishi Oil Corp., the nation's largest oil refiner and distributor, said Thursday its subsidiary has confirmed supplies of about 8,000 barrels a day of crude oil in test drillings in an appraisal well off Vietnam.
JAPAN
Jun 22, 2001

Even tax cheats rocked by spluttering economy

Tax collectors found 27.1 billion yen in undeclared taxes in fiscal 2000, down about 4.5 billion yen from the year before, due to the dismal economy, the National Tax Administration said in an annual white paper released Thursday.
SPORTS / TALK OF THE TIMES
Jun 22, 2001

Former NFL star Moon still pondering next move

Warren Moon picks up a football, drops back a few steps and throws a pass. The ball sails in a perfect spiral and with superb accuracy, which many receivers and fans love to see, and falls into the hands of his 20-year-old son Joshua, who plays wide receiver at a small college.
COMMUNITY / THE PARENT TRIP
Jun 22, 2001

Sho-chan's send-off

In Japan, leave-takings are marked with fanfare. Parties, gifts, speeches, photos, train-platform farewells, never-ending waves goodbye and bows -- the Japanese really know how to say sayonara. As a long-term resident of Japan, I have been on the receiving end of these rituals many times. But the most...
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Jun 22, 2001

Genji firefly

* Japanese name: Genjibotaru * Scientific name: Luciola cruciata * Description: Fireflies aren't flies -- they are beetles, as you can tell from the hard shell that protects their wings when they're not flying. Adults are 12-18 mm long. They have black bodies and legs, and a red thorax. The most...
EDITORIALS
Jun 21, 2001

Mrs. Tanaka passes her first test

Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka's first official trip to Washington has ended with a measure of success. In a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, reportedly held in a friendly atmosphere, she reaffirmed the importance of the Japan-U.S. alliance and exchanged views on missile defense and...
JAPAN
Jun 21, 2001

Calbee recalls GMO potato snacks

Snack-food maker Calbee Foods Co. said Wednesday it will recall all of its Jagariko potato snacks produced before June 7 because a genetically modified variety of potato yet to be approved in Japan was mixed into the ingredients.
BUSINESS
Jun 21, 2001

State tries to get nation online

In a desperate attempt to boost Japan's cyberspace population to numbers more closely resembling those of other industrialized nations, the government is struggling to draw attention to its online exposition, said Taichi Sakaiya, a special adviser to the prime minister and former chief of the Economic...
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 21, 2001

India watches as Nepal's drama unfolds

If the June 1 blood bath that resulted in the deaths of many members of Nepal's royal family was not enough for a tragedy, we also have a Maoist insurgency and fears of two giant neighbors against the backdrop of palace intrigues.
JAPAN
Jun 21, 2001

Campaign ads on TV hit as fluff

Could Japanese politics finally be getting interesting or are things just getting out of hand?
JAPAN
Jun 21, 2001

Landslides plague west Japan; one dead

OSAKA — A 68-year-old man was killed early Wednesday in Ehime Prefecture when his home was buried in a landslide brought on by a seasonal rain front that caused widespread damage in western Japan, police and firefighters said.
JAPAN
Jun 21, 2001

Yamamoto won't fight fraud verdict

Former House of Representatives member Joji Yamamoto has dropped his appeal against a fraud conviction for the misuse of public funds, his lawyers said Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Jun 21, 2001

Regional economies in recession

Regional economies are in the grip of recession, according to a quarterly survey released Wednesday by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.
JAPAN
Jun 21, 2001

SDF ranks open to reservists with no military experience

Need a part-time job? Ever considered the Self-Defense Forces? Spending holidays in boot camp could earn you 7,900 yen a day.
ENVIRONMENT / IN BLOOM
Jun 21, 2001

Tsuyu-kusa (Dew flower)

"It was true then: he had after all the shifting hue of the dewflower. She had heard about that. She had heard, albeit in general terms, that men were good at lying, that many a sweet word went into the pretense of love."
MULTIMEDIA / SPORTS SCOPE
Jun 21, 2001

S. Korea must buck up before World Cup

If you read Kumi Kinohara's "On The Ball" column on Tuesday you'll know that Japan still has a bit of work to do before next year's World Cup.
JAPAN / INTERNATIONAL RATIONALE
Jun 21, 2001

Localities approach foreign firms to raise tax base

With the economy in the doldrums, cash-strapped local governments have begun warring with each other to attract foreign businesses and the jobs and tax revenue they bring. Touting tax incentives, lower land prices and proximity to factories in related industries, they are encouraging foreign firms to...
COMMENTARY
Jun 21, 2001

The trouble with free trade

Japan, for all its talk about the virtues of free trade, has now invited Chinese retaliation by imposing emergency barriers on the import of some farm products from China. And that could be only a beginning. Made-in-China clothing is sweeping the chain stores. Japan's towel-makers are conceding defeat....
BUSINESS
Jun 21, 2001

JAS labor union strikes over bonuses

The Japan Air System labor union went on strike Wednesday for the first time in two years, demanding better summer bonuses and forcing the nation's third-largest carrier to cancel 172 domestic flights, company officials said.
JAPAN
Jun 21, 2001

Women turn to crisis hotline

Some 60 percent of calls received in the past year by a mental crisis hotline set up by 11 hospitals affiliated with the labor ministry were from women, according to survey results released Wednesday.
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Jun 21, 2001

The early frog gets the reproductive success

Travel out of almost any of the major cities of Honshu on an overcast, rain-threatening evening, and head toward rice country.
BUSINESS
Jun 20, 2001

Yahoo's ADSL gambit set for August

Compiled from staff, wire reports Yahoo Japan will begin a high-speed Internet connection service using asymmetrical digital subscriber line technology as early as August, company officials said Tuesday.
CULTURE / Film
Jun 20, 2001

Lord, bless this cinematic mess

The Guys From Paradise Rating: * * * 1/2 Director: Takashi Miike Running time: 114 minutes Language: Japanese Now showing at Shibuya Cine Palace and other theaters Takashi Miike may end up as the Seijun Suzuki of his generation. In the 1960s, Suzuki was a toiler on the Nikkatsu B-movie assembly line,...
BUSINESS
Jun 20, 2001

Daikin to set up French subsidiary

OSAKA -- Major air conditioner maker Daikin Industries Ltd. said Tuesday it will establish a wholly owned subsidiary in France later this month for the manufacturer of fluoroelatomers used in automobile parts such as fuel pipes.
BUSINESS
Jun 20, 2001

State-backed firms face new accounting rules

An advisory panel to the finance minister unveiled on Tuesday new accounting guidelines for government-affiliated corporations as part of an effort to improve transparency in their management.

Longform

After pandemic-era border regulations eased, Indian migrants began returning to Japan. Their population now stands at more than 50,000 across the country.
How remote work is rewriting the migrant experience in Japan