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BUSINESS
Aug 8, 2001

3,000 at Matsushita units want early retirement

OSAKA -- More than 3,000 employees applied for early retirement programs offered by about 30 domestic subsidiaries of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., exceeding initial expectations, company officials said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Aug 8, 2001

Celebrity politicians debut at extraordinary Diet session

Celebrity politicians, including TV personalities and a professional wrestler, attended a Diet session for the first time Tuesday since they were elected to the House of Councilors on July 29.
CULTURE / Art / CERAMIC SCENE
Aug 8, 2001

Treasures to be hoarded

Here's an odd request: have a look in my closet.
CULTURE / Art
Aug 8, 2001

Aida dishes up tough stuff to chew on

After spending the better part of the last year living and working in New York City, Niigata-born Makoto Aida is back in Japan with a show at Nadiff, a compact and cool art gallery/bookstore/cafe tucked down a side street just off Tokyo's fashionable Omotesando boulevard.
BUSINESS
Aug 8, 2001

Nomura, Nippon Life tie on pensions

Nomura Securities Co. said Tuesday it has agreed with Nippon Life Insurance Co. to develop variable pension plans to be launched in October.
JAPAN
Aug 8, 2001

Chinese writer heads drive to build schools in Asia, Africa

After graduating from Shanghai's Fudan University, studying Japanese at Tokyo's Takushoku University and history at the University of Tokyo, Chinese writer Ye Qing is now leading a drive to construct elementary schools in Asia and Africa.
JAPAN
Aug 7, 2001

Explain stump remarks, Tanaka is told

The Liberal Democratic Party decided Monday to tell Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka to submit a written explanation today about her feisty remarks toward an LDP candidate during a campaign speech for the House of Councilors election last month, party officials said Monday.
JAPAN
Aug 7, 2001

Japanese prosthesis maker finds her calling in Rwanda

As Rwandan swimmer Cesar Rwagasana strode into the Sydney stadium during the opening ceremony of last year's Paralympic Games, he was closely followed by Mami Yoshida, the woman who helped him walk again.
COMMENTARY
Aug 7, 2001

Loner behavior vexes allies

LONDON -- For Europe and for Japan the maintenance of good relations with the United States is vital. The U.S. commitments to NATO and to the defense of Japan are so important that Europe and Japan may often have to make concessions to U.S. views with which they have good reasons to disagree. The U.S....
LIFE / Travel
Aug 7, 2001

On a quiet crusade to end a tradition of injustice

BANGKOK -- On the first lunar cycle of the first month of this year, Chatsumarn Kabilsingh, an eminent Buddhist scholar, threw away her makeup, gave up eating meals after midday and relinquished the luxury of a comfortable bed. A month later, one day before the auspicious date of Buddha's holy Makhapuja...
Events
Aug 7, 2001

Privatizing nursery schools irks Takaishi parents group

TAKAISHI, Osaka Pref. -- With Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi making vague noises on the importance of education, this city of 62,000 people is realizing that words alone aren't the answer.
JAPAN
Aug 7, 2001

Gifu tourist kidnapped in Manila

A Japanese man has been missing since Thursday after reportedly being abducted from his Manila hotel room by four Japanese men, officials said Monday.
JAPAN
Aug 7, 2001

Foreign Ministry sacks two more officials

The Foreign Ministry dismissed two ministry officials on Monday, following their indictment earlier in the day on charges they mishandled about 22 million yen in public funds, the ministry said.
SOCCER / THE BALD TRUTH
Aug 7, 2001

Japanese soccer stars shocked by encounters with outside world

First the good news: Five Japan internationals now play abroad. With Naohiro Takahara playing for Boca Juniors and Hidetoshi Nakata, Junichi Inamoto, Shinji Ono and Akinori Nishizawa all employed in Europe, Japan coach Philippe Troussier has good reason to be optimistic ahead of next year's World Cup....
EDITORIALS
Aug 7, 2001

Legacies of the Gulf War

Eleven years ago, Iraq invaded Kuwait and set in motion a series of events that would culminate in the Persian Gulf War. The U.N. coalition drove the invader from Kuwait and humiliated the once-vaunted Iraqi war machine. But in the decade since that defeat, Iraqi President Saddam Hussein has retaken...
Events
Aug 7, 2001

Toxic island may be turned into foreign enclave

OSAKA -- What do you do with an island far from the center of town on which no one wants to live because methane gas leaks from landfill boasting high dioxin levels?
BUSINESS
Aug 7, 2001

Debt-hit Daiei to unload healthy Printemps store

Daiei Inc. is considering selling its shares in subsidiary department store Printemps Ginza S.A. to reduce its debt, Daiei sources said Monday.
JAPAN
Aug 7, 2001

Attitudes shifting on separate names for married people

The government sees a big change in attitudes about separate surnames by married couples and plans to discuss the possible introduction of a two-name system, the top government spokesman said Monday.
BUSINESS
Aug 7, 2001

Ruling bloc agrees on need for extra budget

Policymakers from the three ruling parties agreed Monday on the need to compile a supplementary budget for the current fiscal year to help buoy the faltering economy.
Events
Aug 7, 2001

Kansai hoping to revitalize with return to cultural roots

KYOTO -- The Kansai region is about to host a unique performing arts festival that organizers hope will spark a regional renaissance at a time when the nation is facing a bleak future.
EDITORIALS
Aug 6, 2001

Restoring a MAD world's sanity

Fifty-six years ago, on the morning of July 16, 1945, the United States exploded the first atomic bomb at a testing range at Alarmogordo, New Mexico. Watching the blast, Dr. Robert Oppenheimer, who played the leading role in the last stages of the Manhattan Project, reminded himself of a doomsday passage...
COMMENTARY
Aug 6, 2001

Now Koizumi's battle begins

HONOLULU -- Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi delivered on his promise to revive the fortunes of the Liberal Democratic Party the weekend before last. LDP candidates steamrollered their opposition, claiming 64 of the 121 seats that were contested in the Upper House ballot. After an independent candidate...
COMMENTARY
Aug 6, 2001

Powell earns top marks on Asian tour

LOS ANGELES -- Colin Powell's first week in Asia as U.S. secretary of state broke what almost has become an unfortunate tradition. It was a success.

Longform

Bear attacks have dominated Japanese news headlines in recent months, with 13 people so far having been killed by the animals.
Japan’s bears have been on their killing spree for more than 100 years