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BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Jul 16, 2000

Carp's Lopez back where he belongs

One of the happiest foreign players in Japan pro baseball these days is Hiroshima Carp first baseman Luis Lopez. The 1996 and 1997 Central League RBI leader is obviously back where he belongs; hitting .300 and driving in those runs like he did three-four years ago for the Red Helmets.
JAPAN
Jul 16, 2000

Okinawans must look beyond crossroad for future success

Staff writer CHATAN, Okinawa Pref. -- The music meandering from Rinken Teruya's sea-front live house is a catchy, vibrant blend of sing-along pop and Okinawan folk song.
JAPAN
Jul 16, 2000

Kobe welcomes giant panda pair

Staff writer
JAPAN
Jul 16, 2000

Lower 6-level temblor shakes Izu Island chain

A strong earthquake jolted the Izu Island chain south of Tokyo Saturday morning, measuring a lower 6 on the Japanese intensity scale of 7, as recorded on Niijima Island, the Meteorological Agency said.
JAPAN
Jul 16, 2000

Swing vote confounded polls

The June 25 Lower House election saw a rise in the number of voters who made up their mind about which candidate and party to back just before the day of the vote, according to surveys conducted by Kyodo News before and after the poll.
JAPAN
Jul 16, 2000

Yamazaki starts recall of moldy curry buns

OSAKA -- Yamazaki Baking Co. has retrieved more than 4,100 curry-flavored buns it recalled after convenience stores in Osaka and Hyogo prefectures reported that some of the products appeared to contain mold, officials of the company's factory in Osaka said Saturday.
CULTURE / Music
Jul 16, 2000

A guide to the music festivals of summer

The recession has reportedly made concert promoters' lives miserable, and yet it doesn't seem to have affected the flood of foreign acts rushing to these shores.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jul 16, 2000

Over the rainbow beckons home sweet home

If a foreigner stays in Japan more than five years, Japanese people start asking, "When are you going home?" This is because Japanese people can't imagine being away from their home country for so long. Sometimes Japanese people ask me, "Don't your parents miss you?" There is a feeling too that by staying...
COMMUNITY
Jul 16, 2000

Book on classic parenting hits half-million nerves

As the Japanese birthrate falls to a new record low, and the media focus on disruptive youngsters and classroom chaos (with 17-year-olds coming in for especially harsh criticism), it comes as no surprise that so many young adults are rejecting marriage and fearful of parenthood. How will they manage,...
CULTURE / Music
Jul 16, 2000

Berlin Phil brings greetings: from one capital to another

Political and economic capital of Germany and home of the famed Berlin Philharmonic, Berlin is high on the list of cities Tokyoites most wish to visit and explore, as I did recently. Berlin and Tokyo have much in common, certainly including the quantity and quality of the musical scene.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 16, 2000

Will G8 swelter in sartorial splendor?

U.S. Ambassador to Japan Thomas Foley was the first to predict that the forthcoming G8 summit on Okinawa might have to be held with the participants wearing sport or aloha shirts instead of formal or business attire.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Jul 16, 2000

Setsuko Arima

For the greater part of her life, Setsuko Arima has lived in the same district of Kanazawa-ku in Yokohama. She is devoted to the neighborhood, which is highlighted by the 13th century Shomyoji Temple, its garden with red bridges over a wide pond, and its background of an open field and wooded hills....
CULTURE / Books / POETRY MIGNETTE
Jul 16, 2000

When dream makers walk among us

Socrates' bestial laugh washes into the cosmic map where Blake digs with his spade and Sam stands bathed in the sparks of his youth Among colored shapes, Sam embraces the warmest softest things a woman's spirit in the shape of clouds in the shape of foam in the shape of a womb The white space of the...
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 16, 2000

Whalers come out on top in IWC meeting

SYDNEY -- Once again Japanese whale-meat eaters have outwitted the world's whale lovers. Though those diners need not raise too many self-congratulatory cups of sake. Within a year or two the Tokyo whale restaurant tables could be overturned.
CULTURE / Art
Jul 16, 2000

Ode to a gentleman and a scholar

When Robert Louis Stevenson wrote that when a death occurs "there is sore havoc made in other people's lives, a pin [is] knocked out by which many subsidiary friendships hung together," perhaps he was describing a particularly Western tragedy. In Buddhism, death is viewed differently. The relationship...
JAPAN
Jul 15, 2000

Hail a cab in Naha now and they'll all come quick

NAHA, Okinawa Pref. -- It is said there is a reliable litmus test to gauge the state of Okinawa's economy: Stick out your hand and see how long it takes to hail a taxi.
JAPAN
Jul 15, 2000

Bailout decisions case by case, says Mori's 'younger brother'

Although the controversial bailout plan for the Sogo Co. department store chain and its group firms was eventually scrapped when the group filed for court-mandated rehabilitation this week, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hidenao Nakagawa is not sure how the government will handle similar cases in the future....
BUSINESS
Jul 15, 2000

No retrenchment until recovery is achieved: EPA

Japan should emphasize developing its IT infrastructure to allow for sustainable growth and only embark on fiscal reconstruction after ensuring an economic recovery, the Economic Planning Agency said in its annual report released Friday.
JAPAN
Jul 15, 2000

Hokkaido, Shimane warm to reactors

The governors of Hokkaido and Shimane indicated their approval Friday of plans by utilities to build new nuclear reactors in their prefectures.
BUSINESS
Jul 15, 2000

Nissan might reconsider plant investment: Ghosn

Nissan Motor Co. President Carlos Ghosn said Friday that the firm may reconsider a plan to put new investment in its Sunderland plant in northeastern England, which he says is suffering from the high value of the pound.
JAPAN
Jul 15, 2000

Tax panel proposes overhaul of system

An advisory panel to the prime minister on Friday called for a radical overhaul of the tax system that would potentially involve tax hikes in order to tackle problems related to the aging population and get rid of the government's debt.
JAPAN
Jul 15, 2000

Snow Brand plants face inspection

The Health and Welfare Ministry on Friday set up a 12-member team to carry out its own inspections of Snow Brand Milk Products Co.'s 20 plants.
JAPAN
Jul 15, 2000

Keidanren considers Article 9

OYAMA, Shizuoka Pref. -- Many of the business leaders who gathered here for an annual seminar organized by the Japan Federation of Economic Organizations (Keidanren) called for an amendment to Article 9 of the Constitution.
JAPAN
Jul 15, 2000

Okinawans see railway as ticket to ride

NAHA, Okinawa Pref. -- A middle-aged cabby here says he has never seen a train in his life except on television, much less ridden one. His story, however, does not surprise locals.
CULTURE / Art
Jul 15, 2000

Singapore seeks its own artistic future

Singapore is known for being a clean country full of sunshine, greenery and delightful people. But although it offers great shopping, gourmet dining and sightseeing, it is not frequently associated with the art world.
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM MOSCOW
Jul 15, 2000

President Putin's 100 days

It is hard to say what counts as the beginning of Vladimir Putin's presidency. When Boris Yeltsin stepped down Dec. 31 and Putin assumed his regency over Russia? The presidential election in March, when he won a landslide victory? May, when he was inaugurated? It is probably best to pick some date in...
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 15, 2000

China and Pakistan forge stronger links

NEW DELHI -- In recent days, new evidence has surfaced that China and Pakistan have stepped up their clandestine nuclear and missile collaboration as part of their joint rivalry with India. It is clear that the Sino-Pakistani nexus is getting stronger, putting India's security under increased pressure....
COMMENTARY
Jul 15, 2000

U.S. bases: Shut down the Cold War relic

Being a superpower once meant never having to say you're sorry. No more, however. The U.S. presence in Japan's Okinawa island is drawing renewed protests that even the humblest apology will do little to arrest.
BUSINESS
Jul 15, 2000

IT will help spur economy forward: business leaders

OYAMA, Shizuoka Pref. -- Most delegates attending a business leader's meeting here Friday predicted that the information technology revolution will help lead the Japanese economy into the next century.

Longform

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.