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BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Jan 7, 2001

CL pitchers happy to see last of Gomez

Opposing Central League pitchers of the Chunichi Dragons should have an easier time during the 2001 season. Slugger Leo Gomez has left that team after four years of punishing hurlers on the other five CL clubs, especially the Yomiuri Giants, as one of the most feared cleanup hitters in Japanese baseball....
COMMUNITY
Jan 7, 2001

Good manners make comfortable relations

In Japan, there has been much discussion of late of both morals and manners. Indeed, one national newspaper on Jan. 1, in a section devoted to scrutinizing how Japanese have changed in recent years, devoted a whole page to the question: Are good manners a thing of the past?
EDITORIALS
Jan 6, 2001

Good luck, Mr. Bush, you'll need it

At the start of a new century, the world situation remains in flux. The much-heralded "new world order" has yet to arrive. The United States, of course, holds the key. Developments in the next few years -- not only in the field of economics, but also in politics and security -- will depend largely on...
JAPAN
Jan 6, 2001

Foreign Ministry starts year with misappropriation probe

The Foreign Ministry has set up an in-house team to investigate an alleged pocketing of public funds by a senior ministry official and will disclose the findings "as soon as possible," Foreign Minister Yohei Kono said Friday.
EDITORIALS
Jan 5, 2001

Familiar faces in Washington

President-elect George W. Bush has completed his Cabinet nominations. He has assembled a diverse group that has ample experience in Washington and in dealing with the bureaucracy. They are competent, capable and conservative. Taken as a whole, however, the group raises questions about Mr. Bush's claim...
CULTURE / Film
Jan 5, 2001

A film genius in his own mind

Harmony Korine -- screenwriter of "Kids," director of "Gummo" -- fancies himself the enfant terrible of contemporary cinema. Well, he is . . . terrible. Certain critics have been calling him "the new Godard," and I'd agreewith that too. But when was the last time Godard made anything that played better...
JAPAN
Jan 4, 2001

Public wants coalition dropped a peg

Forty percent of the Japanese electorate hopes the House of Councilors election scheduled for July will end in a tie between the ruling and opposition parties, and 87 percent would like to directly elect the prime minister, according to a Kyodo News poll released Wednesday.
JAPAN
Jan 4, 2001

July election to be verdict on Mori

Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori appears to be pinning his survival on a shift from postwar economic materialism to a revival of traditional values, but his true prospects will depend more on his ability to avoid making blunders.
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
Jan 4, 2001

2001: A Sports Odyssey

Welcome to the first Sports Scope of the 21st century. By now you've probably read a zillion stories about the sporting year in review. Have no worries; this column looks toward the future. Here are 13 fearless predictions for the Year of the Snake. Wager at your own risk!
COMMENTARY
Jan 4, 2001

Britain frets its economic ills

LONDON -- There was nothing unusual about this Christmas. Well, snow fell, which hasn't happened for years and it was hard traveling; but Britain's transport woes -- not enough trains or buses, too many cars -- began months ago. Passengers at one airport did riot after waiting four days for a plane,...
JAPAN
Jan 1, 2001

Reporters following Mori find him blunt, hot-tempered

Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori has often lost his temper during his nearly nine months in office and expressed himself too bluntly, resulting in a number of controversial remarks, according to reporters who cover the prime minister's every move.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 1, 2001

New opportunities for Japan-U.S. ties

The administration of U.S. President-elect George W. Bush will include many pro-Japanese officials. This reflects U.S. political history. Many officials of President Bill Clinton's administration had served under President Jimmy Carter, who came to power 12 years earlier. For example, former Secretary...
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM MOSCOW
Jan 1, 2001

Much ado about nothing

In a fierce fit of free-market commercialism, ads in Moscow subway insist that the real new millennium will start today. With the economy weakened by crisis, revenues from the advent of Y2K were not as impressive as in the West, and now Russian boutiques, travel agencies and software stores are trying...
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 1, 2001

Open network at core of Japan's IT strategy

How should Japan promote its information technology revolution?
EDITORIALS
Dec 31, 2000

Politicians fail to deliver

Japanese politics in 2000 was marked by two major milestones. One is the inauguration of the administration of Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori following the late Keizo Obuchi's resignation due to sudden illness. The other is the July 25 Lower House election in which the governing Liberal Democratic Party...
COMMENTARY
Dec 31, 2000

Flaws are part and parcel of democracy

LONDON -- How democratic are the world's so-called democratic countries? Can there be totally fair elections?
EDITORIALS
Dec 30, 2000

Economy still stuck in a rut

Looking back to 2000, the critical question hanging over the Japanese economy is: Has there been movement, or at least the preparations for a move, toward a new system befitting the start of a new century? The answer, unfortunately, is no.
JAPAN
Dec 30, 2000

Nikkei flirts with two-year low as 2000 trading draws to gloomy close

The Tokyo Stock Exchange on Friday bid farewell to 2000 with the main gauge falling enough to flirt with a two-year low.
BUSINESS
Dec 29, 2000

Spring recovery may see the yen rebound

The dollar has climbed past the 114 yen level for the first time in a year and four months amid growing skepticism about Japan's economic recovery.
JAPAN
Dec 27, 2000

SDF contracts lack transparency: report

Irregularities were found in 73 procurement contracts, worth 39.1 billion yen, concluded by the Maritime and Air Self-Defense Forces in 1998, the Management and Coordination Agency said in a report released Tuesday.
JAPAN
Dec 27, 2000

Samsung rapped over illegal exports

The Ministry of International Trade and Industry on Tuesday warned Samsung Japan Corp. against repeating an action it took in the 1990s involving the illegal export of goods that could be diverted for military use.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 27, 2000

Signs of hope in Kashmir

LONDON -- Eleven years of killing, over 50,000 dead, and the highest ratio of soldiers to civilians in the world, with a nuclear war between India and Pakistan as the payoff if things get out of hand: The conflict in Kashmir dwarfs every other global confrontation in its potential for harm. But the prospects...
JAPAN
Dec 26, 2000

Breeder raided over monkey sales

Officials in Gifu and Kumamoto prefectures suspect that Japanese monkeys are being bred and sold to researchers by firms that lack proper authorization.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 26, 2000

Don't retreat from the sunshine policy

SEOUL -- Government transitions are good times for political analysts. Before the new team moves into office, these experts share their knowledge, make evaluations and sometimes even predictions. These days the newspapers are full explanations of what the new U.S. leadership might do and should not do....
EDITORIALS
Dec 25, 2000

Budget does Japan a disservice

The Finance Ministry's budget for fiscal 2001, which was announced last week, falls far short of expectations, particularly because it does not lay out a road map for fiscal reform. It seems as if the ministry is marking time along with the stagnant economy. Critical issues, such as spending cuts, deficit...
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Dec 25, 2000

World fisheries collapsing as technology and demand soar

As this is the season of giving, here is a gift, a riddle:
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 24, 2000

How fast is China's economy growing?

CAMBRIDGE, England -- It is that time of year again when statisticians in Beijing have to decide how fast the Chinese economy grew in the last year. Or rather, not so much how much it grew but how much they are going to claim it grew. More so than anywhere else the figures for growth in gross domestic...
COMMUNITY
Dec 24, 2000

The miraculous manifestation of a man of the cloth at Xmas

T'was 10 days before Christmas, and all through the house . . . complete and utter panic! Who to interview for Christmas Eve? Jim Carey (promoting his seasonal movie "The Grinch") has come and gone -- along with most of the foreign community (for the holiday break). As for the Japanese, they are all...

Longform

A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.
If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami