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BASEBALL / MLB
Jul 3, 2005

Lotte's Kato tosses perfect game

Chiba Lotte Marines minor-league southpaw Kosuke Kato pitched a perfect game in a 3-0 victory over the Yakult Swallows in an Eastern League game on Saturday.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Jul 3, 2005

Nothing half-baked about the Fullcast Stadium experience

If your summer vacation takes you to northern Japan this year, be sure to make a stop in Sendai and see a game played by the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles at Fullcast Stadium Miyagi. I had watched on TV games played there earlier in the year and decided to take a day-and-a-half trip to see for myself...
EDITORIALS
Jul 3, 2005

A victory for Pakistan's women

I n a victory for human rights, Pakistan's Supreme Court has suspended the acquittals of men accused of gang-raping a villager. The victim has become an international cause celebre for her refusal to accept humiliation by her attackers and Pakistan's legal system. Those who dare claim that such behavior...
MORE SPORTS
Jul 3, 2005

Japan ends World League skid

Japan came back from two sets down to edge Portugal on Saturday for its first victory in the men's volleyball World League this year while stopping its 22-game losing streak dating back to last year.
JAPAN
Jul 3, 2005

Asia urged to confront AIDS before it's too late

KOBE -- Confronting the AIDS crisis in Asia must be a matter of political will. But for too many governments, it remains a matter of political won't, U.N. officials warned Saturday at the 7th International Conference on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Jul 3, 2005

Detractors have a whale of a time as Japan flounders on

The American historian Brooks Adams (1848-1927) defined history as "just one goddamn thing after another." Though it is a century old, Adams' aphorism is a spot-on characterization of the most recent events surrounding Japan.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jul 3, 2005

This is Japan and yes, it's easy to net a pet to enjoy a dog-day life

Ten years ago I was in San Francisco and dropped by the local SPCA's pet-adoption facility in the Mission District to make a donation. When I was living in the city years before, I had adopted a cat there that was still living with me, and I wanted to express my appreciation.
CULTURE / Music
Jul 3, 2005

Joyce

The emotion-filled voice and calmly pulsing guitar of Brazilian diva Joyce appeals to a broad spectrum of listeners. Unlike some performers with a strong international following, though, she draws fans by upholding authentic values. This week she brings her distinctive Brazilian music to Tokyo and Yokohama...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Jul 3, 2005

TBS's "Nyokei Kazoku," NHK's "Year Zero Africa" and more

Novelist Toyoko Yamazaki has been called the Arthur Haley of Japan for her sprawling melodramas, which usually contain large casts of characters. With "Nyokei Kazoku" (The Female Line) she tackled the sprawling Japanese family saga. Focusing as it does on a well-to-do Osaka merchant family whose lineage...
JAPAN
Jul 3, 2005

Takara acquires animation studio

Toy maker Takara Co. has purchased an 88 percent stake in Tatsunoko Productions, a pioneering animation studios known for such classic works as "Speed Racer" and "Gatchaman," industry sources said Saturday.
JAPAN
Jul 3, 2005

Prosecutors to grill former Japan Highway exec

Prosecutors plan to question a 70-year-old former board member of the Japan Highway Public Corp. as early as this week over a bid-rigging scandal for bridge construction projects, according to sources.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Jul 3, 2005

Takeshi Yoro: Professor No-Self

Some think of him as a retired anatomist par excellence; some revere his knowledge of the human brain; while to others he's simply someone who's nuts about insects.
JAPAN
Jul 3, 2005

Marubeni fined 100 million yen for evading taxes

Tax authorities have found that Marubeni Corp. intentionally concealed about 600 million yen in income over three years through March 31, 2003, sources close to the case said Saturday.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Jul 3, 2005

Writers ask: Are you being served?

SAYING YES TO JAPAN: How Outsiders are Reviving a Trillion Dollar Services Market, by Tim Clark and Carl Kay. New York: Vertical, 2005. 175 pp., $14.95 (paper). Readers familiar with Japan are in danger of whiplash when reading this entertaining and informative book about Japan's services sector. Some...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Jul 3, 2005

Many ways to view a temple

MUROJI: Rearranging Art and History at a Japanese Buddhist Temple, by Sherry D. Fowles. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 2005. 296 pp.; 13 color plates and many b/w illustrations, drawings, maps; $50.00 (cloth). Muroji, one of Japan's most beautiful temples, was founded near Nara in the late 8th...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 3, 2005

Puccini's masterpiece transcends its age

Giacomo Puccini's "Madama Butterfly" is one of most beloved operas of all time. Musically rich, dramatically taut and shamelessly wringing every last drop of sentiment from its tale of innocence betrayed, it shows Puccini at the top of his form. Yet its seductive beauty and the emotional immediacy disguise...
CULTURE / Music
Jul 3, 2005

Datarock: "Datarock Datarock"

Weirdness exerts its own energy, which is why Talking Heads and The Happy Mondays made such great dance music. In front of a tight combo of drums, bass and rhythm guitar the lead singer couldn't keep his feet on the ground or his brain in his skull. Datarock, two guys from Norway, understand this juxtaposition....
EDITORIALS
Jul 2, 2005

Protection in a modern economy

The recent theft of data from some 40 million credit-card accounts in the United States is another reminder of the insecurities of the digital world. Electronic commerce continues to rise in volume but consumers, retailers, financial institutions and other parts of the business chain have not yet adjusted...
JAPAN
Jul 2, 2005

Forum mulls ways to make racial discrimination illegal here

Citing racial slurs by politicians and biased news reports playing up an increase in crimes committed by foreigners, participants in a Tokyo symposium called Thursday for a legal framework that would eradicate racial discrimination in Japan.

Longform

Mamoru Iwai, stationmaster of Keisei Ueno Station, says that, other than earthquake-proofing, the former Hakubutsukan-Dobutsuen (Museum-Zoo) Station has remained untouched.
Inside Tokyo's 'phantom' stations — and the stories they tell