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BUSINESS
Jun 3, 2004

Eco-friendly convenience stores eyed

The government will help finance convenience stores' efforts to counter global warming, hoping their actions will encourage other entities to take similar steps nationwide, the Environment Ministry said Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Jun 3, 2004

Suntory to pitch drinks via subway tunnel ads

Advertisers here will start using a U.S. idea to exploit untapped terrain in an effort to offload their products: subway tunnel ads.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OLD NIC'S NOTEBOOK
Jun 3, 2004

Our woodland's magic is a joy to behold

A very kind Japanese man who has served for more than 30 years in children's homes told me recently that 70 percent of the youngsters in his care nowadays have been abused or seriously neglected by their parents. Early in his career, he said, such abuse was very rare indeed. And, he assured me sadly,...
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / NAME OF THE GAME
Jun 3, 2004

Sims creator: always unique

Will Wright, the creator of "The Sims," may be most accurately described as a cross between Stephen Hawking and Willy Wonka. He has a quirky and ironic sense of humor and a large and loyal following in the gaming world.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 3, 2004

Foreigners dominate used-vehicle export trade in Japan

KOSHIGAYA, Saitama Pref. -- There is a bleep, pictures of cars pop up on two big screens, and meters show prices rising.
BASEBALL / MLB
Jun 3, 2004

'Johnny' Kuroki gets first win in three years as Marines blast Hawks

Tomohiro Kuroki pitched five shutout innings for his first win in three years and Tasuku Hashimoto hit his first career grand slam Wednesday as the Chiba Lotte Marines crushed the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks 15-5 in Kitakyushu.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 2, 2004

The unbearable heaviness of being

21 Grams Rating: * * * * (out of 5) Director: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarittu Running time: 125 minutes Language: English Opens June 5 [See Japan Times movie listings] "21 Grams" struts and shows off like a cowboy in a rodeo -- the director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarittu pulls out all the stops...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 2, 2004

Insatiable appetite for destruction

The Day After Tomorrow Rating: * * 1/2 (out of 5) Director: Roland Emmerich Running time: 124 minutes Language: English Opens June 5 [See Japan Times movie listings] Stership Troopers 2 Rating: * * * (out of 5) Director: Phil Tippett Running time: 92 minutes Language: English Opens...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 2, 2004

Just a tinkle on the keys to heaven

Tengoku no Honya - koibi Rating: * * 1/2 (out of 5) Director: Tetsuo Shinohara Running time: 111 minutes Language: Japanese Opens June 5 [See Japan Times movie listings] Ever since "Ghost" -- that 1990 Jerry Zucker weeper better known now as the sexiest ceramics-instructional film ever...
EDITORIALS
Jun 2, 2004

Striking a balance in Geneva

The World Trade Organization opens three days of farm trade talks in Geneva on Wednesday. Japan, which maintains high tariffs on rice and other sensitive products, is likely to find itself on the defensive, as it did in previous talks. But maintaining a rigid policy of protection is not a sensible option....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jun 2, 2004

The lush samurai

Take a cast of stars, any of whom could fill a theater on their own, add a couple of Oscar winners -- costume designer Emi Wada ("Ran," 1985) and songwriter Ryuichi Sakamoto ("The Last Emperor," 1987) -- garnish with an A-list director (Kazuya Yamada), scriptwriter (Nozomi Makino) and art director (Yukio...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jun 2, 2004

Out of the 'hood

Pop music has become hip-hop, which dominates the charts in practically every country that has charts. It's become so ubiquitous that some American presidential candidates went out of their way to show they dig it. Dennis Kucinich employed a rap in his campaign song, Howard Dean used Wyclef Jean, and...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 2, 2004

He spins a top tale

Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu made quite a splash with his 2000 debut, "Amores Perros," which put Mexican cinema back on the map. With his followup, "21 Grams," the former radio DJ and commercial director proves that was no fluke, fashioning a film that's every bit as intense and structurally innovative...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 2, 2004

ETFs gain popularity with individual investors

With the stock market picking up, exchange traded funds, investment trusts linked to stock market indexes, are gaining popularity, especially among stock investment beginners and some brokerage houses who have begun to market overseas ETFs.
BUSINESS
Jun 2, 2004

Employee ranks grew 0.4% in April

The number of workers on regular payrolls rose 0.4 percent in April from a year earlier to 42.86 million, marking the first increase in six years, the government said Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Jun 2, 2004

Oil group eyes Saudi staff evacuation

A Japanese oil research group might evacuate 15 staff from Saudi Arabia due to rising concerns over terrorist attacks in the kingdom and other oil-producing nations in the Middle East, an official said Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Jun 2, 2004

China increasingly viewed as market

Manufacturers are considering boosting business in China, viewing the world's most populous country more as a market and not just as a production base, according to a government report released Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Jun 2, 2004

Japan to run investment ads in U.S.

The government will launch an ad campaign in the U.S. next week to promote investment in Japan, timed to coincide with the the Group of Eight summit on Sea Island, Ga., officials said Tuesday.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 2, 2004

China threatens Hong Kong's freedoms

When China resumed sovereignty over Hong Kong in 1997 after 150 years of British rule, the "one country, two systems" formula for this special administrative region of China promised that Beijing would leave Hong Kong's free-wheeling capitalist way of life untouched for at least 50 years.
BUSINESS
Jun 2, 2004

Nissan planning Yokohama move

Nissan Motor Co. is considering moving most of its head office operations from Tokyo to Yokohama, where it was founded 71 years ago, sources said Tuesday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Jun 2, 2004

Kiyohara homers in Giants comeback

Toshihisa Nishi drove home the go-ahead run on an RBI single in a five-run seventh inning as the second-place Yomiuri Giants came from four runs down to edge the front-running Chunichi Dragons 5-4 in the Central League on Tuesday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / NEW ART SEEN
Jun 2, 2004

The challenge of not knowing your place

It is a shame that Ilya Kabakov was not feeling well enough to make the trip to Tokyo for the opening last Friday of his Mori Art Museum exhibition, "Where Is Our Place?" I met the New York-based Kabakov and his wife, Emilia, years ago when they were involved with the now-defunct Satani Gallery in Ginza,...
BUSINESS
Jun 2, 2004

Fiscal 2003 tax revenue may exceed target

The nation's tax revenue for fiscal 2003 is expected to top the government target of 41.786 trillion yen due to rising corporate profits and personal consumption, the Finance Ministry said Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Jun 2, 2004

H.I.S. to expand overseas operations, help foreign travelers

The new president of H.I.S. Co. said Tuesday he will work hard to increase the travel agency's global presence by expanding its overseas operations.
BUSINESS
Jun 2, 2004

Kanebo urged to get its act together

Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Shoichi Nakagawa on Tuesday urged Kanebo Ltd., which will be rehabilitated by the government-backed Industrial Revitalization Corp. of Japan, to stand on its own as soon as possible.
EDITORIALS
Jun 1, 2004

An 'environmental revolution'

A revolution means a radical change. That's exactly what the government's latest environment report calls for. It stresses the importance of building a new socio-economic society through environmental conservation -- a society in which "environment-friendly" technologies are broadly blended with the...
OLYMPICS
Jun 1, 2004

Japan manager Tanaka quits

National volleyball team manager Mikiyasu Tanaka has decided to step down from the helm after he failed to help the men's team win a berth for the Athens Olympics through the recent qualifier, volleyball sources said Monday.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji