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Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OLD NIC'S NOTEBOOK
Apr 1, 2004

Ways of weathering winter

I had to attend a college graduation ceremony and an Environment Ministry meeting in Tokyo; otherwise I could easily have made it in a day from Okinawa to northern Nagano Prefecture where I live. As it was, the trip from that balmy Pacific isle to my home amid the snows of Kurohime took me until nearly...
BASEBALL / MLB
Apr 1, 2004

Matsui rips homer as Yanks win

Now that's more like it. A day after dropping the season opener to A.L. East doormat Tampa Bay, Hideki Matsui and the Bronx Bombers came out with all guns blazing, bashing out 11 hits and four homers as the New York Yankees demolished the Devil Rays 12-1 Wednesday night at Tokyo Dome.
EDITORIALS
Apr 1, 2004

Don't forget Afghanistan

Three years after the fall of the Taliban, Afghanistan is once again tottering on the brink of chaos. The facts will be in plain view in Berlin at a two-day conference from Wednesday, when 54 nations assess the problems and progress since the U.S-led invasion of Afghanistan. Progress has been remarkable,...
BUSINESS
Apr 1, 2004

March yen-selling intervention hits 4.7 trillion yen

Japan's yen-selling intervention in the currency market rose to 4.7 trillion yen in March from the previous month amid speculation that the government has scaled back its aggressive intervention policy.
BUSINESS
Apr 1, 2004

Dollar plunges to lowest level since April 2000

The dollar fell into the 103 yen range Wednesday in Tokyo for the first time in nearly four years amid lingering speculation that Japan has ended its campaign of heavy yen-selling intervention.
JAPAN
Apr 1, 2004

High court rescinds weekly's injunction

The Tokyo High Court on Wednesday revoked a lower court injunction against the publication of a magazine that carried a story on the divorce of former Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka's daughter, citing freedom of expression and the public's right to know.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Apr 1, 2004

Water demon

* Japanese name: Kappa * Scientific name:Suijin kappensis * Description: Some sources claim that kappa are primates, but in fact they are the only known examples of an order of primitive mammals related to the duck-billed platypus. Remarkably for a mammal, kappas are bipedal. They have a curved duck's...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 1, 2004

New price tags split fractional tax hairs

An Asahi Shimbun column last May carried an Osaka reader's tip on how to save small change at McDonald's.
CULTURE / Books / THE BOOK REPORT
Apr 1, 2004

Losers, winners in contemporary Japan

Bridget Jones in London, Ally McBeal in Boston, Carrie and her friends in New York City. Now Sakai Junko has published a best-selling volume of essays on singletons in Tokyo over the age of 30, like herself, whom she calls -- in a mix of ruefulness and pride -- makeinu (losers). In "Makeinu no toboe"...
JAPAN
Apr 1, 2004

Antiterrorism measures win Diet OK

The Diet passed a bill Wednesday to revise the Police Law to better fight international terrorism, marking the first major reorganization of the National Police Agency in a decade.
BUSINESS
Apr 1, 2004

MMC, group firms mull revival

Mitsubishi Motors Corp. and its group companies, including leading shareholder DaimlerChrysler AG, began talks Wednesday aimed at drafting revival plans for the struggling automaker, informed sources said.
COMMENTARY
Apr 1, 2004

Lowering risks from WMD

LONDON -- The decision of the Libyan regime to declare and destroy its weapons of mass destruction, or WMD, is clearly beneficial to world peace and is a most welcome development. But we should beware claims by some Western leaders that this has come about because the Libyan dictator has seen what happened...
BUSINESS
Apr 1, 2004

Ricoh to buy Hitachi printer unit

Ricoh Co. said Wednesday it will acquire Hitachi Ltd.'s printer business in October to bolster its competitiveness in the growing field.
EDITORIALS
Mar 31, 2004

Pay transparency for secretaries

The Diet's system of public secretaries -- which allows each legislator to hire three aides at taxpayers' expense -- has proven to be deeply flawed, as shown by a recent spate of pay scandals in which a number of legislators were accused of misusing their secretaries' salaries. Now, belatedly, the ruling...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 31, 2004

It's a wonderful dog's life

Quill Rating: * * * 1/2 (out of 5) Director: Yoichi Sai Running time: 100 minutes Language: Japanese Currently showing [See Japan Times movie listings] Now Yoichi Sai directs a dog movie for kids? This is the guy who made "Tsuki wa Docchi ni Deteiru (All Under the Moon)," a picaresque...
JAPAN
Mar 31, 2004

Iranian family faces deportation as justice minister wins court reversal

The Tokyo High Court on Tuesday overturned a lower court ruling that nullified a deportation order for a visaless Iranian family, effectively putting the family back on the deportation track.
BASEBALL / MLB
Mar 31, 2004

Devil Rays sting Yankees

This wasn't in the script.
Events
Mar 31, 2004

South Korean economy bedeviled by serious woes: writers

While Japan's economy may finally be bidding farewell to the "lost decade" of the stagnant 1990s, growth in South Korea, once noted for its rapid recovery after the 1997 Asian crisis, is slowing down amid serious problems like mounting household debts.
JAPAN
Mar 31, 2004

Senkakus belong to Japan: panel

The House of Representatives committee on security affairs endorsed a resolution Tuesday expressing regret at the landing of seven Chinese activists on one of the disputed Senkaku Islands last week.
Japan Times
JAPAN / SCHOOLS OF THOUGHT
Mar 31, 2004

Colleges hope new law schools will boost student numbers

With the nation's birthrate falling and the number of high school graduates in steady decline, institutions of higher learning have been scrambling to maintain student levels.
JAPAN
Mar 31, 2004

Teachers will be punished for not singing anthem

The Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Education said Tuesday it will punish teachers at public high schools in the capital who refused to stand up and sing the "Kimigayo" national anthem at graduation ceremonies this month.

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