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LIFE / Digital / NAME OF THE GAME
Feb 26, 2004

Spacecraft takes us back to future

Between the early niche years of "Pong" and the release of "Pac-Man," video gaming became where people went to play science fiction.
CULTURE / Film
Feb 25, 2004

'Our Town' put through the wringer

Dogville Rating: * * * (out of 5) Director: Lars von Trier Running time: 179 minutes Language: English Currently showing [See Japan Times movie listings] There are directors I love, directors I hate, and then there's Lars von Trier, the guy who's going to give me bipolar disorder. Go...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 25, 2004

Who will save us from the scourge?

Zebraman Rating: * * * 1/2 (out of 5) Director: Takashi Miike Running time: 115 minutes Language: Japanese Currently showing [See Japan Times movie listings] What genre conventions hasn't Takashi Miike bent, twisted or simply exploded? How about "Audition," whose tender dream of May-December...
JAPAN
Feb 25, 2004

Asahara a social fiend or doting guru?

Over the course of Aum Shinrikyo founder Shoko Asahara's eight-year criminal trial, Tokyo prosecutors have portrayed him as a religious charlatan who used his teachings only to feed his lust for power and fame.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 25, 2004

Man held for killing three in family

A 32-year-old man was arrested Tuesday in Hirakata, Osaka Prefecture, on suspicions that he murdered his mother, grandmother and a younger sister.
JAPAN
Feb 25, 2004

Sweetener patent to cost Ajinomoto 189 million yen

The Tokyo District Court ordered seasoning maker Ajinomoto Co. on Tuesday to pay 189.35 million yen to a former employee for the transfer of patents on a production method for an artificial sweetener.
JAPAN
Feb 25, 2004

Ailing firms increasingly exiting from pension scheme

An increasing number of companies are withdrawing from the Employees Pension under the guise of bankruptcy, an indication the safety net for employees is increasingly coming under threat.
JAPAN
Feb 25, 2004

Japan to ink tobacco control treaty

Japan will sign the first global treaty aimed at reducing the health hazards of smoking.
MORE SPORTS
Feb 25, 2004

Trio clinches berths for Athens

Defending champion Makiko Sakamoto won a decision over Chiharu Icho in the 48-kg weight class final at the Japan Queens Cup women's wrestling tournament Tuesday, forcing a playoff in April to decide a berth for this summer's Athens Olympics.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 25, 2004

Funny how things work out

Uptown Girls Rating: * * 1/2(out of 5) Director: Boaz Yakin Running time: 92 minutes Language: English Currently showing [See Japan Times movie listings] "Living isn't worth it if you're not gonna have fun!" declares bubbly 22-year-old Molly. "Fundamentals are the building blocks of...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 25, 2004

U.N. forces may go to Iraq after power transfer: Annan

The United Nations Security Council may send multinational forces to Iraq to help stabilize the security situation after sovereignty is transferred to a provisional government at the end of June, U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan said Tuesday in Tokyo.
JAPAN
Feb 25, 2004

Mass lawsuit filed against troop deployment in Iraq

Opponents of the dispatch of Ground Self-Defense Force troops to Iraq have filed a lawsuit against the government, saying the deployment violates the pacifist Constitution, officials said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Feb 25, 2004

British example cited in climate effort

The international community should strive to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 60 percent from current levels by 2050, the head of Britain's Office of Science and Technology said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Feb 25, 2004

Takei pleads guilty to wiretap

Former Takefuji Corp. Chairman Yasuo Takei pleaded guilty Tuesday to ordering a subordinate to wiretap two journalists -- one who wrote an article critical of the lending company and one who probed the firm's overseas activities.
JAPAN
Feb 25, 2004

Final bills on attack response await OK

The government on Tuesday released the details of seven bills that would govern the legal procedures Japan must follow to respond to an armed attack.
JAPAN
Feb 25, 2004

Tokyo judge criticizes plan to set up specialist court

A Tokyo High Court judge on Tuesday criticized the government's plan to create a court that would specialize in intellectual property lawsuits.
MORE SPORTS
Feb 25, 2004

Onda moving to U.S. for training

Japan's Yoshie Onda will move her training base to the United States beginning next season, sources close to the figure skater said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Feb 25, 2004

Wife of 1970 JAL hijacker arrested

The wife of one of nine Japanese fugitives wanted in the hijacking of a Japan Airlines jetliner to North Korea in 1970 returned from the North on Tuesday night and was immediately arrested by police.
BUSINESS
Feb 25, 2004

Nation's energy demand expected to fall

The nation's demand for energy is forecast to fall based on a declining population and slow economic growth after peaking at the equivalent of 436 million kiloliters of crude oil in fiscal 2022.
BUSINESS
Feb 25, 2004

Toyota, Nissan, Mazda see rise in global production

Global production rose at Toyota Motor Corp., Nissan Motor Co. and Mazda Motor Corp. in January but fell at Honda Motor Co. and Mitsubishi Motors Corp., the companies said Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Feb 25, 2004

Extra beef import ban measures eyed

Japan will take steps to prevent U.S. beef from entering the country through third parties while its import ban remains in effect, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hatsuhisa Takashima said Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Feb 25, 2004

Japan's economic upturn sustainable, Koehler says

Horst Koehler, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, said Tuesday he believes Japan's economic recovery is sustainable and commended the nation for its financial system reforms that have seen steady falls in banks' bad loans.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Feb 25, 2004

International theater festival takes Japan to a new stage

I recently read a book about a mass breakout by Japanese from an Australian prisoner-of-war camp on Aug. 5, 1944. Some 1,100 Japanese tried to escape, but none succeeded -- indeed, 231 died, many by their own hand using prison-issue cutlery. "Voyage from Shame" by Harry Gordon (1995) portrays this breakout...
JAPAN
Feb 25, 2004

Four held over bids to blackmail Softbank firms

Police said Tuesday they have arrested four men in two separate cases for allegedly trying to extort money out of Softbank Corp. and an affiliate with confidential client data leaked from its Yahoo BB Internet connection service.
COMMENTARY
Feb 25, 2004

Six-party talks: prospects for success

HONOLULU -- The second round of six-party talks on North Korea's suspected nuclear-weapons program is scheduled to begin Wednesday. Expectations are currently running so low that many will call the meeting a success if the North Koreans merely show up, or if they don't walk out once the United States...
JAPAN
Feb 25, 2004

Follower couldn't shake Aum's allure till its 1999 apology

When Aum Shinrikyo officially acknowledged for the first time in December 1999 that it was behind a spate of heinous crimes and apologized to the survivors, Hiroyuki Miyaguchi said he was relieved that suspicions he and other rank-and-file cultists harbored for years had finally been cleared up.

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