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JAPAN
Jan 30, 2003

Man stabs three; jumps to death

A South Korean man stabbed his wife, son and sister-in-law before jumping to his death early Wednesday morning from the eighth floor of a Tokyo apartment building, police said.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 30, 2003

China hands over Japanese refugee

A Japanese woman who had been in Chinese custody for two weeks after fleeing North Korea in November arrived in Japan shortly before noon Wednesday, her first time home in 44 years.
MORE SPORTS
Jan 30, 2003

Seles shakes off rust, boots Sugiyama

Top-seeded Monica Seles shook off some early rustiness Wednesday before defeating Japan's Ai Sugiyama in three sets in a second-round match at the Toray Pan Pacific Open.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 30, 2003

Forget about military draft

WASHINGTON -- In recent weeks, motivated partly by a looming war in Iraq, a debate has again begun about whether the United States should adopt military conscription to replace its all-volunteer force. While the motivation behind this debate is understandable, it would be a very bad idea -- the equivalent...
JAPAN
Jan 30, 2003

IT lets people keep tabs on parents from afar

Advanced information technology allows people to check up on the living habits of elderly parents living in faraway places.
BUSINESS
Jan 30, 2003

KDDI eyes mobile standardization

KDDI Corp. said Wednesday it will meet with China Unicom Ltd. and Korea Telecom Freetel Inc. of South Korea to discuss a uniform technological standard for cell phones and the mutual use of video games and other software.
BUSINESS
Jan 30, 2003

Auto exports rose 12.8% in 2002

Japan's 11 carmakers exported 4.7 million cars and commercial vehicles in 2002, up 12.8 percent from the previous year and a first year-on-year increase in two years, the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association said Wednesday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 30, 2003

Resist tariff cuts: farm body

The leader of a farming body urged Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Wednesday to resist anticipated calls from other World Trade Organization members for large agricultural tariff cuts during a ministerial WTO meeting next month in Tokyo.
BUSINESS
Jan 30, 2003

Mizuho turns to business partners in desperate effort to boost capital

Mizuho Holdings Inc. played its final trump card last week in a bid to get rid of nonperforming loans once and for all, turning to some of its largest business partners to raise an unprecedented 1 trillion yen to boost its capital base.
JAPAN
Jan 30, 2003

Weather-tied health tips advise high-tech crowd

Every morning, Akio Tanaka wakes up and reaches for his mobile phone to check on his health.
BUSINESS
Jan 30, 2003

Newly unemployed may get break

The national government will instruct local governments to reduce or eliminate public health premiums of people who have lost their jobs, labor minister Chikara Sakaguchi said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Jan 30, 2003

Escapee from North Korea stirs refugee debate anew

The high-profile case of a Japanese woman who returned to Japan on Wednesday after fleeing North Korea has rekindled debate over the government's lack of adequate support measures for others in similar circumstances, as well as its reluctance to accept refugees.
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Jan 30, 2003

Warriors marching merrily toward mediocrity

NEW YORK -- If you toss aside the triviality that accompanies the Superbowl -- and the Raiders participation in it -- only one thing should be on the minds of Oaktown: What in the name of Jack London is going on with the Warriors? Basketball's bottom feeders for the better part of the past 10 years,...
JAPAN
Jan 30, 2003

Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka brace as pollen blitz looms

As the hay fever season approaches, doctors, weather forecasters and local authorities are predicting that Tokyo and two other metropolitan areas will suffer above-average pollen counts.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Jan 30, 2003

Cold facts and urban myths

First of two parts Depending on where you live in Japan, you may only have experienced a brief flurry of snow this winter. Perhaps if you live in southwestern Honshu or Kyushu, you won't have seen any at all, except on the TV weather maps. Conversely, though, if you live on the Sea of Japan coast, or...
COMMENTARY
Jan 30, 2003

Making waves over foreign policy 'realism'

HONOLULU -- One of the advantages of living in Hawaii is that you get to spend weekends at the beach. I spend mine with the Grizzled Old Vet, a longtime observer of East Asia who has spent a lifetime straddling academia and the minefields that litter the Beltway. Between waves, the Gov (as I will call...
BUSINESS
Jan 30, 2003

Ministry downgrades economic assessment

The Finance Ministry downgraded its economic assessment for the first time in a year, mainly due to slower production and decreasing housing construction, according to a quarterly report released Wednesday.
JAPAN
Jan 30, 2003

Ship conveyed 1974 assassination order

A North Korean ship that makes irregular visits to Japan may have been used to convey orders from Pyongyang for the attempted assassination in 1974 of then South Korean President Park Chung Hee in Seoul, sources close to police investigations said Wednesday.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 30, 2003

Iraqi crisis highlights strains in trans-Atlantic relations

LONDON -- Since the end of World War II, Western Europe has usually sided with the United States in global conflicts. Except for a few national exceptions, such as France's criticism of the Vietnam War, trans-Atlantic solidarity has been the order of the day from the Cuban missile crisis through the...
EDITORIALS
Jan 30, 2003

More of the same in Israel

The Likud Party of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon won a crushing victory in Israel's general election held earlier this week. Although the scale of the win raised some eyebrows, Likud's strong showing was expected: The chief opposition, the left-leaning Labor Party, has been unable to generate much enthusiasm...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT
Jan 30, 2003

Asia's last emperors of its wetland wilds

CHENGDU, China -- Though surprisingly not Japan's national bird, which oddly is the pheasant, the red-crowned crane, also known as the Japanese crane, has long been close to the Japanese heart. In China, too, it occupies a special place, along with the pine and turtle, as a symbol of luck and longevity,...
MORE SPORTS
Jan 30, 2003

Da Costa, Thys to run in Tokyo

Brazil's Ronaldo da Costa and Gert Thys of South Africa will run in next month's Tokyo International Marathon along with top Japanese invitee Shigeru Aburaya, organizers said Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Jan 30, 2003

Bush speech pushes Nikkei near 20-year low

Tokyo stock prices plunged Wednesday, bringing the Nikkei average down 2.28 percent to a near 20-year low, after U.S. President George W. Bush pledged Tuesday to use "full force" if necessary to disarm Iraq. The president's stated resolve cast a shadow over the U.S. and Japanese economies.
JAPAN
Jan 30, 2003

Death penalty sought for major Aum figure

Prosecutors on Wednesday demanded the death sentence for Tomomasa Nakagawa, a former Aum Shinrikyo senior member accused of involvement in numerous crimes, including the 1995 sarin attack on the Tokyo subway system.
Japan Times
SUMO
Jan 30, 2003

Asashoryu gets yokozuna rank

Mongolia's Asashoryu was promoted Wednesday to the highest rank in Japan's ancient sport of sumo, becoming the first from his country and only the third foreign-born wrestler ever to achieve that lofty status.

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