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JAPAN
Nov 20, 2002

Ruling bloc nixes Diet testimony by former North Korean agent

A proposed Diet appearance by a former North Korean agent was effectively canceled Tuesday after ruling coalition parties said they oppose inviting him to the legislature.
BUSINESS
Nov 20, 2002

Monetary policy to go unchanged

As stock prices continue to slide, the Bank of Japan made a rare announcement Tuesday that it will flood the market with yen to the limit of its current policy.
JAPAN
Nov 20, 2002

Aum members launch residency suit

OSAKA -- Three Aum Shinrikyo cult members have filed a damages lawsuit against the city of Suita, Osaka Prefecture, for rejecting their residency registration applications last month, Suita officials said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Nov 20, 2002

Lower House OKs privatization bills

The House of Representatives passed bills Tuesday to turn 49 special-purpose public corporations into independent or privatized entities.
BASEBALL / MLB
Nov 20, 2002

Giambi sees big things ahead for 'Godzilla'

As hard as it is to imagine a Japanese ballplayer batting in the heart of the order for the New York Yankees, Jason Giambi won't second-guess Hideki Matsui's potential.
COMMENTARY
Nov 20, 2002

North Korean motives fan speculation

SEOUL -- I have given a series of lectures on U.S. Asia policy in the weeks since the revelation about North Korea's secret nuclear weapons program. While the audiences and locations in South Korea, Japan and the United States have varied widely, the questions have been remarkably similar. Along with...
JAPAN
Nov 20, 2002

Judges, prosecutors face pay cut

The Judicial Affairs Committee of the House of Councilors approved bills Tuesday to cut the monthly salaries of judges and prosecutors by an average of 2.1 percent.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Nov 20, 2002

"Captain Trip Records Sampler Vol. 1"

The fact that major record labels in Japan fail to tap the wealth of excellent underground bands undoubtedly irks a lot of these groups who -- with live, recording and practice schedules to keep -- cannot take up salaried jobs and instead have to work arubaito on a permanent basis. They carry on with...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Nov 20, 2002

Expos evoke memories of Japan's 'gypsies'

There's a lot of speculation about what will happen to the Montreal Expos and where the team will play its home games during the 2003 season.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 20, 2002

Pyongyang's abductions spell fallout for Chongryun

OSAKA -- The junior high school girl, who asked to be referred to only as "Son," appeared on the verge of tears when she recalled what happened.
BASEBALL / MLB
Nov 20, 2002

Giants land Petagine

The Yomiuri Giants have landed Venezuelan slugger Roberto Petagine with a two-year deal carrying an annual salary of $6 million, officials of the Central League club said Tuesday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Nov 20, 2002

Sinead O'Connor: "Sean-Nos Nua"

Though she's done the occasional traditional Irish song as a guest on other people's records, Sinead O'Connor has never explored her country's musical heritage in depth. Now, after more than 10 years of trying to express her adolescent earth-mother iconoclasm, she gives up and goes the trad route with...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Nov 20, 2002

Next best thing

Three tunes into his 2 1/2-hour extravaganza at Tokyo Dome on Nov. 11, Sir Paul McCartney introduced a "song that's never been played live until this year. The thing is, if you don't tour, then when you record a song, that's the last time you ever sing it." He then launched into the simple, unmistakable...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Nov 20, 2002

Painter and powerbroker to the shoguns

Throughout history, powerful regimes have used art to reinforce their control and shore up their claims to legitimacy.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Nov 20, 2002

Playing for that extra reason

The Willem Breuker Kollektief is a 10-piece jazz ensemble of mad Dutch that will stop at nothing -- not even onstage nudity -- to entertain themselves and their audience.
BASEBALL / MLB
Nov 20, 2002

Matsui to hire agent

Free-agent Japanese slugger Hideki Matsui said Tuesday he has decided to use an agent to hold talks with major-league clubs.
JAPAN
Nov 20, 2002

Tokyo, Seoul to team up on spy ships

The heads of the Japanese and South Korean coast guards agreed Tuesday to strengthen information-sharing on suspected North Korean spy ships should they be spotted off the two countries' coasts, Japanese officials said.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / NEW ART SEEN
Nov 20, 2002

Getting emotional as the Sagacho closes its doors

Last Friday evening, as a waxing moon arced low across a clear autumn sky, more than 600 people made what for most would be their final pilgrimage to the Mecca of Tokyo's contemporary art scene. Alone or in clans -- some boisterous, others silent -- they crossed the Sumida River, wound their way through...
JAPAN
Nov 20, 2002

Nicos president quits consumer credit group

Yoji Yamada, president of Nippon Shinpan Co., resigned Tuesday as chairman of the Japan Federation of Consumer Credit Companies to take responsibility for a racketeer-related scandal at his company.
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Nov 20, 2002

The Sugarman Three: "Pure Cane Sugar"

The Sugarman Three is a retro-funk jazz unit that caramelizes its sugar over a high flame. Their latest release, "Pure Cane Sugar," is their best album yet. Track two, "Take It As It Come" could be mistaken for a long-lost James Brown-Jimmy Smith collaboration. It's that good. Sugarman Three's sound...
BUSINESS
Nov 20, 2002

Nokia, Matsushita agree on mobile, appliance data link

OSAKA -- Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. and Finnish cell phone maker Nokia Corp. said Tuesday they have agreed to cooperate in exchanging data and content between mobile terminals and home electronics devices.
JAPAN
Nov 20, 2002

Government overspent in resort development

The government grossly overestimated demand and unnecessarily invested large sums in designated resort areas in 41 prefectures based on a law to promote and develop resort-related industries, according to a draft report by a study group of the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry.
BUSINESS
Nov 20, 2002

Mexico expects access to fruit, vegetable marts

Mexico expects Japan to open up its fruit and vegetable markets under a bilateral free-trade agreement for which the two countries have just begun negotiations, a senior Mexican official said Tuesday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Nov 20, 2002

The dangerous art of living quietly

Oriza Hirata's 1995 Kishida Drama Award-winning "Tokyo Notes" opened in Japan for the first time in four years Sunday, after touring overseas to critical acclaim. Now being staged at the Museum of Contemporary Art in downtown Kinshicho by Seinendan, the company Hirata founded in 1983, this portrait of...
JAPAN
Nov 19, 2002

Group calls for end to flight drills

A group of local governments neighboring the U.S. Air Force Yokota base on Monday asked the national government to take measures to suspend all flight drills from the base, local government officials said.

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