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JAPAN
May 29, 2002

Chinese cops not told of treaty violation

A Japanese vice consul in Shenyang, China, did not warn local police -- who entered the consulate compound to remove five North Korean asylum seekers earlier this month -- that they were violating an international treaty, the Japanese government said Tuesday.
JAPAN
May 29, 2002

Few seek free viewings of games on TV

Cities in Japan serving as hosts for World Cup soccer matches will set up large TV screens in gymnasiums to show the games, but few local residents have requested the free tickets being made available.
JAPAN
May 29, 2002

Flights climb at Kansai airport

OSAKA -- Kansai International Airport, hit by a slump in international travel since the terrorist attacks in the United States last fall, is slowly attracting more overseas business, particularly from Asian airlines.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CUP COUNTDOWN
May 29, 2002

Hotels vie for World Cup windfall

As the Friday opening of the 2002 FIFA World Cup approaches, hoteliers in and around Tokyo are making last-minute efforts to get their slice of the hoopla that will carry on through the next month.
BUSINESS
May 29, 2002

FSA optimistic over banks' health

The projected amount of loan-loss charges by major Japanese banks for this business year will probably stay within the size of operating profits, Financial Services Minister Hakuo Yanagisawa said Tuesday.
COMMENTARY
May 29, 2002

Guns alone won't bring victory in America's fight against terrorism

LOS ANGELES -- What do Irish rock group U-2's lead singer Bono and U.S. Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill have in common with currency-exploiter and philanthropist George Soros? A major obsession: that, in the long run, poverty, deteriorating global public health and declining economic development can...
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 29, 2002

Top business lobbies tie knot, hope to better sway politics

The Japan Federation of Economic Organizations (Keidanren) and the Japan Federation of Employers' Associations (Nikkeiren) merged Tuesday to become the Japan Business Federation, hoping the more powerful business lobby can wield greater influence over government policies.
BUSINESS
May 29, 2002

Condo firm Haseko crumbles into the red

Condominium builder Haseko Corp. said Tuesday its group net balance sank into the red in the 2001 business year, due chiefly to latent losses on its real-estate holdings for sale and on other fixed assets.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 29, 2002

G8 billing scam ends in suspended prison terms

A former Foreign Ministry official and his subordinate received suspended prison terms Tuesday for defrauding the government of 21.5 million yen by padding bills for limousine rentals in connection with the Group of Eight summit in Okinawa in 2000.
JAPAN
May 29, 2002

Cadmium study may be released

The government may release information on a study conducted from 1997 to 1998 on cadmium levels in domestic rice products, farm minister Tsutomu Takebe said Tuesday.
JAPAN
May 29, 2002

Special antitheft squad makes first arrests

Police said Tuesday that a special squad set up ahead of the upcoming World Cup soccer finals to prevent an increase in thefts and robberies has made its first arrests: three men are being held on suspicion of trying to steal a wallet in Tokyo.
JAPAN
May 29, 2002

Ozone hole will close: Japanese team

The hole in the ozone layer will be mostly gone by around 2040 due to restrictions placed on chlorofluorocarbons, a Japanese research team said Tuesday.
JAPAN
May 29, 2002

Day-care centers' online cameras keep tots in view

Sakura Kindergarten in Setagaya Ward, Tokyo, is one of a growing number of day-care centers hoping to use the Internet and other information technology to keep parents happy and worry-free.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
May 29, 2002

Wayne Shorter: 'Footprints Live!'

Wayne Shorter first established himself as a central figure in the development of jazz as a member of Miles Davis' seminal mid-'60s quintet. He contributed a major portion of the compositions and a technique honed with Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. Shorter also released a series of recordings as leader...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
May 29, 2002

Star's role derails Streetcar classic

Demons inhabit the live-performance stage. Nobody can judge the success of a production until after the curtain has risen and fallen. This is what gives drama -- and musical and dance performances -- their peculiar zest. And when the director of a production is a titan of the international theater world,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
May 29, 2002

Wilco: 'Yankee Hotel Foxtrot'

On the new Wilco album, "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot," frontman Jeff Tweedy muses that his mind is filled with "radio cures." Looks like his old label didn't think so. Citing a lack of commercially viable tracks on "YHF" and the band's refusal to rework them, Warner/Reprise Music showed Tweedy and company the...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / NEW ART SEEN
May 29, 2002

The naked truth about (male) beauty

I'm thinking, as I write this, about beauty. I'm thinking about beauty because I'm flying over Siberia, and below me there is an expanse of softly sculpted white. I'm thinking about beauty because I'm returning from Paris, where I spent the last few days -- ostensibly on a writing assignment, but mostly...
BUSINESS
May 29, 2002

Japan Telecom posts net losses of 66 billion yen

Struggling with ongoing restructuring efforts, Japan Telecom Co. on Tuesday reported net losses of 66 billion yen for the business year that ended in March. It was Japan Telecom's first net loss as a publicly traded company.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / J-POPSICLE
May 29, 2002

And the 'nice try' award goes to . . .

It is my sad duty to report that the inaugural MTV Video Music Awards Japan, held May 24 at the Tokyo International Forum, was a less than spectacularly successful affair.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
May 29, 2002

DJ Shadow: 'Private Press'

When DJ Shadow released his first album, "Endtroducing," in 1996, sample-based music was mostly complementary, designed for MCs or parties, and wasn't generally accepted as a viable creative endeavor by itself. It wouldn't be fair to all the turntablists who inspired Shadow (Josh Davis) to say that "Endtroducing"...
BUSINESS
May 29, 2002

Nippon Mitsubishi buys North Sea oil rights

Nippon Mitsubishi Oil Corp. said Tuesday it has acquired operational rights in Britain's Brae oil and natural gas fields in the North Sea, and rights to use transportation facilities.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
May 29, 2002

Salif Keita: 'Moffou'

Salif Keita -- otherwise known as the Golden Voice of Mali -- has taken some jabs from world music purists in recent years for straying from his traditional African roots in collaborations with the likes of Vernon Reid of Living Color and the keyboardist Joe Zawinal. With "Moffou," Keita has dropped...
BUSINESS
May 29, 2002

Domestic auto output up for first time in three months

Domestic motor vehicle production climbed 2.7 percent to 777,497 units in April, the first year-on- year rise in three months, the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association said Tuesday.
BUSINESS
May 29, 2002

Nissan Fire group falls 44 billion yen into red

Nissan Fire & Marine Insurance Co. said Tuesday it plunged into the red with a consolidated net loss of 43.76 billion yen in the 2001 business year after taking heavy losses from reinsurance contracts linked to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 29, 2002

Master at the cutting edge of art

Japan is often seen as a blend of the advanced and the archaic. But this combination is nothing new, as a visit to an exhibition of swords now on at the Nezu Museum in Tokyo's Omotesando district makes clear.
JAPAN
May 29, 2002

Japanese-Thai team inoculates monkeys against simian AIDS

Japanese and Thai researchers said Tuesday they have successfully inoculated monkeys against SIV, the simian version of the human immunodeficiency virus.
BUSINESS
May 29, 2002

Panasonic, Fuore Design ink deal

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. said Tuesday it has signed a deal with Fuore Design International of Spain to cooperate in developing Matsushita consumer electronic products.

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