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SOCCER / J. League / ON THE BALL
Mar 19, 2002

South Korea puts faith in Dutchman Hiddink

Guus Hiddink, the Netherlands' 1998 World Cup team manager, has been hired by South Korea in an attempt to end its winless drought at the tournament and get through the first round for the first time in soccer's quadrennial tournament.
BUSINESS
Mar 19, 2002

Penta-Ocean picks new president

Penta-Ocean Construction Co. said Monday it has appointed Senior Managing Director Hideaki Kato as its president, replacing Renpei Mizuno, who will become chairman.
BUSINESS
Mar 19, 2002

Hiranuma, Yeo agree to bolster ASEAN ties

Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Takeo Hiranuma and his Singaporean counterpart, George Yeo, agreed Monday to enhance cooperation for establishing a broad economic partnership between Japan and Southeast Asia.
LIFE / Travel
Mar 19, 2002

A rendezvous with the master

During a recent interview at his home in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Arthur C. Clarke displayed a youthful enthusiasm that belied his 84 years. Clad in a batik sarong and pastel shirt with a dolphin motif, the wheelchair-bound author of "2001: A Space Odyssey" was short of breath and complained that he was tired...
BUSINESS
Mar 19, 2002

Wal-Mart spells chaos for already shaken industry

The entry into Japan of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. of the United States, the world's largest retailer, will throw the industry into chaos as it struggles for survival amid the deepening recession.
LIFE / Travel
Mar 19, 2002

On the road in Sri Lanka

While security concerns deter many visitors, traveling in Sri Lanka can be very rewarding because there is so much on offer and few other tourists to crowd the experience. Flights from Japan arrive in the middle of the night, ensuring that one's first impression is not a traffic jam.
BUSINESS
Mar 19, 2002

JAL-JAS merger may mean slot loss

Japan Airlines and Japan Air System may have to give up some of their arrival and departure slots at Haneda and other domestic airports to get their merger plan cleared under the Antimonopoly Law, a senior transport ministry official said Monday.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Mar 19, 2002

Will peace ever return to paradise?

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka -- Foreign visitors to Sri Lanka have been singing its praises since the days of Marco Polo. From sacred Buddhist ruins and magnificent sculptures to gorgeous beaches and the verdant hills of the tea estates, this is an island that has much to offer in a relatively small area. Wandering...
LIFE / Travel
Mar 19, 2002

Will peace ever return to paradise?

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka -- Foreign visitors to Sri Lanka have been singing its praises since the days of Marco Polo. From sacred Buddhist ruins and magnificent sculptures to gorgeous beaches and the verdant hills of the tea estates, this is an island that has much to offer in a relatively small area. Wandering...
EDITORIALS
Mar 18, 2002

Steeling for a fight

During the Vietnam War, a peculiar strand of U.S. logic was revealed when an official argued that a village had to be destroyed to save it from the North Vietnamese. A version of that tortured thinking has been resurrected recently as U.S. officials have struggled to justify President George W. Bush's...
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 18, 2002

Free trade carries a price

WASHINGTON -- U.S. President George W. Bush's decision to impose tariffs on steel imports into the United States has been decried as a politically motivated and economically ruinous move that marks the end of free trade and initiates a battle in the World Trade Organization.
COMMENTARY / JAPAN IN THE GLOBAL ERA
Mar 18, 2002

'Gerontocrat' academicians with myopia

LAUSANNE, Switzerland -- After Harvard Professor Ezra Vogel's famous book "Japan as Number One" appeared in 1979, the West experienced a "learning from Japan" boom. I fully participated in this movement in both of its manifestations: publications, seminars etc., and the establishment of university Japanese...
SOCCER / World cup / EXCERPTS FROM PHILIPPE TROUSSIER'S BOOK
Mar 18, 2002

Leading my troops into battle

"Passion" is the story of Japan soccer team coach Philippe Troussier, his struggle to make it as a player and manager and his travels around France, Africa and Japan. In the book, Troussier also details his philosophy and thinking as he prepares for the World Cup in June.The book has been published...
SUMO
Mar 18, 2002

Maru stays unbeaten

OSAKA -- Grand champion Musashimaru had another easy day at the office Sunday as he steamrollered past komusubi Wakanosato to maintain his perfect record as the Spring Grand Sumo Tournament enters its second week.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 18, 2002

Ban pol-bureaucrat contacts

The alleged meddling in Foreign Ministry affairs by Liberal Democratic lawmaker Muneo Suzuki has stirred debate on rules governing relations between politicians and bureaucrats. The problem of "excessive interference" has been widely reported as highly abnormal, but I doubt whether that's so. In present-day...
SOCCER / J. League
Mar 18, 2002

Jubilo whips Consadole, goes top of table

Toshiya Fujita bagged a goal in each half and Brazilian striker Gral came off the bench to score on his debut as Jubilo Iwata whipped 10-man Consadole Sapporo 4-0 to move to the top of the J. League first division Sunday.
MORE SPORTS
Mar 18, 2002

Bunnies, Bears to face off for hockey title

The defending champion Kokudo Bunnies edged the Nippon Paper Cranes 6-5 on Saturday in Kushiro, Hokkaido, thanks to Toshiyuki Sakai's goal in overtime, to advance to the finals of the Japan Ice Hockey League.
EDITORIALS
Mar 17, 2002

Strategies for saving precious lives

The United Nations is not loved by everyone, nor does it always do everything right. Even when it is not being controversial, it often appears ineffectual or, worse yet, boring. There are only so many conferences, forums, summits, accords, agreements, understandings, commitments, resolutions and declarations...
SUMO
Mar 17, 2002

Maru still on top as Kaio falls

OSAKA -- Komusubi Wakanosato slapped down defending champion Kaio and Musashimaru rolled to another one-sided win Saturday as the yokozuna emerged the lone leader seven days into the Spring Grand Sumo Tournament.
SOCCER / J. League
Mar 17, 2002

Antlers down JEF for first win

Mitsuo Ogasawara curled in a second-half free kick that David Beckham would have been proud of to seal a 2-0 win for the Kashima Antlers over JEF United Ichihara, their first of the season.
COMMENTARY
Mar 17, 2002

U.S. embargo helps keep Castro in power

HAVANA -- Roberto Alarcon, well-dressed but of unexceptional appearance, is thought to be the No. 3 man in Cuba, after only Fidel and Raul Castro. He lazily sprawled in his chair before eight American journalists, fondling his cigar.
MORE SPORTS
Mar 17, 2002

Toyota motors past Isuzu in finals

The Toyota Alvark downed the Isuzu Motors GigaCats 69-66 on Saturday to take the first two games of the best-of-three Super League men's basketball final and claim their first league championship. Toyota got 24 points each from Takehiko Orimo and Charles O'Bannon at Yoyogi National Gymnasium as the...
COMMUNITY
Mar 17, 2002

Taking a more traditional view

For many residents of Kyoto, the Kyoto Tower brings to mind the story about the Parisian artist who railed to whomever would listen about how much he hated the Eiffel Tower.
COMMUNITY
Mar 17, 2002

Cathedrals of commerce, towers of power

The tall building radically reshaped the modern city, thrusting it upward in the decades around the turn of the 20th century, just as the automobile pushed it outwards between the world wars. The skyward trend began in the 1890s, when high-rise commercial buildings began replacing the six- and seven-story...
CULTURE / Books
Mar 17, 2002

The only certainty is change

THE UNITED STATES AND ASIA: Toward a New U.S. Strategy and Force Posture, by Zalmay Khalilzad, et al. RAND, 2001, 260 pp. (paper). Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Asia has enjoyed considerably more stability than has Europe, the other critical theater of the Cold War. It's fair to say that there...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Mar 17, 2002

Pampered pachyderms and groveling courtiers

SIAMESE COURT LIFE IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY AS DEPICTED IN EUROPEAN SOURCES, by Dhiravat na Pombejra. Bangkok: Chulalongkorn University, 2001, 236 pp., 190 baht. Foreign dignitaries were amazed by the 17th-century Siamese court. Though the general population seemed, as one diplomat wrote, "rich in...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 17, 2002

Meditations on a master disciple

Sonny Fortune wears his John Coltrane influence proudly. And well he should since he is one of the few sax players working today confident enough -- and good enough -- to follow in his footsteps.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Mar 17, 2002

The Imperial family: celebrities or deities?

At a press conference to mark his 68th birthday last December, Emperor Akihito surprised reporters by saying that he felt a strong "kinship" with Korea.
LIFE / Food & Drink / NIHONSHU
Mar 17, 2002

Favorites that come widely recommended

The information in this column usually covers the gamut of sake nomenclature, types and brewing methods, as well as culture, history and the occasional oddities. But beyond the single recommendation in each column, rarely does it address the question, "So, uh, what are the good sake? What should I be...

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