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BUSINESS
Jun 5, 2002

Political wrangling continuing over steel import curbs

Delaying a decision on whether to retaliate against U.S. steel import curbs will be possible if the United States offers further compromises over product exclusions, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Takeo Hiranuma said Tuesday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jun 5, 2002

She's with the band

Basking in the spotlight has never been the way of jazz instrumentalists; they know how much they owe the band. But for jazz vocalists, the opposite tends to be true. Female singers, in particular, tend to be seen as center-stage divas more than an integral part of the group.
SOCCER / World cup
Jun 5, 2002

Japan draws with Belgium in seesaw thriller

SAITAMA -- Tuesday was a historic day for Japanese soccer as the boys in blue earned the first-ever World Cup point for the cohosting nation after fighting to a 2-2 draw with Belgium.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jun 5, 2002

. . . but soccer hosts are a dream team on stage

As in soccer, so on stage. Japan-Korea collaboration (or is it Korea-Japan collaboration?) is happening all over.
BUSINESS
Jun 5, 2002

Nation's economic chiefs to consider tax reforms

Japan's various economic chiefs were to meet Wednesday evening to discuss tax reforms, including tax cuts, according to Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / J-POPSICLE
Jun 5, 2002

With Shina, the songs don't have to remain the same

All too often, albums of cover songs are just stopgap efforts put out by artists whose creative juices have run dry. So when I heard that Ringo Shina was making her comeback in the form of a covers album after taking a year's maternity leave, I was skeptical. But my expectations were raised as the names...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jun 5, 2002

Raw power

The singer's name is Baba and he's the Japanese Iggy Pop -- when he was young and spritely. Baba's just smashed his head into a speaker, and blood from his nose splashes over the kids spilling onto the stage at a packed Shinjuku live house. In return, they offer him a similar rock 'n' roll sacrament...
BUSINESS
Jun 5, 2002

Snow Brand appoints consumer guru to board

OSAKA -- Snow Brand Milk Products Co. on Tuesday said it has appointed Nobuko Hiwasa, former chief of a leading consumer group, as an outside director in charge of food safety.
EDITORIALS
Jun 4, 2002

Hollow debate on Diet extension

Discussions and bargaining on an extension of the current session of the Diet, which is scheduled to end on June 19, are heating up. Speculation about the extension of a Diet session that is tied up with the existing political situation is not unusual in itself, but discussions that reflect a leadership...
COMMENTARY
Jun 4, 2002

Wake-up call on diplomacy

Shenyang, in northeast China, is a city of historical significance for both Japan and China. Formerly known as Mukden, it was the last battlefield in the 1904-05 Russo-Japanese War. Imperial Japan, emerging as a modern power after the Meiji Restoration, won a do-or-die war with imperial Russia, which...
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 4, 2002

Activists put themselves in firing line

It was April 1, and Aisa Kiyosue and nearly 100 other activists from around the world were marching toward the Dehesha refugee camp in Beit Jala, northern Bethlehem, in an attempt to block it from an anticipated attack by the Israeli Army. They were in high spirits, clapping and singing songs of protest,...
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 4, 2002

The Palestinian intifada: a very American struggle

AL-BIREH, West Bank -- The Palestinian people have no grudge against the American public. We never did. As a matter of fact, if one resists the media spin and takes a closer look at what the Palestinians have been struggling for, it will be revealed that the Palestinian intifada is a very American struggle....
JAPAN
Jun 4, 2002

Kansai to ask for continued airport funding

OSAKA — A delegation of Kansai business and government officials was to visit Tokyo on Tuesday to ask that funding for the second-phase of construction at Kansai International Airport be continued.
JAPAN
Jun 4, 2002

Single men in 30s save either a lot or naught

OSAKA — In terms of saving money, single males in their 30s generally fall into two extreme categories: those who diligently set aside their yen and those who spend all they have, according to a recent survey by a consumer credit company.
SOCCER / World cup
Jun 4, 2002

Brazilians battle back to beat Turkey

ULSAN, South Korea -- Four-time champion Brazil, which staggered through its World Cup qualification matches for South America, made heavy weather of a hustling Turkey team Monday night before winning 2-1, causing coach Luiz Felipe Scolari to exhort his players to keep it simple.
JAPAN
Jun 4, 2002

Reform-oriented budget sought

An advisory panel to the finance minister called Monday for a reform-oriented fiscal 2003 budget that will keep spending for policy measures at current levels to maintain fiscal discipline.
JAPAN
Jun 4, 2002

Former Ishioka mayor admits taking 2 million yen to leak waterworks bid

A former mayor of Ishioka, Ibaraki Prefecture, pleaded guilty Monday to receiving 2 million yen in bribes in 1999 for unlawfully helping Hitachi Ltd. win the contract for a municipal waterworks project.
BUSINESS
Jun 4, 2002

January-March GDP to show growth: think tanks

The nation's gross domestic product for the January-March quarter will show an annualized 4 percent to 10 percent growth in real terms, in contrast to contractions in the preceding three quarters, 12 major private think tanks have predicted.
JAPAN
Jun 4, 2002

75 million pieces of music copied via the Internet

In the past couple of years, 75 million pieces of music have been duplicated via online music-swapping sites, mostly illegally, since such sites became available in Japan, industry groups said.
BUSINESS
Jun 4, 2002

Standard housing-loan rate cut

The Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry said Monday it cut the standard interest rate on which the Government Housing Loan Corp. bases its lending rates by 0.1 percentage point to 2.6 percent per annum.
BUSINESS
Jun 4, 2002

Despite heavy resistance, change is in the air

The reformist administration of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi is in a crisis as a result of strong resistance to the slogan of structural reforms with no safe haven, under which he formed his Cabinet in April 2001.
BUSINESS
Jun 4, 2002

NEC and Matsushita in China tieup

NEC Corp. and Matsushita Communication Industrial Co. said Monday they have established a joint venture with a local firm in China to expand their third-generation mobile handset business.
BUSINESS
Jun 4, 2002

Casualty insurance giants plot three-way alliance

The largest casualty insurers in Japan, China and South Korea have agreed to form a business tieup on product development and market research, company sources said Monday.
SOCCER / J. League / ON THE BALL
Jun 4, 2002

Japanese refs owe debt to predecessor

Toru Kamikawa made his World Cup debut on Saturday when he officiated the Ireland-Cameroon game in Niigata in Japan's opening game. It was a nice appointment by FIFA. He became the fourth Japanese referee to serve in the quadrennial tournament.
BUSINESS
Jun 4, 2002

Revenue shortfall expected for 2001

The government is unlikely to attain its tax revenue target of 49.63 trillion yen for fiscal 2001, due in part to falling corporate tax receipts, the Finance Ministry said Monday.

Longform

Mamoru Iwai, stationmaster of Keisei Ueno Station, says that, other than earthquake-proofing, the former Hakubutsukan-Dobutsuen (Museum-Zoo) Station has remained untouched.
Inside Tokyo's 'phantom' stations — and the stories they tell