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COMMENTARY
Nov 28, 2001

Expanding access to international trade

WASHINGTON -- The United States has forced medieval totalitarianism into retreat in Afghanistan. Still necessary is expanding the access of countries like it to the global economy.
CULTURE / Film
Nov 28, 2001

The empire strikes back

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone Rating: * * * * Director: Chris Columbus Running time: 152 minutes Language: English Now showing
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Nov 28, 2001

William Cepeda: 'Branching Out/Expandiendo Raices'

William Cepeda plays dynamic Latin jazz that combines the vibrant rhythm of the rich musical legacy of his homeland, Puerto Rico, with the sophisticated jazz melodies of the United States.
JAPAN
Nov 28, 2001

Aum says it wants to pay compensation

The Aum Shinrikyo religious cult, accused of carrying out the fatal sarin gas attacks in Tokyo's subway system in 1995, has opened a software development firm and resumed ties with followers in Russia, members said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Nov 28, 2001

Post offices get OK to issue private documents

The Cabinet on Tuesday adopted an ordinance authorizing local governments to commission post offices to issue official papers, such as copies of family registers and alien registrations, beginning Dec. 1.
BUSINESS
Nov 28, 2001

Nintendo chief to invest own yen in game startups

OSAKA -- Nintendo Co. President Hiroshi Yamauchi is planning to use 20 billion yen of his own money to set up a fund in January to support startup game makers, company officials said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Nov 28, 2001

Bag's tracking device nails thieves

A tracking device in a stolen bag of jewelry worth an estimated 100 million yen led to the arrest Tuesday of two men who allegedly took the bag earlier in the day on a bullet train at Tokyo Station, police said.
JAPAN
Nov 28, 2001

Chongryun faces search over embezzlement case

The Metropolitan Police Department will search the headquarters of the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan (Chongryun), possibly today, in connection with a suspected embezzlement case involving the failed Chogin Tokyo credit union, investigative sources said Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Nov 28, 2001

Yanagisawa welcomes 'pretty big' loan disposal

Financial Services Minister Hakuo Yanagisawa on Tuesday welcomed moves by major banks to take loan-loss charges topping 6 trillion yen for the 2001 business year.
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Nov 28, 2001

Play Records Night

From its roots in Jamaica's production studios to London's "sound systems," dub has become as much a descriptive musical term as a genre. To be "dub" is to pay attention to silence as well as sound, to have a spaciousness (and often spaciness) absent from other electronic or club-derived music.
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Nov 28, 2001

R.L. Burnside: 'Burnside on Burnside'

Those looking to get a feel for the sounds of a Mississippi juke joint on a Saturday night would be best advised to pick up the latest gem from the underrated R.L. Burnside: "Burnside on Burnside," a live disc recorded on a West Coast tour in January.
BUSINESS
Nov 28, 2001

S&P places NTT on CreditWatch

Standard & Poor's said Tuesday it has placed its AA long-term credit ratings on Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. and NTT DoCoMo Inc. on CreditWatch, with negative implications.
JAPAN
Nov 28, 2001

Nonlife insurers feel the pain

Profits at Japan's 11 major nonlife insurance companies plunged sharply in the fiscal first half to Sept. 30, due to falling share prices and large reserves set aside for claims related to the Sept. 11 terror attacks in the United States.
CULTURE / Film
Nov 28, 2001

Hunters on the mean streets

Pain Rating: * * * * Director: Masato Ishioka Running time: 114 minutes Language: Japanese Showing until Dec. 7th at Box Higashi Nakano
JAPAN
Nov 28, 2001

Tokyo company launches student-run software companies

A mobile phone software development company in Tokyo has launched two development subsidiaries operated by students at universities in Sendai and Kyoto.
JAPAN
Nov 28, 2001

KHI selected to build new SDF planes

The Defense Agency has selected Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. to be the main developer of a new Air Self-Defense Force transport plane and a new Maritime Self-Defense Force patrol plane, agency officials said Monday.
MORE SPORTS
Nov 28, 2001

Tamura to stay away indefinitely

Olympic and world champion Ryoko Tamura said Tuesday she will stay away from competitive judo indefinitely in an attempt to regain full fitness for the 2003 World Championships in Osaka and the Olympic Games in Athens the following year.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Nov 28, 2001

Indispensable designs

When you pull a foil bag of potato chips down from the shelf in the supermarket, you're usually thinking only about its contents. But when that same colorful bag is used as a cover for an art catalog, the disposable wrapping has suddenly turned into an ambiguous, sophisticated artifact.
BUSINESS
Nov 28, 2001

Auto output fell 0.8% in October

Auto output edged down 0.8 percent in October from a year earlier to 857,508 units for a second consecutive monthly fall, the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association said Tuesday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Nov 28, 2001

Gocoo

Trying to describe the sound of Gocoo, the 13-member taiko ensemble led by Kaoly Asano, I am driven to geological comparisons: the rumble of tectonic plates shifting; the rhythmic pulse of surf on rock; and pure, primal eruptions of magma. This is music you feel more than listen to.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Nov 28, 2001

Reaching out in dramatic style

"Am-dram" may attract devotion and derision in equal measure, but in Japan a strong tradition of amateur English-language theater has been serving the wider community for nearly 150 years.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Nov 28, 2001

Distinctive and delicate art

China painting is a popular hobby in the United States and Europe, and is gradually gaining followers over here as well. A characteristic of porcelain art is the paints used -- made by mixing powdered minerals such as iron, copper, uranium and so on.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / NEW ART SEEN
Nov 28, 2001

A new world order revealed

Start with a simple idea, add a slide projector and a turntable, and you have the pleasantly surprising Nicolas Moulin installation, "Pole."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / J-POPSICLE
Nov 28, 2001

Catching up with Yoko

Question: Who is the most famous Japanese personality in the world?
JAPAN
Nov 27, 2001

Reporter arrested over train groping

A veteran journalist with the Washington Post was arrested for allegedly groping a high school girl while riding a subway in Tokyo, police said Monday.
JAPAN
Nov 27, 2001

Afghans denied refugee status

The Tokyo Regional Immigration Bureau on Monday rejected applications by nine Afghan men for refugee status, saying the applicants "lack credibility as refugees because some left their country for the purpose of getting jobs."
BUSINESS
Nov 27, 2001

Major banks brace for loan writeoffs

All but two of the nation's 14 major banks fell into the red during the first six months of this business year, together setting aside a hefty 2.7 trillion yen in loan-loss reserves to cushion the potential impact from nonperforming loans.

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