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Kenzo Moriguchi
JAPAN
Sep 17, 2000
Ikuno pitches kimchi for World Cup
OSAKA -- While the nation is gripped by Olympic fever, Shigemitsu Nishihara in Ikuno Ward here is looking forward to the 2002 World Cup to be cohosted by Japan and South Korea as an event to boost bilateral relations and to promote his hometown.
JAPAN
Sep 3, 2000
Service brings volunteer NPOs donations via Net
OSAKA -- The idea came up when Makoto Kawade was playing computer games late at night and eating snacks as usual. To Kawade, 27, most Internet users -- including himself -- seemed to be doing something like typing away gossip on a bulletin board service or just surfing various Web sites.
COMMUNITY
Aug 20, 2000
Contestants jump at chance to net annual award for catching goldfish
YAMATO KORIYAMA, Nara Pref. -- Similar to the high school baseball championships at Koshien, it is a national championship with 2,000 participants striving to be Japan's No. 1. It could even be compared to the Olympic Games, where contestants have to go through a qualifying round before they reach the...
JAPAN
Aug 6, 2000
Dioxin-ridden incinerator may be scrapped but local distrust smolders
NOSE, Osaka Pref. -- Despite the accord reached last month to settle the nation's worst dioxin pollution, which hit this rural town, deep-rooted distrust of local authorities lingers among town residents.
JAPAN
Jul 9, 2000
Battlewagon Yamato steams again as replica
KAWABE, Wakayama Pref. -- As the biggest battleship the world had ever seen, the Yamato is still remembered by many Japanese even half a century after it was sunk off Cape Bo-no-Misaki in Kagoshima Prefecture.
JAPAN
Jun 25, 2000
Blanket-toting 'Knock' denies intent to grope
OSAKA — Former Osaka Gov. "Knock" Yokoyama's molestation trial will be concluded Thursday with the defense's final statement, following prosecutors' demand last Tuesday for an 18-month prison term.
JAPAN
Jun 11, 2000
Man claims false molestation arrest
NARA — It should have been just another day for Takeshi Yamamoto, 56, when he climbed aboard a Kintetsu train at Koriyama Station at 7:38 a.m. on May 10.
JAPAN
May 28, 2000
Woman parlays her passion for tango into pro floor show
OSAKA -- Yoshiko Nishibayashi first got interested in Argentine tango after watching the movie "Evita" in 1997. Three years later, she returned from Buenos Aires as a professional tango dancer -- the first in the Kansai region with an Argentine partner.
COMMUNITY
Apr 2, 2000
Europe cheese fan driving wedge into parochial taste buds
OSAKA -- It was love at first bite when Hisaji Taketomo discovered the joy of European cheese more than 20 years ago.
JAPAN
Mar 19, 2000
'Suits' fire laws from hip at assembly upstart
KADOMA, Osaka Pref. -- A liberator of a closed local legislature or a troublemaker? That is the question being asked of Hisayoshi Toda, a newcomer to the Kadoma Municipal Assembly.
JAPAN
Mar 5, 2000
Visaless family seeks resident status
KOBE -- For over six years, 40-year-old Peruvian Jose could enjoy his stay in Japan, where he had a stable job at a leather processing factory and his family had a peaceful life in Tatsuno, Hyogo Prefecture.
JAPAN
Feb 7, 2000
Analysis: Ota's first priority is to refill city coffers
Staff writer OSAKA -- Fusae Ota's election win here Sunday night is good news for local residents and the nation as a whole, in the sense that Osaka has elected the nation's first female governor. It is also good news for Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi, because since a win for Ota, a former bureaucrat...
JAPAN
Feb 7, 2000
Ota ready to slash Osaka government jobs
Staff writer OSAKA -- Newly elected Osaka Gov. Fusae Ota said Monday that her priority is to restore financial health to the prefecture, noting she is confident she can push through plans for major cuts in local government jobs as part of the effort. "If prefectural officials really want to save Osaka...
JAPAN
Feb 4, 2000
Koreans want governor to push for their rights
Staff writer OSAKA -- A new Osaka governor will be elected today by some 7 million eligible voters in the prefecture, which has a population of 8.83 million. While voter turnout figures show nearly half did not cast ballots in the last three gubernatorial elections, some are unable to vote in local...
JAPAN
Feb 3, 2000
Undecided voters seen as key to Osaka poll
Staff writer OSAKA -- With the gubernatorial by-election just around the corner, campaign officials for the three major candidates are making last-ditch efforts to win the support of the floating voters, who may once again decide the outcome of the poll. Recent media surveys have found that Fusae Ota,...
JAPAN
Jan 17, 2000
Five years after quake, Hanshin looks to future
Staff writers KOBE -- While reconstruction is largely complete, victims of the Great Hanshin Earthquake remain concerned about the future, officials announced Monday at a ceremony to mark the fifth anniversary of the disaster. The earthquake, which struck on January 17, 1995, killed more than 6,400...
CULTURE / Art
Jan 8, 2000
Top of the line in toys
HIMEJI, Hyogo Pref. -- For a long time, koma (tops) were commonly given to children during the New Year's season. These days, however, the traditional toy is wobbling on the edge of extinction.
JAPAN
Dec 30, 1999
Stores hit by Y2K stockpiler feeding frenzy
Staff writers With just two days left before 2000 kicks in, shoppers crowded supermarkets and department stores Thursday, making last-minute purchases of water, food, oil heaters and other stockpiles to prepare for the possible breakdown of lifelines. Daiei Inc., the nation's largest supermarket chain,...
JAPAN
Dec 21, 1999
'Knock' undone by calling victim a liar
Staff writer OSAKA -- The game is finally up for Osaka Gov. "Knock" Yokoyama. Yokoyama announced his resignation Tuesday morning, just hours before prosecutors indicted him over a criminal complaint filed by a 21-year-old university student, accusing Yokoyama of groping her inside a campaign van in...
JAPAN
Dec 20, 1999
Time running out for 'Knock' as opinion turns against him
Staff writer OSAKA -- The game may finally be up for Osaka Gov. "Knock" Yokoyama. Monday's search of his offices by the Osaka District Public Prosecutor's Office in connection with a criminal complaint filed against the governor by a 21-year-old female university student, who accused Yokoyama of groping...

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Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?