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Eric Johnston

JAPAN

Dec 13, 2000

Kobe man says he was a spy for Pyongyang for 20 years

KOBE -- For nearly 20 years, Cho Ryu Un, a Korean resident of Japan born and raised in Kobe, lived a double life. To friends and business partners, he was a normal businessman, albeit connected with the pro-Pyongyang General Association of Korean Residents in Japan (Chongryon).

JAPAN

Dec 10, 2000

Osaka's Olympic slogan in English won't be winning any gold medals

OSAKA -- The English-language slogan that the city of Osaka will use to promote its 2008 Olympic bid is silly, meaningless and unnatural.

JAPAN

Dec 8, 2000

Monju touts safety campaign in restart bid

TSURUGA, Fukui Pref. -- Five years after a sodium leak and fire shut down the Monju prototype fast-breeder reactor here, the battle over whether it should be put back into operation still rages.

JAPAN

Nov 26, 2000

Hase killer still at large, lawyer fears

KOBE -- The May 1997 murder of 11-year-old Jun Hase in Suma Ward here shocked Japan and made world headlines for the sensational nature of the crime.

JAPAN

Nov 15, 2000

Costly Kansai airport plagued by pullouts, rivals, debts, sea

OSAKA -- Six years after opening, Kansai International Airport is struggling to stay above water -- literally and figuratively.

JAPAN

Nov 12, 2000

Park-area locals want plebiscite to halt plan for homeless shelters

OSAKA -- Tensions continue to rise between Osaka officials and residents living near Nagai Park over a municipal plan to build shelters for the park's homeless, with those opposed calling for a plebiscite on the issue.

JAPAN

Nov 2, 2000

Fighting system is folly: Tanaka

OSAKA -- Nagano Gov. Yasuo Tanaka said he has learned from the mistakes of other populist governors who took on the bureaucracy and lost, emphasizing that the age of traditional confrontational politics between small citizens' groups and bureaucrats is over.

JAPAN

Oct 29, 2000

Once 'golf course heaven,' Hyogo now at opposite extreme

KOBE -- Hyogo Prefecture, with the largest number of golf courses on Honshu, has a reputation as the country's golf heaven.

JAPAN

Oct 1, 2000

Shelter plan for park's homeless hit

OSAKA -- A municipal government plan to build temporary shelters for homeless people living in a park that will host next year's East Asian Games has received heated criticism from area residents, who have gathered over 22,000 signatures in protest.

JAPAN

Sep 29, 2000

Abductees' kin slam Pyongyang aid

JAPAN

Sep 17, 2000

Drought leaves Lake Biwa low, dry

OSAKA -- A prolonged drought in western Japan that forced local authorities to order a reduction in water taken from Lake Biwa appears to have ended, but officials warn that water levels are still low.

JAPAN

Sep 5, 2000

Intended mob target unfazed by wiretap law

KOBE -- When the controversial wiretapping legislation was passed in the Diet last year, supporters claimed society as a whole would benefit because police would be able to track organized crime more efficiently.

JAPAN

Sep 3, 2000

Osaka's beer summit draws microbrewed stately heads

OSAKA -- If you're tired of the bland, mass-produced, artificially carbonated barley water that too many companies are pushing as beer, relief will soon be at hand.

JAPAN

Aug 30, 2000

Osaka divided over Games

OSAKA -- Osaka took a big step forward in realizing its dream of hosting the 2008 Summer Olympics on Monday when it was listed among five final candidate cities.

BUSINESS

Aug 23, 2000

Forum calls for new WTO round

WASHINGTON — Despite the failure of last year's World Trade Organization meeting in Seattle, panelists and participants at a recent symposium in Washington remain hopeful that a new round of multilateral trade talks will be launched before the end of next year.

BUSINESS

Aug 23, 2000

Anxiety overload caused failure in Seattle: Hills

WASHINGTON -- Former U.S. Trade Representative Carla Hills offered her assessment of why the WTO talks in Seattle ended in failure.

COMMUNITY

Aug 20, 2000

Foreigners moving to Kansai

JAPAN

Aug 16, 2000

Kepco urged to explain MOX mess

OSAKA -- Fearful that history will repeat itself, antinuclear groups are calling on Kansai Electric Power Co. to provide data on a batch of mixed uranium and plutonium oxide (MOX) fuel now being processed in France.

JAPAN

Aug 12, 2000

Base cuts beyond SACO sought

ITAMI, Osaka Pref. -- In order for the U.S. and Japan to maintain friendly relations, America must reduce its military presence on Okinawa, which is little more than a colonial outpost controlled by the U.S. military, said leading Okinawa politician Tokushin Yamauchi during a recent symposium.

JAPAN

Jul 29, 2000

Debt-hit Kansai airport sinking fast

OSAKA -- Without a 20 billion yen reconstruction effort, those who land at Kansai International Airport may find themselves having to swim to the passenger terminal.

You can often see generations of families enjoying performances together at Fuji Rock Festival.

Japan’s summer music festivals are feeling the heat in more ways than one

Akiko Trush says her experience with the neurological disorder dystonia left her feeling like she wanted to chop her own hand off.

The neurological disorder that 'kills culture'

By Tomoko Otake

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