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JAPAN
Oct 7, 2000

Clash in Diet disrupts electoral reform debate

The ruling coalition on Friday began deliberations in the Diet on a contentious bill to revise the Upper House electoral system after a violent confrontation with the boycotting opposition, whose members tried to block the door to a committee meeting room.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 7, 2000

Britain's future is at the heart of Europe

Britain is still on course to join the euro despite the narrow rejection of formal membership by Denmark in last week's referendum. Denmark is Europe's second-smallest country, represents only 2 percent of European gross national product, and anyway has already tied its currency, the krone, to the euro....
CULTURE / Stage
Oct 7, 2000

Loose Sock theater company offers creative collaboration

Nestled in the cloudy seaside bluffs of Yamate in Yokohama stands the newly renovated Gaiety Theater. With origins dating back to 1870, the Gaiety has operated from various locations and hosted numerous theatrical organizations of Yokohama's foreign thespian community.
BASEBALL / MLB
Oct 6, 2000

Champagne still on ice for Hawks

Kiyoshi Hatsushiba nailed two homers and Hiroo Ishii added another clout for Lotte as the Marines beat the Daiei Hawks 8-5 at Chiba Marine Stadium on Thursday, putting Daiei's second straight Pacific League crown on hold.
JAPAN
Oct 6, 2000

Opposition parties refuse to attend coalition's debate of corruption bill

The ruling bloc began deliberations in the Lower House on an anticorruption bill Thursday as opposition lawmakers continued their boycott.
JAPAN
Oct 6, 2000

Lawyers defend axing charges against Asahara

Prosecutors on Thursday defended their decision to drop four drug-related charges against Shoko Asahara, saying the move is necessary to speed the Aum Shinrikyo founder's trial.
JAPAN
Oct 6, 2000

Former hospital chief arrested

OSAKA -- Prosecutors on Thursday served a new arrest warrant on a former hospital director on suspicion of taking 800,000 yen in bribes from three pharmaceutical companies whose products were used by the hospital.
JAPAN
Oct 6, 2000

Hermit problem recognized

The Health and Welfare Ministry is planning to conduct extensive research on a growing legion of people who refuse to go to school or work, choosing instead to remain at home for long periods of time, ministry officials said Thursday.
SOCCER / J. League
Oct 6, 2000

Troussier vows victory for Japan

"We'll get the Asian Cup back home," said Japan soccer manager Philippe Troussier on Thursday at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo, only a few hours before his senior team's departure for the upcoming Asian Cup.
JAPAN
Oct 6, 2000

NPA targets credit card fraud

The National Police Agency said Thursday it will develop a data-sharing system aimed at curbing the surge in crimes involving counterfeit credit cards, which caused losses exceeding 9 billion yen last year.
EDITORIALS
Oct 6, 2000

China's war on faith

Faith may be a private matter, but the Chinese government takes no chances. The Chinese Constitution guarantees every citizen the freedom to practice whatever religion he or she chooses. In practice, however, every religion has to subordinate itself to the Chinese Communist Party. The power holders in...
JAPAN
Oct 6, 2000

Asset-hiding cases decline

Tax officials reported 3,087 cases of what they see as overt attempts to conceal assets to avoid or reduce inheritance taxes in the year to June, the National Tax Administration said Thursday.
JAPAN
Oct 6, 2000

Sogo exec's kin linked to affiliate share-buyout

Two relatives of former Sogo Co. Vice Chairman Moriichi Inoue bought all outstanding shares of an affiliate of Yokohama Sogo around April, when the management of the failing department store chain announced it would step down, it was learned Thursday.
JAPAN
Oct 6, 2000

Taiwan shift away from reactors may deal blow to Japanese firms

Taiwan's Economics Ministry has taken a step toward loosening the island's reliance on nuclear power in a move that could be a major blow to Japanese firms in the atomic power industry.
JAPAN
Oct 6, 2000

Firm reads tea tablets to get view of new profitable brew

A Tokyo-based company is marketing heart-shaped tablets of compacted tea that it claims produce a superior brew more easily, taking the ancient art of the tea ceremony to a new plane.
JAPAN
Oct 6, 2000

Food-poisoning victim sues Snow Brand Milk

OSAKA -- A woman in Osaka Prefecture has sued Snow Brand Milk Products Co. for 400,000 yen, claiming the company's tainted milk made her ill, judiciary sources said Thursday.
JAPAN
Oct 6, 2000

University organization aims to build regional ties

An organization of universities in Asia and the Pacific is promoting "life-long friendships" among young scholars to contribute to peace and prosperity in the region, one of the group's top administrators said.
MORE SPORTS
Oct 6, 2000

Penguins, Predators ready to drop puck

The National Hockey League makes its third regular-season appearance in Japan this weekend as the Pittsburgh Penguins and Nashville Predators square off for a two-game series Saturday and Sunday at the new Saitama Super Arena in Omiya.
JAPAN
Oct 6, 2000

Sansei make busy visit for the sake of relations

Most of them can't speak Japanese, or can't speak it very well. Some have only been to Japan a few times.
CULTURE / Music
Oct 6, 2000

Festival to celebrate composer Ikuma Dan

"Dan Year 2000," a nine-month festival featuring the works of Japanese composer Ikuma Dan, will begin Oct. 15.
COMMENTARY
Oct 6, 2000

Stymied by electoral reform

Confusion reigns in the current extraordinary Diet session, with the opposition forces boycotting debate to protest the ruling bloc's forcible move to revise the Upper House election system.
CULTURE / Stage
Oct 6, 2000

Strange thing happened while crossing the bridge

Strange things, collaborations. Much admired by the devout acolytes of grant-dispensing foundations in the interests of "crossing cultures" and "mutual understanding," these unfortunate buzz phrases have thrown together more than a few unwieldy alliances in the fields of dance and theater.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 6, 2000

Singapore media monopolies break into rival's turf

SINGAPORE -- Competition in Singapore's expanding media industry is growing more intense as the two rival main players prepare to slug it out, having pumped in millions of dollars to upgrade existing projects and invest in new ones.
CULTURE / Books
Oct 6, 2000

'Exodus' to a country of hope?

In recent years Murakami Ryu has received much attention for his uncanny knack of writing novels taking up themes, such as teen crime and hikikomori (withdrawing from the world and shutting oneself up in one's room), just before they come to public awareness as social problems. Now Murakami's new novel...
EDITORIALS
Oct 5, 2000

The Middle East boils over

Since the Middle East peace talks broke off last summer, following the failure of U.S. President Bill Clinton's high-profile Camp David initiative, there have been fears that mounting frustrations would explode in violence. Those fears were realized last week when tensions boiled over in Jerusalem. Over...
JAPAN
Oct 5, 2000

Mindan petitions lawmakers

The pro-Seoul Korean Residents Union in Japan (Mindan) petitioned Diet lawmakers Wednesday to pass a controversial bill to grant local-level suffrage to permanent foreign residents by the end of this year.

Longform

Capsule hotels were created as a way to deal with the amount of overwork employees tend to do in Japan. Can't commute home? Then spend the night in an tiny, affordable sleeping space.
Japan wakes up to the market for a proper sleep