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JAPAN
Aug 22, 2001

Space agencies to be integrated

The science and technology ministry decided Tuesday to integrate three government-affiliated space agencies and create a new space development organization by fiscal 2003.
CULTURE / Stage
Aug 22, 2001

'We all felt this could be a masterpiece'

Midway through the triumphant two-week run of his summer-festival kabuki classic "Togitatsu no Utare," cutting-edge director Hideki Noda took time to reflect on his remarkable crossover from contemporary theater to the Kabuki-za in Ginza (no less).
JAPAN
Aug 22, 2001

Tracking system to save climbers via cellphone waves

The Fire and Disaster Management Agency plans to develop a system to locate missing mountaineers using radio waves sent from their mobile phones, agency officials said.
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Aug 22, 2001

Rodney Hylton Smith: 'Run Come Save Me'

If you think the only thing Britain has to offer hip-hop is a bunch of arenas for the likes of Eminem and other Americans to fill when they make the short trip across the Atlantic, then it's time to listen to Rodney Hylton Smith and reconsider.
JAPAN / PRIVATIZING PAINS
Aug 22, 2001

Loss-riddled oil entity first to face privatization ax

Kyodo News The proposal by the government of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to scrap Japan National Oil Corp. and turn it into a private company as part of his structural reform scheme will leave the privatized firm with many problems unresolved.
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Aug 22, 2001

Ernest Ranglin: 'Gotcha!'

Ernest Ranglin has one of those split personalities. A native of Jamaica, he contributed his guitar work to countless ska sessions in the '50s and later played with famed Jamaican bands such as The Melodians and The Wailers and with Jimmy Cliff. The flip side is his love of jazz. As a genuine guitar...
EDITORIALS
Aug 21, 2001

Gaining our neighbors' trust

In his speech at the government-sponsored memorial service for the war dead Aug. 15, the anniversary of Japan's World War II surrender, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi acknowledged that Japan had inflicted "tremendous damage and pain" on people in Asian nations, and expressed a strong determination...
JAPAN
Aug 21, 2001

IM services provide fast e-mail alternative

Free online communication services that allow users to exchange information more quickly and conveniently than e-mail are gaining popularity in Japan, with the number of users having shot past the 3 million mark.
BUSINESS
Aug 21, 2001

Misfortunes in tough times spur new breed of insurance plans

In May, Yamagata University disclosed that it had bungled its entrance exam grading, irretrievably altering the course of applicants' lives.
BUSINESS
Aug 21, 2001

Nearly half of households own minicars: report

At the end of March, roughly every 2.4 households in Japan owned a minicar, the Japan Mini Vehicles Association said Monday.
BUSINESS
Aug 21, 2001

Cooperation in education key to poverty reduction

UNESCO chief Koichiro Matsuura is convening an unprecedented meeting of government leaders from 30 major industrialized and developing countries in autumn to discuss the promotion of primary education in the fight against poverty, according to Japanese government sources.
JAPAN
Aug 21, 2001

Japan hopes to improve ties through intellectual exchanges

In a bid to put Japan's often stormy relations with China and South Korea on a more stable footing over the long term, the government is embarking on a multimillion-yen program to promote friendship and mutual understanding among the three Asian neighbors.
JAPAN
Aug 21, 2001

Koizumi lodges protest with Russia over fishing

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi lodged a protest Monday with Russian President Vladimir Putin for granting fishing rights to third countries in waters around disputed islands off Hokkaido, claiming Moscow has ignored Japan's repeated requests not to allow fishing in the area.
JAPAN
Aug 21, 2001

Europe's help sought for hooligans

The National Police Agency has asked European police to help deal with soccer hooligans at next year's World Cup finals, agency officials said Monday.
Events
Aug 21, 2001

Electronics firms wage battle of the rays

KYOTO -- Kyoto-based Rohm Corp., one of Japan's largest makers of electronic components, is locked in a legal wrangle with Nichia Corp. of Anan, Tokushima Prefecture, over patents related to blue light-emitting diodes and blue lasers.
JAPAN
Aug 21, 2001

Sewage access up but still low at 62%

Sixty-two percent of the population had access to public sewage facilities in fiscal 2000 through March, up 2 percent from the previous year, the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry said Monday.
COMMENTARY
Aug 21, 2001

Koizumi's unfinished business

HONOLULU -- Last week was rough for Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. The last thing he wants to do now is revisit the Yasukuni Shrine question, but there is unfinished business that he must attend to.
Events
Aug 21, 2001

Kansai airport ignoring feasibility concerns

OSAKA -- As Kansai International Airport approaches its seventh birthday Sept. 4, a number of serious problems are casting clouds over the occasion.
BUSINESS / TAKING STOCK
Aug 21, 2001

Credit-easing steps by BOJ give light relief

The Tokyo stock market staged a strong rebound earlier last week, reacting positively to the Bank of Japan's decision to further ease its grip on credit.
LIFE / Travel / NATURE TRAVEL
Aug 21, 2001

The diamond town that time forgot

Morning dawns on Luderitz, but you'd barely notice. A dense bank of sea fog has rolled in overnight, and the small German colonial town near the southern tip of Namibia is lost; a place of shadows, half-glimpsed Gothic churches, haunted-house mansions and the ghostly glimmer of muted lights.
JAPAN
Aug 21, 2001

Big typhoon sets sights on western Japan coast

Typhoon Pabuk, a massive, powerful storm system, is moving northward in the Pacific Ocean south of the Japanese archipelago and may directly hit western Japan this evening or early Wednesday, the Meteorological Agency said Monday.
JAPAN
Aug 21, 2001

Actor Ishida held over cannabis

OSAKA -- The health ministry arrested actor and singer Issei Ishida, 26, in Osaka on Monday on suspicion of possessing 2 grams of cannabis resin.
JAPAN
Aug 21, 2001

Sugiura was reprimanded: Tanaka

Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka said Monday she severely reprimanded Seiken Sugiura, senior vice foreign minister, last week for earlier agreeing to conceal a diplomatic scandal.

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