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JAPAN
Aug 22, 2000

State offers measures to cut city heat

In its first report on the urban heat island effect, released Monday, the government outlined a list of potential measures to help city centers beat the heat and called for an evaluation to determine which are most effective.
JAPAN
Aug 22, 2000

Police arrest bogus health center owner

A 41-year-old Chinese woman was arrested Monday for allegedly providing medical services in Tokyo without a proper license to practice medicine, police said.
SUMO
Aug 22, 2000

Kaio makes ozeki for autumn basho

Kaio checks out the new sumo rankings. Kaio became the first wrestler from Fukuoka Prefecture since 1918 to reach sumo's second highest rank of ozeki on Monday when the Japan Sumo Association released its rankings for next month's Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament.
BUSINESS
Aug 22, 2000

Toshiba revises sales forecast upward to 120 billion yen

Thanks to favorable performance in the electronic device business, Toshiba Corp. has revised its consolidated sales forecast to 2.9 trillion yen, up 120 billion yen from its initial forecast, for the six-month period through Sept. 30, the company announced Monday.
JAPAN
Aug 22, 2000

Miyake evacuation over; GSDF sent to clean up

Residents of Miyake Island's Igaya district were allowed to return home Monday morning following Friday's volcanic eruption of Mount Oyama.
BUSINESS
Aug 22, 2000

Banks raise lending rates in tandem

Seven of Japan's major commercial banks said Monday they will raise their short-term prime lending rates from 1.375 percent to 1.5 percent, effective Thursday.
BUSINESS
Aug 22, 2000

Stock games aimed at educating investors

High school students hooked on stock-trading games in class are still a rarity in Japan -- for better or worse.
JAPAN
Aug 22, 2000

North Korean delegation arrives in Japan for talks

A North Korean delegation arrived Monday in Japan for a second round of negotiations on establishing diplomatic ties.
BUSINESS
Aug 22, 2000

Sogo collapse hits banks, construction stocks

Bank and construction stocks have taken a battering in the wake of the collapse of department store chain Sogo Co. in July.
BUSINESS
Aug 22, 2000

MITI mulls oil knowhow for Asia

The Ministry of International Trade and Industry plans to offer knowhow to other Asian countries on stockpiling oil, ministry officials said Monday.
JAPAN
Aug 22, 2000

Coalition eyes proportional poll revision

The three ruling parties will try to revise the proportional representation system for House of Councilors elections by having voters cast ballots for candidates instead of political parties, party sources said.
BUSINESS
Aug 22, 2000

New iMac to be launched Aug. 29

Apple Japan Inc. announced Monday that it will begin selling the basic model of its new iMac series of personal computers in Japan from Aug. 29, the second anniversary of the initial launch of the iMac in Japan.
BUSINESS
Aug 22, 2000

Video phone to run on Dreamcast

Sega Enterprises Ltd. said Monday it will release a digital video-telephone camera to connect to its Dreamcast video game console Sept. 14, allowing two-way video conversations between Dreamcast users.
JAPAN
Aug 22, 2000

Panel approves new reactor

An advisory panel on Monday endorsed a plan by Chugoku Electric Power Co. to build a new nuclear reactor in Shimane Prefecture.
BUSINESS
Aug 22, 2000

Bandai Music approved for liquidation

The Tokyo District Court has approved the start of liquidation of Bandai Music Entertainment Inc., a unit of major toy maker Bandai Co., a leading private credit-research agency said Monday.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 22, 2000

AIDS takes a toll in African classrooms

Since physicians first described its symptoms almost 20 years ago, HIV has infected 53 million people, of which 19 million have died. Of the 34.3 million people now living with HIV/AIDS, 24.5 million are in sub-Saharan Africa, where the epidemic has left 11 million children orphaned.
BASEBALL / MLB
Aug 22, 2000

Chiben Wakayama captures high-school crown

Chiben Wakayama pitcher Junpei Yamamoto is mobbed after his team's 11-6 victory. NISHINOMIYA, Hyogo Pref. (Kyodo) Kentaro Tsutsumino hit a pair of solo homers and drove in four runs Monday to pace Chiben Wakayama to its second National High School Baseball Championship crown 11-6 over Chiba's...
COMMENTARY
Aug 22, 2000

Still coping with the Gulf War

Ten years ago, the world was in turmoil over the Persian Gulf crisis that started with the Iraq invasion of Kuwait. Now a new crisis appears to be brewing between Arabs and Israelis.
JAPAN
Aug 22, 2000

Policymakers visit Yoshino dam site

LDP policy chief Shizuka Kamei leads a ruling coalition mission on an inspection of the planned site of a dam along the Yoshino River. TOKUSHIMA (Kyodo) Policymakers from the Liberal Democratic Party, New Conservative Party and New Komeito on Monday inspected the planned site for a controversial project...
CULTURE / Music / MUSIC NOMAD
Aug 22, 2000

Shang Shang Typhoon blowing back in to devastate main islands

At the start of the 1990s, when "world music" became a generally accepted term, some Japanese started to look at themselves and wonder what their own country had to offer -- not only in Japan but to the rest of the world.
BUSINESS
Aug 22, 2000

Minicar popularity climbing

Some 40.8 minicars were owned by every 100 households as of the end of March, 1.1 more cars than the previous year, marking the first time the figure has topped 40, according to a report compiled Monday by an industry association.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Aug 22, 2000

Soseki never dreamed of this

TEN NIGHTS' DREAMS, by Natsume Soseki. Translated by Takumi Kashima, Kyoko Nonaka, Hideki Oiwa, Horikatsu Kawashima and Katsunori Fujioka. London: Soseki Museum in London, 2000. 64 pp., unpriced. In 1908, and already an established popular writer, Natsume Soseki turned to more experimental forms of...
EDITORIALS
Aug 21, 2000

Public works should serve the public

Highly conscious of public criticism of the role played by public-works projects in its politics, the Liberal Democratic Party is overhauling the much-maligned system. The party is supposed to be trying to phase out programs that have outlived their usefulness and to classify those related to information...
JAPAN
Aug 21, 2000

Tokyo, Pyongyang discussions face same obstacles

While the 10th round of normalization talks between Japan and North Korea will be held in Japan this week, it remains to be seen whether breakthroughs can be made on a series of pending issues that have stalled previous negotiations.
JAPAN
Aug 21, 2000

Hatoyama likely unopposed as DPJ leader

Yukio Hatoyama will likely remain leader of the main opposition Democratic Party of Japan because the only other contender for the post apparently lacks sufficient backers to file his candidacy today, party sources said Sunday.

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