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CULTURE / Art
Sep 3, 2000

The making of alternative history

The xich lo (cyclo) is as ubiquitous in Vietnam as the tuk tuk is in Thailand, but completely man-powered: The driver peddles the vehicle behind the comfortably seated passenger. It is currently an important mode of transportation on Vietnam's streets, as well as a livelihood for countless drivers, and...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Sep 3, 2000

Extreme Goes Mainstream

SAN FRANCISCO As Cory "Nasty" Nastazio, 22, comes off his dirt jumping practice at the 2000 X-Games site in San Francisco, he pulls up to the ESPN cameraman on his little BMX bike and the first thing he does is remove his helmet.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 3, 2000

Sydneysiders counting down

SYDNEY -- Scrubbed and polished, the Olympics city is looking good. Sydneysiders are all-welcoming as the world jets in for Olympic Games 2000. So why are we so worried?
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 3, 2000

Crackdown keeps online China in line

The arrest of poet Huang Beiling in Beijing on Aug. 12 was reported by his brother Huang Feng, an independent publisher, who was himself arrested a week later. Going after writers and publishers with "political problems" is not a new sport in China, but an unfair one. Civil society has not yet produced...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Sep 3, 2000

Kennedy gives answers with Tokyo Q online

Rick Kennedy loves Tokyo. He has been here for years, yet still can't get over the kindness of its citizens, the flawless attention to detail, the sensory feast to be partaken of at every twist and turn -- much of which can be eaten and drunk! So great is his enthusiasm that we missed our stop, Hamamatsucho,...
COMMENTARY
Sep 3, 2000

New Zealand let down by laissez-faire

The collapse of the New Zealand dollar, now worth only a fraction of its former value, says a lot about the sorry state of economic punditry nowadays.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 3, 2000

Striving for a healthier, wealthier Asia

Institutions and concepts cause poverty and environmental degradation.
BUSINESS
Sep 3, 2000

Shiseido unit failed to report blast

OSAKA -- Officials of Osaka Shiseido Co. failed to report an explosion in August at a factory in the city's Higashi-Yodogawa Ward that injured two employees, it was learned Saturday.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Sep 3, 2000

Following in the footsteps of Lafcadio Hearn

"What's it like living in Japan?" my friends back home often ask me. It's a hard question to answer. So instead, I'll describe what I did today, a typical day in Japan for me.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Sep 3, 2000

Charles Hampden-Turner

LONDON -- "I believe in understanding people as they see themselves, in a positive light. I try very hard to see in the same way as they. Then everything begins to make sense through an opposite point of view," said Charles Hampden-Turner.
BASEBALL / MLB
Sep 3, 2000

Buffs roam to 12-2 win over Leos

Kintetsu outfielder Fumitoshi Takano doubled home a pair of runs in the Buffaloes' three-run fourth inning Saturday afternoon as the Pacific League cellar dwellers dumped the Seibu Lions 12-2 at the Seibu Dome.
BUSINESS
Sep 2, 2000

NHK begins real-time test of digital BS

NHK on Friday started trial broadcasts for its digital satellite service, which provides data and images on demand, three months ahead of the Dec. 1 start of full-scale programming.
BUSINESS
Sep 2, 2000

Power developer eyes investment in Asia

The Electric Power Development Co. is about to sign contracts to build power generation facilities in Thailand and China, company officials said Friday.
JAPAN
Sep 2, 2000

Foot cultist admits fraud during first trial hearing

A former member of the Honohana Sanpogyo foot-reading cult on Friday admitted during the first session of her trial that she conspired with cult leader Hogen Fukunaga, 55, to defraud two women of nearly 4 million yen.
JAPAN
Sep 2, 2000

Miyake Island faces full evacuation

Following two months of earthquakes and eruptions on Miyake Island in the Izu island chain, Miyake Mayor Ko Hasegawa on Friday effectively ordered all residents to evacuate the island within three days as the threat from Mount Oyama intensified.
BASEBALL / MLB
Sep 2, 2000

Hawks beat 'Wave; Buffs top Lions

Yusuke Torigoe pulled a two-run homer into the left-field stands in the seventh inning to lift the Daiei Hawks 3-2 over the Orix BlueWave and end a five-game losing streak Friday at Fukuoka.
JAPAN
Sep 2, 2000

Chronology of events on Miyake

The following is a chronology of events surrounding the recent series of eruptions of Mount Oyama on Miyake Island.
BUSINESS
Sep 2, 2000

Fiber maker to relocate overseas

Fiber maker Nisshinbo Industries Inc. will shut down two domestic thread and fiber factories and relocate part of its operations overseas to fend off competition from lower-priced imports, the company said Friday.
JAPAN
Sep 2, 2000

34 projects join those to be scrapped

The Construction Ministry listed 34 public works projects Friday for possible scrapping based on its own criteria for stopping wasteful spending.
JAPAN
Sep 2, 2000

Yamamoto grilled over misuse of secretary's funds

Prosecutors on Friday questioned DPJ lawmaker Joji Yamamoto on suspicion of illegally using 20 million yen of his secretary's salary for personal use, investigative sources said.
SUMO
Sep 2, 2000

Yokozuna favored in autumn tournament

Special to The Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 2, 2000

Elevated dioxin, PCB found in fish

Elevated levels of dioxin and polychlorinated biphenyls were found in the livers of squid, cod and bottom-dwelling sharks off the coast of Japan, according to interim results from an Environment Agency survey released Friday.
JAPAN
Sep 2, 2000

Ruling parties eye bill to curb bribes

The ruling coalition has drafted a bill designed to stiffen political penalties against lawmakers who abuse their government connections to receive bribes.
BUSINESS
Sep 2, 2000

Kumagai seeks waiver of 450 billion yen in debts

The debt-ridden construction company Kumagai Gumi Co. will ask its five major creditors, including Sumitomo Bank and Shinsei Bank, to forgive debts totaling 450 billion yen as part of the firm's rehabilitation plan, company sources said Friday.
JAPAN
Sep 2, 2000

GPS satellites enlisted to help predict earthquakes, eruptions

In their quest to accurately predict earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, Japanese scientists have discovered that the satellite-based system that helps motorists navigate is an invaluable -- though as yet imperfect -- aid.
BUSINESS
Sep 2, 2000

Summer heat helps boost consumer spending 0.4%

Hotter-than-usual weather this summer is estimated to have pushed up overall consumer spending by a real 0.3 to 0.4 percent from June to August, a private think tank said Friday.
BUSINESS
Sep 2, 2000

Auto sales up 4.1% in August

Domestic sales of cars, trucks and buses -- but excluding minivehicles with engine displacements smaller than 660cc -- rose 4.1 percent year-on-year in August to 243,088 units, the first increase in two months, the Japan Automobile Dealers Association said Friday.
JAPAN
Sep 2, 2000

Investment execs held for bilking elderly

OSAKA -- Police arrested the president of an investment-advice company and five of its employees Friday on suspicion of swindling 323 mainly elderly people out of 1.3 billion yen in cash and stocks.
EDITORIALS
Sep 2, 2000

A fragile outpost in space

There are three kinds of people in the world: those who are intrigued by and optimistic about the International Space Station; those who are outraged by and skeptical of it; and those who look blank and say, "What International Space Station?"

Longform

The students at Mitaka Municipal No. 7 Junior High School have access to various cooling devices for when they play sports.
Japan's extreme heat is causing a rethink of school sports