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JAPAN
Jul 27, 2000

Snow Brand returns to churn

Snow Brand Milk Products Co. announced Wednesday that it will resume milk production at six of its 20 factories that were closed earlier this month after a major food-poisoning outbreak.
BUSINESS
Jul 27, 2000

Independent watchdog sought to disable NTT's monopoly

As a level playing field has yet to be laid down in the Japanese telecom market, the establishment of an independent watchdog to keep in check the otherwise formidable NTT Corp. group would be one good option to realize free and fair competition, according to a top executive of the Japanese unit of British...
BUSINESS
Jul 27, 2000

AOL, DoCoMo eye phone tieup

Japan's top mobile phone operator, NTT DoCoMo Inc., is negotiating with the world's largest Internet service provider, America Online Inc., to tie up in online business for cellular phones, it was learned Wednesday.
JAPAN
Jul 27, 2000

Heavy rain to drench large areas again today

Heavy rain was expected to continue falling over large parts of Japan early today, with rainfall of up to 200 mm forecast for some areas in Hokkaido and southern Kyushu, the Meteorological Agency said.
BUSINESS
Jul 27, 2000

Sony to consolidate domestic assembly to increase efficiency

Sony Corp. will unify its 13 domestic assembly facilities for electronic products under a new company to be set up next year in an attempt to enhance its engineering and manufacturing operations, the firm announced Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Jul 27, 2000

Effect of Sogo debacle forces Lawson shares lower on its TSE debut

Major convenience store operator Lawson Inc. made a poor debut on the Tokyo Stock Exchange on Wednesday, ending the day's trading at 5,520 yen, sharply down from its initial public offering price of 7,200 yen but in line with the recent downward trend on the Tokyo stock market.
COMMUNITY
Jul 27, 2000

Massage helps women overcome breast-feeding difficulties

The first article in this series provided a general introduction to breast-feeding and to the views of La Leche League, a support group that provides free counseling and holds regular meetings on issues related to breast-feeding. This article focuses on the Oketani massage method, which helps breast-feeding...
BUSINESS
Jul 27, 2000

MMC apologizes to ministry

Mitsubishi Motors Corp. President Katsuhiko Kawasoe apologized Wednesday to Transport Minister Hajime Morita for the carmaker's hiding of information on defective automobiles, leading to the recall of 531,869 vehicles produced between December 1991 and last month.
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
Jul 27, 2000

Sasaki talking the talk in Seattle

SEATTLE -- The good news is that Kazuhiro Sasaki is learning a little English. The bad news is that his teacher is Seattle Mariners teammate Jay Buhner.
BUSINESS
Jul 27, 2000

Panel lists IT, environment items for decontrol review

A government commission on Wednesday unveiled a list of 97 items -- focusing mainly on information technology and the environment -- to be reviewed for further deregulation in the current fiscal year.
JAPAN
Jul 27, 2000

Green tax eyed to meet Kyoto Protocol

The government is considering an environment tax to help it cut greenhouse gas emissions under a 1997 protocol, according to a draft version of measures that are to form the mainstay of a new basic plan on the environment.
EDITORIALS
Jul 27, 2000

Don't concede the peace

After 15 days of intense discussions, the Middle East peace talks at Camp David have ended in failure. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat could not agree on the final status of the city of Jerusalem, and broke off negotiations. Both men return home weakened. The failure...
LIFE / Food & Drink / WINE WAYS
Jul 27, 2000

Memory of a rebel ages well in Californian wine

Sailboats frolicked in the bay like impish elves, rocking lightly in the wake of yachts that cut through the water like dolphins, as the sun slipped out of sight in Sausalito. I was back in this same little haven-by-the-sea in north California, in the Ondine restaurant with good friends, sipping good...
BUSINESS
Jul 27, 2000

2000 first-half vehicle output up 4.8% to 5.2 million units

Japanese automakers built 5,172,216 cars, trucks and buses in the first half of 2000, up 4.8 percent from the corresponding period in 1999, the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association said Wednesday.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 27, 2000

A tale of two protests in Bangkok and Beijing

BANGKOK -- Last week, rural adherents of the Falun Gong movement in China surreptitiously made their way from provincial towns to stage short-lived protests in the heart of Beijing's Tiananmen Square. At the same time in rural Thailand, thousands of Thai peasants boarded trains for Bangkok to take an...
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jul 27, 2000

In search of the real eel deal

The dog days of summer are upon us and, by the Japanese calendar, they will be at their most canine on July 30, ushi no hi. Then, the relentless summer heat and energy-draining humidity call for us to be fortified by sturdy, nutritious fare. And this we find in unagi,the eel.
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM MOSCOW
Jul 27, 2000

Wily Putin seduces the world

Josef Stalin hated international travel: He suspected somebody might attempt to kill him. Nikita Khrushchev loved it: He enjoyed shocking foreign hosts with his erratic behavior. Leonid Brezhnev was happy to travel to any country that would give him a new Mercedes as a state gift. Mikhail Gorbachev had...
COMMUNITY
Jul 27, 2000

A social clash of old values and new rules

The number of divorces in Japan, especially among couples who have been married for 20 years or more, has been increasing. According to a survey carried out by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, in 1999 there were a total of 250,538 divorced couples.
JAPAN
Jul 27, 2000

Advisory panel demands schooling for 5-year-olds

The government should let children start their nine-year mandatory education when they turn 5, one year earlier than the current system, according to a draft report drawn up by an advisory panel on education to Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori.
LIFE / Food & Drink / NIHONSHU
Jul 27, 2000

For new sake sensations, seek out the 'brat pack'

After tasting sake for some time, we begin to search for sake we have not yet tried. Of course, we have our favorites, sake we can fall back on and drink any day of the week. And we already know about good, well-publicized sake, be they blue chips such as Kubota or powerful upstarts like Juyondai.
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jul 27, 2000

Obana: Heat got you down? Eel thyself

Obana is certainly not the most illustrious of Tokyo's unagi restaurants. How could it be when most of the flash money lies west of the Ginza, not up in blue-collar Arakawa-ku? But there are plenty of people, especially those of humbler birth, who will go to the grave swearing by the name of their ancestors...
EDITORIALS
Jul 26, 2000

The latest summer hazard

The end of the rainy season has brought the high temperatures and soaring humidity that typify Japanese summers everywhere except at mountain resorts or in Hokkaido. It also brings a risk most people seldom seem to consider: the very real danger of food poisoning.
BUSINESS
Jul 26, 2000

Venture targets Net currency trading

The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi and five other banking and financial giants announced Tuesday they will contribute capital to a Web venture allowing institutional investors and companies to trade in foreign currencies online.
BUSINESS
Jul 26, 2000

Consumer confidence rose slightly in June, EPA reports

The Economic Planning Agency said Tuesday its quarterly survey of consumer confidence showed an improvement in June for the fourth consecutive quarter.
BUSINESS
Jul 26, 2000

Bridgestone sues Callaway over golf-ball patents

Bridgestone Sports Co., an arm of Bridgestone Corp. that manufactures golf equipment, said Tuesday it has sued U.S. golf-club maker Callaway Golf Co. for allegedly infringing on four of its U.S. patents for golf-ball manufacturing.

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