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SUMO
May 22, 2000

Komusubi Kaio claims first Emperor's Cup

Seven years after entering the Makunouchi Division and 12 years after his sumo debut, Kaio finally captured his first yusho Sunday with an outstanding 14-1 record in the Natsu Basho at Tokyo's Ryogoku Kokugikan.
EDITORIALS
May 22, 2000

China's hope, Beijing's anger

Saturday was a historic moment in Chinese history. For the first time in that country's long past, the leader of the opposition party took power democratically and peacefully. The inauguration of Mr. Chen Shui-bian as president was celebrated -- and feared. The government in Beijing has made it clear...
BUSINESS
May 22, 2000

Former Nichiei president may quit board of directors

OSAKA -- Kazuo Matsuda, who stepped down as president of major nonbank moneylender Nichiei Co. in February to take responsibility for a scandal over the firm's loan collection practices, will resign from its board of directors in June, industry sources said Sunday.
MORE SPORTS
May 22, 2000

Silk Prima Donna wins Oaks

Race favorite Silk Prima Donna held off the field for a neck win of the 61st running of the Japanese Oaks (G1) at Tokyo Racecourse on Sunday.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
May 22, 2000

Exotic pet importer confirms Japan is haven for illegal animal imports

The situation is worse than I imagined. In my last column (May 8), I wrote about smugglers carrying live primates into Japan in their luggage. Days after that column appeared, I was put in touch with an exotic pet importer who confirmed that government oversight of trade in animals is abysmal.
BUSINESS
May 22, 2000

As with risk, ranks of analysts rising

Once again the time has come for the mass-release of Japan Inc.'s annual earnings reports. While the stock market is showing signs of rumbling back to life after nearly a decade of dormancy, significant changes to Japan's financial landscape are forcing players to make rapid transitions just to keep...
COMMENTARY / World
May 22, 2000

Opportunity amid South Asia's troubles

ISLAMABAD -- While press photographers scrambled inside a hospital in Delhi recently to catch a glimpse of baby Astha, India's 1 billionth citizen, in other parts of India officials continued to battle this year's drought, which has been drying up water supplies and causing crop losses. Just last month,...
COMMENTARY
May 22, 2000

Tough challenges for the LDP

The death of former Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi, coming in the wake of the retirement of his mentor, former Prime Minister Noboru Takeshita, marks the end of the "Takeshita politics" that wielded considerable clout within the Liberal Democratic Party.
EDITORIALS
May 21, 2000

American moms bite the bullet

Amillion moms -- give or take a few hundred thousand -- spent a sunny Mother's Day last Sunday on the Mall in Washington, D.C. demonstrating in support of stricter gun-control laws in the United States. The event was predictably marked by equal parts media gush and public yawns. The question is, was...
BASEBALL / MLB
May 21, 2000

Burrows tosses four-hitter as 'Wave edge Lions 2-1

Southpaw Terry Burrows tossed a four-hitter over seven innings Saturday as the Pacific League-leading Orix BlueWave edged the Seibu Lions 2-1 in Nagano.
JAPAN
May 21, 2000

Expats hit record high; women outnumber men

The number of Japanese women living abroad exceeded the corresponding number for Japanese men as of October last year, according to recent statistics released by the Foreign Ministry.
JAPAN
May 21, 2000

Dioxin contamination worst at Atsugi base, survey finds

A dioxin survey conducted by a citizens' group confirmed dioxin pollution nationwide, with the highest concentrations in urban areas with waste incinerators, according to results presented Saturday in Tokyo.
SOCCER / J. League
May 21, 2000

Cerezo beat F.Marinos

The battle for the J. League's first stage went down to the wire on Saturday as the Yokohama F.Marinos were unable to clinch the title, crashing 3-2 at home to Cerezo Osaka at Mitsuzawa Stadium.
COMMUNITY
May 21, 2000

Monkey mugs teacher juggling long way home

After eight months traveling in Asia, Leslie Davis is back in Japan for 2 1/2 weeks. She is using this time "to get grounded": sorting out taxes and boxes, seeing friends and reorganizing her backpack for the next stage of her journey. This will take her through Indonesia to Australia, New Zealand...
JAPAN
May 21, 2000

Ishihara calls Jiang a 'Chinese Hitler'

TAIPEI -- In yet another invective directed at China, Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara on Saturday said China's Jiang Zemin would be like Adolf Hitler should he attempt to unify Taiwan and the mainland by military force.
CULTURE / Books / POETRY MIGNETTE
May 21, 2000

Japanese poets write the book of love

Stroker, a publisher of chapbooks, is the distributor and copublisher of "2000 Japanese Poems for the Year 2000," a voluminous collection of chapbooks, 15 in all, translated by Howard S. Levy.
JAPAN
May 21, 2000

Imperial Couple depart for Europe

The Emperor and Empress left Saturday for an official visit to the Netherlands and Sweden, as well as unofficial trips to Switzerland and Finland.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
May 21, 2000

Bun-chan's pitching reminiscent of Bross

The pitching of Chunichi Dragons right-hander Mel Bunch during the first six weeks of this season reminds me of the way Terry Bross was throwing for the Yakult Swallows during the second half of 1995. If you were here then, you may recall Bross, also in his first year in Japan, posted a 5-5 record through...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
May 21, 2000

Mohan Kumar

NEW DELHI -- "Three things are necessary for a driver: a good horn, good brakes and good luck."
JAPAN
May 21, 2000

Cult used Unzen to solicit followers in Nagasaki

...
JAPAN
May 21, 2000

JCCI's Inaba won't serve a third term

Kosaku Inaba, chairman of the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, will resign in July next year, and is likely to be succeeded by Nobuo Yamaguchi, 75, vice head of the Tokyo Chamber of Commerce and Industry and chairman of Asahi Chemical Industry Co., JCCI officials said Saturday.
CULTURE / Music
May 21, 2000

Desperately seeking maestro for a long-term relationship

Tokyo-to Kokyo Gakudan
COMMUNITY / How-tos / GETTING THINGS DONE
May 21, 2000

Dreams come true

Today I am happy to tell you about one of this column's most successful accomplishments. It began last October when I received a heartfelt letter from Chip Bozek, a teacher in Hokkaido. He wanted to find someone who could give him a "chonmage" haircut like the old-time samurai wore. He had asked his...
COMMENTARY / World
May 21, 2000

Making mountains out of molehills

SYDNEY -- China's opening to the world amid its economic reform and modernization has brought immeasurable benefits to many of its citizens who are being enriched through growing trade linkages. Trading with the rest of the world and even the lukewarm welcoming of foreign investment capital have improved...
COMMENTARY / World
May 21, 2000

The tragedy of another senseless war

NEW YORK -- The arms embargo on Eritrea and Ethiopia just imposed unanimously by the U.N. Security Council is a much needed measure that brings hope for an end to an irrational conflict between the two neighboring countries. The U.S.-initiated measure, later co-sponsored by Britain and the Netherlands,...
COMMENTARY
May 21, 2000

Much ado about nothing?

Claims that Tokyo's governor, Shintaro Ishihara, is racist because he recently described Asians here as "sankoku-jin" (third-country nationals) -- a fairly neutral Occupation-era term used to distinguish resident Koreans and Taiwanese from Westerners -- were a bit far-fetched.

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