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JAPAN
May 11, 2000

School has an ear for Korean language

Every eye in the classroom is fixed on Shinji Kurosawa's lips. " 'Pul gogi,' repeat after me," instructs the Korean language teacher.
JAPAN
May 11, 2000

Lower House endorses corporate breakup rules

A House of Representatives committee on Wednesday approved revisions to the Commercial Code that will make it easier for companies to spin off unprofitable divisions.
JAPAN
May 11, 2000

China's Foreign Minister Tang arrives

Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan arrived Wednesday in Japan for talks later in the day with Foreign Minister Yohei Kono on the timing of Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji's visit to Japan.
BASEBALL / MLB
May 11, 2000

Homers galore as Giants outslug 'Stars 6-2

Yomiuri slugger Hideki Matsui drilled two homers while starter Kimiyasu Kudo pitched eight strong innings to lift the Giants over the front-running Yokohama BayStars 6-2 in a six-homer slugfest at Yokohama Stadium on Tuesday.
COMMENTARY / World
May 11, 2000

The ADB finds itself in the maelstrom

"Globalization is killing poor people!"
JAPAN
May 11, 2000

Transplant from living donors starts

Doctors at Okayama University Hospital began the nation's third lung transplant involving living donors Wednesday morning, hospital officials said. Doctors at the state-run university hospital are performing the operation on a woman in her 20s, from Okayama Prefecture, who is suffering from serious lung...
JAPAN
May 11, 2000

Rally urges increase in nurses

In the wake of recent reports of simple mistakes that have had fatal results at hospitals, many working nurses are saying they can imagine making such errors, given their hectic routines.
BUSINESS
May 11, 2000

Euro slump goes unabated

Financial markets around the world are focusing their attention on the euro. With the downtrend in its value continuing unabated, the single European currency has hit life-time lows repeatedly in recent weeks.
BUSINESS
May 11, 2000

Bureau claims NTT unit hid 2.79 billion yen income

NTT DoCoMo Kyushu Inc. failed to declare 2.79 billion yen in taxable income to tax authorities between 1996 and 1998, industry sources said Wednesday. As a result, the Fukuoka-based regional group firm of NTT DoCoMo Inc. has already paid the Fukuoka Regional Taxation Bureau approximately 1.08 billion...
BUSINESS
May 11, 2000

BOJ mulls end to zero-interest policy

Policymakers at the Bank of Japan are close to concluding discussions on when to terminate the bank's zero-interest rate policy, the central bank's deputy governor told a parliamentary committee Wednesday.
COMMUNITY
May 11, 2000

Young women study up for the future

A high attendance in classes ranging from aromatherapy, beadwork and flower arrangement to exotic languages and cooking, offered at department stores and community centers all over Japan, is a sign of a new trend among women in their late 20s and early 30s.
MULTIMEDIA / SPORTS SCOPE
May 11, 2000

Wanted: soccer manager for long-term relationship

Heard enough about Japan soccer boss Philippe Troussier recently? OK, I understand. Don't worry, this is not about him. Well, not much. Today, we go one step beyond to the big question: Who would be right for the job as coach of the Japanese soccer team, assuming it's not going to be Troussier?
BUSINESS
May 11, 2000

Honda to improve safety with multiple crash tests

Honda Motor Co. will improve the safety of its cars through realistic crash tests involving multiple cars colliding at various angles, Hiroyuki Yoshino, president of the major Japanese automaker, said Wednesday.
JAPAN
May 11, 2000

'Ekiben' gets global spin for the rail connoisseur

The business of making and selling "ekiben," packaged lunches sold at train stations throughout Japan, is going somewhat global.
JAPAN
May 11, 2000

Mori denies being caught in a brothel

Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori on Wednesday denied a magazine report that he was detained when he was a university student for violating an ordinance prohibiting prostitution, suggesting that he may take legal steps against the magazine.
SUMO
May 11, 2000

Takanohana keeps slate clean

Takanohana cruised to his fourth straight victory Wednesday, while fellow yokozuna Akebono rebounded from Tuesday's setback with a hard-fought win over Tochinonada on the fourth day of the Summer Grand Sumo Tournament.
LIFE / Food & Drink / WINE WAYS
May 11, 2000

Enjoying the best Austria has to offer

Ultimately wine appreciation is about the glorious moment when distinctive wine and discerning taste buds rapturously converge. Having visited over 150 wineries, I can assure you that this pleasure is possible at a winery wine tasting even after something as stressful, for example, as my rain-drenched...
JAPAN
May 11, 2000

Teen extorters plotted murder, fake suicide: police

A 16-year-old boy and several others in police custody on suspicion of extorting some 50 million yen from a former classmate allegedly intended to murder the victim in a faked suicide to cover up their wrongdoing, it was learned Wednesday. The youths, however, were unable to carry out the plan before...
BUSINESS
May 11, 2000

Foreigners ditching Japan portfolios

The continued volatility on Wall Street and other bourses overseas prompted foreign investors to unwind their Japanese portfolios last month.
BUSINESS
May 11, 2000

Global community may have another beef with Myanmar

No democracy. International drug trafficking. Use of forced labor. Human rights violations. Is there anything else to add to the international community's charges against Myanmar's military rulers?
LIFE / Travel
May 11, 2000

Firing up Fukuoka's hippest corner

FUKUOKA -- A long feature on Fukuoka in a recent issue of Toyo Keizai magazine examined three different areas that represent development in the city. Two of these, the reclaimed land of Momochi, and the city's historic Kawabata area, have seen much growth in the last 10 years, boosted by giant government-funded...
JAPAN
May 11, 2000

Chinese sue government, mine firm over war labor

Nine Chinese nationals filed a lawsuit against the Japanese government and Mitsui Mining Co. on Wednesday seeking 207 million yen in compensation and an apology for being forced to work in coal mines in Fukuoka Prefecture during World War II. Lawyers for Zhang Baoheng, 76, and eight other former Chinese...
BUSINESS
May 11, 2000

Matsushita sales, profit fall in 1999

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. reported on Wednesday that consolidated sales declined 4.5 percent to 7.3 trillion yen and operating profit dropped 17.9 percent to 159.1 billion yen in fiscal 1999, mainly due to the appreciation of the yen.
BUSINESS
May 11, 2000

Cab firm to operate in North Korea

MK Corp., a Kyoto-based taxi company known for its low fares, will branch out its business into North Korea possibly within a year, MK's owner said Wednesday. Sadao Aoki, owner of the taxi company, was in Pyongyang from April 29 to May 6 and met with high-ranking government officials, including Vice...
COMMUNITY
May 11, 2000

Breaking free from your limitations

Tapping your inner powerhouse of creativity, succeeding professionally and attaining a sense of profound peace: These are but a few of the wide range of benefits promised by the Sedona method, now being taught in Tokyo by psychotherapist Stewart Wyndham.
LIFE / Food & Drink / NIHONSHU
May 11, 2000

Recalling the toil of winter in the rites of spring

It's May, and for almost all of the nation's 1,700 or so sake brewers, this means brewing activities are over for the season. There are a handful of larger breweries that have climate-controlled factories, and do brew year-round (known as shiki-jozo). But everyone else is limited to the coldest months...
BUSINESS
May 11, 2000

Foreign reserves get IMF lift

The nation's foreign exchange reserves totaled $338.58 billion at the end of April, the Finance Ministry said Wednesday.
JAPAN
May 11, 2000

Diet passes bill mandating barrier-free transportation

The Diet passed a government-sponsored bill Wednesday to make railway stations, airports and roads more accessible for the disabled and senior citizens.
JAPAN
May 11, 2000

Tokyo to host scientific meet

An international conference on overpopulation, food and other leading global issues will take place in Tokyo from May 15 to 18, according to the government.
JAPAN
May 11, 2000

Cult scam: 'pope-blessed' rings

The cult Honohana Sanpogyo has fabricated rings it claims to have been given by Pope John Paul II to its guru, Hogen Fukunaga, and sold them to followers for between 100,000 yen and 300,000 yen apiece, it was learned Wednesday.

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