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BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Mar 27, 2005

Free tickets for Diamondbacks Day on April 17 at Tokyo Dome

The Pacific League Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters will continue their tradition of holding Arizona Diamondbacks Day at one of their home-away-from-home games at Tokyo Dome.
BASEBALL / MLB
Mar 26, 2005

Iwakuma determined to help Eagles soar in Sendai

Hisashi Iwakuma started playing baseball as an elementary school first grader at the age of 6, by throwing a ball against a wall in a game of catch with himself and dreaming of becoming a professional. Now, at age 24, he is arguably the best pitcher in Japanese pro baseball.
BUSINESS
Mar 26, 2005

Seibu Railway aims to be relisted in a few years

Seibu Railway Co. hopes to go public again as early as 2008, according a final report by the scandal-tainted group's reform panel released Friday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 26, 2005

Fuji TV to continue talks with Livedoor

Fuji Television Network Inc. will continue talks with Livedoor Co. "at the executive level" on a possible tieup with the Internet service provider, Fuji TV President Koichi Murakami said Friday.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Mar 26, 2005

Dr. Tutu & Tame Iti project paints cultural theft

When Lisa Salmon was introduced to Jeff Root by an old high school friend in California, they found they had Japan in common. Jeff taught here in the early 1990s, and was then head-hunted out of Chicago in 2001; Lisa came initially on the JET program in 1996.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / BEST BAR NONE
Mar 25, 2005

Chummy in the Chome

Shinjuku Ni-chome is still alive and thriving as the headquarters for Tokyo's gay bar scene. Unlike other party centers in Tokyo, I wouldn't say much has changed of late in the Chome, as the area is usually called by those who frequent it. No one ever calls it Shinjuku Ni-chome because that would be...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 23, 2005

Toyota takes the wraps off two new SUV hybrids

Toyota Motor Corp. on Tuesday released two sport utility vehicles featuring hybrid engines, expanding its hybrid lineup to appeal to a wider range of customers.
BUSINESS
Mar 23, 2005

Spat over disputed isles slowing FTA talks: Machimura

Negotiations on a free-trade agreement between Japan and South Korea, already behind schedule, have been further stalled by the territorial dispute over a set of islets in the Sea of Japan, Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura said Tuesday.
EDITORIALS
Mar 22, 2005

Iraq's Parliament convenes

Two years after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, and two and a half months after that country's historic elections, Iraq's Parliament held its inaugural session last week. Although the legislative session was more symbolic than substantive, the symbolism was important nonetheless. The convening of the...
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 22, 2005

The U.N.'s 'underachievers'

Carol Bellamy, the outgoing head of the U.N. Children's Fund (UNICEF), has bemoaned the lack of women in top U.N. posts. The organization that preaches gender equality to national governments needs some "affirmative action" to put women in senior positions, she said, adding that other organizations such...
EDITORIALS
Mar 20, 2005

A flock of Emiews

I t must say something about the times when a news release heralding yet another piece of cutting-edge Japanese technology makes us scratch our heads and think how quaint and last-century it sounds. That happened last week when we read about Hitachi Ltd.'s rollout of a wheeled humanoid robot that it...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Mar 20, 2005

Training men in sex education is the key to unlock women-only cars

On the same day that now former Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Kazuyoshi Nakanishi was arrested for indecent assault in Roppongi there was a similarly themed news story buried in the back of the dailies that put his misdemeanor in perspective. Officials of JR East Japan announced that they are planning...
BASEBALL / MLB
Mar 19, 2005

Strained hamstring hampers Giants' Uehara

Koji Uehara is suffering from a strained right hamstring and has been told by doctors to refrain from pitching for a week, the Yomiuri Giants right-hander said on his official Web site Friday.
BUSINESS
Mar 19, 2005

Nakagawa seeks action on oil prices

Shoichi Nakagawa, minister of economy, trade and industry, indicated Friday that oil-consuming nations should discuss ways to deal with increases in crude oil prices at a ministerial meeting of the International Energy Agency slated for May.
BUSINESS
Mar 17, 2005

IRCJ taps Nippon Steel group over U.S. fund to revive Mitsui Mining

The state-backed Industrial Revitalization Corp. of Japan said Wednesday it has named a Japanese consortium led by Nippon Steel Corp. to sponsor the reconstruction of ailing Mitsui Mining Co.
EDITORIALS
Mar 16, 2005

A vacuum in Chechnya

Russia is claiming a major victory in the war against Chechen rebels with the killing of Mr. Aslan Maskhadov, leader of the Chechen separatist movement. Mr. Maskhadov has long been Moscow's nemesis, but he is also thought to have been a genuine moderate among the Chechen militants. His death may intensify...
BUSINESS
Mar 16, 2005

Willcom to offer first flat-rate PHS service

Willcom Inc., Japan's largest personal handy-phone system company, said Tuesday it will introduce a flat rate for voice communication starting May 1, becoming the first domestic wireless carrier to provide such service.
EDITORIALS
Mar 15, 2005

New leadership in Hong Kong

Hong Kong's chief executive, Mr. Tung Chee-hwa, resigned last week. His departure was in keeping with his entire term as chief executive: confused, messy and ultimately damaging to his office and Hong Kong itself. His replacement must break that tradition and restore the luster to Hong Kong's image....
MORE SPORTS
Mar 10, 2005

Jockey Okabe to call it a day

Japan Racing Association jockey Yukio Okabe, who has won a record 2,943 races, is set to announce his retirement, sources close to him said Wednesday.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Mar 9, 2005

Can Lions stay focused in midst of scandal?

This could be the final season for the Seibu Lions, at least as we know the ball club by that name.
EDITORIALS
Mar 8, 2005

Military threat is counterproductive

The agenda for the current National People's Congress of China reportedly includes an antisecession bill for preventing the independence of Taiwan. The Chinese leadership wants to have the bill enacted by the end of the session on March 14. The contents of the draft legislation have not been made public,...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Mar 8, 2005

Creating laws out of thin air

With terrorists striking fear into governments worldwide, Japan too is currently considering its own version of America's Patriot Act, to be passed in a year or two.
BUSINESS
Mar 8, 2005

Marubeni-led group inks deal with IRCJ, Daiei over retailer's rehab

The Industrial Revitalization Corp. of Japan and Daiei Inc. signed a contract Monday with a consortium led by trading house Marubeni Corp. as the sponsor for rebuilding the struggling retail giant.
Japan Times
Features
Mar 6, 2005

Issey Ogata: Comic chameleon

Issey Ogata is nothing if not versatile. Alone on an empty stage, he has audiences in fits as he performs his seriously funny one-man shows portraying characters as diverse as a classic sarariman (office worker) and a folk-song diva -- one after another.
BUSINESS
Mar 5, 2005

Seibu Railway open to offers on baseball club

Scandal-tainted Seibu Railway Co. would consider offers on the Seibu Lions professional baseball club, the head of a Seibu group reform panel said Friday.

Longform

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