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JAPAN
Sep 13, 2000

Volume 2 of 'Harry Potter' to hit Japan stores

To the relief of more than 500,000 Japanese fans who have been eagerly awaiting its release, the Japanese translation of the second volume of the best-selling "Harry Potter" book series will hit bookstores nationwide later this week.
JAPAN
Sep 13, 2000

Women from North Korea arrive

A group of 16 Japanese women married to North Koreans arrived at Narita Airport on Tuesday for the third homecoming trip arranged between the two countries.
JAPAN
Sep 13, 2000

Three Shimizu execs receive suspended terms for bribery

The Tokyo District Court sentenced three former executives of the major construction firm Shimizu Corp. to suspended prison terms Tuesday for their involvement in the 1992 bribery of then Ibaraki Gov. Fujio Takeuchi over a prefectural construction project.
JAPAN
Sep 13, 2000

Reclamation project delayed again

A 50 billion yen-plus land reclamation project in Tokyo Bay was postponed for a second time Tuesday amid sea-borne protests by local fishing boat operators, who say the plan will destroy the last haven for gobies and other sea creatures in the metro area.
JAPAN
Sep 13, 2000

MITI to revise law on fraudulent sales

The Ministry of International Trade and Industry will revise the call-sales law in a bid to curb fraudulent sales, ministry officials said.
LIFE / Travel
Sep 13, 2000

Thunder god romps in Katmandu

For eight wild, magical and sometimes disconcerting days each September the great festival of Indrajatra turns Katmandu into a raucous celebration.
JAPAN
Sep 12, 2000

Economy up 1% in quarter: EPA

The staggering nature of Japan's recovery was reflected Monday by the latest gross domestic product report, which showed that the economy grew 1 percent during the April-June quarter.
JAPAN
Sep 12, 2000

Post office parcel spews smoke

Forty-five people were taken to a hospital complaining of eye irritation Monday morning after a parcel being handled at Tokyo's Nihonbashi Post Office began emitting a pungent-smelling smoke, police said.
CULTURE / Music / MUSIC NOMAD
Sep 12, 2000

Intercultural influences

East-West fusions are nothing new. Nearly 100 years ago, some Western classical music was influenced by Indian classical or Javanese gamelan music. In the 1950s, violinist Yehudi Menuhin performed with Indian sarod player Ali Akbar Khan and sitar maestro Ravi Shankar. By the 1960s, John Coltrane was...
JAPAN
Sep 10, 2000

Quake of '23 gave Ikebukuro its Bohemian roots

When Ikebukuro Station opened on the Yamanote Line in 1903, the area around it was little more than pasture and vegetable fields.
COMMUNITY
Sep 10, 2000

East-West cooking talent stirs with a clipping from Chives

My first day back in London, on the Food and Drink page of The Evening Standard, a headline caught my eye: Keep Jun and Beautiful. Below, a color photograph of -- it has to be said -- a truly dishy Japanese 29-year-old clad in whiter than whites with a long striped apron.
JAPAN
Sep 10, 2000

Diplomat in spy scandal leaves Japan

A Russian military attache at the Russian Embassy in Tokyo left Japan on Saturday after a senior officer of Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force was arrested early Friday for allegedly passing defense secrets to him.
CULTURE / Art
Sep 10, 2000

A philosopher behind the video camera

Hitherto, people confronted by "video art" would mentally steel themselves to be bored by an alienating experience that excluded rather than included. This is the reason why an artist such as Pipilotta Rist, originally a rock-video director, has gained such enormous popularity for being the easy and...
JAPAN
Sep 9, 2000

Home-care show draws record firms

A record number of companies from Japan and overseas will take part in a three-day Tokyo exhibition of home care and rehabilitation equipment for the disabled and elderly that starts Tuesday, organizers say.
JAPAN
Sep 9, 2000

Police inspect Snow Brand factory

OSAKA -- Osaka police on Friday inspected Snow Brand Milk Products Co.'s Taiki factory in Hokkaido that is suspected of being the source of a widespread outbreak of food poisoning in June and July in the Osaka area.
JAPAN
Sep 9, 2000

Centenarian ranks to top 13,000, set record: poll

The population of Japanese centenarians will hit a record-high 13,036 this month, and the number of women at least 100 years old will top 10,000 for the first time, a Health and Welfare Ministry survey showed Friday.
JAPAN
Sep 9, 2000

Bust of Gratama to be erected in fall

OSAKA -- A bronze bust of Koenraad Wolter Gratama, a 19th-century Dutch chemist considered to be the father of Japanese chemistry, will be erected this fall in Osaka, where he began Japan's first organized teaching of the science.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 9, 2000

Nationalism before the national interest

VLADIVOSTOK, Russia -- If you ever chance to fly in the wintertime to the disputed Northern Territories -- a cluster of volcanic islets claimed by both Russia and Japan, and known as the southern Kuril Islands to Russians -- be prepared to be stranded.
JAPAN
Sep 8, 2000

Nigerian envoy promotes natural gas

The Nigerian ambassador to Japan on Thursday called on Japanese companies to invest in his country, particularly to make better use of its natural gas, much of which is wasted due to a lack of technology there.
JAPAN
Sep 8, 2000

Miyake Island evacuees found to be physically, mentally taxed

The process of evacuation from volcanic Miyake Island and the glare of the national spotlight is taking its toll on some evacuees.
BUSINESS
Sep 8, 2000

Meeting on infectious diseases slated for December

Japan plans to host a conference in early December to promote cooperation in fighting infectious diseases that have ravaged many developing countries, government sources said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Sep 7, 2000

Symantec, DoCoMo discuss virus measures for i-mode

Antivirus software maker Symantec Japan Inc., the Japan unit of Symantec Corp. of the United States, is in talks with NTT DoCoMo Inc. on supplying the mobile phone services provider with software to protect its i-mode Internet phones, Symantec officials said Wednesday.
COMMENTARY
Sep 7, 2000

Gore presidency could be a taxing time

WASHINGTON -- In U.S. Vice President Al Gore's mind, nothing is riskier than letting taxpayers keep more of their money. Which makes his election the riskiest action U.S. voters could take.
COMMUNITY
Sep 7, 2000

Fiesta Mexicana kicks off Sept. 15

Under the auspices of the Mexican Embassy, Fiesta Mexicana 2000 in Odaiba will be held at the Aqua City complex Sept. 15-17.
LIFE / Travel
Sep 7, 2000

Cambodia feeds a hunger to learn

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia -- "A young man applied for a scholarship to go and study in Australia," says Helen Cherry, director of the Australian Center for Education, Cambodia. "His English was very good, and I asked him where he had studied. He replied 'By windows.'
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Sep 7, 2000

Educational TV: PTA knows best?

The Data Watching section of the Sept. 7 issue of Dime contains the results of various unrelated surveys regarding the current state of parent-child relationships. In addition to questionnaire answers about corporal punishment and what constitutes bad behavior, there is a list compiled by the Japan PTA...
JAPAN
Sep 7, 2000

Miyake evacuees move into new housing

About 130 evacuees from Miyake Island moved into public housing Wednesday after spending three nights at the Miyake evacuation headquarters in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward.

Longform

Atsuyoshi Koike, the president and CEO of Rapidus, says there is a “sense of urgency” when it comes to Japan’s efforts in manufacturing semiconductors. “We have to make sure we are successful,” he says.
Atsuyoshi Koike’s big game: Fourth down and 2 nanometers to go