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COMMENTARY
Sep 2, 2004

Orphans vex bureaucracy

WASHINGTON -- Humanitarian crises encircle the globe. Violent resistance afflicts Iraq. Mass death from starvation and war threatens Sudan. Millions have died in other conflicts across Africa. No one has much time for Myanmar (formerly Burma).
BUSINESS
Sep 2, 2004

Lawson asks Yamato to renew ties

Lawson Inc. said Wednesday it has asked Yamato Transport Co. to maintain their partnership even after Lawson starts handling parcels for Japan Post in mid-November.
OLYMPICS
Sep 2, 2004

Kitajima cashes in on Athens gold

Double gold-winning breaststroke swimmer Kosuke Kitajima and gymnast Hiroyuki Tomita were among Japan's medal winners rewarded with special bonuses for their achievements at the Athens Olympics by the Japanese Olympic Committee on Wednesday.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Sep 2, 2004

"A Gathering Light," "The Coldest Day in the Zoo"

"A Gathering Light," Jennifer Donnelly, Bloomsbury; 2004; 383 pp. "Tell the truth!" It's not just children who get that all the time: Writers do, too. The only difference is that writers don't have to treat the truth too literally, as Jennifer Donnelly shows us in "A Gathering Light."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 1, 2004

Dancing with two strangers

House of Flying Daggers Rating: * * * * (out of 5) Japanese title: Lovers Director: Zhang Yimou Running time: 120 minutes Language: Mandarin Currently showing [See Japan Times movie listings] There's a scene right at the beginning of Zhang Yimou's latest, "House of Flying Daggers," where...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 1, 2004

Flickers in the dead of night

Kaidan Shinmimibukuro Rating: * * * 1/2 (out of 5) Director: See review Running time: 92 minutes Language: Japanese Currently showing [See Japan Times movie listings] The older I get, the harder I am to scare -- with horror movies at least. After a certain age, real life, including medical...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 1, 2004

Teenager kicks against family

Igby Goes Down Rating: * * * * (out of 5) Director: Burr Steers Running time: 98 minutes Language: English Opens Sept. 11 [See Japan Times movie listings] Watching "Igby Goes Down," I couldn't help thinking how I had wasted my youth on petty things like college and waitressing when I...
BUSINESS
Sep 1, 2004

Koizumi under pressure to raise consumption tax

With the government unable to find further effective ways to cut expenditures, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's goal of reconstructing government finances is facing a crucial test.
BUSINESS
Sep 1, 2004

Hitachi, Matsushita, Toshiba to set up 70 billion yen LCD venture in January

Hitachi Ltd., Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. and Toshiba Corp. will set up a 70 billion yen joint venture in January to manufacture liquid crystal display panels for flat TVs, the firms said Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Sep 1, 2004

Ministries want 85.52 trillion yen next year

Fiscal 2005 budget requests from ministries and agencies on Tuesday totaled 85.52 trillion yen, up 3.4 trillion yen from the initial budget for the current fiscal year, the Finance Ministry said.
BUSINESS
Sep 1, 2004

ADSL users in Tokyo get a good deal

Providers of asymmetrical digital subscriber line Net hookup services in Tokyo charge users the lowest fee on average, compared with corresponding levies by peers in the world's other major cities, according to a government survey released Tuesday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 1, 2004

Toothless SESC rues failure to protect investors

Teruko Noda, a commissioner of the Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission, has a cabinet full of letters, mostly telling the same story: brokers who allegedly lied and individual investors who lost their life savings.
BUSINESS
Sep 1, 2004

ADB president to resign Jan. 31

Tadao Chino told a board meeting Tuesday that he will step down as president of the Asian Development Bank on Jan. 31, according to Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Sep 1, 2004

Shaking it up on Sado

SADO ISLAND, Niigata Pref. -- Step one: right leg forward, left leg back.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Sep 1, 2004

Bringing the outsiders onto the stage

"Who are we?" and who are "the others"? And how should "we" associate with "them"? Written in 1996 by Hideki Noda, Japan's leading contemporary dramatist, this is one of the central themes of "Red Demon." It premiered in Japan with English actor Angus Burnett in the title role, before being staged in...
BUSINESS
Sep 1, 2004

FSA asks for more funds

The Financial Services Agency on Tuesday formally asked the Finance Ministry to increase funding by 14.2 percent in fiscal 2005 to enable it to hire more inspectors to monitor financial institutions and markets.
EDITORIALS
Sep 1, 2004

GOP throws a party in New York

The United States takes the next big step toward elections in November with the convening this week of the Republican National Convention in New York City. The GOP convention promises to be a spectacular: Republicans have always demonstrated an innate understanding of the pomp and pageantry required...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Sep 1, 2004

Kaleidoscope of colorful fashion

Viktor & Rolf are internationally renowned as the Gilbert and George of the fashion world for presenting conceptual work as sophisticated art performances in haute couture and pret-a-porter shows. Take their installation of their Spring/Summer 1996 collection in a contemporary art gallery in Paris October...
BUSINESS
Sep 1, 2004

Industrial output flat, outlook good

Industrial production was unchanged in July from the previous month, falling short of expectations for growth, the government said Tuesday.
COMMENTARY
Sep 1, 2004

Animal rightists or terrorists?

LONDON -- The threat of attacks by Islamic extremists is not the only terrorist threat to our society. Animal-rights extremists have been threatening firms that carry out experiments on animals. Animal rightists do not regard as justification for the research the fact that most initial tests are conducted...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 1, 2004

Lovers' bites

Promoting "House of Flying Daggers," director Zhang Yimou was in Tokyo for the fourth time in as many years recently, after visiting with "The Road Home," "Happy Times" and "Hero."
EDITORIALS
Aug 31, 2004

Medal bonanza was not a fluke

The performance of Japanese athletes at the Athens Olympics came as nothing less than spectacular for their compatriots.
BASEBALL / MLB
Aug 31, 2004

Proposed vote on merger postponed

The Japanese baseball commissioner's office on Monday postponed a vote on a hotly contested merger between the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes and Orix BlueWave, after a court appealed for time to consider a request from the players' association to block the tie-up.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 31, 2004

Unionization now option for part-timers

Working conditions have been declining at many firms in recent years as the economic slump drags on, and especially hard-hit have been those with "temporary" status, as they face falling wages and shortened contracts.
JAPAN
Aug 31, 2004

GSDF may have to unify command to enhance mobility, response time

The Defense Agency plans to create a centralized command for the Ground Self-Defense Force and possibly abolish the regional-army system to improve command efficiency, according to agency sources.
JAPAN
Aug 31, 2004

Five dead, 73 hurt as typhoon lashes west Japan

Large and powerful Typhoon Chaba hit Kyushu and Shikoku on Monday, leaving five people dead, four missing and more than 70 injured.

Longform

A store clerk tries to cool things down in front of their shop by spraying a hose.
Is extreme weather changing the way Japan shops?