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JAPAN
May 2, 2004

Asahara needs more lawyers: judges

Court-appointed lawyers may defend Aum Shinrikyo founder Shoko Asahara in his death penalty appeal as the one private lawyer currently representing him may not be able to handle the case on his own, trial sources said Saturday.
BASEBALL / MLB
May 2, 2004

Echevarria smashes three home runs as Fighters ride BlueWave

Angel Echevarria hit three homers Saturday to lead the Nippon Ham Fighters to a 9-2 win over the Orix BlueWave.
MORE SPORTS
May 2, 2004

Yonekura named to Olympic team

Kanako Yonekura was among 11 Japanese players to claim berths for the Athens Olympics on Saturday as the International Badminton Federation named the list of players qualified to take part in the Games.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
May 2, 2004

Mary J. Blige

Four years ago, the queen of hip-hop soul said she was through with drama, but Mary J. Blige without drama is like rain without water: No major R&B artist who emerged in the '90s has plumbed her own psychological depths so effectively without embarrassing herself. What she probably meant was that it's...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
May 2, 2004

Scripting Yazujiro Ozu: Avoiding sentimentality to reveal pathos

TOKYO STORY: The Ozu/Noda Screenplay, by Yazujiro Ozu & Kogo Noda, translated by Donald Richie & Eric Klestadt, introduction by Richie. Stone Bridge Press, 2003, 144 pp., $12.95 (paper). The opening scene in Yazujiro Ozu's 1953 film "Tokyo Story" takes place not in the nation's capital but at the Inland...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
May 2, 2004

Ryuichi Hirokawa: Picture this . .

With soldiers silhouetted against dramatic desert sunsets, or helicopters swooping over cityscapes, most mainstream-media photographs we see of the war in Iraq are nothing if not models of artistic composition and taste.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
May 2, 2004

Bill Charlap Trio: "Somewhere"

Pianist Bill Charlap has become one of the finest -- and most prolific -- interpreters of standards in jazz today. Securing the coveted position as pianist for hard-bopping Phil Woods, and gracing countless straight-ahead recordings (as well as a Steely Dan CD) over the past decade, he has still found...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
May 2, 2004

Lighters up for rocker Jack Black, an American classic

I've been told that I look like Jack Black. I don't see the resemblance myself. What these people probably mean is that I "remind" them of Jables, and I can understand why. We both love good American rock music and good American food, we're both uninhibited and funny, and we both wear size 40 BVD white...
JAPAN
May 2, 2004

ING employee in more hot water

The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department is expected to serve a fresh arrest warrant later this month on a former employee of ING Securities (Japan) Ltd. suspected of embezzling more than 1 billion yen worth of securities, police sources said Saturday.
MORE SPORTS
May 2, 2004

'Ai-chan' replaces 'Mr. Giants' in Tokyo Olympic torch relay

Table tennis player Ai Fukuhara will replace former Yomiuri Giants manager Shigeo Nagashima as one of the five Olympic torch runners selected by the Japanese Olympic Committee (JOC) and Tokyo metropolitan government, sources said Friday.
Events
May 2, 2004

KANSAI: Who & What

Takatsuki set to host sixth jazz festival: A large-scale, free jazz festival will be held on May 3 and 4 in the city of Takatsuki, Osaka Prefecture.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
May 2, 2004

More than a name in the game

THE MEANING OF ICHIRO: The New Wave From Japan and the Transformation of Our National Pastime, by Robert Whiting. New York: Warner Books, 2004, 318 pp., $25.95 (cloth). "The Meaning of Ichiro" is gathering deserved acclaim as a great book on baseball, but it would be a pity if it was not also appreciated...
JAPAN
May 2, 2004

Asahara needs more lawyers: judges

Court-appointed lawyers may defend Aum Shinrikyo founder Shoko Asahara in his death penalty appeal as the one private lawyer currently representing him may not be able to handle the case on his own, trial sources said Saturday.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
May 2, 2004

A battle for 'the fate of the world'

At approximately 6:20 p.m. on May 7, 1954, the shooting had stopped everywhere but at one last outpost, called strongpoint Lily, where a handful of Moroccan soldiers under a French major, Jean Nicolas, still held out.
COMMENTARY / World
May 2, 2004

Terrorists taken out inspire replacements

HONOLULU -- The good news is that the United States and its allies have captured or killed 3,500 to 4,000 terrorists since the hijacked airliner assaults on New York and Washington on Sept. 11, 2001. The bad news is that the terrorists are being replaced as fast as they are eliminated, especially in...
JAPAN
May 2, 2004

DPJ reveals Constitution proposals

The Democratic Party of Japan has decided to include the phrases "exercising the right of self-defense" and "maintaining the Self-Defense Forces" in an interim report on constitutional reform scheduled to be compiled this month, party sources said Saturday.
JAPAN
May 2, 2004

Resona starts form-free currency service

Resona Bank has launched a currency exchange service at its Narita airport branch that does not require users to fill out forms, bank officials said Saturday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 2, 2004

Holiday chaos begins in earnest

Airports, bullet trains and highways were packed with vacationers Saturday as the Golden Week holiday period shifted into high gear.
JAPAN / History
May 2, 2004

U.S. looks to expand Japan's military role

OSAKA -- On Nov. 19, 1953, then U.S. Vice President Richard Nixon mounted the podium at a special meeting of the Japan-America Society in Tokyo.
COMMENTARY
May 2, 2004

Taiwan Strait status quo grows riskier

HONG KONG -- The Shanghai Communique, signed by U.S. President Richard Nixon and Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai in 1972, asserted: "The United States acknowledges that all Chinese on either side of the Taiwan Strait maintain there is but one China and that Taiwan is a part of China. The United States Government...
EDITORIALS
May 1, 2004

Challenging upgrade for the EU

The European Union enters a new era Saturday when it admits 10 new members, eight of them former communist countries of Central and Eastern Europe. The future is fraught with uncertainty, but one thing is clear: The East and West are coming together, putting their Cold War divisions behind them. A greater...
JAPAN
May 1, 2004

More teachers appeal punishment

Forty-two teachers filed appeals Friday with the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, demanding that the board of education retract the punishment meted out to them for refusing to stand and sing the national anthem during school commencement ceremonies.

Longform

The volunteer lifesavers of Nishihama Surf Lifesaving Club never know what's in store at the start of their day.
It's no simple day at the beach for Japan's volunteer lifesavers