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BASEBALL / MLB
Mar 25, 2004

Sapporo Dome to install 'Shinjo seats'

Flashy Nippon Ham Fighters outfielder Tsuyoshi Shinjo will purchase 100 seats out of his own pocket and invite children to each of the 52 home games at Sapporo Dome this season, officials of the Pacific League club said Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Mar 25, 2004

S&P lifts Japan outlook; Fukuda remains peeved

Standard & Poor's said Wednesday it has raised its outlook on Japan to stable from negative due to signs of an economic recovery.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Mar 25, 2004

Bell cricket

* Japanese name: Suzumushi * Scientific name:Homoeogryllus japonicus * Description: The bell cricket is a 2-cm-long insect in a family called Phalangopsidae. It's a small, not particularly attractive cricket, but it is very well known -- and loved -- in Japan for its song. It has a dark body and long,...
MORE SPORTS
Mar 25, 2004

Takahashi to race in city marathon

Naoko Takahashi, who was left off the national team for this summer's Athens' Olympics, will take part in a city marathon in April, sources close to the runner said Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Mar 25, 2004

Panel looks to ease way for cross-border M&A moves

A government panel tasked with spurring foreign direct investment in Japan decided Wednesday to set up a working group to craft measures to improve the tax environment for cross-border mergers and acquisitions, panel members said.
BUSINESS
Mar 25, 2004

Beef tariff to be cut to 38.5% in April

Japan will cut the tariff on imported beef to 38.5 percent in the April-June period from the current 50 percent due to a ban on U.S. beef, the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Mar 25, 2004

Chinese activists collared on disputed islet

Seven Chinese activists were arrested by Japanese authorities Wednesday after landing on one of the disputed Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, Japanese officials said.
JAPAN
Mar 25, 2004

Health ministry ties lung cancer drug to 444 deaths

Some 444 people are thought to have died from the side effects of the lung cancer drug Iressa, which Japan approved in July 2002, the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry said Wednesday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 25, 2004

Discrimination's blatant signs, not roots, easy target

A few years ago, lawsuits by foreigners against businesses that barred their entry gained public attention, and while the litigation may have faded from memory, not so the discrimination they fought -- just see the signs.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / NAME OF THE GAME
Mar 25, 2004

A legend returns better than ever

Ryu Hayabusa, last hope of the Hayabusa Clan, is one of the video game world's most famous ninja. Last seen in 1995, in Tecmo's "Ninja Gaiden Trilogy" for Super Famicom, Hayabusa is one of the few old-school game characters who remains vivid in many gamers minds despite a long hiatus.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / THE SECOND ROOM
Mar 25, 2004

System rebooted: 2004 is about to get cool

By the looks of things, I'm not the only one who's been a little busy this winter.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 24, 2004

He loves me, he loves me not

Hana to Alice Rating: * * 1/2 (out of 5) Director: Shunji Iwai Running time: 135 minutes Language: Japanese Currently showing [See Japan Times movie listings] "Shunji Iwai has a shojo manga (girls' comic) sensibility," producer Takenori Sento once explained to me.
JAPAN
Mar 24, 2004

Violating privacy of students costs Waseda 15,000 yen

The Tokyo High Court ordered Waseda University on Tuesday to pay a total of 15,000 yen in damages to three students whose names were given to police in connection with their attendance of a lecture in 1998 by then Chinese President Jiang Zemin.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 24, 2004

Columbine, sanitized for your protection

Elephant Rating: * (out of 5) Director: Gus Van Sant Running time: 81 minutes Language: English Open March 27 at saison Shibuya [See Japan Times movie listings] Gus Van Sant's latest film is called "Elephant," and no, it's not about Babar, or Hannibal's epic crossing of the Alps. It...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 24, 2004

Hokkaido police skimming tip of iceberg?

After earlier denials, Hokkaido police officially came clean and admitted in early March that one of the force's stations had misappropriated funds meant for rewarding informants.
SUMO
Mar 24, 2004

Asashoryu rolls on, remains unbeaten

Grand champion Asashoryu sent rank-and-filer Tosanoumi flying off the raised dirt mound Tuesday to maintain his perfect record at the Spring Grand Sumo Tournament.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Mar 24, 2004

Sculptor who molded open-air art

I have been a professional sculptor for 20 years, and in that time Henry Moore has toppled from the pedestal I put him on when I was 14 and first saw his "Helmet Head" series of bronze sculptures on display in my home city of Edinburgh.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Mar 24, 2004

Japan sells its soul, again and again

Thirteen years ago, when Hideki Noda's Yumeno Yuminsha theater company was all the rage, the acclaim that greeted his then-new play "Tomei Ningen no Yuge (The Hot Air of an Invisible Man)" caused him nothing but artistic distress.
JAPAN
Mar 24, 2004

U.S. to post Aegis ship in the Sea of Japan

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Navy will deploy a destroyer equipped with the Aegis combat system in the Sea of Japan in September to help build a missile defense network against possible attacks from countries such as North Korea, Navy Secretary Gordon England said Monday.
JAPAN
Mar 24, 2004

Rice harvested by children to be donated to Cambodia

The U.N. World Food Program and a Japanese nongovernmental organization will ship to Cambodia 32 tons of rice harvested by children in Japan to help poor women and children in developing nations.
JAPAN
Mar 24, 2004

LDP lawmakers ganging up for post-Koizumi struggle

Around 30 Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers who are critical of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's management of the economy will launch a forum next week, the lawmakers said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Mar 24, 2004

318 universities offer foreign languages

A total of 318 universities in Japan offered course work in English or other foreign languages in fiscal 2002, up from 256 the previous year, according to a survey released Tuesday by the education ministry. The figure equals about 46 percent of the nation's universities, according to the Education,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 24, 2004

Room without a view

No Quarto de Vanda Rating: * * * * (out of 5) Director: Pedro Costa Running time: 178 minutes Language: Portuguese Currently showing [See Japan Times movie listings] Behold Vanda's face. Presumably, she's still in her early 20s but her skin already has the swarthy lifelessness of a junkie's,...

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