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JAPAN
Jan 18, 2004

LDP's Arai sends resignation letter to Lower House

Masanori Arai, a lawmaker of the governing Liberal Democratic Party, submitted a letter of resignation Saturday to the House of Representatives secretariat, two days after prosecutors indicted him on charges of vote-buying.
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Jan 18, 2004

Masuoka tops stage at Dakar Rally

Hiroshi Masuoka drove for pride in Mauritania on Friday and recorded the fastest time in the 15th stage despite seeing his hopes of winning the Dakar Rally for the third consecutive year nearly dashed.
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Jan 18, 2004

Miura rewrites Guinness record

Japanese pro skier Yuichiro Miura has made it into the Guinness Book of World Records after becoming the oldest man to scale the 8,850-meter Mt. Everest in May last year.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Jan 18, 2004

Cop on the steppes, cults in the subways

THE MONGOLIA CONNECTION, by Scott Christiansen. Hong Kong: Asia 2000 Ltd., 2003, 406 pp., $18 (paper). THE SONG OF SARIN, by Stew Magnuson. Xlibris Corp., 2003, 430 pp., $24.99 (paper). One of the tried-and-true techniques used in police procedural mysteries -- but even more often in so-called "buddy...
JAPAN
Jan 18, 2004

Osaka's governor candidates target bureaucracy, economy

OSAKA -- Candidates for the Feb. 1 Osaka gubernatorial election, who began their campaigns Thursday, are focusing on reducing bureaucratic waste and promoting economic revitalization, plans long supported by local business organizations.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Jan 18, 2004

NHK's variety show, "Top Runner On Campus" and more

Comedian Takeshi Fujii is best known as the effeminate, fake-blonde TV host Matthew Minami on the popular late-night variety show "Matthew's Best Hit TV," which is featured in Sophia Coppola's movie "Lost in Translation." Fujii is doing his first serious leading dramatic role in the new series "Rampo...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jan 18, 2004

Millions in quest for 'miracle cures'

Cocoa isn't exactly the No. 1 drink of choice in Japan, but late in 1995 you would have been hard pressed to find any at all in stores. That wasn't because of a contamination scare or anything -- but because shoppers were clamoring to get their hands on the stuff.
CULTURE / Music
Jan 18, 2004

On a mission for the future of funk

Coming up with a technical definition for funk isn't easy, but New York Times critic Jon Pareles did a pretty good job in his review of a Nov. 2003 concert by the New Orleans band Galactic. Stating that the "discipline of funk [is] the repetition and deliberate space that give the music its solidity...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 18, 2004

George Pajon Jr.: "Fried Plaintains"

Three years ago, Soulive's CD "Turn It Out" started an avalanche of groove-based, jazz-inflected instrumental music. Followed by soulful, good-time releases from newcomers Rodney Jones, Bobby Broom, Karl Denson and stalwarts like the Greyboy Allstars and Maceo Parker, an entire shelf of funk-jazz CDs...
COMMENTARY
Jan 18, 2004

Authoritarian threat grows

LONDON -- The real threat from terrorists is being used as a pretext for growing authoritarian tendencies in democratic countries. On the grounds that every possible step must be taken to prevent terrorist attacks, suspects are being imprisoned without trial or access to lawyers, and Draconian controls...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 18, 2004

Dirtbombs

You could make a case that Detroit's Gories, who released their first album in 1989, prefigured the garage-rock revival, but then you could make an equally strong case that they simply were hangovers from an earlier garage-rock movement. Either way, you wouldn't necessarily say that the bassless trio,...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jan 18, 2004

Wacky potions can be crocks of gold

The doorbell rang. It was my neighbor, Mrs. S., asking if the lady of the house (a Taiwanese) could help her by translating the Chinese-language instructions for a "miracle" baldness remedy that someone had brought back from China and presented to her husband.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Jan 18, 2004

It takes a demon to bring out the saint

LONELY WOMAN, by Takako Takahashi, translated by Maryellen Toman Mori. New York: Columbia University Press, 2004, 192 pp., $24.50, (paper). "A female demon is no mere fanciful creature," writes Takako Takahashi in this newly translated work. "An ordinary woman can turn into a demon in an instant. She...
JAPAN
Jan 17, 2004

Slew of new ambassadors named

The government appointed new ambassadors to East Timor, Sweden, Latvia, Luxembourg, Guatemala and Bolivia at a Cabinet meeting Friday.
JAPAN
Jan 17, 2004

Asylum-seeker can stay with family

The Justice Ministry Immigration Bureau said Friday it will allow a 46-year-old Myanmarese asylum-seeker to continue to live with his family, with his provisional release from a detention facility for visaless foreigners having expired the same day.
JAPAN
Jan 17, 2004

Envoys in North Korea meet with detained Japanese

Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi said Friday four Japanese diplomats have met in North Korea with two Japanese nationals being held there.
JAPAN
Jan 17, 2004

Seoul issues controversial stamp, draws flak from irate Kawaguchi

Japan protested Friday over Seoul's issuance of postage stamps bearing the image of a disputed island in the Sea of Japan.
JAPAN
Jan 17, 2004

Iraq likely to dominate next Diet session

As former deputy chief Cabinet secretary and House of Councilors member Kosei Ueno prepares for the Upper House election scheduled for mid-July, he is nagged by one major concern: the security situation in Iraq.
JAPAN
Jan 17, 2004

GSDF advance team departs for Iraq

A 30-member Ground Self-Defense Force advance team left Friday from Narita airport bound for Iraq, marking the first time Japan has sent troops to a nation experiencing conflict since World War II.
JAPAN
Jan 17, 2004

Tokyo questions agenda behind Pyongyang overtures

Unofficial North Korean overtures that may pave the way for Pyongyang allowing the families of five repatriated Japanese abductees to reunite in Japan have fueled expectations and doubts in equal measure here.
JAPAN
Jan 17, 2004

Shiretoko named candidate for UNESCO heritage list

Japan on Friday formally endorsed the Shiretoko Peninsula in Hokkaido as its candidate for UNESCO's World Heritage List.
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Jan 17, 2004

Masuoka's hopes fade in Dakar Rally

Hiroshi Masuoka's hopes of winning the Dakar Rally for the third year in succession faded after the Japanese Mitsubishi driver finished fifth in the 14th stage on Thursday.
SUMO
Jan 17, 2004

Asashoryu grabs pole position

Grand champion Asashoryu posted an unorthodox win over fellow Mongolian Kyokutenho on Friday to move into sole possession of the lead while ozeki Tochiazuma notched his fifth straight victory at the New Year Grand Sumo Tournament.
JAPAN
Jan 17, 2004

Dollar's fall to 105.70 yen triggered by euro plunge

The dollar hit an intraday low of 105.70 yen Friday in Tokyo, its lowest level in global trade since September 2000, as traders sold the dollar for the yen after witnessing the euro's sharp decline against the Japanese currency.

Longform

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