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SOCCER / World cup
Dec 16, 2003

Boca Juniors capture Toyota Cup on penalties

South American champions Boca Juniors added the Toyota Cup to their collection of trophies on Sunday with a victory over Champions League winner AC Milan after a penalty shootout in Yokohama.
BUSINESS
Dec 16, 2003

Resona and Nomura plan revival fund

Struggling Resona Bank plans to join forces with Nomura Securities Co. to set up a corporate revival fund specializing in small and midsize companies, sources said Monday.
JAPAN
Dec 14, 2003

Ikeda tipped for top Ashikaga Bank job

The government is considering appointing Norito Ikeda, former chief personnel officer of the Bank of Yokohama, as president of the nationalized Ashikaga Bank, according to sources close to the matter.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 14, 2003

SDP puts on brave face at national convention

The struggling Social Democratic Party formally approved at a national convention Saturday the appointment of top party officials, including Mizuho Fukushima as party president.
Events
Dec 14, 2003

KANSAI: Who & What

Ninth annual luminaire to light up Kobe streets: The ninth annual Kobe Luminarie will light up the Kyu-gaikokujin Kyoryuchi (Old Foreign Settlement) district and Higashi Yuenchi park in Kobe's Chuo Ward, near JR Motomachi Station, between 6 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. until Dec. 25.
MORE SPORTS
Dec 14, 2003

Japanese horses all set in Hong Kong

HONG KONG -- Connections declared it all systems go as Japan's challengers in Hong Kong's International Races were taken through their final pre-race paces Friday morning at Sha Tin Racecourse. Of the three Japanese horses taking on the Mile, the top-rated Lohengrin was given the most amount of work...
JAPAN
Dec 14, 2003

Crime crackdown includes plan to cut illegal foreign residents

In an effort to regain its reputation as a safe nation, Japan aims to halve by 2005 the number of illegal foreign residents from the current estimate of 250,000, according to a government action plan to combat crime obtained by Kyodo News on Saturday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Dec 14, 2003

Mars Volta

The Mars Volta, led by vocalist Cedric Bixler and guitarist Omar Rodriguez, formerly of the El Paso-based postpunk band At the Drive-In, forfeited much of their considerable mystique when they finally released their first album, "Deloused in the Comatorium," last summer. Until then, their reputation...
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Dec 14, 2003

Suns didn't rise for Johnson like last season

NEW YORK -- The healthier Antonio McDyess (not necessarily the Knicks) gets, the more extraneous Kurt Thomas becomes, logic dictates.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Dec 14, 2003

Ann Dyer: "When I Close My Eyes"

Ann Dyer's newest release, "When I Close My Eyes," sets a new standard for intimacy, improvisation and experimentation in vocal jazz. On her previous release, "Revolver: A New Spin," she sang strikingly original interpretations of the classic Beatles album. Her new release moves toward even greater...
JAPAN
Dec 14, 2003

Japan seeks U.S. help at Iraq mission

The Foreign Ministry has unofficially asked the United States to deploy armored vehicles and take other measures to tighten security around the Japanese Embassy in Baghdad following the killing of two Japanese diplomats in Iraq, government sources said Saturday.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Dec 14, 2003

Shooting gallery aimed at sumo

On the other side of the Sumida River from Nihonbashi is Ryogoku, the undisputed center of the sumo world. Popular ways for a visitor to experience the character of the area include watching one of the three annual Tokyo basho (tournaments) at the Kokugikan (Sumo Stadium), joining some of the wrestlers...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Dec 14, 2003

Not letting the facts get in the way of a good 'documentary'

In the tributes to the Japanese diplomats who were killed two weeks ago, few people mentioned what they were actually doing in Iraq. Katsuhiko Oku was, among other things, encouraging Iraqis to watch NHK's popular drama series, "Oshin," which is being broadcast on Iraqi TV. The show, originally aired...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Dec 14, 2003

Sweet sounds of the soundtrack

MUSIC FOR MOVIES: Toru Takemitsu, Vols. I & II (3-4 of the "Complete Takemitsu Edition"), edited by Tetsuo Ohara. Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2003, 21 CDs, with program books, 24,000 yen each. Some of the most interesting contemporary film music was written by Toru Takemitsu. In just under 40 years he composed...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Dec 14, 2003

Harboring American memories

DATE WHICH WILL LIVE: Pearl Harbor in American Memory, by Emily S. Rosenberg. Durham & London: Duke University Press, 2003, 236 pp., $24.95 (cloth). History is not a record of facts and just the facts, but rather a collection of significant tidbits plucked from among the accessible data and then arranged...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Dec 14, 2003

Netsuke artist carves a niche in Electric Town

Walking into the Matsuzaka Ivory Shop is almost like disembarking from a time machine. One minute you're among the futuristic 21st-century gizmos spilling out into Chuo Dori, the main drag of Tokyo's Akihabara electronics district; the next, you're back in the realm of a craftsman whose tools and techniques...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Dec 14, 2003

Bento pioneers stay the course of time

As the hub of the Gokaido, the five roads radiating from old Edo to major centers around the country, the Nihonbashi district of the capital was long one of its most bustling areas.
EDITORIALS
Dec 14, 2003

What the Wright brothers wrought

History is rife with illustrations of those rueful conditional verbs "could have," "would have" or "should have" -- and never more so than when a momentous anniversary rolls around. The latest example is the 100th anniversary this Wednesday of the huge accomplishment of the American Wright brothers,...
MORE SPORTS
Dec 14, 2003

Rugguts shock Green Rockets

On paper this game should have been a formality. The NEC Green Rockets -- the All Japan champion of 2003 and riding high in third place in the Top League against the Secom Rugguts, winless in this year's competition and without so much as a bonus point to show for their efforts.
CULTURE / Music / FUZZY LOGIC
Dec 14, 2003

Toasting the top of 2003's pop

It's been a fantastic 12 months for rock 'n' roll. Any of the top 10 albums listed here could easily have taken the No. 1 spot in a different year. Buy (or burn) them all. The only surprise was that, bar Kings of Leon, none of the new garage-rock upstarts hitching a lift on "The White Strokes" bandwagon...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Dec 14, 2003

Hair care from topknots to tints

To all outward appearances, Hair Salon Kitadoko is as modern as the Shibuya Cross Tower skyscraper in which it's located. As befits these times, too, it has a toll-free number for customers to call for appointments, as well as a Web site.
COMMENTARY
Dec 14, 2003

Getting Asia's youth behind their party

MANILA -- As elections approach, politicians remember the importance of being on good terms with the youth. Young people are easily motivated and are inexpensive workers in political campaigns. The young generation also constitutes a sizable electoral constituency.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 14, 2003

Does Bush have any China policy at all?

WASHINGTON -- After nearly three years of careful strides toward strategic clarity on a China policy, U.S. President George W. Bush has slipped back into strategic ambiguity, a posture that is certain to raise diplomatic questions in Asia and to cause him political problems at home.

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