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ENVIRONMENT
Aug 21, 2003

Mars attacks

As the day draws near when Mars makes its closest encounter with Earth for 60,000 years, Japan's astronomical observatories are launching "Mars Week" on Aug. 22 in an effort to get "more than 100 million people" across the country to go outside and see for themselves Earth's planetary neighbor.
JAPAN
Aug 21, 2003

Chemical weapons as much a threat as nuclear proliferation

OSAKA -- Chemical and biological weapons falling into the hands of individuals or small bands of terrorists is as much a threat as nuclear weapons being developed by rogue states, delegates at U.N. disarmament talks warned Wednesday.
EDITORIALS
Aug 20, 2003

Libya accepts responsibility

Libya's decision to accept responsibility for the bombing of Pan Am flight 103, which blew up over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988, is a victory for the families of the 270 victims who had demanded accountability from the government of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi. It is a diplomatic triumph for the United...
BUSINESS
Aug 20, 2003

IC card use expected to grow quickly

More than 66 million integrated circuit cards are expected to be in circulation in Japan by the end of this fiscal year, up 91 percent from a year earlier, Yano Research Institute said Tuesday.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 20, 2003

Seoul should join interdiction group

WASHINGTON -- This fall much attention will be focused on the start of six-party multilateral talks in Beijing to stop North Korea's nuclear-weapons program. These talks, should they take place as committed to by Pyongyang last week, are a welcome development. For the first time in more than a decade,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Aug 20, 2003

Stars for a day: kabuki initiates in the limelight

For a glimpse of the future of kabuki, make your way this month not to the Kabukiza (where contemporary drama superstar Hideki Noda is reigning supreme, see article below) but to the National Theater, Tokyo.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Aug 20, 2003

Joe Lovano Notet: "On This Day"

As leader, improviser and arranger, Joe Lovano brings together bop, post-bop and free jazz into a three-dimensional form that swings hard. Whether his tenor sax sandpapers a hard bop line or squeals like a bird on speed, he leans on the past while looking to the future. After hearing his most recent...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 20, 2003

Leisure sites expand hours to lift revenue

Zoos open at night. A Ferris wheel still running past midnight.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Aug 20, 2003

Fat Cat Records Compilation: "Branches and Routes"

The high profile of Sigur Ros and Mum (playing in Tokyo next month) make the Fat Cat label look like a haven for atmospheric Icelandic bands. But the label has made its name not so much for a sound, but for intriguing sounds. That, more than anything, is why its new compilation, "Branches and Routes,"...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Aug 20, 2003

Noda gives Kabukiza a 'Mouse' that roars

A modern legend is back at the 114-year-old Kabukiza this summer in the diminutive form of Hideki Noda, one of the titans of Japanese contemporary theater.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Aug 20, 2003

Pretty Girls Make Graves: "The New Romance,"

'I heard a record and it opened my eyes," goes the pivotal line in "Speakers Push the Air," the opening song on "Good Health," last year's debut album by the Seattle quintet Pretty Girls Make Graves. The record's passionate immediacy opened a lot of people's eyes to the possibility that punk still had...
BUSINESS
Aug 20, 2003

Ryohin Keikaku to recall dessert

Retailer Ryohin Keikaku Co. will recall its coconut mousse frozen dessert on limited sale at its stores in Yurakucho, Tokyo, and Namba, Osaka, after finding an additive that is not approved under the food sanitation law.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Aug 20, 2003

Hawks looking good for one last pennant under Daiei banner

Hanshin. Hanshin. Hanshin. That's all we've been hearing during most of the 2003 Japan pro baseball season.
BUSINESS
Aug 20, 2003

Travel agencies to cash in on China visa waiver

Major travel agencies are coming up with package tours designed to take advantage of China's decision to remove visa requirements for short-term visits by Japanese starting Sept. 1, industry officials said Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Aug 20, 2003

Crude steel output up again in July

Domestic crude steel production rose 3.1 percent in July from a year earlier to 9,255,000 tons, the Japan Iron and Steel Federation said Tuesday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Aug 20, 2003

Joe Gibbs Production

Soul Jazz Records has issued a couple dozen outstanding compilations of unusual music ranging from New York punk-funk and Philadelphia soul-jazz to Yoruba music and Haitian voodoo drumming. Particularly great are their releases of both vintage and modern Jamaican music, of which "Joe Gibbs Productions"...
BASEBALL / MLB
Aug 20, 2003

Petagine cracks pair as Giants drop 'Stars

Roberto Petagine went 3-for-3 and belted his 21st and 22nd home runs as the Yomiuri Giants defeated the Yokohama BayStars 5-1 at Tokyo Dome on Tuesday night.
COMMENTARY
Aug 20, 2003

Washington must live by the limits of its responsibility

WASHINGTON -- American troops have arrived in Liberia after Liberian President Charles Taylor fled into exile. Whether these peacekeepers, and the larger African contingents to come, will bring peace in the three-sided civil war is yet uncertain. What is certain, however, is that reconstructing Liberia...
EDITORIALS
Aug 19, 2003

The importance of Hambali's capture

The arrest of Mr. Nurjaman Riduan Isamuddin, better known to the world as Hambali, is an important victory in the war against terrorism. Hambali is allegedly not only a high-ranking terrorist functionary, tied to most of the recent attacks in Southeast Asia and around the globe -- he is also a key link...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 19, 2003

Online games offer users chance to communicate, slay dragons

In the medieval kingdom of Aden, thousands of princes, princesses, knights, elves and wizards hunt monsters and dragons and battle to take over each other's fortresses.
COMMENTARY
Aug 19, 2003

The borrowing can't go on

LONDON -- These are difficult and dangerous days for economic forecasters and financial experts. As usual they are deeply divided on the fate of the world economy. On the one hand, the giant American economy is showing faint signs of recovering its nerve as the last wreckage of the dotcom bubble is cleared...
BUSINESS
Aug 19, 2003

FSA targets 167 borrowers in fresh probe

The Financial Services Agency said Monday it will launch followup inspections targeting 167 large-lot borrowers in an effort to gauge how likely these firms are to repay their debts.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / FRONT-RUNNERS
Aug 19, 2003

Residents wake up to transparent need for security

Japanese used to say water and security are free, but with the rise in home burglaries, one of those commodities is no longer a given.
SOCCER / World cup
Aug 19, 2003

Japan to play away

Japan will play away friendlies against world champion Brazil and Thailand this fall, the Japan Football Association said Monday.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Aug 19, 2003

Biculturalism, accessories and recession

Greetings from Baghdad. It is a good place to appreciate all the blessings of Japan -- peace, freedom, safety -- all the things we take so for granted.
BUSINESS
Aug 19, 2003

Bad-loan disposal costs still higher than profits

Bad-loan disposal costs at the nation's banks totaled 6.6 trillion yen in fiscal 2002, exceeding banks' core operating profits for the 10th straight year, the Bank of Japan said Monday in a report.

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