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Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
May 19, 2003

Santos leads S-Pulse to first home victory

Alessandro "Alex" Santos was instrumental in Shimizu S-Pulse's first home win of the season against Vissel Kobe in the J. League on Sunday, setting up two goals in its 3-0 win.
COMMENTARY / World
May 19, 2003

North Korea tops Koizumi's U.S. agenda

HONOLULU -- When Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi meets with U.S. President George W. Bush at the president's ranch in Texas this week, he will be speaking for a Japan that feels more threatened, this time by North Korea, than at any time since World War II.
COMMENTARY
May 18, 2003

Arms sales hinder S. Asian peace effort

ISLAMABAD -- U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Richard Armitage, concluding his visit to India and Pakistan, extended Washington's support for a new peace process between the two nuclear-armed neighbors without a direct role for the United States in settling the drawn out dispute over the divided Himalayan...
COMMENTARY / World
May 18, 2003

Sea piracy raises watch for terrorist links

HONOLULU -- An almost unnoticed battle against piracy in the South China Sea has become more intense, with the pirates winning and governments in Southeast Asia fearing they will be joined by terrorists in an attempt to disrupt trade throughout Asia.
MORE SPORTS
May 18, 2003

Nagata withdraws from Asian C'ships

Sydney Olympic silver medalist Katsuhiko Nagata has decided not to compete in the upcoming Asian Championships in order to focus on preparations for this fall's World Championships in France, officials of the Japan Wrestling Federation said Friday.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
May 18, 2003

Jubilo downs 10-man Cerezo; JEF United shocks Antlers

Jubilo Iwata cruised to a 3-1 win at 10-man Cerezo Osaka to move a point clear at the top of the J. League on Saturday while modest JEF United won 2-0 at faltering Kashima Antlers to stay in the hunt for their first league title.
COMMENTARY
May 18, 2003

A regime to quell nuclear fear

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Any real solution to the North Korean nuclear crisis will ultimately be a "grand bargain" with military, economic, political and diplomatic components. Fashioning that deal will require aggressive and creative thinking. The lack of trust in Pyongyang and Pyongyang's lack of trust...
EDITORIALS
May 18, 2003

Washington and Seoul back on track

The United States and South Korea have found common ground. Last week's summit between U.S. President George W. Bush and South Korea's Roh Moo Hyun should allay concerns about a split between them. The two men reaffirmed their commitment to a peaceful resolution of the North Korean nuclear crisis while...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
May 18, 2003

Dusty wellspring of a 'cultural gem'

Chen Village's simple appearance belies something profound. This dusty hamlet of fewer than 3,000 people has had an impact on Chinese culture far out of proportion to its size, since this is where Taijiquan was born.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
May 18, 2003

Heavens above: a job from hell

Most reporters would have jumped at the assignment, with gusto.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
May 18, 2003

Living the papermaker's art

Tsutomu Kono's life is all wrapped up with washi, the handmade Japanese paper made of pure, natural fiber.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / J-POPSICLE
May 18, 2003

Kei Ogura has still got a lot to celebrate

Once known as the "singing bank manager," these days Kei Ogura could be called the "singing recovering cancer patient."
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / BEST BAR NONE
May 18, 2003

Palms Lounge -- they're coming to getcha

Sometimes life's a beach. And sometimes it's a lounge. Such is life for Seiji Endo, the twentysomething surfer who runs Palms Lounge.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
May 18, 2003

'Out' of the ordinary

OUT, by Natsuo Kirino. Kodansha International, 2003, 359 pp., 2,500 yen (cloth). Mystery novels and short stories, both original works and translated works, have a huge following in Japan. The flow of translations, however, is not entirely one way, but overwhelmingly favors English to Japanese. A scholar...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
May 18, 2003

There's a green revolution on high

Rice will be harvested in Tokyo's Roppongi entertainment district this fall.
SUMO
May 18, 2003

Asashoryu still alone at top

Yokozuna Asashoryu completely dominated journeyman Tamanoshima to maintain his sole lead with an unblemished record at the Summer Grand Sumo Tournament on Saturday.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
May 18, 2003

Bees in the honey pot

In the nation's political epicenter -- Nagatacho, in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward -- cynics might be excused from regarding its most productive workers to be its honey bees.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
May 18, 2003

From romance to murder

Already an established writer of romantic novels, Natsuo Kirino (nom de plume of Mariko Hashioka, born in 1951), burst onto the mystery scene with "Kao ni Furikakaru Ame" ("The face on which rain falls"). The novel took the prestigious Japanese crime fiction award, the Edogawa Rampo Prize, in 1993.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
May 18, 2003

Tama-chan's secret link to white-robed cultists

You have to hand it to Tama-chan. The superstar bearded seal has caused some lively public discussion about important social issues. Because of Tama-chan, people have started talking about the disgusting state of the country's rivers, the cavalierly cruel treatment of animals, the impact that rubber-stamped...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
May 18, 2003

Battleground Japan: crows, N. Korea and corporate rents

TV Tokyo's weekly financial documentary series, "The Dawn of Gaia," moves from Sunday to Tuesday this week with a special program about "The 2003 Problem" (May 20, 10 p.m.).
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
May 18, 2003

Top-floor Tokyo

It was 10:30 on a cloudy weekday morning in May, and 40-year-old Masakazu Meguro and his coworkers who make up Calcio Atleta las Manos were happily spending the morning of their precious day off to playing "futsal."
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / NATURE TRAVEL
May 18, 2003

The fall and rise of rhinoceros

First of two parts Some years ago, the English adventurer Benedict Allen made the first solo crossing of the notoriously inhospitable but hauntingly beautiful Sand Dune Sea and the Kunene wilderness area of Namibia, in southwest Africa.
COMMENTARY
May 17, 2003

Let Asia resolve the North Korean crisis

WASHINGTON -- The Iraq war is over, but the Korean Peninsula is growing hotter. Obvious disagreement over policy toward the North has clouded South Korean President Roh Moo Hyun's visit to the United States, while Washington's recent nuclear talks with North Korea ended in acrimony. U.S. President George...
BUSINESS
May 17, 2003

Japan, Mexico to speed up FTA talks

Japan and Mexico have agreed to speed up negotiations on a bilateral free-trade agreement to meet their target of concluding the treaty by this fall, Japanese officials said Friday.
SUMO
May 17, 2003

Asashoryu stays perfect at Summer Basho

Mongolian grand champion Asashoryu was in total control Friday as he demolished Takamisakari to boost his record to a perfect 6-0 and keep sole possession of the lead at the Summer Grand Sumo Tournament.
EDITORIALS
May 17, 2003

Probing Pana Wave's nature

In the past few weeks, a mysterious caravan of white vehicles carrying white-robed people has been traveling around the country, causing disputes with residents along the way. The group calls itself Pana Wave Laboratory, a doomsday cult that evokes memories of crimes committed by members of the Aum Shinrikyo...
BUSINESS
May 17, 2003

Takenaka backs plan to cut insurers' guaranteed yields

Financial Services Minister Heizo Takenaka expressed support Friday for a government plan to submit a bill to the current Diet session that would allow life insurers to cut yields contractually guaranteed to policyholders.
COMMENTARY
May 17, 2003

Long march back to China

LOS ANGELES -- History is full of irony for former empires. Historians of East Asia have maintained for some time that it was the Japanese war of aggression in China in the 1930s and 1940s that eventually drove the Chinese people into the arms of the Chinese Communist Party. After that, the equally forceful...

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