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COMMUNITY
Apr 29, 2003

Tama-chan: the questions that they tried to bur

Tama-chan has had an overwhelming e-mail response to the exclusive interview he gave to The Japan Times on April 1. This week he shares with us a selection of queries submitted by readers.
BUSINESS
Apr 29, 2003

Combined wholesale, retail sales down 2.2% last year

Combined wholesale and retail sales fell 2.2 percent in fiscal 2002 from the previous year to 581.37 trillion yen, logging a second consecutive year of decline and underscoring the continued deflationary trend, the government said Monday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / FRONT-RUNNERS
Apr 29, 2003

Latecomer Sharp leads the pack in LCD TV sales

It took a while for the average engineer at Sharp Corp. to tune into the idea of the company dumping cathode-ray tube televisions by 2005.
EDITORIALS
Apr 28, 2003

Pyongyang's self-destructive strategy

North Korea has played another nuclear card, giving a more dangerous twist to its game of brinkmanship. Pyongyang claims that it already has nuclear weapons and has reprocessed thousands of spent nuclear fuel rods in its possession -- a step that could lead to the production of more atomic bombs. Given...
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Apr 28, 2003

Lakers getting a little help from their friends

LOS ANGELES -- If I was David J. Stern, commissioner of the NBA beat, I would give serious thought to calling one Mr. Glen Taylor, owner of the Minnesota Timberwolves and pledge to return all draft choices and fine money from the Joe Smith affair several years ago. In fact, I would even throw in bonus...
JAPAN
Apr 28, 2003

Six students injured in gym fire

A fire broke out Sunday at a five-story gymnasium at Hosei University in Tokyo, causing slight injuries to six students and a security guard, police and firefighters said.
BASEBALL / MLB
Apr 28, 2003

Hirao's grand slam gives Lotte a mauling

Hiroshi Hirao connected for a grand slam in the top of the fourth inning Sunday to power the Seibu Lions to a 13-6 victory over the Lotte Marines.
MORE SPORTS
Apr 28, 2003

Kitajima misses out on world mark

Kosuke Kitajima posted an easy victory Sunday in the men's 100 meters breaststroke final but missed out on setting a world record on the final day of Japan's national swimming championships.
JAPAN
Apr 28, 2003

Support waning for hikes in pension premiums: poll

The number of people expressing understanding of a rise in public pension premiums has dropped compared with 10 years ago, according to recent government survey.
COMMENTARY
Apr 28, 2003

Asian politicians slowly embrace the Net

MANILA -- Irrespective of ideological leanings, all politicians are keen on receiving media coverage. As one U.S. political campaign publication noted, "If you don't exist in the media, you don't exist."
JAPAN
Apr 28, 2003

Koizumi aide pessimistic on North Korea talks

A top diplomatic aide to Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said Sunday he does not expect multilateral talks on the North Korean nuclear standoff to lead to a "good agreement."
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 28, 2003

A silver lining to the SARS epidemic

SINGAPORE -- The outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, is sending shivers down the spines of Asian governments and citizens alike. China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Vietnam have been the most affected by this scourge, while other Asian countries are desperately trying to prevent the disease...
JAPAN
Apr 28, 2003

Pianist, barber to receive government medals

A maverick jazz pianist and a hearing-impaired barber are among the 810 people who will receive government medals Tuesday in recognition of their contributions to society, the Cabinet Office said Sunday.
JAPAN
Apr 28, 2003

Pyongyang nuclear posture hit

North Korea has jeopardized the future of its regime by saying that it possesses nuclear weapons, the Defense Agency director general said Sunday.
COMMENTARY
Apr 28, 2003

Mixed marks for the Iraq war

LONDON -- The removal of the evil despotism of Saddam Hussein in Iraq is an important benefit for the peoples of Iraq and the world in general. The ending of his regime will be welcomed by some neighboring countries that felt threatened by Iraq. It should in the long run be beneficial to the Arabs as...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 28, 2003

LDP bags three new Diet seats; DPJ one

The ruling bloc was sailing to victory in three of the four Diet by-elections held Sunday, while the Democratic Party of Japan, the largest opposition force, was assured of winning in the House of Representatives by-election in Tokyo, early returns showed.
MORE SPORTS
Apr 28, 2003

Satake turns out Castanares' lights

Masakazu Satake, one of Japan's hottest boxing properties, turned out the lights on highly touted Filipino challenger Dindo Castanares in the eighth round on Saturday to retain his Oriental-Pacific Boxing Federation (OPBF) super lightweight title at Tokyo's Ryogoku Kokugikan.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Apr 28, 2003

Time for Japan to return to reality and give us safer reasons to invest

"Wonderful thing, death. So uncontroversial," said Jim Hacker, the hero of BBC TV's highly successful 1980s political sitcom "Yes Prime Minister."
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Apr 28, 2003

America is the greatest abuser of WMD

NEW YORK -- One duplicitous aspect of the United States' war on Iraq has been the use of the term "weapons of mass destruction" (WMD). No, I am not talking about the kinds of weapons that are assumed in the question raised by the conservative Chicago Sun-Times columnist Robert Novak on April 7 -- "Where...
COMMENTARY
Apr 28, 2003

Fair, transparent foreign aid

Last September the Japanese government was stunned by a lawsuit filed with the Tokyo District Court by 3,861 residents of Indonesia's Sumatra Island. The plaintiffs said their life had been disrupted by a dam for hydroelectric power and flood control built with Japan's official development assistance....
MORE SPORTS
Apr 27, 2003

Japan tops Thailand

Ai Sugiyama recovered from a slow start Saturday to defeat Thailand's Tamarine Tanasugarn as host Japan booked a ticket to the Fed Cup World Group playoffs in July.
BASEBALL / MLB
Apr 27, 2003

Honma, Hawks spoil Lee's debut as BlueWave skipper

Mitsuru Honma went 2-for-4 and drove in three runs as the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks trounced the Orix BlueWave 7-3 Saturday afternoon at Kobe's Yahoo BB Stadium, spoiling the managerial debut of American Leon Lee.
EDITORIALS
Apr 27, 2003

Iraqis and their antiquities

The looting, ransacking and burning of Baghdad's great repositories of historical antiquities came as a shock to many -- including, apparently, U.S. troops in the field -- even though scholars all over the world had warned that a war could cause catastrophic cultural damage in Iraq. But now the damage...
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
Apr 27, 2003

Cerezo hits Reds for six

Kashima Antlers blanked FC Tokyo 2-0 to take pole position in the J. League first division on Saturday after the Yokohama F Marinos were handed their first defeat of the season after going down 3-1 at JEF United Ichihara.

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