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JAPAN
Jan 30, 2003

Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka brace as pollen blitz looms

As the hay fever season approaches, doctors, weather forecasters and local authorities are predicting that Tokyo and two other metropolitan areas will suffer above-average pollen counts.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Jan 30, 2003

Cold facts and urban myths

First of two parts Depending on where you live in Japan, you may only have experienced a brief flurry of snow this winter. Perhaps if you live in southwestern Honshu or Kyushu, you won't have seen any at all, except on the TV weather maps. Conversely, though, if you live on the Sea of Japan coast, or...
COMMENTARY
Jan 30, 2003

Making waves over foreign policy 'realism'

HONOLULU -- One of the advantages of living in Hawaii is that you get to spend weekends at the beach. I spend mine with the Grizzled Old Vet, a longtime observer of East Asia who has spent a lifetime straddling academia and the minefields that litter the Beltway. Between waves, the Gov (as I will call...
BUSINESS
Jan 30, 2003

Ministry downgrades economic assessment

The Finance Ministry downgraded its economic assessment for the first time in a year, mainly due to slower production and decreasing housing construction, according to a quarterly report released Wednesday.
JAPAN
Jan 30, 2003

Ship conveyed 1974 assassination order

A North Korean ship that makes irregular visits to Japan may have been used to convey orders from Pyongyang for the attempted assassination in 1974 of then South Korean President Park Chung Hee in Seoul, sources close to police investigations said Wednesday.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 30, 2003

Iraqi crisis highlights strains in trans-Atlantic relations

LONDON -- Since the end of World War II, Western Europe has usually sided with the United States in global conflicts. Except for a few national exceptions, such as France's criticism of the Vietnam War, trans-Atlantic solidarity has been the order of the day from the Cuban missile crisis through the...
EDITORIALS
Jan 30, 2003

More of the same in Israel

The Likud Party of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon won a crushing victory in Israel's general election held earlier this week. Although the scale of the win raised some eyebrows, Likud's strong showing was expected: The chief opposition, the left-leaning Labor Party, has been unable to generate much enthusiasm...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT
Jan 30, 2003

Asia's last emperors of its wetland wilds

CHENGDU, China -- Though surprisingly not Japan's national bird, which oddly is the pheasant, the red-crowned crane, also known as the Japanese crane, has long been close to the Japanese heart. In China, too, it occupies a special place, along with the pine and turtle, as a symbol of luck and longevity,...
MORE SPORTS
Jan 30, 2003

Da Costa, Thys to run in Tokyo

Brazil's Ronaldo da Costa and Gert Thys of South Africa will run in next month's Tokyo International Marathon along with top Japanese invitee Shigeru Aburaya, organizers said Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Jan 30, 2003

Bush speech pushes Nikkei near 20-year low

Tokyo stock prices plunged Wednesday, bringing the Nikkei average down 2.28 percent to a near 20-year low, after U.S. President George W. Bush pledged Tuesday to use "full force" if necessary to disarm Iraq. The president's stated resolve cast a shadow over the U.S. and Japanese economies.
JAPAN
Jan 30, 2003

Death penalty sought for major Aum figure

Prosecutors on Wednesday demanded the death sentence for Tomomasa Nakagawa, a former Aum Shinrikyo senior member accused of involvement in numerous crimes, including the 1995 sarin attack on the Tokyo subway system.
Japan Times
SUMO
Jan 30, 2003

Asashoryu gets yokozuna rank

Mongolia's Asashoryu was promoted Wednesday to the highest rank in Japan's ancient sport of sumo, becoming the first from his country and only the third foreign-born wrestler ever to achieve that lofty status.
BUSINESS
Jan 30, 2003

Snow Brand vows to restore image with safety steps

Snow Brand Milk Products Co., which has recently revamped its corporate structure, restated its pledge Wednesday to restore its image by ensuring safety and ethical conduct.
BASEBALL / MLB
Jan 30, 2003

Matsui to leave for U.S. on Monday

Hideki Matsui, who officially signed a three-year, $21 million contract with the New York Yankees two weeks ago, will leave for the United States next Monday ahead of the start of spring training, baseball sources said Wednesday.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / NAME OF THE GAME
Jan 30, 2003

Haven't I seen you somewhere?

Clones -- identical creatures built from the same DNA.
BUSINESS
Jan 30, 2003

Industrial output fell 1.4% in 2002

The nation's industrial production fell 1.4 percent in 2002, after a 7.8 percent decline in 2001, as signs of improvement in the early part of the year faded, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said in a preliminary report Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Jan 30, 2003

Misawa to change group structure

Misawa Homes Co. said Wednesday it will reorganize its group structure under a new holding firm to be launched in August.
BUSINESS
Jan 30, 2003

Niigata Engineering units get new financial backing

Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries Co. said Wednesday it and the governmental Development Bank of Japan will jointly set up two companies to take over failed Niigata Engineering Co.'s mainstay operations.
MORE SPORTS
Jan 30, 2003

Samurais set to face Tomahawks

The Japan Rugby League has announced that its national team, the Samurais, will play the United States Tomahawks at the Yokohama Country and Athletic Club on Saturday, March 29.
JAPAN
Jan 30, 2003

Remarks on Okinawa base cause more fallout

Hiromu Nonaka, former secretary general of the Liberal Democratic Party, resigned Wednesday as chairman of the party's Okinawa Promotion Committee in protest over remarks made by a senior party executive on the relocation of a major U.S. base.
BUSINESS
Jan 30, 2003

Sony posts record quarterly sales

Sony Corp. said Wednesday its group sales and net profit for the October-December period each hit record quarterly highs, bolstered by strong performance in its film, electronics and game businesses.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Jan 30, 2003

Insects simply a breath apart

Insects are the most numerous, diverse and successful group of animals in the history of the planet. They are found in almost every environment, and range from the minute (less than a millimeter long for the feather-winged beetle) to the large (more than 15 cm for the South American longhorn beetle)....
JAPAN
Jan 30, 2003

Yasukuni visit draws more flak

OSAKA -- About 120 people in Taiwan will file a lawsuit in mid-February against the Japanese government and Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi over his repeated visits to Yasukuni Shrine, a lawyer involved in the case said Wednesday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Jan 29, 2003

Nori, Buffs work out contract

OSAKA -- The Kintetsu Buffaloes signed slugging infielder Norihiro Nakamura to a four-year deal Monday after working out the details of the free-agent contract they agreed to earlier this month. Kintetsu officials hinted the agreement will see Nakamura earn an estimated annual salary of 500 million yen...
COMMENTARY
Jan 29, 2003

War rhetoric leaves most Britons cold

LONDON -- A few thousand antiwar protesters gathered outside the House of Commons last week to lobby members of Parliament, to take part in a silent vigil or to attend one of several -- to the annoyance of those who would have liked unity -- antiwar meetings.

Longform

Sociologist Gracia Liu-Farrer argues that even though immigration doesn't figure into Japan's autobiography, it is more of a self-perception than a reality.
In search of the ‘Japanese dream’