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JAPAN
Sep 4, 2002

Human activity responsible for half of 'heat island' effect

Human activity is responsible for just over half the thermal energy that causes the so-called heat island effect in central Tokyo, according to an Environment Ministry report released Tuesday.
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Sep 4, 2002

John Hicks: "Music in the Key of Clark"

Tribute albums only work if the feeling's right. Songs can always be rearranged, styles copied and energy siphoned off past achievements, but if the feeling isn't right, it's just parasitic. John Hicks' new CD, "Music in the Key of Clark," dedicated to jazz piano great Sonny Clark, avoids this problem...
BUSINESS
Sep 4, 2002

Contractor suffers 2.5 billion yen loss

OSAKA -- Takenaka Corp. said Tuesday it suffered a group pretax loss of 2.5 billion yen in the first half of the current business year, its first such loss since the war.
EDITORIALS
Sep 3, 2002

Mr. Tanaka's work begins anew

In Sunday's much-heralded gubernatorial election in Nagano Prefecture, former reformist Gov. Yasuo Tanaka made a triumphant comeback, dealing a heavy blow to anti-Tanaka forces and other conservative hardliners who have vehemently opposed his popular campaign against dam construction and other pork-barrel...
JAPAN
Sep 3, 2002

Ministry deems Nippon Ham fit to resume beef operations

The farm ministry said Monday that Nippon Meat Packers Inc. and its scandal-tainted subsidiary can resume their beef-related operations because it has deemed as acceptable the group's steps to prevent further fraud targeting the government's beef buyback subsidies.
JAPAN
Sep 3, 2002

Little-used Kansai airport likely to finish second runway

OSAKA - Eight years after it opened to great fanfare, Kansai International Airport looks likely to get a second runway in 2007, even as its financial problems continue to mount.
JAPAN
Sep 3, 2002

'Galaxy Express 999' to go online

Toei Animation Co. will soon distribute via the Internet the latest episodes of the popular "Galaxy Express 999" animated series by cartoonist Reiji Matsumoto in a tieup with Yahoo Japan Corp., Japan's largest search engine, according to Toei officials.
BUSINESS
Sep 3, 2002

Sapporo plans to close two of its breweries

Sapporo Breweries Ltd. said Monday it will close two of its eight beer breweries by the end of 2003 as part of a restructuring program.
JAPAN
Sep 3, 2002

Kurosawa's restored first flick coming to DVD

An almost uncut version of the late director Akira Kurosawa's first movie will make a comeback on DVD in October thanks to a Russian motion picture depository that kept a portion of the scenes removed from the original work.
JAPAN
Sep 3, 2002

Woman denies masterminding boy's abduction

A Chinese woman accused of masterminding the June kidnapping of a 6-year-old Chinese boy in Tokyo denied in court Monday that she planned the abduction and claimed she only helped the other four accused in the crime.
BUSINESS
Sep 3, 2002

Mitsubishi Securities launches operations

Mitsubishi Securities Co. began operations Monday after being launched over the weekend by Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group Inc. through the merger of four affiliated brokerages.
JAPAN
Sep 3, 2002

Tepco chairman, president announce resignations over nuclear coverups

Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Monday that President Nobuya Minami and Chairman Hiroshi Araki will resign over reported coverups of damage at the utility's nuclear power plants.
JAPAN
Sep 3, 2002

Maehara agrees to drop candidacy, support Noda in DPJ presidency race

Weeks of jostling among younger Democratic Party of Japan lawmakers aiming to run in this month's election for party president effectively ended Monday after Seiji Maehara agreed to give up his candidacy and support rival Yoshihiko Noda.
JAPAN
Sep 3, 2002

Nuclear hosts demand investigation into Tepco

The discovery last week that Tokyo Electric Power Co. falsified data regarding inspections at some of its nuclear power plants has sparked a strong burst of indignation from municipalities hosting the facilities.
BUSINESS
Sep 3, 2002

Zero-interest account plan poised to solve nothing

Banks don't want it. Most depositors don't need it. Many politicians oppose it. A compromise plan financial regulators are preparing is supposed to appease critics, help save the nation's weakest banks, and protect one of the key reform pledges of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. It may accomplish none...
JAPAN
Sep 3, 2002

U.S. Embassy in Tokyo to hold Sept. 11 ceremony, plant maple

The tragedy of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States will live on in the memory of the American people, as will the memory of the spontaneous goodwill and sympathy shown by people in Japan for the victims and their families.
BASEBALL / MLB
Sep 3, 2002

Kobayashi matches Sasaki's record

Kosuke Kato combined with two pitchers on a three-hitter and Masahide Kobayashi matched a Japanese record of 22 consecutive "save points" in the Lotte Marines' 3-2 victory over the Kintetsu Buffaloes on Monday.
JAPAN
Sep 3, 2002

Urban-rural vote disparity narrows but still skewed

As of Saturday, one rural vote is worth a maximum 2.124 votes in an urban district, where previously it amounted to 2.628, according to an analysis of the latest population table released Friday by the home ministry.
JAPAN
Sep 3, 2002

Journalists meet to discuss role of media in building peace

Young journalists from a number of politically unstable areas met in Tokyo late last week to discuss the media's role in building peace.
BUSINESS
Sep 3, 2002

Toyota and Nissan forge hybrid tieup

Toyota Motor Corp. will provide Nissan Motor Co. with technology aimed at developing eco-friendly hybrid cars over a period of more than 10 years, the automakers said Monday.
JAPAN
Sep 3, 2002

Pop idol Web site operator arrested

A South Korean resident of Kokubunji, western Tokyo, was arrested Monday on suspicion of violating the Copyright Law by posting pictures of female pop idols on his Web site without the permission of the photographer who took them.
JAPAN
Sep 3, 2002

Osaka system telephones tax delinquents

OSAKA The Osaka Regional Taxation Bureau has introduced a computerized telephone calling system to remind taxpayers to pay overdue taxes.
MORE SPORTS
Sep 3, 2002

American bowler strikes it rich

JUNJI NODA Staff writer Hugh Miller had made plans for his wife's birthday on Sept. 4. He was supposed to take part in the four-day Dream Bowl 2002 Match Play Tournament in Yokohama and fly home just in time to be with his wife, Donna.
BUSINESS
Sep 3, 2002

Finance Ministry plans to issue inflation-linked bonds

The Finance Ministry is studying measures to issue inflation-linked bonds, the ministry's top bureaucrat said Monday.
BUSINESS / ON MANAGEMENT
Sep 3, 2002

Big raise, big head: Save the new executive from himself

A flattering article on an up-and-coming executive appeared in the business pages, followed by copycat stories in other media. When I complimented the boss on cultivating what seemed to be an extraordinary young talent, she looked me straight in the face and shook her head. "A major, major mistake. I...
BUSINESS
Sep 3, 2002

Panel seeks new zero-interest accounts

An advisory panel to Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi urged financial institutions Monday to create fully protected zero-interest accounts by April.
JAPAN
Sep 3, 2002

'Spy ship' to be delivered this month

The wreckage of a suspected North Korean spy ship that sank in the East China Sea after exchanging fire with Japan Coast Guard vessels in December is expected to be brought to Japan for inspection late this month, the transport ministry said Monday.

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’