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BUSINESS
Jun 12, 2002

GM in Tokyo parts-buying venture

General Motors Corp. and its three Japanese affiliates have jointly launched a parts-buying team in Tokyo to help cut costs, GM said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Jun 12, 2002

Chinese teenager to remain in Japan

OSAKA — The Osaka Regional Immigration Bureau decided Tuesday to allow the teenage son of a family of illegal Chinese immigrants to stay in the country for one more month, officials said.
BASEBALL / MLB
Jun 12, 2002

Buffs give Marines Tuff time

Tuffy Rhodes belted his 22nd homer of the season in the first inning Tuesday and the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes racked up nine wins in a row for the first time in eight years with a 5-3 victory over the Chiba Lotte Marines.
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Jun 12, 2002

Kona Records: 'Deep Funk Africa'

With a title like "Deep Funk Africa," this CD compilation had better deliver. And deliver it does -- 14 steaming slabs of rough-hewn funk from Ghana, Mobutu's Zaire, Sierra Leone and beyond.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Jun 12, 2002

Corey Harris: 'Downhome Sophisticate'

At one time, rural folks were thought to possess different priorities from people who lived in cities, a contrast that was made clear by the fact that "country music" was only played and listened to by people who actually lived in the country. These days, you're as rural as you want to be, whether you...
BUSINESS
Jun 12, 2002

Corporate tax plan draws fire

LDP lawmakers concerned with industrial and small business matters unanimously agreed Tuesday to oppose a government plan to introduce a new corporate tax based on criteria other than profits, LDP officials said.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / J-POPSICLE
Jun 12, 2002

Message in a pop song

You've probably noticed a big mascara-lined eye staring out at you from billboards all over town lately. The eye in question belongs to Lisa, former vocalist with hip-hop/R&B trio m-flo, and the billboard is plugging her new single, "Babylon no Kiseki (Miracle of Babylon)," which was released on May...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / NEW ART SEEN
Jun 12, 2002

Two for one at the Tokyo Opera City Gallery

Tokyo's Opera City Art Gallery has taken a novel approach with its summer show: Instead of the usual one-man or themed group exhibition, it is running a couple of concurrent but totally unrelated one-man shows at its Shinjuku exhibition space.
COMMENTARY
Jun 11, 2002

Optimist has lost his bearings

The government of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi continues to face greater difficulties than perhaps ever before. I previously criticized his Cabinet as beset with troubles, both at home and abroad, as a result of scandals involving lawmaker Muneo Suzuki, former Liberal Democratic Party secretary general...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 11, 2002

Who's winning the 'coca war'?

LA PAZ, Bolivia — On a hot December afternoon last year, 150 farmers in Chimore, a town in the Chapare region of central Bolivia, unloaded bananas and pineapples onto the Santa Cruz-Cochabamba highway. There was no market in sight and even if there was, the goods were not for sale. Rather, they were...
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 11, 2002

Flaws in Japan's nuclear-arms debate

The ongoing debate in Japan on nuclear arms lacks sophistication. On May 31, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda said if the international situation were to change, public opinion might favor a nuclear-armed Japan. He was commenting on the government's long-standing three nonnuclear principles of not...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 11, 2002

A cup of green tea in the jungle

...
JAPAN
Jun 11, 2002

Hiranuma adds green points for review before Aichi expo

Industry minister Takeo Hiranuma released his comments Monday on a draft environmental assessment by the organizer of the 2005 World Exposition in Aichi Prefecture, in which he calls for further review on several points.
MORE SPORTS
Jun 11, 2002

Niigata, OSG move into S. League

Niigata Albirex and OSG Phoenix will join the top-tier Japanese men's basketball league for the 2002-03 season, replacing the Isuzu Giga Cats and the Bosch Blue Winds, the Japan Basketball League (JBL) said Monday.
JAPAN
Jun 11, 2002

Maglev test train gives quick thrill to select few

A test ride at the foot of Mount Fuji on a magnetically levitated (maglev) train is proving extremely popular with curious people who want to experience a ride on the world's fastest train, which runs at a speed of 500 kph.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 11, 2002

'Gringo mayor' does local politics his way

PORONGO, Bolivia — Mike Bennett came to Bolivia 18 years ago looking for gold. And he found it. But as he searched the nation for the precious metal, the 46-year-old geologist from Staffordshire, England, also uncovered other treasures — Spanish, which he speaks fluently, a farm, two hotels and a...
JAPAN
Jun 11, 2002

Personal data on 250 people leak onto builder's Web site

Personal information on some 250 people was accidentally made public on a Web site run by home builder Mitsui Bussan House-Techno Inc., company officials said Monday.
SOCCER / World cup
Jun 11, 2002

South Korea, U.S. play out 1-1 draw

TAEGU, South Korea -- Surely even the most enthusiastic American or South Korean optimist could not have predicted this.
SOCCER / THE BALD TRUTH
Jun 11, 2002

World Cup brings out worst in Dachshund Ron

So far so weird, then. France on the brink of elimination, England beating Argentina 1-0 and Rivaldo being fined for cheating were just some of the biggest headlines to come out of the first week and a bit of the World Cup.
SOCCER / World cup
Jun 11, 2002

Belgian hopes grow dim

OITA -- Belgium's hopes of advancing to the next round of World Cup play have dimmed after being held to a 1-1 draw by Tunisia in Group H action Monday evening at Big Eye Oita Stadium.
BUSINESS
Jun 11, 2002

Domestic retailers brace for Seiyu-Wal-Mart impact

Japan's retail industry, suffering from a decade-long economic slump and the advance of powerful specialty discount stores, is gearing up to compete with another formidable player.
BUSINESS
Jun 11, 2002

Advertising sales bottom out while cinema sales flicker

Falling sales at advertising agencies in April began to show signs of bottoming out, while the fading effects of a popular animation film led to a downturn for cinema operators, a survey of the nation's service industries showed Monday.
JAPAN
Jun 11, 2002

Woman, children strangled; suspect questioned by police

OSAKA — A woman and her two children were found dead Monday morning in their apartment in Tennoji Ward here, and police are questioning a 61-year-old man who was found at the scene.
BUSINESS
Jun 11, 2002

Review of energy revenues unlikely

Vice trade minister Katsusada Hirose said Monday that a fundamental review of energy-related tax revenues is not necessary, suggesting that such special-purpose revenues should not be used in other areas.
JAPAN
Jun 11, 2002

Local beer gets German touch

Christian Mitterbauer clenched his fist and brought it to his chest to mark his moment of triumph in April 2001, when he turned out a local Japanese beer.
EDITORIALS
Jun 11, 2002

Loya Jirga gets down to business

A fghanistan takes a crucial step toward building a viable future this week with the convening of a grand assembly of tribal elders. The Loya Jirga will pick a government that will rule the country until general elections are held. While the conclave has been long anticipated, and is critical to the...

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’