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BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Jun 3, 2002

Balance of payments and intervention signal danger for economic reforms

Japan's international balance of payments for fiscal 2001, released by the Finance Ministry on May 15, highlighted a year-on-year fall in the trade and current account surpluses. But it also revealed a 24.4 percent increase in the nation's income surplus to a record-high 8.68 trillion yen.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 3, 2002

Start Indo-Pakistani peace process by recognizing LOC

The recently concluded conference on South Asia, held at the United Nations University during an especially tense week in that region, confirmed three things.
BASEBALL / MLB
Jun 3, 2002

Lions' Chang pounces on Fighters

Taiwanese right-hander Chang Chih Chia -- making his debut in Japan -- held Nippon Ham to just two hits over six innings to earn the win as the Seibu Lions defeated the Fighters 5-0 Sunday afternoon at the Seibu Dome.
SOCCER / World cup
Jun 2, 2002

Tomasson hits two as Denmark beat Uruguay 2-1

ULSAN, South Korea -- With a late headed goal from Jon Dahl Tomasson -- his second in a game that for periods descended into scrappiness and bad-tempered fouls -- Denmark started its 2002 World Cup campaign here on Saturday with an important 2-1 victory over Uruguay.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 2, 2002

Rebuilding Argentines' shattered hopes

NEW YORK -- After returning from Argentina, my native country, I am deeply puzzled. It is difficult to reconcile the image of the proud country I left more than 30 years ago with the one I saw again recently. How can I explain the hundreds -- or thousands -- of people who go scavenging every day as soon...
JAPAN
Jun 2, 2002

Koizumi downplays nonnuclear policy quip

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and Liberal Democratic Party officials on Saturday moved to reassure the world again that his government would not break with the nuclear taboo following remarks by one of his closest aids the previous day that Japan may revise its three nonnuclear principles.
JAPAN
Jun 2, 2002

Temperatures in Japan rising faster: agency

Temperatures in Japan will continue to increase at a much faster pace than the world's average, the Japan Meteorological Agency predicted in a book published on Saturday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Jun 2, 2002

Buffaloes' Powell holds back 'Wave

Kintetsu right-hander Jeremy Powell tossed a four-hitter as the power-laden Buffaloes went with pitching for their fourth straight win in a 1-0 decision Saturday over the Orix BlueWave at the Osaka Dome.
JAPAN
Jun 2, 2002

Consumption tax hike may be needed: tax chief

The head of a key government tax panel said Saturday that the consumption tax rate should be doubled to 10 percent in the future to provide tax revenue to cope with the aging population.
SOCCER / World cup
Jun 2, 2002

Irish fight back to draw with Cameroon

NIIGATA -- Overcoming a 1-0 deficit at halftime and the absence of star playmaker Roy Keane, Ireland produced a great comeback in the second half to battle to a 1-1 draw against Cameroon on Saturday afternoon in their Group E game at Big Swan Niigata Stadium in the opening game of the World Cup on cohost...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jun 2, 2002

Who's got the scoop on the Shenyang Five?

The disagreement between the foreign ministries of Japan and China over the attempted defection by five North Koreans at the Japanese consulate in Shenyang was intensified by a comment made early on by LDP Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda. During a press conference, Fukuda looked at the assembled...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / VINELAND
Jun 2, 2002

Snobbery will not be permitted

Once upon a time, wine in Japan was a hushed affair, conducted with starched linens and stiff-backed chairs. Elusive first-growth Bordeaux and top Burgundy accompanied the tense, dutiful rituals of business negotiations. The mood was earnest; the cost high. It sometimes seemed as if the highly codified...
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM MOSCOW
Jun 2, 2002

West-blessed authoritarian

MOSCOW -- U.S. President George W. Bush visited Russia just as a new wave of terrorist attacks was expected in North America. This grim background toned down the euphoric atmosphere of the Bush-Putin summit. Yet two things definitely stood out during the visit: the signing of an important arms-reduction...
JAPAN
Jun 2, 2002

Duskin to shelve openings of new Mister Donut shops

OSAKA — Duskin Co. has pledged to refrain from opening new Mister Donut shops until March following public outcry over the company's handling of a banned antioxidant found in its meat dumplings.
JAPAN
Jun 2, 2002

Low-emission vehicle exhibition opens in Tokyo

A two-day exhibition of environment-friendly vehicles opened Saturday in Tokyo, featuring about 100 low-emission vehicles including fuel-cell cars.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / BEST BAR NONE
Jun 2, 2002

Permanent collection of cool

Ebisu is not only full of little bars, it is full of similarly named bars, which can make things pretty confusing. Within a 50-meter radius, there's E, E-Cafe, Fura and Furo Furo -- see what I mean? So before we start, let's clear up a few things. E-Cafe is a cute 'n' cozy second-floor perch overlooking...
EDITORIALS
Jun 2, 2002

More than a few rotten apples

It appears that the Diet is not very serious about promoting clean politics, despite the fact that a spate of corruption scandals has forced a number of legislators to resign. The Diet, to be sure, has played a part in unraveling the scandals, but it has done very little to address its real challenge:...
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 2, 2002

Chinese growth miracle may be a myth

NEW DELHI -- Has China really achieved double-digit growth rates in the past two decades? And is India really lagging behind? Close scrutiny reveals that India's growth rate may actually have been higher.
JAPAN
Jun 2, 2002

Fast Retailing, Daiei settle store-design row

Fast Retailing Co., a leading casual-clothing retailer known for its Uniqlo brand, and Daiei Inc. have reached an out-of-court settlement over a dispute involving the layout of Daiei's PAS casual clothing stores, company officials said Saturday.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Jun 2, 2002

Looking behind life-or-death situations

This week marks the one-year anniversary of the murder of eight young children at the Ikeda Elementary School in Osaka. Shortly after that, a young man killed a child in a Kyoto schoolyard before killing himself when faced with arrest, thus reinforcing the fear among the general public that Japan's schools...
COMMUNITY / CLOSE-UP
Jun 2, 2002

Straight talking from Citizen Nic

Writer and naturalist C.W. Nicol left his home in South Wales in 1958 at the age of 17 to join an Arctic Institute of North America expedition to the Arctic. Four years later, he made his first visit to Japan to study karate and Japanese, before heading back to Canada to take part in a further six Arctic...
SOCCER / World cup
Jun 2, 2002

Germany routs Saudi Arabia 8-0

SAPPORO -- The World Cup finally arrived in Japan on Saturday and Germany ensured that opening day will long be remembered. In one of the most one-sided games in World Cup history, Germany beat Saudi Arabia 8-0 at the Sapporo Dome in their Group E match.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Jun 2, 2002

Tickling Japan's funnybone

THE CHRYSANTHEMUM AND THE FISH: Japanese Humor Since the Age of the Shoguns, by Howard Hibbett. Tokyo/New York: Kodansha International, 2001, 228 pp., with 40 woodcut-print illustrations, 3,000 yen (cloth) Toward the end of this most agreeable essay on the local comic spirit, Howard Hibbett observes:...
COMMUNITY
Jun 2, 2002

See you at Almond

Earlier this year, the Dentsu Research Institute predicted that Japan's co-hosting of the World Cup would benefit the economy to the tune of 3.182 trillion yen. While Tokyo isn't hosting any of the games, its glitzy Roppongi district will likely play host to thousands of soccer fans from around the world...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Jun 2, 2002

New threats to East Asian security

EAST ASIA IMPERILLED: Transnational Challenges to Security, by Alan Dupont. Cambridge University Press, 2001, 336 pp., $25 (paper) The way we think about national security is changing. Traditionally, the idea of protecting a nation focused on military contests over power, wealth or territory. Not surprisingly,...

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’