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BASEBALL / MLB
Apr 11, 2002

Fighters' Mirabal is nearly perfect

Carlos Mirabal saw his hopes of a perfect game evaporate in the bottom of the ninth inning Wednesday, but he still managed to toss a one-hit shutout in leading the Nippon Ham Fighters to a 4-0 win over the Chiba Lotte Marines at Chiba Marine Stadium.
JAPAN
Apr 11, 2002

Rat experiment gives hope to the weak-hearted

OSAKA -- In what is reportedly a world's first, a group of Japanese scientists said Wednesday they have developed rat cardiac muscle that can strengthen rats' hearts when transplanted.
JAPAN
Apr 11, 2002

Small cities failing to meet Rio goal

All prefectures and major cities have drafted plans to improve the environment and promote sustainable development, but only 184 of the thousands of smaller municipalities have made similar preparations, according to an Environment Ministry survey released Wednesday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 11, 2002

Vested-interest policymakers irked over report that pulls few punches

Lawmakers within the ruling coalition were left aghast by a scathing report submitted last week by a panel investigating the government's handling of mad cow disease.
BUSINESS
Apr 11, 2002

Run from time deposits skewed money gauge

Japan's key money supply gauge rose 3.8 percent in March from a year earlier, while the balance of quasi-money -- most of it time deposits -- saw a record drop ahead of the April 1 abolition of the government's full-refund guarantee on time deposits, the Bank of Japan said Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Apr 11, 2002

Toyota tops college poll as most attractive firm

Toyota Motor Corp. is the most popular company among college seniors preparing to enter the workforce after they graduate in March, according to a survey released Wednesday by a research arm of job information publisher Recruit Co.
BUSINESS
Apr 11, 2002

MTFG revision in ballpark: S&P

Standard & Poor's Corp. said Wednesday the downward revision of earnings by the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi and Mitsubishi Trust & Banking Corp. -- parts of the Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group -- won't affect its ratings on the banks.
BUSINESS
Apr 11, 2002

Asahi Kasei, Teijin pen fiber deal

Chemical firm Asahi Kasei Corp. and textile manufacturer Teijin Ltd. said Wednesday they have signed an agreement to set up a fiber joint venture next month.
BUSINESS
Apr 11, 2002

Government sees economy approaching bottom

The economy is showing increasing signs of bottoming out, the government said Wednesday, upgrading its assessment for the second straight month.
COMMENTARY / WASHINGTON UPDATE
Apr 11, 2002

Campaign finance reform passes -- for the moment

WASHINGTON -- President George W. Bush put the final touches on campaign finance reform for this year by recently signing the McCain-Feingold-Shays-Meehan Bill into law in the Oval Office before flying off for a series of fund raising events for Republican candidates.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 11, 2002

Threat of new Iraqi war has neighboring Turkey on edge

ANKARA -- At his shop in the ancient citadel of this busy capital city, Satilimish Sutchuoglu and three fellow carpet sellers gather to drink tea and trade forecasts of economic doom.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 11, 2002

Nissan enters domestic minicar market

Nissan Motor Co. on Wednesday made its first foray into the minivehicle sector by launching its first domestic minicar model.
BUSINESS
Apr 11, 2002

Beer, 'happoshu' sales suffer 3.1% drop

Overall shipments of beer and "happoshu" fell 3.1 percent in March from a year earlier, according to data released Wednesday by Japan's five top brewers.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / INTERNATIONAL RATIONALE
Apr 11, 2002

Domestic, foreign insurers engaged in turf war

The deregulation of Japan's insurance sector last year has set domestic and foreign-affiliated companies squarely against each other in the cancer and medical insurance battlefield.
JAPAN
Apr 11, 2002

Online music service to shut down

The Tokyo District Court has ordered an online music file-swapping service to shut down. It is the first legal decision in Japan against such a service, which record companies claim infringe on copyrights.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / GARDENS FOR ALL
Apr 11, 2002

Trip through time at Tokyo's verdant royal hub

The Imperial Palace grounds are, without doubt, Tokyo's green heart. Located inside a 6.4-km ring of walls and moats that were once the inner defensive perimeter of Edo Castle, this verdant oasis now covers 115 hectares in all, with evergreen woodlands overlooking the moats and creating a very special...
JAPAN
Apr 11, 2002

Man sentenced to 15 years for random murder

OSAKA -- A 25-year-old man was sentenced Wednesday to 15 years in prison for the random slaying of a corporate executive in March 2000.
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Apr 11, 2002

Queen of the underworld

One of the most unusual, bizarre-looking and fascinating animals known to science is found in the arid earth of sub-Saharan Africa. It lives in subterranean colonies, with a single breeding queen. It has a worker caste that takes care of the young animals and soldiers that defend the colony: It is "eusocial"...
SOCCER / World cup
Apr 11, 2002

Troussier sticks with Shunsuke

Japan manager Philippe Troussier retained Yokohama F. Marinos midfielder Shunsuke Nakamura in his squad for next Wednesday's friendly international against Costa Rica and also brought back left-sided midfielder/defender Toshihiro Hattori.
BUSINESS
Apr 11, 2002

LDP panel backs down from postal privatization plan

An LDP panel on postal deregulation agreed Wednesday to prioritize a bill that would authorize a public entity to take over government-run postal services and focus less on a bill to allow private firms to offer mail services.
JAPAN
Apr 11, 2002

Tokyu Agency to pay 840 million yen over tax evasion

Major advertising agency Tokyu Agency Inc. failed to declare 1.03 billion yen in income for the five years to March 2001 and must pay 840 million yen in additional taxes and penalties, industry sources said Wednesday.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Apr 11, 2002

NGOs and odd bedfellows point the way

Back in the 1960s, plastics were the future. As a result, a significant part of that future will be spent cleaning up after the past. So here is a tip for those of you making plans to help save the Earth: Consider a career in environmental economics. And if you're already working as an environmentalist,...
BUSINESS / ON THE FRONT LINE
Apr 11, 2002

Middle East tensions keep heat on dollar

The dollar remains under downward pressure amid fears over heightened tensions in the Middle East and a runup in crude oil prices.
JAPAN
Apr 11, 2002

IOC president wins praise from U.S. critic

OSAKA -- The head of the U.S. Olympians Association said here Wednesday that he is satisfied with International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge, but added it is still too early to tell whether the IOC will reform itself.
BUSINESS
Apr 11, 2002

BOJ panel likely to leave monetary policy intact

The BOJ Policy Board began a two-day meeting Wednesday amid new signs the nation's long-suffering economy is bottoming out.

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’