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JAPAN
Oct 18, 2001

Havel lauds Nippon Foundation

Czech Republic President Vaclav Havel has honored Yohei Sasakawa, president of the Nippon Foundation, for the foundation's involvement over the past five years in Forum 2000, foundation officials said Wednesday.
SUMO
Oct 18, 2001

Taka aiming for March comeback

Grand champion Takanohana is on the road to recovery and could be making his comeback on sumo's raised ring at the spring tournament in Osaka next March, sumo sources said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Oct 18, 2001

Bioterrorists face life prison term

The government is hoping to mandate life imprisonment as the maximum penalty for the use of biological weapons under its proposed legislation to ratify the U.N. convention on terrorist attacks, according to government sources.
BUSINESS
Oct 18, 2001

Bond cap pledge no longer a pledge

The government will consider making antiterrorism measures and logistic support to U.S. military operations in Afghanistan exempt from the 30 trillion yen cap on new bond issues for this fiscal year, Finance Minister Masajuro Shiokawa said Wednesday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Oct 18, 2001

Tigers to dump Perez, keep Carlyle

The Hanshin Tigers said Tuesday they will release Eduardo Perez after the former St. Louis Cardinals infielder struggled through a disappointing season with the Central League's cellar dweller.
JAPAN
Oct 18, 2001

Most local governments unable to dispose of MBM

Most local governments are ill-equipped to immediately dispose of meat-and-bone meal, which is suspected of spreading mad cow disease, according to a survey released Wednesday.
JAPAN
Oct 18, 2001

Ex-Afghan ambassador fears statelessness

Former Afghan Ambassador to Japan Hassani Mohammad Asif says his greatest worry as U.S.-led forces pound his native land is that he and his family will be left stateless.
BUSINESS
Oct 18, 2001

Matsushita to reduce contracted staff

OSAKA -- Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. plans to cut half its approximately 16,000 contract workers as part of cost-saving measures, company officials said Wednesday.
SOCCER / J. League
Oct 18, 2001

Jubilo sub nails hat trick

Jubilo substitute forward Norihisa Shimizu scored a hat trick in the second half as J. League Division One second-stage leader Iwata downed FC Tokyo 5-2 at Tokyo's National Stadium Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Oct 18, 2001

JR East expects higher net profits

East Japan Railway Co. on Wednesday revised upward its group net profit forecast for the 2001 business year to 82 billion yen from the previous 79 billion yen, as gains from sales of shares in an affiliate eclipsed appraisal losses on its securities holdings.
JAPAN
Oct 18, 2001

NHK pundit dead in suspected fall

An employee of NHK who served as a commentator on the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the United States was found dead Monday in Tokyo after an apparent fall from a building, NHK said Wednesday.
MORE SPORTS
Oct 18, 2001

Subaru signs Makinen for 2002

Four-time world rally champion Tommi Makinen and co-driver Risto Mannisenmaki have signed a two-year contract with the Subaru World Rally team for the 2002 season.
JAPAN
Oct 18, 2001

Powder sent to Koizumi's residence

As fears of anthrax letters continued to spread around the globe, the Prime Minister's Official Residence, the Defense Agency and some media organizations on Wednesday received envelopes containing white powder that turned out to be starch.
JAPAN
Oct 18, 2001

JR to increase English info booths

East Japan Railway Co. said Wednesday it plans to set up English-language information centers at its Ueno and Shinjuku stations in Tokyo and at Omiya Station in Saitama Prefecture.
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Oct 18, 2001

Tomb raiders for racial equality

Today, Oct. 18, is the feast day of Luke the Evangelist: physician, saint, author of the book of Acts and companion of Paul. It is thanks to Luke, the most literary of the four gospel writers, that we learn about the human aspects of Christ's life -- such as the enduring Nativity scene.
JAPAN
Oct 18, 2001

Government plans to buy up beef distribution stockpiles

The government plans to buy some 13,000 tons of distributors' beef stocks on a temporary basis in line with a rigorous inspection due to begin today on all cows to be processed for human consumption.
ENVIRONMENT / IN BLOOM
Oct 18, 2001

Chikarashiba (Fountain grass)

ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Oct 18, 2001

Rare hybrids on evolution's way to where?

Humans like rules as a way of ordering the world into familiar and comfortable patterns. For naturalists, one of the basic rules is the concept of biological species, which forms the basis of modern biodiversity and conservation studies.
SOCCER / THE BALD TRUTH
Oct 18, 2001

No-fry zones a must during World Cup

It used to be good being Swiss, apparently. Now the country that gave us the cuckoo clock and Toblerone finds itself without an airline and, worse still, without World Cup soccer on the telly next year.
BUSINESS
Oct 18, 2001

U.S. to ride second IT wave of recovery

Despite the global economic woes fueled by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States, the U.S. economy will probably come out of its slump as early as the second quarter of next year, according to a senior Wall Street watcher who was recently in Japan.
JAPAN
Oct 18, 2001

Typhoon Haiyan lashes Okinawa

Typhoon Haiyan, packing winds of up to 108 kph, turned Okinawa and the Amami Islands into a storm zone Wednesday morning, the Meteorological Agency said.
CULTURE / Film
Oct 17, 2001

O, brothers how art thou?

Joel and Ethan Coen
CULTURE / Film
Oct 17, 2001

When it comes to comedy, it's sync or swim

Waterboys Rating: * * * * Director: Shinobu Yaguchi Running time: 91 minutes Language: Japanese Now showing
BUSINESS
Oct 17, 2001

Sales at Tokyo department stores up

Sales at department stores in Tokyo rose 2.4 percent in September from a year earlier to 157.1 billion yen for a fourth consecutive monthly rise, partly on firm demand for fall clothes, the Japan Department Stores Association said Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Oct 17, 2001

Sharp in wireless deal with U.S. firm

OSAKA -- Sharp Corp. said Tuesday it will tie up with Soma Networks Inc. of the United States to develop next-generation high-speed wireless data communications systems and devices for households.

Longform

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