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Events
Aug 7, 2001

Privatizing nursery schools irks Takaishi parents group

TAKAISHI, Osaka Pref. -- With Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi making vague noises on the importance of education, this city of 62,000 people is realizing that words alone aren't the answer.
BUSINESS
Aug 7, 2001

Coincident index adds evidence of contraction

The key gauge of the nation's economic health stayed below the boom-or-bust line of 50 percent in June for the sixth-straight month, providing more evidence of economic contraction, the government said Monday.
JAPAN
Aug 7, 2001

Gifu tourist kidnapped in Manila

A Japanese man has been missing since Thursday after reportedly being abducted from his Manila hotel room by four Japanese men, officials said Monday.
JAPAN
Aug 7, 2001

Foreign Ministry sacks two more officials

The Foreign Ministry dismissed two ministry officials on Monday, following their indictment earlier in the day on charges they mishandled about 22 million yen in public funds, the ministry said.
BASEBALL / MLB
Aug 7, 2001

Lions edge BlueWave

Takashi Ishii and Kiyoshi Toyoda combined on a two-hitter and Scott McClain homered Monday as the Seibu Lions blanked the Orix BlueWave 1-0 to end their three-game losing streak.
JAPAN
Aug 7, 2001

Kobe animals arrive at zoo in China

Six animals donated to a zoo in the Chinese port city of Tianjin by Kobe's Oji Zoo arrived there Sunday, according to a Chinese report monitored in Tokyo by China News Service.
JAPAN
Aug 7, 2001

Okura displays screen given to Mussolini

A folding screen presented to Italian fascist leader Benito Mussolini by the late industrialist Kishichiro Okura before World War II has come back to Japan to be displayed at a Tokyo hotel after almost 70 years abroad.
BUSINESS
Aug 7, 2001

JR Freight plans non-locomotive train

In a bid to compete with trucking firms, Japan Freight Railway Co. plans to develop the world's first non-locomotive freight train that will travel as fast as limited express trains, company officials said Monday.
SOCCER / THE BALD TRUTH
Aug 7, 2001

Japanese soccer stars shocked by encounters with outside world

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JAPAN
Aug 7, 2001

Obituary: Masahisa Aoki

Masahisa Aoki, a former director general of the Environment Agency who turned to politics after a career in newspapers, died Monday of a heart attack at a hospital in Saitama Prefecture, his family said. He was 78.
EDITORIALS
Aug 7, 2001

Legacies of the Gulf War

Eleven years ago, Iraq invaded Kuwait and set in motion a series of events that would culminate in the Persian Gulf War. The U.N. coalition drove the invader from Kuwait and humiliated the once-vaunted Iraqi war machine. But in the decade since that defeat, Iraqi President Saddam Hussein has retaken...
BUSINESS / TAKING STOCK
Aug 7, 2001

TSE slump yields to bulls

The Tokyo stock market appears poised to test its upside, counting on Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's economic policies.
BUSINESS
Aug 7, 2001

Toyota Corolla keeps vehicle sales pole position for 11th straight month

Toyota Motor Corp.'s Corolla retained top spot on the best-selling Japanese vehicle rankings for July, marking its 11th straight month in pole position, the Japan Automobile Dealers Association said Monday.
Events
Aug 7, 2001

Toxic island may be turned into foreign enclave

OSAKA -- What do you do with an island far from the center of town on which no one wants to live because methane gas leaks from landfill boasting high dioxin levels?
BUSINESS
Aug 7, 2001

Debt-hit Daiei to unload healthy Printemps store

Daiei Inc. is considering selling its shares in subsidiary department store Printemps Ginza S.A. to reduce its debt, Daiei sources said Monday.
JAPAN
Aug 7, 2001

Attitudes shifting on separate names for married people

The government sees a big change in attitudes about separate surnames by married couples and plans to discuss the possible introduction of a two-name system, the top government spokesman said Monday.
BUSINESS
Aug 7, 2001

DDI Pocket to lease PHS network to newcomer

DDI Pocket Inc., an affiliate of KDDI Corp., has basically agreed to lease out its personal handy-phone system communications network to a Tokyo-based startup telecommunications company, industry sources said Monday.
BUSINESS
Aug 7, 2001

Ruling bloc agrees on need for extra budget

Policymakers from the three ruling parties agreed Monday on the need to compile a supplementary budget for the current fiscal year to help buoy the faltering economy.
JAPAN
Aug 7, 2001

Kansai airport late-night flights proving popular

OSAKA -- More and more travelers are taking advantage of bargain late-night flights departing from Kansai International Airport off Osaka, according to airport officials.
BUSINESS
Aug 7, 2001

Fast Retailing to enter China market

Fast Retailing Co., operator of the popular Uniqlo-brand casual wear retail shops, said Monday it will establish a subsidiary in Kumshan in the Chinese coastal province of Jiangsu on Wednesday.
Events
Aug 7, 2001

Kansai hoping to revitalize with return to cultural roots

KYOTO -- The Kansai region is about to host a unique performing arts festival that organizers hope will spark a regional renaissance at a time when the nation is facing a bleak future.
LIFE / Travel / NATURE TRAVEL
Aug 7, 2001

Rubbing noses with a musk ox

The Northwest Territories cover approximately one-third of Canada. Given that Canada is the second-largest country in the world, it can therefore be said without fear of contradiction that the NWT is rather large.
BUSINESS
Aug 7, 2001

Minicar presence gains on automaker innovation

Minicars were once regarded by Japanese consumers as second-class, cheap vehicles.
EDITORIALS
Aug 6, 2001

Restoring a MAD world's sanity

Fifty-six years ago, on the morning of July 16, 1945, the United States exploded the first atomic bomb at a testing range at Alarmogordo, New Mexico. Watching the blast, Dr. Robert Oppenheimer, who played the leading role in the last stages of the Manhattan Project, reminded himself of a doomsday passage...
COMMENTARY
Aug 6, 2001

Voodoo economics rule the day

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's oft-repeated slogan, "There will be no economic recovery without structural reforms," sounds familiar to most Japanese.
COMMENTARY
Aug 6, 2001

Now Koizumi's battle begins

HONOLULU -- Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi delivered on his promise to revive the fortunes of the Liberal Democratic Party the weekend before last. LDP candidates steamrollered their opposition, claiming 64 of the 121 seats that were contested in the Upper House ballot. After an independent candidate...
JAPAN
Aug 6, 2001

N. Korean media finally report Kim's Russia visit

SEOUL -- North Korean media on Saturday reported a visit to Russia by the country's leader, Kim Jong Il, for the first time since he crossed the Russian border by train July 26, nine days ago.

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’