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JAPAN
May 31, 2001

New curriculum sees parents push English for infants

Second of two parts Staff writer Yukiko Wada left her Tochigi home at 8 a.m. one Saturday with her 2-year-old daughter, Hinami. While their journey to Tokyo's Eifuku-cho in Suginami Ward seemed a bit long, it became worthwhile when they encountered an American acquaintance near their destination.
JAPAN
May 30, 2001

Life sentence upheld for killer extortionist

The Tokyo High Court on Tuesday upheld a lower court-imposed life prison term for a man convicted of murdering the wife of a Yamaichi Securities Co. legal adviser in 1997.
EDITORIALS
May 30, 2001

Toward a basic law on human rights

The Council for Human Rights, an advisory panel to the justice minister, has submitted a report calling for the creation of an independent organization to provide relief for victims of discrimination, child abuse and other human-rights violations. The proposed body, tentatively called the "human-rights...
JAPAN
May 30, 2001

Koizumi initiatives debut in June

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's Cabinet will launch an e-mail magazine June 14 and hold its first "town meeting" June 16 to boost dialogue with the public, government officials said Tuesday.
CULTURE / Film
May 30, 2001

Solitude, the big killer

Animals Rating: * * * Japanese Title: Yume no Tabiji Director: Michael Di Jiacomo Running time: 103 minutes Language: EnglishShowing at Theater Image Forum You'll probably need a long, stiff drink after "Animals" -- that's provided that you can last until the sad, sad ending. I foresee a lot of people...
JAPAN
May 30, 2001

Ogi plans 160 billion yen outlay to cut train time to Narita

The government is ready to allocate money in fiscal 2002 for a new railway track that would reduce the time to get to Narita airport in Chiba Prefecture from Nippori station in Tokyo by 15 minutes, Land, Infrastructure and Transport Minister Chikage Ogi said Tuesday.
JAPAN
May 30, 2001

Man arrested over fatal beating of boy

Police Tuesday arrested and began questioning a 25-year-old man on suspicion of beating to death his girlfriend's 4-year-old son, according to police.
CULTURE / Film
May 30, 2001

The ecstasy and the agony

Quills Rating: * * * * Director: Philip Kaufman Running time: 123 minutes Language: EnglishShowing at Hibiya Scalaza and other theaters The face of a beautiful woman appears in intense close-up, her fair skin offset by the clear blue sky behind her. The faint sighs of her soft, heavy breath are amplified...
BUSINESS
May 30, 2001

IMF supports Koizumi's reforms

Horst Koehler, the International Monetary Fund's managing director, expressed support Tuesday for Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's efforts to rehabilitate Japan's economy through structural reforms.
BUSINESS
May 30, 2001

Industrial production declines 1.7%

The nation's industrial production fell a seasonally adjusted 1.7 percent in April from the previous month for the second straight monthly dip, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said in a preliminary report released Tuesday.
BUSINESS
May 30, 2001

Fate of Nikkei tied to Koizumi's policies

Although the stock market has reacted positively to the inauguration of the reformist Cabinet of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, doubts linger.
BUSINESS
May 30, 2001

Major traders Mitsui, Sumitomo eye alliance

Trading houses Mitsui & Co. and Sumitomo Corp. have agreed on a wide-ranging business tieup that includes integrating their sales of construction materials and steam coal, a Mitsui spokesman said Tuesday.
BUSINESS
May 30, 2001

Seed makers won't sow growing vegetable imports

In another move to cope with soaring vegetable imports, domestic seed makers have begun curbing exports of vegetable seeds that return to Japan as produce, officials of the Japan Seed Trade Association said Tuesday.
BUSINESS
May 30, 2001

Viagra rival cleared for Europe

OSAKA -- The European Commission has approved sale of a new drug developed by Takeda Chemical Industries Ltd. for treating erectile dysfunction.
BUSINESS
May 30, 2001

Dire straits hit Tokyo Metallic

Tokyo Metallic Communications Corp., an Internet access service provider specializing in digital subscriber lines, faces a management crisis due to fundraising problems, the company's president said Tuesday.
BUSINESS
May 30, 2001

Household spending dives 4.4%

Spending by wage-earning households turned downward in April for the first time in five months, plummeting a real 4.4 percent from a year earlier to an average of 347,882 yen, the government said Tuesday in a preliminary report.
JAPAN
May 30, 2001

Elementary school teachers to run English gantlet

Offering English language education in an entertaining, communicative way sounds just fine. In theory.
SOCCER / World cup
May 30, 2001

Blatter: ISMM trouble won't affect World Cup

SEOUL -- FIFA president Sepp Blatter put a positive spin on the problems surrounding the collapse of its marketing partners ISMM/ISL on Tuesday to emphasize the positive aspects of a big year ahead in the world soccer calendar.
JAPAN
May 30, 2001

Upper House member Tomobe loses appeal of fraud case

Upper House member Tatsuo Tomobe, 72, faces 10 years in prison, the heaviest punishment ever imposed on a lawmaker, as the Supreme Court has dismissed his appeal in a fraud case involving the Orange mutual aid society, judicial sources said Tuesday.
BUSINESS
May 30, 2001

MMC to cut up to 1,200 jobs

Struggling automaker Mitsubishi Motors Corp. said Tuesday it will introduce an early retirement program to phase out up to 1,200 jobs.
BASEBALL / MLB
May 30, 2001

Marines reel off fifth straight win

Chiba Lotte first baseman Kazuya Fukuura singled home Tadaharu Sakai from third to break a 1-1 tie in the eighth inning as the Marines downed the Daiei Hawks 2-1 at Chiba Marine Stadium on Tuesday to extend their winning streak to five games -- their longest this season.
JAPAN
May 30, 2001

Tanaka listed as richest of Cabinet's 17 ministers

Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka tops a list ranking the personal assets of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and his 17 Cabinet ministers, measured when the Cabinet was established April 26.
CULTURE / Film
May 30, 2001

Memories as microcosms

Directors, it's often said, keep making the same movie over and over, though the sameness is more evident with some than others. Akira Kurosawa was among the most eclectic directors of his generation, filming everything from Shakespearean drama ("Throne of Blood") to popcorn entertainment ("The Hidden...
BUSINESS
May 30, 2001

Monthly BOJ bond reports aim to up liquidity

Moving again to increase monetary liquidity, the Bank of Japan said Tuesday that it will begin publishing the issue-by-issue balances of its outstanding government bond holdings once a month.
BUSINESS
May 30, 2001

Tokio Marine's group pretax profit surges 58.9%

Tokio Marine & Fire Insurance Co. said Tuesday its group pretax profit for the 2000 business year surged 58.9 percent to 85.45 billion yen.
CULTURE / Music / J-POPSICLE
May 30, 2001

The names are insane and I like it like that

What's in a name? Well, when it comes to Japanese bands, a lot, actually. Japanese rock groups, like Western psychedelic bands of 30-some years ago, have been coming up with some extraordinarily creative and just plain nutzo band names of late.

Longform

The students at Mitaka Municipal No. 7 Junior High School have access to various cooling devices for when they play sports.
Japan's extreme heat is causing a rethink of school sports