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JAPAN
May 17, 2001

Jailed Red Army Faction hijacker meets daughter

Three daughters of former Red Army Faction members who hijacked a Japan Airlines flight in 1970 visited the Tokyo Detention House on Wednesday to see one of the trio's father, who is being held there.
BUSINESS
May 17, 2001

Kyocera's profits surged in 2000

OSAKA -- Kyocera Corp. on Wednesday announced sharp increases in both group sales and pretax profit for fiscal 2000 but predicted declines in both sales and profits for the current fiscal year, citing the slowdown in U.S. growth.
BASEBALL / MLB
May 17, 2001

'Wave roll on despite loss of Ichiro's bat

The BlueWave seem to have found a way to win without Ichiro Suzuki, Japan's best hitter the last seven years who recently left Orix to play for the Seattle Mariners. Tatsuya Shindo drove in four runs, including a three-run homer, and Masahiko Kaneda (3-0) struck out 10 while giving up eight hits over...
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
May 17, 2001

Darwin's uncomfortable facts

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JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
May 17, 2001

Mimicry demonstrated to drive origin of species

One of the claims often made by opponents of the theory of evolution -- there are some still left, mainly in Kansas -- is that because natural selection is a phenomenon we can't directly observe, the theory is untenable. And while creationists insist that species are immutable despite a staggering amount...
BUSINESS
May 17, 2001

Fujitsu, GE team up on medical info

Fujitsu Ltd. and U.S. electronics giant General Electric Co. said Wednesday they will jointly develop advanced medical information systems for use in Japanese hospitals.
JAPAN
May 16, 2001

Solution eyed to defense issue

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said Tuesday that although he would prefer to revise the Constitution in order to clarify Japan's right to collective defense, another option would be to pass a Diet resolution allowing Tokyo to exercise this right.
BUSINESS
May 16, 2001

DoCoMo sets another bond issue

NTT DoCoMo Inc., the nation's dominant provider of cellular phone services, said Tuesday it plans to raise 120 billion yen through 10-year bonds with coupons of 1.43 percent.
BUSINESS
May 16, 2001

Casio posts 6.1% growth in profit

Casio Computer Co. said Tuesday its consolidated net profits for fiscal 2000 grew 6.1 percent from the previous year to 6.55 billion yen, thanks to favorable sales of electronics products such as digital cameras and mobile phones.
JAPAN
May 16, 2001

Three days of Bush bombardment ends

AWAJI ISLAND, Hyogo Pref. — In what turned into three days of criticism of U.S. foreign policy under President George W. Bush, former world leaders wrapped up the 19th plenary session of the Interaction Council on Tuesday.
BUSINESS
May 16, 2001

Drinkers guzzle more 'happoshu'

The nation's beer market grew 3.9 percent in April from the previous year, helped by the popularity of low-malt "happoshu" drinks, according to data released Tuesday by the country's five major brewers.
JAPAN
May 16, 2001

Crown Princess happy with new gynecologist

The Crown Prince and Crown Princess are pleased with the appointment of Osamu Tsutsumi, a gynecology professor at the University of Tokyo, to take charge of prenatal affairs for the Crown Princess, informed sources said Tuesday.
JAPAN
May 16, 2001

Mori draws Tanaka's ire over Russian isles misstep

Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka on Tuesday criticized former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori for saying on a television program that Japan and Russia had agreed to set up two frameworks to discuss four islands at the center of a sovereignty dispute.
COMMENTARY
May 16, 2001

New metaphors for Europe

LONDON -- German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and his Social Democratic Party have done Europe a great service -- although it may not have been the one Schroeder intended.
BUSINESS
May 16, 2001

New condos for sale in Tokyo on decline

The number of new condominiums put up for sale in the Tokyo metropolitan area in April fell 27.9 percent from a year earlier to 5,763, down for the first time in two months, a private research institute said Tuesday.
BASEBALL / MLB
May 16, 2001

Hawks beat Fighters with 5-homer attack

Kenji Jojima cracked a two-run roundtripper to snap a 3-3 tie in the sixth inning and the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks ripped five homers to beat the Nippon Ham Fighters 8-5 Tuesday at the Tokyo Dome.
CULTURE / Film
May 16, 2001

Psycho killer, qu'est-ce que c'est?

Actor Christian Bale probably has more fans in Tokyo than at home in the U.K., given the splash that "Velvet Goldmine" had in this "visual-kei" obsessed town. Fans of the fey beautiful boy Bale played in that film, though, may be surprised to see him pumped up and wielding a mean chain saw in "American...
CULTURE / Film
May 16, 2001

Bluntness of yuppie satire dulled further on big screen

American Psycho Rating: * * Director: Mary Harron Running time: 102 minutes Language: EnglishNow showing Anybody who's been on an Internet mailing list or in a chat room for a while will surely know of the "Hitler Rule." What this rule establishes is that any discussion, thread or flame-war shall...
JAPAN
May 16, 2001

Crown Princess three months pregnant

The Crown Princess is pregnant with a possible heir to the Imperial Throne, nearly eight years after marrying the Crown Prince, the Imperial Household Agency announced Tuesday.
CULTURE / Music
May 16, 2001

The Sonig circuit

Back in 1960 when he was a strapping egghead of 31, Karlheinz Stockhausen, the father of taped electronic music, had a vision: Every major city in the world would build an auditorium for the appreciation of "space music." Stockhausen's prediction was simply the optimistic ramblings of an intellectual...
BUSINESS
May 16, 2001

Department store sales turn up

Sales at department stores in Tokyo's 23 wards rose 2.7 percent from a year earlier in April, the first rise in four months, to 174.9 billion yen, an industry association said Tuesday.
CULTURE / Art
May 16, 2001

A vision of humanity that transcends culture

"Waterside Garden I" (2001) by Noriko Yanagisawa The current show at Tokyo's Hillside Forum features works by print artist Noriko Yanagisawa.
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
May 16, 2001

'Gainsbourg Forever': Serge Gainsbourg

Serge Gainsbourg died on March 2, 1991, a month shy of his 63rd birthday. Though characterized as a womanizing alcoholic, the iconoclastic Frenchman always thought of himself as a homely little Jewish piano player who never asked to be a star, but as long as he was one then you had to accept him for...
CULTURE / Film
May 16, 2001

Are you ready to be yelled at?

Men of Honor Rating: * * *Japanese title: The Diver Director: George Tillman Jr. Running time: 128 minutes Language: EnglishOpens May 26 To see "Men of Honor" (released in Japan as "The Diver") is to walk into one of those bars where the clientele is mostly male (but not gay), full of the type of...
CULTURE / Art
May 16, 2001

Kishida's short but brilliant career

When Japan opened up to the West after the Meiji Restoration, it had a lot of catching up to do. Achievements that took hundreds of years to develop in European civilization were transplanted to Japan in a few decades.
BUSINESS
May 16, 2001

JETRO to offer tariff data online

The Japan External Trade Organization said Tuesday it will begin offering worldwide tariff information free via the Internet on Thursday.
BUSINESS
May 16, 2001

Ito-Yokado opens round-the-clock bank

IYBank, the new branch-free bank created by major retailer Ito-Yokado Co. and its convenience store subsidiary Seven-Eleven Japan Co., opened for business Tuesday offering 24-hour service through automated teller machines.

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