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JAPAN
May 5, 2001

North Korean leader's son traveled illegally, but in style

The man claiming to be North Korean leader Kim Jong Il's eldest son, who was deported to China on Friday after trying to illegally enter Japan, was a man of means who traveled in style.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
May 5, 2001

Yoshihiro Takishita

Although Yoshihiro Takishita spent 18 months looking for land on which to place a house, he had his reward. The site he found is superlative, on a Kamakura hilltop surrounded by countryside and overlooking an expanse of sea. The unusual part is that he had already bought the house, "one with big columns...
SOCCER / J. League
May 5, 2001

Jubilo beats Reds 2-0, tops J-League standings

Veteran striker Masashi Nakayama and Japan midfielder Daisuke Oku bagged a goal in each half Thursday as Jubilo Iwata downed the Urawa Reds 2-0 to open up a seven-point lead at the top of the J. League standings.
JAPAN
May 5, 2001

Covert entry puzzling, analysts say

Japanese experts were divided over why a man claiming to be Kim Jong Nam, the eldest son of Pyongyang leader Kim Jong Il, tried to enter Japan under an alias with a forged passport.
COMMENTARY / World
May 5, 2001

The real reason Europe supports Kyoto

Last week I got my fair share of abuse on the BBC. "Isn't the United States an awful country?" ranted a Labor MP. "With only 5 percent of the world's population, it produces 20 percent of those terrible gases that are warming our atmosphere. How dare Bush say he won't go along with the U.N.' s Kyoto...
EDITORIALS
May 5, 2001

EU enters the Korean minefield

No doubt European Union leaders acted with the best of intentions when they undertook their Korean initiative. Concerned about a perceived lack of U.S. support for reconciliation between North and South, they have interjected themselves into the Korean dialogue. Their first foray has paid off: North...
JAPAN
May 5, 2001

Aging U.S. POWs still await slave labor redress

OSAKA -- For 56 years, Ben Comstock, 82, an American captured by Japanese forces on Wake Island in December 1941, has been waiting.
JAPAN
May 5, 2001

Number of kids in Japan falls for 20th year in row

The number of Japanese children who were under 15 years old as of April 1 fell from a year earlier, reflecting the continuing decline in the nation's birthrate, the government said Friday.
BUSINESS
May 5, 2001

Foreign firms vie to crack drugs, distribution markets

Despite Japan's moribund economy and stagnant consumption, many foreign firms are still keen to enter the Japanese market, with some eyeing the pharmaceutical and distribution industries.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
May 5, 2001

Nagashima lets you have your cake, and be it too

You will have heard of print club. But how about print cake?
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
May 5, 2001

Just how long will you stay in Japan?

When foreigners come to Japan, we often don't know how long we'll end up staying. Wouldn't it be great if there was some way of knowing? Now there is! Take this quiz, designed to let you know how long you'll stay in Japan.
MORE SPORTS
May 5, 2001

T&T too tough for rest of synchro-swim field

Olympic silver-medalists Miya Tachibana and Miho Takeda turned in a solid routine Thursday to win their fourth straight duet title in the synchronized swimming national championships.
MORE SPORTS
May 5, 2001

Chinese take doubles table tennis title

China's Qin Zhijian and Yang Ying eased past South Koreans Oh Sang Eun and Kim Moo Kyo in three games Friday to win their first mixed doubles crown at the World Championships in Osaka. Qin and Yang defeated Oh and Kim 21-15, 21-15, 21-15 at Osaka Municipal Gymnasium to give China its third championship...
LIFE / Travel
May 5, 2001

Aichi's Meiji Mura: Remnants of the Meiji Era

Japan takes enormous pride in its culture but has a poor record on its preservation. This is particularly true of the Meiji Era (1868-1912), perhaps the most dynamic period in the country's history, when Japan emerged from more than 200 years of self-imposed isolation and laid the foundations of a modern...
JAPAN
May 4, 2001

Island Japan's pleasure boaters few but winds of change are a-blowin'

Despite its long maritime tradition, Japan lags far behind Scandinavia and the United States in terms of recreational yachting.
EDITORIALS
May 4, 2001

Floodgates release mistrust

Prospects for the controversial Isahaya Bay reclamation project in Nagasaki Prefecture are growing dim given the mistrust generated by the government's politicization of the issue. The floodgates are to be opened next spring (at the earliest), following a round of scientific surveys. But no one, including...
COMMENTARY
May 4, 2001

It's Koizumi vs. the LDP

The public-approval ratings of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's new Cabinet skyrocketed to unprecedented levels of more than 80 percent. Koizumi pledged that his Cabinet would spare no effort in implementing his drastic reform plans.
JAPAN / CABINET INTERVIEW
May 4, 2001

Heresy of Koizumi key to his Cabinet's soaring popularity, Fukuda says

It is the heretical style of new Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi that has sent his Cabinet's approval ratings soaring, according to Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda.
JAPAN
May 4, 2001

Moms afraid they are abusing kids

One in three Japanese mothers has experienced child-rearing difficulties and one in five is worried that she may be abusing her children, according to the results of a survey published Thursday.
JAPAN
May 4, 2001

Internet signals making waves with radio astronomy project

The growing number of Internet service providers using fixed wireless access technology is posing a problem for radio astronomers in Japan because the transmissions are threatening a project to explore the outer reaches of space.
JAPAN
May 4, 2001

Pair join U.S. Academy of Sciences

Two Japanese scientists, Tasaku Honjo and Ryuzo Yanagimachi, have been elected foreign associates of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences.
JAPAN
May 4, 2001

Son of North Korean leader detained at Narita airport

A man detained by immigration officials at Narita airport on suspicion of trying to enter Japan illegally has admitted he is the oldest son of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, Japanese public security officials said Thursday.
COMMENTARY / World
May 4, 2001

BJP's bond with nationalists quietly eases

NEW DELHI -- India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has now begun to play a tune which is embarrassingly jarring to its much-touted Hindutva ("Hinduness") policy.
BASEBALL / MLB
May 4, 2001

Seibu's Cabrera cracks 18th homer in win over 'Wave

Alex Cabrera blasted a three-run homer -- his Pacific League-leading 18th roundtripper -- to highlight a four-run sixth inning, guiding the Seibu Lions to a 6-2 victory over the Orix BlueWave Thursday at the Seibu Dome.
JAPAN
May 4, 2001

Constitution turns 54 as battle lines drawn up for and against reform

Groups for and against revision of the Constitution held rallies in Tokyo on Thursday to mark the 54th anniversary of the supreme law amid increasing calls for its revision from political leaders, including Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.
JAPAN
May 4, 2001

Work-related deaths fell in 2000

Fatalities from work-related accidents came to 1,889 last year, down 103, or 5 percent, from the year before, according to a government report released Thursday.

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