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JAPAN
Jan 6, 2001

Rightist held after shooting at Aum home

A man believed to be a member of a rightist group was arrested after firing shots Thursday night at an apartment building in Tokyo where followers of Aum Shinrikyo live, police said Friday.
EDITORIALS
Jan 5, 2001

Familiar faces in Washington

President-elect George W. Bush has completed his Cabinet nominations. He has assembled a diverse group that has ample experience in Washington and in dealing with the bureaucracy. They are competent, capable and conservative. Taken as a whole, however, the group raises questions about Mr. Bush's claim...
JAPAN
Jan 5, 2001

Asahi, IHT to jointly publish daily

Major national newspaper Asahi Shimbun Co. will jointly publish an English-language newspaper in Japan with the International Herald Tribune, the Japanese daily said Thursday.
JAPAN
Jan 5, 2001

Changing diet brings rising food concerns

The traditional Japanese diet of rice, grilled fish and vegetables has long been heralded as among the healthiest a culture has produced -- just witness Japan's long life spans.
BUSINESS
Jan 5, 2001

Aozora Bank unveils new logo

Aozora Bank, the reincarnation of the failed Nippon Credit Bank, kicked off operations Thursday by unveiling its new corporate logo in a high-profile ceremony.
BUSINESS
Jan 5, 2001

Osaka pins revitalization on 90% corporate tax cut

The Osaka Prefectural Government said Thursday that it will slash as much as 90 percent off the corporate business tax it levies on new companies headquartered in the prefecture in a bid to attract more firms.
CULTURE / Film
Jan 5, 2001

A film genius in his own mind

Harmony Korine -- screenwriter of "Kids," director of "Gummo" -- fancies himself the enfant terrible of contemporary cinema. Well, he is . . . terrible. Certain critics have been calling him "the new Godard," and I'd agreewith that too. But when was the last time Godard made anything that played better...
JAPAN
Jan 5, 2001

9,066 killed in traffic accidents in 2000

The number of traffic fatalities in 2000 totaled 9,066, up 60 over 1999 for the first increase since more than 10,000 deaths were recorded in 1996, the National Police Agency said Thursday.
JAPAN
Jan 5, 2001

TSE starts year sour despite rise abroad

Despite the record surge in U.S. high-tech stocks overnight, the Tokyo Stock Exchange began 2001 on a lackluster note Thursday, with an initial rally fizzling out.
BUSINESS
Jan 5, 2001

Cooperative-style condos let owners realize dreams

New condo owner Emiko Kaji says her brand new color-coordinated kitchen keeps her happy while she slaves over the stove cooking for her family.
BUSINESS
Jan 5, 2001

Top broker plans seminars for undergraduates in Hyogo

Nomura Securities Co. will offer securities business seminars at Kwansei Gakuin University in Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture, starting in April.
BUSINESS
Jan 5, 2001

Nomura eyes pole position for new pensions

Nomura Securities Co. is preparing for the expected introduction of a new defined-contribution pension program modeled on the U.S. 401(k) plans later this year.
SUMO
Jan 5, 2001

Ailing Akebono to skip New Year tournament

Yokozuna Akebono, winner of the Kyushu Grand Sumo Tournament in November, said Thursday he will skip the New Year meet that gets under way at Tokyo's Ryogoku Kokugikan on Sunday because of pain in his knees.
JAPAN
Jan 5, 2001

New Year travelers swamp Kansai and Narita airports

Japan's two major international airports -- Narita in Chiba Prefecture and Kansai in Osaka Prefecture -- were strained to capacity Thursday as travelers returned home from New Year's vacations abroad, airport officials said.
JAPAN
Jan 5, 2001

Tap dance zealot leads revival of making 'music' with feet

Tap dance instructor Kaoru Tomita has a simple yet effective approach to teaching the percussive dance in a country where rote learning and imitation are pedagogic mainstays: Do what you want and don't copy anyone.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 5, 2001

The high human cost of anticapitalism

There has been a rising swell of voices to denounce the forces of capitalism and globalization. It has gone beyond the normal complaints of professors, journalists and politicians who criticize capitalism and markets and, if not the wealth they create, the way it is distributed. Demonstrations at the...
CULTURE / Books
Jan 5, 2001

Have Japanese novelists lost touch with readers?

The fading interest in reading among younger Japanese first caused alarm several years ago in Japan, but I was recently startled to see a full page devoted to the topic in The New York Times' Book Review section (Dec. 10).
JAPAN
Jan 5, 2001

Obara served fifth warrant for rape

Accused serial rapist Joji Obara was served a fifth arrest warrant Thursday on suspicion of drugging and raping a woman last January, police sources said.
BUSINESS
Jan 5, 2001

Mitsui Pharmaceuticals absorbed

OSAKA -- Nihon Schering K.K., a Japanese unit of the major German pharmaceutical group Schering AG, said Thursday that it has absorbed its subsidiary, Mitsui Pharmaceuticals Inc., to improve efficiency.
BUSINESS
Jan 5, 2001

Insurers launch 'third-sector' sales

Nippon Life Insurance Co. and Tokio Marine & Fire Insurance Co.'s life insurance unit started selling cancer insurance policies Thursday, the two firms said.
JAPAN
Jan 5, 2001

Police follow shirt trail from weekend murder

A bloodstained sweat shirt that police suspect belonged to the person who killed a family of four on the weekend at a house in Tokyo's Setagaya Ward was one of a few hundred of the same kind sold only in Setagaya and Suginami wards, investigative sources said Thursday.
JAPAN
Jan 5, 2001

Magnitude 5.1 quake jolts Niigata

An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.1 jolted the central part of Niigata Prefecture at 1:18 p.m. Thursday, the Meteorological Agency said.
JAPAN
Jan 5, 2001

Rice cakes kill six elderly in Tokyo

Six elderly people died after choking on traditional "mochi" rice cakes in Tokyo between Dec. 26 and Jan 3, prompting authorities to issue a warning for older people who eat the sticky New Year's treats.
EDITORIALS
Jan 4, 2001

HAL, are you out there?

2001 is not just another year. For over three decades, those four digits symbolized the future, and triggered hopes, dreams and fears about what lay over the horizon. Brilliant though it was, Sir Arthur C. Clarke's imagination and Stanley Kubrick's rendering of life in the 21st century have also missed...

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