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JAPAN
Dec 13, 2000

Kobe man says he was a spy for Pyongyang for 20 years

KOBE -- For nearly 20 years, Cho Ryu Un, a Korean resident of Japan born and raised in Kobe, lived a double life. To friends and business partners, he was a normal businessman, albeit connected with the pro-Pyongyang General Association of Korean Residents in Japan (Chongryon).
JAPAN
Dec 13, 2000

Tokio Marine to offer stalking insurance

Tokio Marine & Fire Insurance Co. will offer an insurance product from January to help cover costs for women who find they have to seek protection from stalkers, the company said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Dec 13, 2000

Mock trial on sexual slavery finds Emperor Showa guilty

The late Emperor Showa was "guilty of crimes against humanity," judges ruled Tuesday at the end of a mock trial on Japan's role in forcing women into sexual slavery for its military before and during World War II.
BUSINESS
Dec 13, 2000

New auto pact talks set for Dec. 18

Japan and the United States will hold a third round of talks on extending the 1995 Auto and Auto Parts Pact on Dec. 18 and 19 in San Francisco, International Trade and Industry Minister Takeo Hiranuma said Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Dec 13, 2000

Growth forecast; correction to run its course

The higher they go, the farther they'll fall.
BUSINESS
Dec 13, 2000

Isuzu Motors names Ida as new president

Isuzu Motors Ltd. said Tuesday it will appoint Yoshinori Ida, 57, as its new president and chief operating officer, effective Thursday.
BUSINESS
Dec 13, 2000

Brewers must beat problems to diversify, Moody's reports

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EDITORIALS
Dec 13, 2000

The EU makes nice in Nice

At its make-or-break summit last weekend in Nice, the European Union bent. Faced with the need to reform to accommodate new members and new responsibilities, European heads of state produced the inevitable compromises and fudges. Some choices were made; others, predictably, were put off. Still, the ground...
JAPAN
Dec 13, 2000

Parents driven to 'kidnap' children

Dutchman Engel Nieman took his 2-year-old daughter to Osaka this fall to board a slow boat for the Netherlands to visit his dying father.
BUSINESS
Dec 13, 2000

NTT announces new ADSL service for Tokyo, Osaka

NTT East Corp. and NTT West Corp. said Tuesday that they will launch Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Line service on. Dec. 26. in parts of Tokyo's 23 Wards and in Osaka City.
LIFE / Digital
Dec 13, 2000

Deck the halls with boughs of games

Video games used to be the No. 1 gift request of preteen boys alone, but not anymore. With the release of sophisticated hardware such as Sony's PlayStation 2 console, the audience for games has expanded to include older gamers, both male and female.
JAPAN
Dec 13, 2000

Japan considering 3% cut in aid to developing nations

The government and the ruling coalition are considering a reduction of roughly 3 percent in Japan's official development assistance to developing countries for fiscal 2001, sources involved in ODA revision talks said Tuesday.
CULTURE / Books
Dec 13, 2000

Okinawa's Ota makes a case for redress

ESSAYS ON OKINAWA PROBLEMS, by Masahide Ota. Gushikawa City, Okinawa: Yui Shuppan Co., 2000, 302 pp., 1,600 yen (paper). Okinawa's history is essentially that of a poor ethnic group at Japan's southern extremity. The island has been continually exploited and abused for the interest and convenience of...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Dec 13, 2000

The willow world stripped bare

GEISHA: The Secret History of a Vanishing World, by Lesley Downer. London: Headline Books, 2000, 370 pp., 20 British pounds. A common question asked about geisha is: Do they or don't they? Their attraction seems balanced between artistic prowess and sex appeal, but just how often is the latter properly...
ENVIRONMENT
Dec 13, 2000

Slowing down to the pace of nature

Looking for an unusual vacation this winter? How about floating along a river deep in the jungles of Borneo?
CULTURE / Books
Dec 13, 2000

Book bites

MANGEKYO/KALEIDOSCOPE: Modern Senryu with English Versions, translated by Okada Hideo and Adrian Pinnington, boxed cards, XYLO Co. Ltd., 2000, 3,150 yen (+200 yen postage). This is a most unusual and attractive publication, consisting of four dozen short poems printed in Japanese on separate cards, with...
COMMENTARY
Dec 13, 2000

Look to history for guidance

THE REICHSTAG, Berlin -- Here in this building, 68 years ago, German democracy died, ushering in the darkest period of 20th-century history.
MORE SPORTS
Dec 13, 2000

IMG a major player in pro sports

What do people think of when you mention IMG? For most, it's money, for some it's exploitation, for others it's sports promotion, and, thanks to my friend Rick Roa at IMG's Tokyo office, for me it's the Playmate twins Carol and Darlene Bernaola.
CULTURE / Books
Dec 13, 2000

Television as a pillar of the state

BROADCASTING POLITICS IN JAPAN: NHK and Television News, by Ellis Krauss. Cornell University Press, 2000, 278 pp., $35 (cloth). Many of us know NHK (Nippon Hoso Kyokai) for its film documentaries, its cultural programs -- stunning or plodding, depending on your perspective -- or its Sunday morning singalongs....
BUSINESS
Dec 13, 2000

Consortium seals deal for Taiwan shinkansen

A consortium of seven Japanese companies formally signed a contract worth about 330 billion yen Tuesday afternoon in Tokyo with Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. to build a bullet train line in Taiwan, THSRC said.
COMMUNITY
Dec 13, 2000

Unlocking secrets of the original Marseille Tarot

Tarot cards can be found in the game sections of toy shops, and there are hundreds of different decks. But Tarot is an ancient tradition, says tarot master Philippe Camoin, and the philosophy behind the cards is a powerful tool for awakening intelligence.
ENVIRONMENT / GARDENING FOR ALL
Dec 13, 2000

Quest for the yellow-flowered toad lily

After visiting Ukishima bog-woodland in Shingu I took the express train back to Kushimoto. My quest was for a yellow-flowering toad lily, which reportedly grows wild in the southern Kii Peninsula.
CULTURE / Books
Dec 13, 2000

Book bites

SHONEN: Where It All Started, by Yuji Ando. Kabushiki gaisha 22, 6-6-16 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo 107-0052. 80 pp., 3,000 yen (cloth). This beautiful bilingual book is basically an album of paintings by the well-known artist Yuji Ando, depicting his memories of a rural Japanese childhood in a setting...
LIFE / Digital / SURFERSPUD
Dec 13, 2000

Techno and tea

www.thump-radio.com If Napster is a community of listeners, Thump Radio is a legal-hassle-free community of clubbers, artists and labels, all neatly pulled together by streaming audio shared by all. Lots of opportunities to check out new DJs or established DJs' new stuff, then tell your friends about...
LIFE / Digital / CYBERIA
Dec 13, 2000

Next stop Wirelessland

A funny thing happened on the way to work . .
COMMUNITY
Dec 13, 2000

Stopping the biological clock

As people develop wrinkles and spots on their skin with age, invisible and subtle changes also occur deep in their bodies. Researchers now agree that the aging of women's eggs is an important factor in many reproductive problems, including infertility, miscarriage and birth defects.

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