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JAPAN
Dec 12, 2000

Noodles nip karaoke, Walkman

Instant noodles are Japan's most famous accomplishment of the 20th century, according to a recent survey reported Monday by a Fuji Bank-affiliated think tank.
CULTURE / Music / MUSIC NOMAD
Dec 12, 2000

The best of the year that was

The concert scene in Japan tends to slow down a bit in the winter months, so this week I'll present my pick of this year's Japanese releases, and in my next column, releases from around the world.
BUSINESS
Dec 12, 2000

Stocks likely to rebound on bargain-hunting

Tokyo stock prices appear poised to rebound strongly on bargain hunting.
MORE SPORTS
Dec 12, 2000

Hoost king of K-1 roost

Dutch fighter Ernesto Hoost claimed his third K-1 Grand Prix title Sunday at a packed Tokyo Dome when he won the final by judges' decision over New Zealand's Ray Sefo.
JAPAN
Dec 12, 2000

Nakao admits taking bribes from Wakachiku Construction

Former Construction Minister Eiichi Nakao pleaded guilty Monday to receiving 60 million yen in bribes from Wakachiku Construction Co. in 1996 in return for helping the builder in its bids for public works.
BUSINESS
Dec 12, 2000

JTB, U.S. partner join in venture

Major travel agents Japan Travel Bureau Inc. and Carlson Wagonlit Travel of the United States have agreed to establish a Tokyo-based joint venture to handle travel and expense management for corporate clients, the companies said Monday.
BUSINESS
Dec 10, 2000

Panel wants NTT holding firm abolished

A government advisory panel is to call for the conditional dismantling of the current holding company structure of Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp., according to a final report the panel is scheduled to release on Dec. 21.
JAPAN
Dec 10, 2000

Chiyoda chief approved dubious loans

The president of Chiyoda Mutual Life Insurance Co. in 1992 pushed through loans to a financially troubled golf course developer that eventually went bankrupt, resulting in a loss of 14.7 billion yen to the insurer, sources close to the rehabilitation process of the failed insurer said Saturday.
JAPAN
Dec 10, 2000

Temporary workers form union

Young temporary workers in Tokyo and neighboring prefectures have organized a labor union to improve their working conditions, which are frequently inferior to those of full-time employees, union members said Saturday.
SOCCER / J. League
Dec 10, 2000

Antlers hoist J. League crown

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JAPAN
Dec 10, 2000

Victim's feelings said pushed aside amid campaign to get at Yokoyama

OSAKA -- It has been nearly a year since "Knock" Yokoyama resigned as Osaka's governor and was charged with molesting a female campaign aide, for which he was given an 18-month suspended prison term finalized in August.
JAPAN
Dec 10, 2000

Katayama wants municipalities to amalgamate

Japan's 2,600 towns and villages should be amalgamated to reduce the number of municipalities to around 1,000 to tie in with the planned decentralization of administrative power, according to the new chief of the Home Affairs Ministry.
JAPAN
Dec 10, 2000

Efforts afoot to boost foreign students' career opportunities

KOBE -- In an ongoing effort to forge stronger ties between Japan and her home country of Myanmar, Kobe University graduate student Thin Aye Aye Ko has spent recent years working as a translator, interpreter and even tour guide.
JAPAN
Dec 10, 2000

Murayama offered Pyongyang compromise for past

Former Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama offered a compromise to North Korea earlier this month to break a deadlock in normalization talks between Tokyo and Pyongyang, but the North Korean response was not positive, sources to close to Japan-North Korea relations said Saturday.
JAPAN
Dec 10, 2000

Magazine to run picture of Mori, alleged rightist

In the latest potential headache for Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, a weekly magazine plans to publish photographs of Mori with a man allegedly linked to a crime syndicate in an edition that will hit newsstands this week.
CULTURE / Art
Dec 10, 2000

Filling in the contours of a changing world

Sometimes people are disappointed with the quality of exhibitions visiting Japan, but there are no reservations about the superb drawings now at the Tobu Museum of Art.
CULTURE / Music
Dec 10, 2000

A feast of orchestral sound to take the chill off winter

Concertgoers could hardly escape noticing that the past month or so has been the season for hearing big symphony and opera orchestras from abroad. The Berlin Philharmonic and the Vienna Phil- harmonic, for example, were both here for weeks at the same time, and they weren't the only ones.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Dec 10, 2000

Japan's new goodwill ambassador to the UNEP

Tokiko Kato Tokiko Kato is every bit as energetic and candid in person as she appears on stage. Best known as a singer and musician, Kato is also a poet and painter, and serves on the board of the World Wide Fund for Nature Japan. Though her schedule is hectic, it is by choice, and she has energy to...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Dec 10, 2000

Old Mother Hubbard had a better deal than this

I keep trying to convince my friend Reiko to burrow. "You'd have much more living space," I told her. Other than the underground shopping areas and a few pipelines, you'd have as much space as you wanted. "But this size apartment is normal in Japan," she said.
COMMENTARY
Dec 10, 2000

Conservation and clean energy

LONDON -- The global-warming conference in the Netherlands last month ended without agreement. Some scientists are still debating how real global warming is and how serious its effects are likely to be. Others are still inclined to argue that climates evolve naturally with warm and cold periods alternating....
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 10, 2000

U.S. presidential elections should go global

LOS ANGELES -- Americans watching events play out in Florida since Nov. 7 may feel a surreal sense of powerlessness; their president is being chosen by a handful of Palm Beach residents, it seems. In short, Americans have now gotten a taste of the way the rest of the world feels with each presidential...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Dec 10, 2000

Japanese players strike: believe it when you see it

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JAPAN
Dec 10, 2000

Osaka's Olympic slogan in English won't be winning any gold medals

OSAKA -- The English-language slogan that the city of Osaka will use to promote its 2008 Olympic bid is silly, meaningless and unnatural.
EDITORIALS
Dec 10, 2000

Blood in the music

What's in a tune? When it comes to national anthems, a very great deal, it seems. In the first place, people like one they can actually sing, and in the second place, they like one that stirs and rouses the emotions, making them feel briefly part of something larger than themselves.
COMMUNITY
Dec 10, 2000

Iron chef champ's book hailed best in the world

One of Katsuyo Kobayashi's strengths is that she is 100 percent reliable. With 140 books published to date, even the most inept cook can take home her latest compilation of recipes and come up trumps every time. Not only are they easy to make, good to eat and affordable, but joy of joys, some are now...

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