Yomiuri Shimbun/Daily Yomiuri articles from April 2001

Yomiuri Shimbun/Daily Yomiuri archives from April 2001

Koizumi faces major economic hurdles.
April 30, 2001... Koizumi faces major economic hurdles Ikuo Anai Yomiuri Shimbun Senior Editor Yomiuri Can Japan, now under the leadership of Junichiro Koizumi, recover from the negative effects of its past economic successes--such as its diminished fiscal...

Cabinet gleans 87% approval Poll finds record-high support.
April 30, 2001... Cabinet gleans 87% approval Poll finds record-high support for new Koizumi administration Yomiuri Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's newly formed Cabinet received an approval rating of 87.1 percent--a record high--from respondents to a...

Government must fight deflation, spur economy.
April 30, 2001... Government must fight deflation, spur economy Yomiuri The administration of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has been launched at a time when the Japanese economy is in the tentacles of a deflationary trend and a sense of helplessness is...

Food-poisoning scare caused by imported beef.
April 30, 2001... Food-poisoning scare caused by imported beef Yomiuri UTSUNOMIYA The Tochigi prefectural government announced Friday that the recent outbreak of food poisoning in seven prefectures linked to Takizawa Ham Co. products was caused by imported...

Koizumi's reception mixed at May Day rally.
April 30, 2001... Koizumi's reception mixed at May Day rally Yomiuri Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi received a mixed reception when he attended a May Day rally in Tokyo on Saturday, essentially because of his oft-repeated pledge to privatize postal...

Man held in confinement of mom.
April 30, 2001... Man held in confinement of mom Yomiuri WAKAYAMA A 38-year-old unemployed man was arrested Saturday on suspicion of confining his 67-year-old mother in their house in Wakayama for seven years, police said. Police quoted the man, whose name is...

NPA: Snakehead smuggling of people doubles since Jan.
April 30, 2001... NPA: Snakehead smuggling of people doubles since Jan. Yomiuri The number of Chinese caught trying to illegally enter the country by hiding in shipping containers on cargo ships has increased sharply since January, according to statistics...

2 trains almost collide in Shizuoka.
April 30, 2001... 2 trains almost collide in Shizuoka Yomiuri SHIZUOKA A Japan Freight Railway Co. freight train came close to colliding with a Central Japan Railway Co. (JR Tokai) train with about 70 passengers aboard at JR Fuji Station, in Fuji, Shizuoka...

New society to improve regenerative medicine.
April 30, 2001... New society to improve regenerative medicine Yomiuri OSAKA A group of experts in the field of regenerative medicine will launch on Tuesday an organization to link researchers with companies so that they can compete more effectively with...

Popular-vote plan gets mixed reaction.
April 30, 2001... Popular-vote plan gets mixed reaction Yomiuri Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's initiative to revise the Constitution so that future prime ministers will be elected by popular vote has met with mixed reactions among members of the ruling...

Editorial / Stable U.S.-China relations a must.
April 30, 2001... Editorial / Stable U.S.-China relations a must Yomiuri The administration of U.S. President George W. Bush has postponed the sales of Aegis class ships equipped with a sophisticated air defense system to Taiwan. China had opposed the sale of...

New party boss to spur Vietnam economy.
April 30, 2001... New party boss to spur Vietnam economy Kenichi Okumura Yomiuri Shimbun Correspondent Yomiuri HANOI Vietnam's ruling Communist Party ended its four-day Party Congress on April 22, after naming Nong Duc Manh its general secretary. The congress,...

Study refutes cancer-prevention theory.
April 30, 2001... Study refutes cancer-prevention theory Yoshiaki Sato Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer Yomiuri What should we eat to prevent cancer, and what is the ideal diet that will prevent diseases developing as a result of unhealthy daily habits? The...

New Paperbacks.
April 30, 2001... New Paperbacks Yomiuri A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius By Dave Eggars, Picador, 6.99 pounds When he was 21, Dave Eggars' parents died of cancer within months of each other, leaving him to bring up his 9-year-old brother. This is the...

Stephen King on the job he loves.
April 30, 2001... Stephen King on the job he loves Carole Kasprzycki Special to The Daily Yomiuri Yomiuri While I was studying literature at university, I always felt that I had to hide my fondness for Stephen King's writings. (I also hid my addiction to...

Opera O looks to strike high note again.
April 30, 2001... Opera O looks to strike high note again Yomiuri Win or lose, all eyes will be on T.M. Opera O during today's 123rd running of the spring Tenno Sho. Everyone wants to know if Opera O's shocking defeat earlier in the month was a fluke, and if...

BlueWave whitewash Fighters.
April 30, 2001... BlueWave whitewash Fighters Yomiuri Hisashi Ogura (3-1) threw a five-hit shutout and Ryota Aikawa drove in a pair of runs, the first of his career, as the Orix BlueWave blanked the last place Nippon Ham Fighters 2-0 at Kobe Green Stadium on...

Court rules for Minamata victims.
April 30, 2001... OSAKA -- The Osaka High Court on Friday found the central and Kumamoto prefectural governments responsible for failing to prevent the spread of Minamata disease in the 1950s, and ordered them to compensate victims. The outbreak of...

Koizumi spells out policies.
April 30, 2001... Newly elected Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi Friday proposed a constitutional revision to allow all voters to directly choose the prime minister in a popular vote. "I believe it is desirable to revise the Constitution (to enable a...

Hayami offered to quit in March.
April 30, 2001... Bank of Japan Gov. Masaru Hayami in March told former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori and former Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa of his intention to resign in March, The Yomiuri Shimbun learned Friday. Hayami, 76, cited health reasons...

6 construction companies accused of padding sales.
April 30, 2001... Authorities will soon file a criminal complaint against a group of construction firms on suspicion that they unlawfully won bids on contracts for public works projects by falsifying their sales records to make themselves eligible to bid,...

Colloquium forum information.
April 30, 2001... The following is the schedule and list of participants for the forum titled "What are the hurdles to Japan's economic revival," a panel discussion jointly sponsored by the Tokyo Colloquium and the Yomiuri International Economic Society. ...

Minamata ruling defies govt criteria.
April 30, 2001... OSAKA -- There can be no underestimating the significance of the Osaka High Court's decision Friday to hold the central and Kumamoto prefectural governments responsible for failing to contain the outbreak of mercury poisoning that became...

22-yr-old pair try to rob 28 mil. yen based on Net tip.
April 30, 2001... OSAKA -- A 22-year-old man, who is under arrest on suspicion of attacking a bar employee to rob him of cash in early April, had committed the crime after looking at information posted on an Internet bulletin board that incited participation...

Weather forecast mixed.
April 30, 2001... The Meteorological Agency on Friday announced the weather forecast for most of the Golden Week holiday period during which many workers get several days off in a row. The forecast predicted fine weather for Golden Week's kickoff on...

Koizumi adopts Mori's strategy toward pesky journalists.
April 30, 2001... Newly elected Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi appears to have adopted a clever tactic from his predecessor Yoshiro Mori of "not talking while walking," which Mori used to deal with persistent reporters. One of the first things Koizumi...

Ex-pat Japanese conductor receives French accolade.
April 30, 2001... A Japanese conductor has been honored by France for his contributions to the world of classical music. Hikotaro Yazaki, 54, recently received L'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres Chevalier, (The Order of Arts and Letters), from the French...

Koizumi to attend May Day rally.
April 30, 2001... Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi is to address the central May Day rally organized by the Japan Trade Union Confederation (Rengo) on Saturday at Yoyogi Park in Tokyo, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda said Friday. Koizumi will be the...

Ministries, agencies edgy, excited as incoming bosses arrive for work.
April 30, 2001... The arrival of new Cabinet members brought a mix of tension and excitement to the ministries and agencies Friday morning. "Is our new chief really going to be him?" a Self-Defense Force executive asked with a sigh at the Defense Agency,...

Court rules statue of Kannon erected illegally by village.
April 30, 2001... MATSUYAMA -- The Matsuyama District Court on Friday ordered the chief of the Shingumura government in Ehime Prefecture and six officials of the village government to return about 15 million yen they spent erecting a statue of the goddess...

Tanaka arrives at new office with guns blazing.
April 30, 2001... Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka, 57, displayed a new and reformist style on her first day in office Friday, which prompted watchers to raise the question of whether she will be able to become "a Japanese version" of former U.S. Secretary of...

New Sogo seeks transformation from within.
April 30, 2001... On March 1, a full-page advertisement of "Sogo o Shikaru-kai" (Group for Disciplining Sogo Department Store) appeared in every major Japanese newspaper. Three well-known figures, apparently comprising the group, appeared in the advertisement...

Stamping out domestic violence.
April 30, 2001... Two women will set off May 9 on a yearlong walk from Hokkaido's Cape Soya, Japan's most northerly point, to the Okinawan island of Yonaguni, within sight of Taiwan. Mary King, 39, of England, and Etsuko Shimabukoro, 37, will be putting...

Poor paternal relations leave many women unwilling to marry.
April 30, 2001... Sumiko is 36 but lives with her parents in Tokyo and works at a foreign-affiliated computer company as a desktop publishing designer. She earns 5 million yen a year. Her 69-year-old mother takes good care of her, cooking her meals, doing her...

Popularity brewing for green tea.
April 30, 2001... The arrival on store shelves of produce from tea-growing areas, such as Shizuoka and Kagoshima prefectures, heralds the start of this year's green tea season. Green tea, which has enjoyed inseparable links with the Japanese, is today enjoyed...

To your health Getting the lowdown on prenatal genetic testing.
April 30, 2001... Jill and Greg fell madly in love when both were 32 and they married within six months. Were children to be or not to be? That was the question--the answer to which was constantly postponed. pursuing her relentlessly like Peter Pan's "clock...

Editorial: Hayami's mixed legacy at BOJ.
April 30, 2001... It has been learned the 76-year-old Bank of Japan Gov. Masaru Hayami, reportedly citing declining health due to old age, told then Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori and others in March that he wanted to step down from the central bank's top...

Jottings.
April 30, 2001... The following is a translation of the Henshu Techo Column of The Yomiuri Shimbun's April 27 issue. In appointing cabinet members, female politicians and people from the private sector are often called "medama," which translates literally...

Koizumi victory is a test for society.
April 30, 2001... Junichiro Koizumi's unexpected landslide victory in the presidential election of the Liberal Democratic Party raises many important issues that deserve close attention. One might consider his win a one-off, a result of a snowballing of...

CPI hits record 0.4% decline.
April 30, 2001... Consumer prices dropped by a record 0.4 percent in fiscal 2000 for the third consecutive year, the Public Management Ministry said Friday. The consumering price index for the fiscal year ended March 31 stood at 101.7 against the 1995 base...

70% of firms see economy as stagnant.
April 30, 2001... Sixty-nine of 100 major corporations surveyed nationwide by The Yomiuri Shimbun said they see the country's economy as stagnant, in a stark contrast to a November poll in which 67 companies said they thought it was slowly recovering. In...

Mitchell has wings clipped for 3 games.
April 30, 2001... Fukuoka Daiei Hawks designated hitter Tony Mitchell was suspended for three games Friday for a violent incident after being hit by a pitch in Thursday's game against the Nippon Ham Fighters. Mitchell, in his first season with the Hawks,...

Koizumi attends Rengo rally.
April 30, 2001... Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi was among 450,000 participants in the 72nd May Day rallies organized by the Japanese Trade Union Confederation (Rengo) and related labor unions at about 170 locations in Tokyo and 16 prefectures on Saturday,...

Cabinet gleans 87% approval: Poll finds record-high support for new Koizumi administration.
April 30, 2001... Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's newly formed Cabinet received an approval rating of 87.1 percent--a record high--from respondents to a Yomiuri Shimbun telephone poll conducted on Friday and Saturday, immediately after its formation. ...

Editorial: Stable U.S.-China relations a must.
April 30, 2001... The administration of U.S. President George W. Bush has postponed the sales of Aegis class ships equipped with a sophisticated air defense system to Taiwan. China had opposed the sale of the Aegis system, saying its introduction would lead to...

Study refutes cancer-prevention theory.
April 30, 2001... What should we eat to prevent cancer, and what is the ideal diet that will prevent diseases developing as a result of unhealthy daily habits? The epidemiology of nutrition, which studies the relationship between food and diseases, is no...

Economic heavyweights lose on points.
April 30, 2001... The World Trade Organization's 1999 meeting in Seattle went down in history as the "Battle of Seattle." Instead of discussing international trade issues, the participants looked on in horror as gangs of protesters wrecked the center of...

BlueWave whitewash Fighters.
April 30, 2001... Hisashi Ogura (3-1) threw a five-hit shutout and Ryota Aikawa drove in a pair of runs, the first of his career, as the Orix BlueWave blanked the last place Nippon Ham Fighters 2-0 at Kobe Green Stadium on Saturday afternoon. The Fighters...

Comprehensive plan urged to rectify economic problems.
April 30, 2001... Comprehensive plan urged to rectify economic problems Catherine Heins Yomiuri Shimbun New York Bureau Yomiuri NEW YORK With the election of Junichiro Koizumi as prime minister of Japan, there is mounting interest in the United States as to...

Enough talk: The time has come for action This is the sec.
April 30, 2001... Enough talk: The time has come for action This is the second installment of a six-part series on five Yomiuri Shimbun e Yomiuri Buzzwords and catchphrases are easy on the ear, but they should be listened to with caution. The language of the...

LDP's ruling partners cold on double-election plan.
April 30, 2001... LDP's ruling partners cold on double-election plan Yomiuri Leaders of the Liberal Democratic Party's two coalition partners on Sunday were negative toward a plan being touted within the LDP of holding a general election simultaneously with...

Youths fatally stab Yamagata woman.
April 30, 2001... Youths fatally stab Yamagata woman Yomiuri YAMAGATA A group of four to five young men broke into the residence of a wealthy family of five in Haguromachi, Yamagata Prefecture, on Saturday afternoon, fatally stabbing the mother and wounding...

Panel to call for more pilot-tower contact.
April 30, 2001... Panel to call for more pilot-tower contact Yomiuri The Aircraft Accident Investigation Committee of the Construction and Transport Ministry will make a proposal to improve communications between pilots and air traffic controllers to prevent...

Tokyo man apparently murdered in apartment.
April 30, 2001... Tokyo man apparently murdered in apartment Yomiuri A 66-year-old man living alone in an apartment in Toshima Ward, Tokyo, was found apparently murdered Saturday afternoon, police said. The victim was identified as Shozo Yahagi, unemployed,...

Car thefts soar to an estimated 50 bil. yen.
April 30, 2001... Car thefts soar to an estimated 50 bil. yen Yomiuri Difficulties continue for police and customs officials in preventing the illegal export of stolen vehicles due to new customs clearance procedures that were simplified in 1995 as part of the...

Obuchi statue unveiled at site of G-8 summit.
April 30, 2001... Obuchi statue unveiled at site of G-8 summit Yomiuri NAGOC Okinawa Leaders of the Hashimoto faction of the Liberal Democratic Party, some with tears in their eyes, attended the unveiling of a statue erected in memory of late Prime Minister...

Latin American butterfly on display in Hiroshima.
April 30, 2001... Latin American butterfly on display in Hiroshima Yomiuri HIROSHIMA A museum in Higashi Ward, Hiroshima, has opened an exhibition of Latin American butterflies reputed to have the most beautiful wings of all lepidoptera after it successfully...

'Koizumi effect' gives boost to LDP.
April 30, 2001... 'Koizumi effect' gives boost to LDP Yomiuri The Liberal Democratic Party has received a shot in the arm from the popularity of the reform-oriented Cabinet of newly elected Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, which registered an 87.1 percent...

Editorial / Time to implement avowed policies.
April 30, 2001... Editorial / Time to implement avowed policies Yomiuri The administration of new Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi made a fairly good debut in the international financial scene Saturday. What it is expected to do now is to make good on its...

Turtle teaches kids about environment.
April 30, 2001... Turtle teaches kids about environment Yomiuri KOBE A picture-card story made by a Kobe coast guard official has been distributed to about 120 coast guard offices and stations across the nation, in the hope that children will have more...

Seniors bothered by bad manners.
April 30, 2001... Seniors bothered by bad manners Yomiuri OSAKA Older people, who were raised in a more disciplined fashion in their formative years, are more bothered than other segments of the population by bad manners, according to the findings of a survey...

Shintoshin area gets new landmark.
April 30, 2001... Shintoshin area gets new landmark Yomiuri URAWA Work has finished on the towering NTT DoCoMo Saitama Building in the Saitama Shintoshin area, which encompasses the cities of Urawa, Omiya, and Yono in Saitama Prefecture. The new building,...

Intl musical festival set for June, July.
April 30, 2001... Intl musical festival set for June, July Yomiuri FUKUSHIMA An international classical music festival, featuring the Berlin Philharmonic Octet and pianist Ikuyo Nakamichi and other renowned groups and artists, will be held at four locations in...

Children plant poplar tree at greenery rally.
April 30, 2001... Children plant poplar tree at greenery rally Yomiuri FUKUI Local children planted a poplar tree with the help of Katsuyama Mayor Masahiro Yamagishi at Nagao Hills Park in their city Thursday. The poplar, about two meters tall, was one of 10...

Model dinosaur ready for Golden Week festival.
April 30, 2001... Model dinosaur ready for Golden Week festival Yomiuri MAEBASHI The Nakasato Dinosaur Center in Nakasatomura, Gunma Prefecture, began exhibiting a model skeleton of a one-meter-long Psittacosaurus on Saturday. The center's staff constructed it...

Marinos finally manage a victory.
April 30, 2001... Marinos finally manage a victory Shintaro Kano Daily Yomiuri Sportswriter Yomiuri YOKOHAMA YOKOHAMA--High-prized rookie Yutaka Tahara scored his first career goal to hand F Marinos a 2-1 victory over Sanfrecce Hiroshima on Sunday afternoon at...

Kokubo's blast blows Buffaloes out of 1st place in PL.
April 30, 2001... Kokubo's blast blows Buffaloes out of 1st place in PL Yomiuri Hiroki Kokubo belted a 10th-inning "sayonara" home run at Fukuoka Dome as the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks overcame a late rally to beat the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes 4-3 and retake the...

Opera O rules 3rd straight Tenno-Sho.
April 30, 2001... Opera O rules 3rd straight Tenno-Sho Yomiuri T. M. Opera O joined the ranks of super horses Sunday by becoming the first horse to record three straight Tenno-Sho victories. His seventh Grade-1 victory also tied him with the record set by...

Enough talk: The time has come for action: This is the second installment of a six-part series.
April 30, 2001... Buzzwords and catchphrases are easy on the ear, but they should be listened to with caution. The language of the day may sound right at first, but it often turns out to be meaningless and sometimes even harmful. "Structural reform," if...

Editorial: Time to implement avowed policies.
April 30, 2001... The administration of new Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi made a fairly good debut in the international financial scene Saturday. What it is expected to do now is to make good on its international commitments. At the meeting of the Group...

Samurai dolls have proud history.
April 30, 2001... The sales battle among manufacturers of armor-clad samurai dolls for Children's Day on May 5--more traditionally known as the Boys' Festival--peaked in early April, shortly after the vernal equinox. The holiday has its roots in an...

Marinos finally manage a victory.
April 30, 2001... YOKOHAMA -- High-prized rookie Yutaka Tahara scored his first career goal to hand F Marinos a 2-1 victory over Sanfrecce Hiroshima on Sunday afternoon at International Stadium Yokohama, delivering the struggling Yokohama side's first win of...

INSIGHTS INTO THE WORLD: Only CEOs can save the economy.
April 30, 2001... The U.S. economy is slowing down more rapidly than expected, creating a somewhat chaotic environment for the new administration of U.S. President George W. Bush and the economic world at large. After posting an annualized growth rate of...

INSIGHTS INTO THE WORLD / Only CEOs can save the economy.
April 30, 2001... INSIGHTS INTO THE WORLD / Only CEOs can save the economy Toyoo Gyohten Yomiuri The U.S. economy is slowing down more rapidly than expected, creating a somewhat chaotic environment for the new administration of U.S. President George W. Bush...

Consumers the victors of Myline phone war.
April 30, 2001... With the May 1 introduction of the Myline phone-registration service rapidly approaching, the battle to win new customers ahead of the deadline has intensified between telecommunications firms. The service allows users to connect to their...

[0] Government must fight deflation, spur economy.
April 30, 2001... The administration of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has been launched at a time when the Japanese economy is in the tentacles of a deflationary trend and a sense of helplessness is spreading throughout society. The most urgent task...

[0] Food-poisoning scare caused by imported beef.
April 30, 2001... UTSUNOMIYA -- The Tochigi prefectural government announced Friday that the recent outbreak of food poisoning in seven prefectures linked to Takizawa Ham Co. products was caused by imported beef contaminated with the O-157 strain of E. coli...

[0] Koizumi's reception mixed at May Day rally.
April 30, 2001... Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi received a mixed reception when he attended a May Day rally in Tokyo on Saturday, essentially because of his oft-repeated pledge to privatize postal businesses. Koizumi was the first prime minister in five...

[0] NPA: Snakehead smuggling of people doubles since Jan.
April 30, 2001... The number of Chinese caught trying to illegally enter the country by hiding in shipping containers on cargo ships has increased sharply since January, according to statistics released Saturday by the National Police Agency. According to...

2 trains almost collide in Shizuoka.
April 30, 2001... SHIZUOKA -- A Japan Freight Railway Co. freight train came close to colliding with a Central Japan Railway Co. (JR Tokai) train with about 70 passengers aboard at JR Fuji Station, in Fuji, Shizuoka Prefecture, earlier this month after the...

[0] New society to improve regenerative medicine.
April 30, 2001... OSAKA -- A group of experts in the field of regenerative medicine will launch on Tuesday an organization to link researchers with companies so that they can compete more effectively with researchers in Europe and the United States, it was...

[0] Popular-vote plan gets mixed reaction.
April 30, 2001... Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's initiative to revise the Constitution so that future prime ministers will be elected by popular vote has met with mixed reactions among members of the ruling coalition parties and opposition parties,...

Stephen King on the job he loves.
April 30, 2001... While I was studying literature at university, I always felt that I had to hide my fondness for Stephen King's writings. (I also hid my addiction to trashy detective novels, but that's another story.) He is one of the most popular writers of...

[0] New party boss to spur Vietnam economy.
April 30, 2001... HANOI -- Vietnam's ruling Communist Party ended its four-day Party Congress on April 22, after naming Nong Duc Manh its general secretary. The congress, which is considered an important meeting that will decide the nation's course for...