Yomiuri Shimbun/Daily Yomiuri articles from December 2000

Yomiuri Shimbun/Daily Yomiuri archives from December 2000

Dark clouds shrouding world economy.
December 30, 2000... Dark clouds shrouding world economy Toyoo Gyohten Yomiuri Just when the 20th century is ending in only a few days, ominous, dark clouds have begun to shroud the prospects of the world economy. Up until the summer, the world's economic outlook...

Fujimori: Alleged bank accounts not proven.
December 30, 2000... Fujimori: Alleged bank accounts not proven Alberto Fujimori Special to The Yomiuri Shimbun Yomiuri This is the third in a four-part exclusive series written by former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori. The magic number was 18 million...

3 Kyushu banks consider tie-up with view to merger.
December 30, 2000... Three regional banks--Fukuoka City Bank, Kyushu Bank and Bank of Nagasaki--are in the final phase of negotiations over a possible comprehensive business tie-up with an eye to management integration that may eventually lead to a three-way...

'Anti-Fujimorism' only plank of rivals' platforms.
December 30, 2000... This is fourth and last in a four-part exclusive series written by former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori. The entire nation of Peru is preparing for elections to select a new president and members of Congress. This is because I...

Gunman kills driver, steals car with 46 mil. yen.
December 30, 2000... Two armed men fatally shot a credit union employee and stole a car he was driving that contained 46.06 million yen in cash in Edogawa Ward, Tokyo, shortly after noon Friday, police said. A man in a mask and an accomplice driving a black...

43 robberies reported in Dec.
December 30, 2000... Forty-three robberies have been reported in metropolitan Tokyo since the beginning of December. On Dec. 15, a group of non-Japanese, thought to be Chinese nationals, broke into the residence of a 56-year-old dentist in Katsushika Ward,...

Link seen between IV treatment, deaths.
December 30, 2000... URAWA: Circulatory failure possibly linked to a badly administered treatment has been determined as the cause of death of nearly 40 of 77 patients who died at Asakura Hospital in Showamachi, Saitama Prefecture, over a one-year period, Saitama...

Fujimori: Alleged bank accounts not proven.
December 30, 2000... This is the third in a four-part exclusive series written by former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori. The magic number was 18 million dollars--a figure that emanated from Peru and has been traveling around the world, attracting the...

Acute alcohol poisoning cases skyrocket 41.7%.
December 30, 2000... The number of people taken to hospital by ambulance for acute alcohol poisoning in Tokyo between Dec. 1 and Dec. 25 jumped to 646, up 190--or 41.7 percent--from the corresponding period last year, the Tokyo Fire Department said. averages out...

Editorial Bureaus must act in national interest.
December 30, 2000... One of the highlights of the reorganization of ministries and agencies is the merger of the Construction and Transport ministries and the National Land and Hokkaido Development agencies into the Construction and Transport Ministry. There...

Antlers squeeze into Emperor's Cup final.
December 30, 2000... YOKOHAMA: Kashima Antlers moved within a victory of completing an unprecedented domestic treble by scoring a 3-2 extra-time win over Gamba Osaka in the semifinal of the Emperor's Cup on a cold Friday afternoon at International Stadium...

Teenagers held in murder.
December 30, 2000... Teenagers held in murder Yomiuri HIMEJIC Hyogo Police on Friday arrested two teenagers on suspicion of robbing and stabbing to death a taxi driver in Mitsucho, Hyogo Prefecture, on Wednesdsay. Arrested were an unemployed youth and a female...

Gunman kills driver, steals car with 46 mil. yen.
December 30, 2000... Gunman kills driver, steals car with 46 mil. yen Yomiuri Two armed men fatally shot a credit union employee and stole a car he was driving that contained 46.06 million yen in cash in Edogawa Ward, Tokyo, shortly after noon Friday, police...

Nara undertakers offering DNA preservation service.
December 30, 2000... Nara undertakers offering DNA preservation service Yomiuri NARA Funeral parlors in Nara Prefecture and Nagoya have started a service whereby they preserve the DNA of the deceased in mortuary tablets. The undertakers are pitching the service...

Tokyo garbage firm allegedly padded trucks to avoid fees.
December 30, 2000... Tokyo garbage firm allegedly padded trucks to avoid fees Yomiuri A major garbage collection company operating in Tokyo is suspected of having cheated garbage-disposal facilities out of fees by falsifying the weight of its garbage trucks, it...

Antlers squeeze into Emperor?s Cup final.
December 30, 2000... Antlers squeeze into Emperor?s Cup final Shintaro Kano Daily Yomiuri Sportswriter Yomiuri YOKOHAMA Kashima Antlers moved within a victory of completing an unprecedented domestic treble by scoring a 3-2 extra-time win over Gamba Osaka in the...

Government Internet event 'Inpaku' to open quietly.
December 30, 2000... Government Internet event 'Inpaku' to open quietly Yomiuri The government-sponsored Internet Fair 2001 Japan, nicknamed "Inpaku," will open Sunday on the Net with a number of local governments and companies presenting their Web sites under...

Papers on MMC execs to be sent to prosecutors.
December 30, 2000... Papers on MMC execs to be sent to prosecutors Yomiuri The Metropolitan Police Department plans to send papers to the prosecutors office in January on about 10 former and current Mitsubishi Motors Corp. officials suspected of making false...

Diet member neglected to report 30 mil. yen loan.
December 30, 2000... Diet member neglected to report 30 mil. yen loan Yomiuri A member of the House of Representatives failed to declare more than 30 million yen he borrowed from a construction company without collateral in a report on Diet members' assets...

Govt eyes reemployment of homemakers.
December 30, 2000... Govt eyes reemployment of homemakers Yomiuri The Labor Ministry has decided that starting next fiscal year, it will begin researching ways to promote the reemployment of highly educated women who quit their jobs after getting married or...

Govt reprimands telemarketing firms.
December 30, 2000... Govt reprimands telemarketing firms Yomiuri The Tokyo metropolitan government this month instructed eight companies selling self-study materials to revise their telephone solicitation methods due to an increase in the number of consumers that...

Shooting devastates locals, family of victim.
December 30, 2000... Shooting devastates locals, family of victim Yomiuri A member of a group that carjacked a cash-delivery vehicle belonging to Tokyo Bay Shinkin Bank early Friday afternoon in Edogawa Ward, Tokyo, after fatally shooting one of the credit...

Challengers expected to feast in Rice Bowl.
December 30, 2000... Challengers expected to feast in Rice Bowl Ken Marantz Daily Yomiuri Sportswriter Yomiuri As Tamon Nakamura was leaving the field after leading Asahi Soft Drinks to the corporate X-League football title, he was asked his thoughts about facing...

Editorial Remembrance of things past.
December 30, 2000... Editorial Remembrance of things past Yomiuri In the lights and shadows of the city twilight, these are words I dedicate to you as you are about to leave... So go part of the lyrics to "Okuru Kotoba" (Words Dedicated to You), which became very...

[0] 3 Kyushu banks consider tie-up with view to merger.
December 30, 2000... 3 Kyushu banks consider tie-up with view to merger Yomiuri Three regional banks--Fukuoka City Bank, Kyushu Bank and Bank of Nagasaki--are in the final phase of negotiations over a possible comprehensive business tie-up with an eye to...

[0] 100 in Saitama cheated by fake reminders.
December 30, 2000... 100 in Saitama cheated by fake reminders Yomiuri URAWA Police have launched an investigation into a case in which about 100 people in Saitama Prefecture were cheated out of a total of more than 1.1 million yen by remitting money they...

[0] Link seen between IV treatment, deaths.
December 30, 2000... Link seen between IV treatment, deaths Yomiuri URAWA Circulatory failure possibly linked to a badly administered treatment has been determined as the cause of death of nearly 40 of 77 patients who died at Asakura Hospital in Showamachi,...

[0] Acute alcohol poisoning cases skyrocket 41.7%.
December 30, 2000... Acute alcohol poisoning cases skyrocket 41.7% Yomiuri The number of people taken to hospital by ambulance for acute alcohol poisoning in Tokyo between Dec. 1 and Dec. 25 jumped to 646, up 190--or 41.7 percent--from the corresponding period...

[0] Changing signs for changing times.
December 30, 2000... Changing signs for changing times Yomiuri Staff members at the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music have given the finishing touches to a set of three bronze signs cast for the Finance Ministry ahead of the Jan. 6 reorganization...

[0] Editorial Bureaus must act in national interest.
December 30, 2000... Editorial Bureaus must act in national interest Yomiuri One of the highlights of the reorganization of ministries and agencies is the merger of the Construction and Transport ministries and the National Land and Hokkaido Development agencies...

[1] Jottings.
December 29, 2000... Jottings Yomiuri The following is a translation of the Henshu Techo column from The Yomiuri Shimbun's Dec. 27 issue. * * * Shigenobu Okuma, the founder of Waseda University, was an advocate of the theory that it is possible for people to live...

[0] Jottings.
December 29, 2000... The following is a translation of the Henshu Techo column from The Yomiuri Shimbun's Dec. 27 issue. Shigenobu Okuma, the founder of Waseda University, was an advocate of the theory that it is possible for people to live for 125 years. He...

[0] Montesinos 'used spy agency for his own ends'.
December 29, 2000... Montesinos 'used spy agency for his own ends' Alberto Fujimori Yomiuri This is a second in a four-part exclusive series written by former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori. Between 1995 and 2000, a sort of "cancer" grew within the Peruvian...

[0] Launch of nation's 1st Venus probe eyed for '07.
December 29, 2000... Launch of nation's 1st Venus probe eyed for '07 Yomiuri Launch of the nation's first Venus satellite probe is planned for early 2007, according to a report compiled Wednesday by a working group at the Education Ministry's Institute of Space...

[0] Nakajima told to pay back tax, penalties.
December 29, 2000... Nakajima told to pay back tax, penalties Yomiuri Former House of Representatives member Yojiro Nakajima, who has been found guilty of receiving bribes, failed to declare about 8 million yen in taxable income and has been ordered to pay about...

[0] Poll: Small hopes for new govt in Jan.
December 29, 2000... Poll: Small hopes for new govt in Jan. Yomiuri Half the respondents to a recent Yomiuri Shimbun poll were skeptical that politicians would be able to seize the initiative in devising government policies and conducting other state affairs, a...

[0] Science council envisions 30 Nobel Prizes over 50 years.
December 29, 2000... Science council envisions 30 Nobel Prizes over 50 years Yomiuri The nation should aim to enable at least 30 Japanese scientists to win Nobel Prizes over the next 50 years, a government council is urging. The proposal is contained in a new...

[0] Drunken driving deaths increase.
December 29, 2000... Drunken driving deaths increase Yomiuri The number of fatal accidents caused by drunken driving in Tokyo, which had been falling, has increased again, due partly to a rise in the number of large Japanese-style pubs along main roads in the...

[0] Govt to support new age of tram travel in cities.
December 29, 2000... Govt to support new age of tram travel in cities Kenichi Tsuruoka Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer Yomiuri The Transport Ministry will support the improvement of tram services in fiscal 2001 to reflect renewed public support for trams, which are...

[0] Nova sets controversial conditions for instructors.
December 29, 2000... Nova sets controversial conditions for instructors Yomiuri OSAKA The country's largest English conversation school operator, Nova Corp., stipulates in its employment contracts that its non-Japanese instructors cannot date students and must...

[0] Limping to the top of the charts.
December 29, 2000... Limping to the top of the charts Bill Bradley Daily Yomiuri Staff Writer Yomiuri You would have to have had your head stuck pretty deep in the sand over the past couple of years not to know Limp Bizkit. Love 'em or hate 'em, they are about as...

[0] Critic's Choice / Classical CDs.
December 29, 2000... Critic's Choice / Classical CDs Graham Dwyer Special to The Daily Yomiuri Yomiuri BACH: GOLDBERG VARIATIONS Murray Perahia, piano Sony, 73:28 minutes, 2,520 yen Pianist Murray Perahia has been on a Baroque binge of late, notching up award...

[0] Innovative production features double-edged twists.
December 29, 2000... Innovative production features double-edged twists Yukiko Kishinami Daily Yomiuri Staff Writer Yomiuri ABU HASSAN/DIE OPERNPROBE New National Theater Tokyo, Dec. 24 Rummaging through the vast cache of lesser-known operas is a toiling task for...

[0] Comedians cramming for college.
December 29, 2000... Comedians cramming for college Yomiuri A university degree has little bearing on your life if you are a comedian. Perhaps because of the contrast between the two worlds--academia and comedy--television producers love to have comedians try...

[0] Lines drawn for 'Kohaku Utagassen'.
December 29, 2000... Lines drawn for 'Kohaku Utagassen' Yomiuri Japan's annual musical battle of the sexes, Kohaku Utagassen (Red and White Song Contest), will be aired at 7:20 p.m. on New Year's Eve on NHK general. Two teams, each consisting of 28 of the most...

[0] Ticket giveaway for 'East is East'.
December 29, 2000... Ticket giveaway for 'East is East' Yomiuri East Is East, a British film that received the first Media Award at this year's Cannes Film Festival, will be released at Yebisu Garden Cinema in Ebisu, Tokyo, in late January. Directed by Damien...

[0] Modern dramas chosen most memorable.
December 29, 2000... Modern dramas chosen most memorable Wm. Penn Yomiuri As we bid farewell to 20th-century TV this week, it is only natural to look back over the dramas of the past decades and choose the most memorable. Za Terebijon magazine asked its readers...

[0] Underrated directors shine in Whale tale.
December 29, 2000... Underrated directors shine in Whale tale By W. Blake Gray Special to The Daily Yomiuri Yomiuri GODS AND MONSTERS ***1/2 Dir: Bill Condon Cast: Ian McKellen, Brendan Fraser, Lynn Redgrave It is ironic and sad to realize that James Whale, the...

[0] The fragile beauty of Rene Lalique.
December 29, 2000... The fragile beauty of Rene Lalique By Naomi Tajitsu Daily Yomiuri Staff Writer Yomiuri Among other things, the 1900 Paris World's Fair offered a glimpse into the innovative opulence of the Art Nouveau movement. In particular, a whir of...

[0] Shiki bats grand slam with century revue.
December 29, 2000... Shiki bats grand slam with century revue Jerry Rudd Special to The Daily Yomiuri Yomiuri OVER THE CENTURY Shiki Theatre d'Automne, Tokyo, Dec. 24 One of the common and more idiotic conclusions that some myopic amateur theater groups often...

[0] Muddled kyogen skips traditional virtues.
December 29, 2000... Muddled kyogen skips traditional virtues Miki Takashima Daily Yomiuri Staff Writer Yomiuri MUTSUGORO (MUDSKIPPERS) National Noh Theater, Tokyo, Dec. 22 "Super-kabuki" productions have long secured a comfortable place in the history of the...

[0] Sprinter Asahara to train in Texas.
December 29, 2000... Sprinter Asahara to train in Texas Yomiuri Former Japanese sprint champion Nobuharu Asahara hopes a change in scenery will help revive his injury-plagued career. The 28-year-old Asahara announced Wednesday he will move his training quarters...

[0] The Top 20 Japan sports stories of 2000.
December 29, 2000... The Top 20 Japan sports stories of 2000 Ken Marantz and Jeremy Walker Daily Yomiuri Sportswriters Yomiuri Upon finishing the fastest women's marathon in Olympic history, Naoko Takahashi flashed a big smile and declared, "It was a fun 42...

[0] Poll: Americans more positive on Japan ties.
December 29, 2000... About 64 percent of U.S. citizens see relations between Japan and the United States at present as being very good or good, compared with about 47 percent of Japanese who think the same way, according to the findings of a recent Yomiuri...

FSA OK's Kyoei plan to sell Prudential policies.
December 29, 2000... Kyoei Life Insurance Co., which failed in October, will next month begin selling four kinds of insurance products, including cancer insurance, under an agency agreement with Prudential Life Insurance Co. of the United States, a sponsor...

[0] Mori to announce African assistance initiatives.
December 29, 2000... Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori is expected to announce in South Africa on Jan. 9 a plan to promote youth and artist exchanges between Japan and African nations and cooperation in preserving African cultural heritages, sources close to the prime...

[0] Police: Man nets 1 mil. yen in mutilated dogs scam.
December 29, 2000... OSAKA: A 63-year-old unemployed man from Yodogawa Ward, Osaka, is suspected of having conducted a fraudulent fund-raising campaign on the streets in which he received a total of about 1 million yen for his own use by asking for donations for...

[0] Couple charged with murder of daughter.
December 29, 2000... NAGOYA: The Nagoya District Public Prosecutors Office on Thursday indicted a couple from Taketoyocho, Aichi Prefecture, on charges of murdering their 3-year-old daughter. Chiaki Tanigawa and Mariko, both aged 21, were arrested on...

[0] Defendant kicks prosecutor during trial.
December 29, 2000... A 25-year-old man who is on trial for blackmail yelled at and kicked a prosecutor during a hearing at the Tokyo District Court in October, The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned. As a result, the man was indicted on the additional charge of...

[0] Prosecutors drop bug case by lawmaker, TV Asahi.
December 29, 2000... The Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office has decided not to pursue a complaint filed by a Social Democratic Party lawmaker and TV Asahi claiming that a telephone conversation between the Diet member and a TV Asahi reporter was wiretapped...

[0] Short-tailed albatross finds new habitat on Yomejima.
December 29, 2000... One short-tailed albatross--a government designated special natural monument--has been discovered on Yomejima island of the Ogasawara Islands, Tokyo metropolitan government officials revealed recently. The discovery was made during...

[0] Honda to develop diesel engine in future.
December 29, 2000... The president of Honda Motor Co. has said his company is capable of producing a superlative diesel-powered engine for passenger cars of a quality expected of Honda. Hiroyuki Yoshino made the statement during an interview with The Yomiuri...

Gene research center planned in Yokohama.
December 29, 2000... Gene research center planned in Yokohama Yomiuri The nation's first research institute to study diseases such as hay fever, atopic dermatitis and rheumatism at the genentic level and develop cures customized to suit people's different...

Newspeople / Illustrator has a knack for unusual ideas.
December 29, 2000... Newspeople / Illustrator has a knack for unusual ideas Shigeru Ueda Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer Yomiuri KYOTO In his prizewinning cartoon drawn on the theme of "Starting Out," Kazuhiro Kawakita depicted 10 children toeing a line in...

Industry boss lauds kid's creativity.
December 29, 2000... Industry boss lauds kid's creativity Yomiuri Toshiba Corp. Chairman Taizo Nishimuro praised the participants' commitment and potential in a speech he made during Saturday's commendation ceremony. The event was attended by about 100 people,...

T.M. Opera O reigns.
December 29, 2000... T.M. Opera O reigns Yomiuri They say there's no such thing as a sure bet. T.M. Opera O, a favorite in all seven of his previous races this year, begs to differ. Arguably now the best horse in Japanese racing history, 4-year-old T.M. Opera O...

Year's top 10 domestic, intl stories.
December 29, 2000... Year's top 10 domestic, intl stories Yomiuri The outstanding performance of the nation's female athletes at the Sydney Olympics was the top domestic news story of 2000, while on the international scene the confusion over the U.S. presidential...

Ministry survey finds info on offenders mismanaged.
December 29, 2000... Ministry survey finds info on offenders mismanaged Yomiuri A Justice Ministry survey has found that the supervision of about 11,000 documents containing personal information relating to prison inmates and juvenile offenders at reformatories...

Crucial learning should start early, report says.
December 29, 2000... Crucial learning should start early, report says Yomiuri Thorough study of the basics should begin at primary-school level, while lifelong participation in social and other activities also is an important part of the education process,...

Arson suspected in fire that killed 4.
December 29, 2000... Arson suspected in fire that killed 4 Yomiuri NAGOYA Four people were found dead in the rubble of an apartment building in Moriyama Ward, Nagoya, that burned to the ground in a suspicious fire that broke out shortly before midnight Sunday,...

New Year's bridge bash canceled over safety fears.
December 29, 2000... New Year's bridge bash canceled over safety fears Yomiuri KOBE A countdown event planned for New Year's Eve at Akashi Kaikyo Bridge in Hyogo Prefecture has been canceled after safety fears were raised by police and coast guard officials, it...

3 men steal cash, jewelry of aged couple.
December 29, 2000... 3 men steal cash, jewelry of aged couple Yomiuri Three unidentified men broke into an elderly couple's home in Suginami Ward, Tokyo, early Monday morning and made off with about 3 million yen in cash and jewelry. At about 3 a.m., while Yuji...

NPA urges govt to help crime victims.
December 29, 2000... NPA urges govt to help crime victims Yomiuri A National Police Agency panel on Monday urged the government to increase the amount of compensation paid to crime victims and bereaved families, while also expanding the number of victims entitled...

Jottings.
December 29, 2000... Jottings Yomiuri The following is a translation of the Henshu Techo column from The Yomiuri Shimbun's Dec. 25 issue. Developments on the Korean Peninsula have never been so surprising to the rest of the world as they were this year. One may...

Iranian students to cycle around nation for ties.
December 29, 2000... Iranian students to cycle around nation for ties Yomiuri Two Iranian university students journeying around the world by bicycle have arrived in Japan, hoping to enhance the relationship between the two countries during their visit. The two...

Komeito devises anticorruption guidelines.
December 29, 2000... Komeito devises anticorruption guidelines Yomiuri New Komeito has mapped out a set of guidelines to be followed by lawmakers and local assembly members of the party to ensure they do not violate a law banning politicians from receiving...

Nonaka tightens grip on Hashimoto faction.
December 29, 2000... Nonaka tightens grip on Hashimoto faction Yomiuri After resigning as secretary general of the Liberal Democratic Party early this month, Hiromu Nonaka has started to exert an even greater influence within the party's largest faction as one of...

Editorial / Realize fair telecom market.
December 29, 2000... Editorial / Realize fair telecom market Yomiuri Progress in the information technology revolution in Japan will depend on whether the country will be able to create a system in which huge amounts of information can be transmitted quickly and...

Sega chief aiming to shift focus to software production.
December 29, 2000... Sega chief aiming to shift focus to software production Junko Okamoto Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer Yomiuri After a continuing business slump due to slackening sales of its flagship, Dreamcast, Sega Corp. is switching the focus of its business...

FY '01 budget plunders depleted state coffers.
December 29, 2000... FY '01 budget plunders depleted state coffers Yozo Matsuda Yomiuri Shimbun Deputy Business News Editor Yomiuri The depletion of the state coffers is running almost out of control under the fiscal 2001 budget approved by the Cabinet Sunday,...

TTNet to cut call rate earlier than planned.
December 29, 2000... TTNet to cut call rate earlier than planned Yomiuri Tokyo Telecommunication Network Co., an affiliate of Tokyo Electric Power Co., will lower its three-minute rate for local phone calls to 8.7 yen from the current 9 yen in January, four...

Major change seen in consumption patterns.
December 29, 2000... Major change seen in consumption patterns Atsushi Kawai Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer Yomiuri Even though the Japanese economy has failed to get itself on a full-fledged recovery track--mainly due to the continuing slump in personal...

Students reap benefits of used PCs.
December 29, 2000... Students reap benefits of used PCs Manami Hamaya Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer Yomiuri Students at Shimoyugi Primary School in Hachioji, Tokyo, have begun using secondhand personal computers donated by businesses and organizations that have...

Scientists find breakthrough carbon molecule.
December 29, 2000... Scientists find breakthrough carbon molecule Yomiuri A Nagoya University research team has detected a new carbon molecular structure that they hope will lead to huge advances in the fields of medicine and superconductivity....