Yomiuri Shimbun/Daily Yomiuri articles from February 2001

Yomiuri Shimbun/Daily Yomiuri archives from February 2001

Hashimoto hints Mori should resign before LDP convention.
February 28, 2001... Hashimoto hints Mori should resign before LDP convention Yomiuri Former Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto, who is now state minister in charge of administrative reform, on Tuesday suggested that Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori should step down...

Opposition may submit anti-Mori resolution Friday.
February 28, 2001... Opposition may submit anti-Mori resolution Friday Yomiuri The four major opposition parties may agree to set Friday as the date to submit a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori and his Cabinet, opposition sources said...

Invalid cards prevent 25 organ donations.
February 28, 2001... Invalid cards prevent 25 organ donations Yomiuri Over a period of about three years up to the end of last year, donor cards with incomplete entries were responsible for 25 cases in which the donation of organs was not permitted despite the...

Koyama 'kept bribe in bank'.
February 28, 2001... Koyama 'kept bribe in bank' Yomiuri Former House of Councillors member Takao Koyama, who has been charged with taking 20 million yen in bribes from KSD Foundation for Promoting Welfare of Independent Entrepreneurs, rented a safe-deposit box...

Police say aide took rap for Minshuto candidate.
February 28, 2001... Police say aide took rap for Minshuto candidate Yomiuri A state-paid secretary of a Minshuto (Democratic Party of Japan) legislator was referred to prosecutors for allegedly conspiring with a Minshuto candidate in this summer's Tokyo...

Families ask U.S. to help solve 'abduction' issue WASHING.
February 28, 2001... Families ask U.S. to help solve 'abduction' issue WASHINGTON--Relatives of Japanese citizens allegedly kidnapped by Nor Gaku Shibata Yomiuri Shimbun Correspondent Yomiuri WASHINGTON Relatives of Japanese citizens allegedly kidnapped by North...

Seeing is believing thanks to sRGB.
February 28, 2001... Seeing is believing thanks to sRGB Toru Nishijima Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer Yomiuri Many of you have probably wondered why pictures taken on your digital camera are displayed on your personal computer in colors that are slightly different...

LDP backers want Mori to quit.
February 28, 2001... LDP backers want Mori to quit Yomiuri Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, whose approval rate among the public has hit a new low, has begun to lose support even among voters who are normally strong supporters of the Liberal Democratic Party. The...

Professor creates 300-kph electric car.
February 28, 2001... Professor creates 300-kph electric car Yomiuri A Keio University professor has developed a prototype eight-wheel electric automobile that can carry eight passengers and reach speeds of 300 kph. Prof. Hiroshi Shimizu said Monday that the...

Deceased Japanese to get honorary U.S. law license.
February 28, 2001... Deceased Japanese to get honorary U.S. law license Hiroko Kono Yomiuri Shimbun Correspondent Yomiuri NEW YORK The Washington State Supreme Court will retrospectively grant an honorary lawyer's license Thursday to a deceased Japanese immigrant...

Editorials / Laws on coping with emergencies overdue.
February 28, 2001... Editorials / Laws on coping with emergencies overdue Yomiuri The nation's politics are locked in stalemate over the issue of of whether Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori should resign. However, decisions on important policies affecting the country...

Women's reemployment not working.
February 28, 2001... Women's reemployment not working Yoshimi Nagamine Yomiuri If one were to draw a line graph of working women who are university graduates, it would resemble the shape of a giraffe. Like the long, slim neck of a giraffe, it would show that the...

Trying times waiting ahead for U.S.-China relations.
February 28, 2001... Trying times waiting ahead for U.S.-China relations Akira Fujino Yomiuri Shimbun Correspondent Yomiuri Beijing BEIJING--Diplomatic observers in Beijing are concerned about what changes the new administration of George W. Bush will bring to...

Independent gas providers on the rise.
February 28, 2001... Independent gas providers on the rise Yomiuri The number of gasoline providers independent of the major petroleum companies increased as of the end of March 2000 by 3.7 times the figure recorded in 1996, according to a survey released by the...

'Siblings' offer mutual help They were close on the pitch.
February 28, 2001... 'Siblings' offer mutual help They were close on the pitch at Urawa Komaba Stadium on Sunday afternoon, and they're plann Yomiuri They were close on the pitch at Urawa Komaba Stadium on Sunday afternoon, and they're planning to get close off...

Analysis: U.S. seeks to limit impact of Ehime Maru's sinking.
February 28, 2001... WASHINGTON: Concerning the incident in which the U.S. nuclear-powered submarine USS Greeneville hit and sank the Japanese fisheries training vessel Ehime Maru off Hawaii, the mood I feel in Washington is that the administration of U.S....

Glitches delay introduction of toll system.
February 28, 2001... The full-scale introduction of an automatic toll collection system on expressways is expected to be delayed until summer because of a series of glitches in the system, sources said Tuesday. The Construction and Transport Ministry, the...

240,000 postcards fail to reach destinations.
February 28, 2001... About 240,000 postcards commemorating a 1985 science and technology exposition held in Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture, that were to be delivered on New Year's Day this year failed to reach their destinations or be returned to senders, Post...

Women's reemployment not working.
February 28, 2001... If one were to draw a line graph of working women who are university graduates, it would resemble the shape of a giraffe. Like the long, slim neck of a giraffe, it would show that the employment rates of college-educated women are high for...

Political PULSE: Mori too thick-skinned for his own, LDP's good.
February 28, 2001... Just about everyone has pain spots. Kojien, an authoritative Japanese-language dictionary, defines a pain spot as a spot on the skin that is unusually susceptible to pain, adding that the skin of an animal is dotted with numerous spots of...

Editorials: Laws on coping with emergencies overdue.
February 28, 2001... The nation's politics are locked in stalemate over the issue of of whether Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori should resign. However, decisions on important policies affecting the country and the people should not be postponed. One such policy...

Editorials: Getting tough with problem teachers.
February 28, 2001... Prefectural boards of education are beginning to retrain teachers who lack the skills and attitude to do their jobs properly. Many so-called problem teachers are incapable of giving lessons properly and do not cooperate with their...

Japan's reaction to ship tragedy based on Shintoist, Confucian ideas.
February 28, 2001... OSAKA--When it was first reported on Feb. 10 that the Ehime Maru, a training ship of Uwajima Fisheries High School in Ehime Prefecture, had been hit and sunk by the U.S. nuclear submarine Greeneville, how many people knew anything about the...

Time running out for introduction of financial measures.
February 28, 2001... The benchmark 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average has plunged below the 13,000 level twice in February, at one point dipping below the record closing low of the post-bubble economy. Basically, the recent falls in share prices are symptoms of a...

U.S. may reconsider China's MFN status.
February 28, 2001... The U.S. Congress likely will reconsider a plan to grant permanent most-favored-nation (MFN) trade status to China if the country does not join the World Trade Organization by June, trade sources in Tokyo said Tuesday. The U.S. Congress...

Analysis / U.S. seeks to limit impact of Ehime Maru's sink.
February 28, 2001... Analysis / U.S. seeks to limit impact of Ehime Maru's sinking Tsutomu Yamaguchi Yomiuri Shimbun U.S. General Bureau Chief Yomiuri WASHINGTON Concerning the incident in which the U.S. nuclear-powered submarine USS Greeneville hit and sank the...

Political PULSE / Mori too thick-skinned for his own, LDP'.
February 28, 2001... Political PULSE / Mori too thick-skinned for his own, LDP's good Yoshimichi Hironaka Yomiuri Shimbun Political News Editor Yomiuri Just about everyone has pain spots. Kojien, an authoritative Japanese-language dictionary, defines a pain spot...

Japan's reaction to ship tragedy based on Shintoist, Confu.
February 28, 2001... Japan's reaction to ship tragedy based on Shintoist, Confucian ideas Yasuo Shinomiya Yomiuri Osaka OSAKA--When it was first reported on Feb. 10 that the Ehime Maru, a training ship of Uwajima Fisheries High School in Ehime Prefecture, had...

Families ask U.S. to help solve 'abduction' issue.
February 28, 2001... WASHINGTON: Relatives of Japanese citizens allegedly kidnapped by North Korean agents urged the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush on Monday to cooperate with Japan on resolving the long-standing issue. The group, comprising...

[0] Hashimoto hints Mori should resign before LDP convention.
February 28, 2001... Former Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto, who is now state minister in charge of administrative reform, on Tuesday suggested that Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori should step down ahead of the Liberal Democratic Party convention on March 11. ...

[0] Opposition may submit anti-Mori resolution Friday.
February 28, 2001... The four major opposition parties may agree to set Friday as the date to submit a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori and his Cabinet, opposition sources said Tuesday. Friday is also the ruling parties' intended...

[0] Invalid cards prevent 25 organ donations.
February 28, 2001... Over a period of about three years up to the end of last year, donor cards with incomplete entries were responsible for 25 cases in which the donation of organs was not permitted despite the apparent wishes of the cardholders, according to...

[0] Police say aide took rap for Minshuto candidate.
February 28, 2001... A state-paid secretary of a Minshuto (Democratic Party of Japan) legislator was referred to prosecutors for allegedly conspiring with a Minshuto candidate in this summer's Tokyo metropolitan assembly election to have the lawmaker's former...

[0] LDP backers want Mori to quit.
February 28, 2001... Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, whose approval rate among the public has hit a new low, has begun to lose support even among voters who are normally strong supporters of the Liberal Democratic Party. The approval rating of Mori's Cabinet has...

[0] Deceased Japanese to get honorary U.S. law license.
February 28, 2001... NEW YORK: The Washington State Supreme Court will retrospectively grant an honorary lawyer's license Thursday to a deceased Japanese immigrant who was denied such a license in the early 1900s because he was not a U.S. citizen, although he had...

[0] Trying times waiting ahead for U.S.-China relations.
February 28, 2001... BEIJING--Diplomatic observers in Beijing are concerned about what changes the new administration of George W. Bush will bring to U.S.-China relations, particularly given that Bush sees China as a competitor, not a partner. In his...

[0] Independent gas providers on the rise.
February 28, 2001... The number of gasoline providers independent of the major petroleum companies increased as of the end of March 2000 by 3.7 times the figure recorded in 1996, according to a survey released by the Institute of Energy Economics, Japan. The...

[0] 240,000 postcards fail to reach destinations.
February 28, 2001... 240,000 postcards fail to reach destinations Yomiuri About 240,000 postcards commemorating a 1985 science and technology exposition held in Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture, that were to be delivered on New Year's Day this year failed to reach...

[0] U.S. may reconsider China's MFN status.
February 28, 2001... U.S. may reconsider China's MFN status Yomiuri The U.S. Congress likely will reconsider a plan to grant permanent most-favored-nation (MFN) trade status to China if the country does not join the World Trade Organization by June, trade sources...

[0] Time running out for introduction of financial measures.
February 28, 2001... Time running out for introduction of financial measures Norio Mochizuki Yomiuri The benchmark 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average has plunged below the 13,000 level twice in February, at one point dipping below the record closing low of the...

[0] Professor creates 300-kph electric car.
February 28, 2001... A Keio University professor has developed a prototype eight-wheel electric automobile that can carry eight passengers and reach speeds of 300 kph. Prof. Hiroshi Shimizu said Monday that the green, caterpillar like automobile is...

FIFA forced to halt Net sales of World Cup tickets.
February 27, 2001... FIFA forced to halt Net sales of World Cup tickets Yomiuri FIFA, world soccer's governing body, was forced Monday morning to temporarily suspend online sales in Japan and South Korea of 2002 World Cup tickets, which it started offering...

Murakami's resignation accepted.
February 27, 2001... Murakami's resignation accepted Yomiuri The House of Councillors unanimously accepted the resignation of Masakuni Murakami from the upper house at a plenary session Monday morning. Murakami submitted a letter of resignation to upper house...

Mori Cabinet's support rating sinks to 8.6%.
February 27, 2001... Mori Cabinet's support rating sinks to 8.6% Yomiuri The approval rating of Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori's Cabinet dropped sharply to 8.6 percent from the previous month's 19.2 percent, according to the findings of the latest Yomiuri Shimbun...

U.S. sub controls shown to media.
February 27, 2001... U.S. sub controls shown to media Yusuke Fuse Yomiuri HONOLULU Japanese and U.S. journalists were shown the approximately five-square-meter control room of the USS Columbia on Sunday, a submarine comparable in size to the USS Greeneville that...

Koseki 'exploited Nukaga's clout'.
February 27, 2001... Koseki 'exploited Nukaga's clout' Yomiuri Tadao Koseki, the founder of the KSD Foundation for Promoting Welfare of Independent Entrepreneurs, targeted former cabinet minister Fukushiro Nukaga--a key House of Representatives' lawmaker--in the...

Miyakejima residents missing pets.
February 27, 2001... Miyakejima residents missing pets Atsushi Taketazu Yomiuri Shimbun photographer Yomiuri Nearly six months have passed since the residents of Miyakejima island, Tokyo, were forced to evacuate the island due to volcanic activities there. An...

Editorial / Mori has lost the public's trust.
February 27, 2001... Editorial / Mori has lost the public's trust Yomiuri The people of this nation now cast an eye as cold as ice on the administration of Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori. The Yomiuri Shimbun's latest opinion poll on support for the Mori government...

Human factors in educational software.
February 27, 2001... Human factors in educational software John Jerney Special to The Daily Yomiuri Yomiuri One of the great promises of computer technology has always been in the field of education, especially the education of children. Software designers in...

The specifics of MAD COW DISEASE.
February 27, 2001... The specifics of MAD COW DISEASE Toshiaki Sato Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer Yomiuri Mad cow disease has flared up again in Europe, where outbreaks have been confirmed one after another in countries that had previously been given the all-clear...

Vodafone may acquire 25% of Japan Telecom shares.
February 27, 2001... Vodafone may acquire 25% of Japan Telecom shares Yomiuri Britain's Vodafone Group PLC, which agreed in December to acquire 15 percent of Japan Telecom Co.'s shares, is in the final phase of talks with AT&T Corp., a major shareholder of the...

Secrets of hibernation.
February 27, 2001... Secrets of hibernation Jun Sugimori Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer Yomiuri Hibernation allows animals to get through the cold of winter because the extremely slow metabolism that is brought on by deep sleep enables them to get by with little or...

And you thought moving was a pain.
February 27, 2001... And you thought moving was a pain Kevin Short Yomiuri The move out of the sea and onto the land is often touted as one of the most significant steps in the history of life on Earth. The move was gradual, starting well more than 400 million...

Assembly Line / Natori transforms dried squid for taste.
February 27, 2001... Assembly Line / Natori transforms dried squid for taste Yomiuri Squid was first processed in Japan as a food during the Heian period (794-1192), when dried cuttlefish was served at courts of the era. Dried squid reached the palates of...

Big Bang / New incentives needed to boost debit-card usage.
February 27, 2001... Big Bang / New incentives needed to boost debit-card usage Tetsuro Yamada and Masayoshi Ito Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writers Yomiuri Two years have passed since the introduction of the cash-card payment system in January 1999. The system allows...

Business Update.
February 27, 2001... Business Update Yomiuri Business Update is a weekly omnibus of business information based on news releases from companies in Japan and abroad, domestic and international organizations, diplomatic missions and other entities. AIRLINES Boeing...

Nukaga's aide reportedly asked KSD for donations.
February 27, 2001... Fukushiro Nukaga, former state minister in charge of economic and fiscal affairs, denied personal involvement in the cash-for-favors scandal centering on the KSD Foundation for Promoting Welfare of Independent Entrepreneurs at a House of...

Editorial: Mori has lost the public's trust.
February 27, 2001... The people of this nation now cast an eye as cold as ice on the administration of Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori. The Yomiuri Shimbun's latest opinion poll on support for the Mori government found that it nosedived from 19.2 percent in the...

New Daiei chain to sell cheap suits Sale is part of revitalizing efforts.
February 27, 2001... Daiei Inc. plans to launch a nationwide chain of men's clothing stores specializing in low-priced business suits, company officials said. Officials of the major supermarket-chain said the plan to sell suits priced at 9,000 yen and 19,000...

Assembly Line: Natori transforms dried squid for taste.
February 27, 2001... Squid was first processed in Japan as a food during the Heian period (794-1192), when dried cuttlefish was served at courts of the era. Dried squid reached the palates of commoners in the Kamakura period (1192-1333), by which time...

Rookie Yamada to face Giants.
February 27, 2001... The Fukuoka Daiei Hawks have decided that rookie Akichika Yamada will pitch in the exhibition against the Yomiuri Giants at the Fukuoka Dome on March 4. "If he stays in form the way he has been, it's only natural that we put him in the...

[0] FIFA forced to halt Net sales of World Cup tickets.
February 27, 2001... FIFA, world soccer's governing body, was forced Monday morning to temporarily suspend online sales in Japan and South Korea of 2002 World Cup tickets, which it started offering Saturday evening, due to massive demand that overloaded its...

[0] Murakami's resignation accepted.
February 27, 2001... The House of Councillors unanimously accepted the resignation of Masakuni Murakami from the upper house at a plenary session Monday morning. Murakami submitted a letter of resignation to upper house President Hiroshi Inoue on Thursday...

[0] U.S. sub controls shown to media.
February 27, 2001... HONOLULU - Japanese and U.S. journalists were shown the approximately five-square-meter control room of the USS Columbia on Sunday, a submarine comparable in size to the USS Greeneville that sank a Japanese fisheries training ship on Feb. 9....

[0] Mori Cabinet's support rating sinks to 8.6%.
February 27, 2001... The approval rating of Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori's Cabinet dropped sharply to 8.6 percent from the previous month's 19.2 percent, according to the findings of the latest Yomiuri Shimbun opinion poll. The newspaper's latest nationwide...

[0] Koseki 'exploited Nukaga's clout'.
February 27, 2001... Tadao Koseki, the founder of the KSD Foundation for Promoting Welfare of Independent Entrepreneurs, targeted former cabinet minister Fukushiro Nukaga--a key House of Representatives' lawmaker--in the hope of eventually influencing the...

[0] 1,100 fishermen stage sit-in protest at Isahaya Bay.
February 27, 2001... NAGASAKI - About 1,100 fishermen staged a sit-in protest in front of gates leading to the Isahaya Bay land-reclamation project site on Monday morning, claiming that the project caused this season's poor harvest of seaweed in the Ariake Sea....

[0] Brain-dead woman's organs donated for transplants.
February 27, 2001... The internal organs of a brain-dead woman in her 20s were donated for use in several transplant operations under the Organ Transplant Law, Nippon Medical School Hospital doctors said Monday. The woman was taken to the hospital, located in...

[0] Miyakejima residents missing pets.
February 27, 2001... Nearly six months have passed since the residents of Miyakejima island, Tokyo, were forced to evacuate the island due to volcanic activities there. An added hardship for pet owners and pets alike from the island is their enforced separation...

[0] Jottings.
February 27, 2001... The following is a translation of the Henshu Techo column from The Yomiuri Shimbun's Feb. 26 issue. With only two years remaining before services begin on the extension of the Tohoku Shinkansen line between Morioka, Iwate Prefecture, and...

[0] Human factors in educational software.
February 27, 2001... One of the great promises of computer technology has always been in the field of education, especially the education of children. Software designers in Silicon Valley and elsewhere are spending considerable time addressing issues related...

[0] The specifics of MAD COW DISEASE.
February 27, 2001... Mad cow disease has flared up again in Europe, where outbreaks have been confirmed one after another in countries that had previously been given the all-clear sign. There has been no hint of the disease so far in Japan, but that does not mean...

[0] Secrets of hibernation.
February 27, 2001... Hibernation allows animals to get through the cold of winter because the extremely slow metabolism that is brought on by deep sleep enables them to get by with little or no food. Recent studies have shown that hibernation can also prevent...

Vodafone may acquire 25% of Japan Telecom shares.
February 27, 2001... Britain's Vodafone Group PLC, which agreed in December to acquire 15 percent of Japan Telecom Co.'s shares, is in the final phase of talks with AT&T Corp., a major shareholder of the Japanese telecommunications carrier, to acquire an...

[0] 1.8 mil. homes able to access BS Nippon.
February 27, 2001... About 1.8 million households nationwide will have access to programs of BS Nippon, a high-definition digital broadcaster affiliated to NTV, as of the end of February, the broadcaster announced Monday. BS Nippon President Seiji Urushido...

[0] Rookie Yamada to face Giants.
February 27, 2001... Rookie Yamada to face Giants Yomiuri The Fukuoka Daiei Hawks have decided that rookie Akichika Yamada will pitch in the exhibition against the Yomiuri Giants at the Fukuoka Dome on March 4. "If he stays in form the way he has been, it's only...

Shirakawa refuses newly created award.
February 26, 2001... Shirakawa refuses newly created award Yomiuri Nobel Prize-winning chemist Hideki Shirakawa turned down a special awardCopyright 2001 The Daily Yomiuri

Prosecutors begin questioning Murakami.
February 26, 2001... Prosecutors begin questioning Murakami Yomiuri Prosecutors on Friday began questioning Masakuni Murakami, who tendered his resignation Thursday to the Diet and left the Liberal Democratic Party, over his alleged monetary ties with a...

U.S. military to bar civilians from controls.
February 26, 2001... U.S. military to bar civilians from controls Michio Hayashi Yomiuri Shimbun Correspondent Yomiuri WASHINGTON U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld shortly will order a moratorium on civilians being allowed at the controls of military...

Govt asks railways to improve safety at stations.
February 26, 2001... Govt asks railways to improve safety at stations Yomiuri The Construction and Transport Ministry has asked railway operators to take measures to reduce the danger of passengers at stations falling onto the tracks and being hit by trains. The...

Obara bought 30 bags after Blackman vanished.
February 26, 2001... Obara bought 30 bags after Blackman vanished Yomiuri Joji Obara, who has been indicted on several counts of rape, purchased 30 bags with wheels early last July--immediately after British woman Lucie Blackman disappeared, police said Friday....

Isahaya Bay project's fate to depend on team.
February 26, 2001... Isahaya Bay project's fate to depend on team Yomiuri The agriculture minister said Friday that a land-reclamation project at Isahaya Bay in Kyushu will be suspended if an independent team recommends that it is necessary to do so to determine...

Jottings.
February 26, 2001... Jottings Yomiuri I mentioned the words "the chain of events," when I wrote about a near-miss involving two Japan Airlines planes before in this column. The U.S. submarine's collision with a Japanese fisheries training ship also occurred as a...

Former truant completes 8,000-km African quest.
February 26, 2001... Former truant completes 8,000-km African quest Futoshi Mori Yomiuri Shimbun Correspondent Yomiuri CAPE TOWN Once a truant middle school student, Shuhei Ozaki, 28, completed an 8,000-kilometer bicycle journey from eastern to southern Africa...