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computer companies affiliated with the aum_shinrikyo doomsday sect developed software programs for at least 10 government agencies , including the defense ministry , and more than 80 major japanese companies in recent years , police officials said today after a surprise raid on the group 's sites on tuesday . the discovery has raised widespread fears in japan that aum , which killed 12 people five years ago in a nerve_gas attack on the tokyo subways , has access to sensitive government and corporate computer systems and could engage in acts of ''cyberterrorism , '' the officials said . underscoring the immense fear that the sect provokes in japan , the defense ministry and the nippon_telegraph_and_telephone corporation , the country 's main provider of telephone and internet_service , immediately suspended the use of all computer software developed by companies linked to aum . the government said it was considering doing the same at all its agencies . among the government agencies affected are those for construction , education and post and telecommunications , according to documents and commuter disks discovered in the raid , the police said . the authorities said customer ledgers showed that the japanese companies affected were major players in the electronics , food , banking , transportation and metal manufacturing fields . the most prominent corporate customer was nippon_telegraph_and_telephone , or n.t.t . many of the companies and agencies said they had not known they were ordering software from aum related concerns because their main suppliers had subcontracted work to businesses affiliated with the sect . even though some of the orders were placed under the current government , officials did not come under immediate criticism , in part because the many of the computer companies had concealed their relationship to aum . but government agencies and companies that purchased the systems were scrambling today to determine whether their programs were secure . the authorities said aum related companies had developed about 100 types of software , including systems for customer management , airline route management and mainframe computer operations . government security officials , who spoke on condition of anonymity , said they were extremely concerned that aum could use information gained in developing the programs to cripple vital computer and communications networks at public agencies and corporations . the officials said they suspected that during the development process , the aum related companies could have written features into the software that would allow them to breach so called fire walls , which serve to prevent invasion of a computer system by outsiders . they said they also feared that the sect could have planted viruses that could shut down these government or corporate computer systems or send recruitment messages . at least some of the public concern over the aum related software was driven by recent security breaches by internet hackers who posted messages on the web_sites of 11 government agencies . in those incidents , which underscored the vulnerability of the government 's computers , the messages criticized japan 's wartime atrocities in china in the 1930 's . but security officials provided no proof today that the aum sect , which recently changed its name to aleph and denounced its violent past , had the ability or the ambition to interfere with the computer systems of former customers . some aum members said the officials were trying to vilify the sect when it is seeking to live in peace with japanese society and to use funds from its computer operations to compensate victims of its past crimes . ''we are surprised , '' mikio aoki , the government 's chief spokesman , said at a regular news conference . ''we believe that the ministries should check who their suppliers are and that the suppliers should check where the products are made . '' the defense ministry said it had suspended plans to begin using a new communications system today for the army after the police had informed the ministry that the software had been developed by an aum company . a ministry spokesman said that the software system had been installed at 20 ground bases across japan to provide rapid access to the internet but that the system was separate from one that handles classified defense information . ''these computers are not connected to a separate internal network that handles more sensitive material , '' the spokesman said , ' 'so there is no worry that if somebody breaks into it , that there will be a danger or threat to national_security . '' n.t.t . communications said it was immediately suspending an electronic greeting card service that the police said had been developed by an aum affiliate . the company , a subsidiary of n.t.t. , said it was checking the program 's source code to make sure that it did not pose any problems . in addition , n.t.t . communications said it would delay the introduction , planned for this spring , of a service for creating home pages because of a possible link to the sect . the company is reviewing the content of home page software . ''we were shocked to learn that aum might have been involved in the development of this software , '' said fuyuki natsumeda , a company spokesman . ''it was like what we call pouring water into the ear while you are asleep . '' mr . natsumeda said his company had not contracted directly with aum for either of the two software programs and that there were four or five levels of subcontracting between the main contractor it had hired and the aum companies . ''principally , it 's a matter of whether the product is good or bad , but since we are in such a social environment , i do n't think that we can just say the product is good and that 's all we 're concerned about , '' mr . natsumeda said . ''if we knew an aum company was developing the software , we would not want to be involved with it . '' security officials said that while it was not illegal or a violation of government policy to do business with the sect , they were investigating to find out how the software companies had obtained the contracts . the software companies had a reputation for producing high quality systems at low prices , and customers were said to be generally pleased with the work . the companies were able to win business by bidding 30 percent to 40 percent below market prices , the officials said , mainly because their employees , who were all aum members , worked for virtually no pay . the officials said that more than 40 employees worked at the aum related software companies and that many were graduates of prestigious national universities like tokyo_university and kyoto university , where they studied computer science . some worked as systems engineers at major software companies before joining the sect . government officials and corporate executives said that they would take pains in the future to avoid using aum companies as subcontractors , but that doing so was likely to increase the costs of procuring some software . aum officials declined to comment on the development , which could severely hurt its computer operations , a major source of revenue for the sect and the cornerstone of what its leaders say are plans for the sect to reform itself . the sect has set as a major priority providing compensation for victims of crimes committed by former members . an aum member who is familiar with the group 's internal workings and who spoke on condition of anonymity said the sect was still trying to confirm the information provided by the police . even if the information proves to be true , the member said , no harm was done by the sect 's providing good products at cheap prices . ''concerns about cyberterrorism and access to government_agency data are being raised by media reports without confirmation , '' he said . ''they are raising the specter of these things just because aum members are running the shops . '' in the past , the police and the tax authorities have said that aum earns about 65 million a year through the sale of computers at seven affiliated retail stores in tokyo , osaka and nagoya . public anxiety over the aum sect has increased in recent years as it has increased its commercial and recruitment activities . but last year the government passed a law allowing the police to enter the sect 's sites at will to conduct inspections . in its annual human_rights report , the state_department noted this month that while religious_freedom is a guaranteed right in japan , only the aum sect has been placed under government surveillance and is subject to public pressure . | has a location of japan |
lead james ( buster ) douglas of columbus , ohio , will be the next opponent for mike_tyson , the undisputed heavyweight champion , on feb . 12 in toyko . tyson had been scheduled to meet donovan ( razor ) ruddock tonight in edmonton , alberta , but withdrew after he came down with a lung infection . the fight was rescheduled for jan . james ( buster ) douglas of columbus , ohio , will be the next opponent for mike_tyson , the undisputed heavyweight champion , on feb . 12 in toyko . tyson had been scheduled to meet donovan ( razor ) ruddock tonight in edmonton , alberta , but withdrew after he came down with a lung infection . the fight was rescheduled for jan . 20 , but home box office , the cable network with the television rights , withdrew its support when no assurance could be given that the fight would come off then . al braverman , director of boxing for don_king , tyson 's promoter , confirmed the plan . ''that 's the date we 're going to go , because the razor ruddock fight has been pushed off , '' braverman said . ''james douglas is next for mike_tyson . '' hbo intends to telecast the tyson douglas fight , said ross greenberg of the cable network . tyson will reportedly receive 5 million for the bout , and douglas will get a minimum of 1 . 3 million . ( ap ) sports people boxing | has a location of japan |
his introductory e mail message had the humble , respectful tone of a college student listing his credentials for a summer job . ''this year , i hit 50 home_runs with 107 r.b.i. , and my batting_average was . 334 , '' hideki_matsui wrote to each of the 30 major_league clubs in the fall . ''i hope your team will be interested to offer me a contract for next season . '' long before the message flashed across the screen , the yankees were very interested in matsui . as the most famous player in japan , he needed no introduction . the yankees wanted him badly , for his skills on the field and his appeal off it . yesterday , they got him . matsui agreed to a three year , 21 million contract , contingent on his passing a physical next month . matsui , a 28 year old outfielder known as godzilla , will be paid 6 million next season , 7 million in 2004 and 8 million in 2005 . in choosing the yankees over the baltimore_orioles and the mets , matsui leaves the most storied japanese franchise , the yomiuri_giants , for its american equivalent . the yankees were his first choice all along , but he had conditions . according to a person familiar with the negotiations , matsui insisted on having the contract be for only three years . the yankees wanted to include an option year but abandoned the idea late in the talks because of matsui 's desire to be a free_agent after three years . matsui was even willing to give up potential bonuses in return for the yankees' allowing him to be a free_agent after three years . for matsui to do that instead of waiting six years , as the rules require the yankees could take other steps , including not tendering him a contract after the third season . matsui is not the first elite japanese hitter to sign with a major_league team , but he is the first power hitter to make the jump . the yankees believe he can do it . ''from our viewpoint , he 's one of the few people over there that swings the bat similar to what we teach over here , and what we 're looking for , '' said john cox , the yankees' coordinator of pacific_rim scouting . ''he uses his hands , keeps his right shoulder in , and he 's not flying off the ball like you see ichiro do . he 's not that type of hitter . '' those who have seen matsui stress how different he is from ichiro_suzuki , who has had great success with a more traditional japanese hitting technique . in 2001 , his first season with the seattle_mariners , suzuki won the american_league most valuable player award , slashing singles and doubles and almost stepping out of the batter 's box when swinging the bat while dashing to first . matsui is a far more disciplined hitter . at 6 feet 1 inch and 209 pounds , he is a thick masher who led japan 's central_league in on base percentage ( . 461 ) and slugging percentage ( . 692 ) . ''he 's definitely more of a u.s . hitter , '' said mark johnson , the former mets first baseman who played against matsui in japan . ''he does n't drift . he stays back and rotates , a lot like barry_bonds . he really lets the ball come to him . he 's not like ichiro , who glides into the ball and slaps it around . '' shortly after leading the giants to the japan_series championship , matsui declared his free_agency and said he wanted to play for an american team . he might have earned 10 million a year in japan , but his yankees contract does give him a raise from last season , when he made 5 million . it is an expensive commitment for the yankees , who were burned by their last foray into japan the overweight , underachieving pitcher hideki_irabu and are trying to cut payroll . matsui will displace rondell white in left field or raul mondesi in right , and the yankees were comfortable making the deal before trading those players . the yankees owe 5 million to white , 7 million to mondesi . they would gladly trade either , but it may make more sense to keep mondesi than white . mondesi has a strong arm and could stay in right while matsui , whose arm is only average , plays left . cox said matsui has excellent instincts in the field and a quick release when he throws . but offense is his strength . ''he makes contact , '' cox said . ''he 's got plus power and he can take a pitch . he 's got a good idea of the strike_zone . he 's just a very good hitter . '' the deal goes beyond baseball . the yankees and the giants have a new working agreement , an informal arrangement in which the teams exchange ideas and scouting information and share facilities . the yankees maintained that their association with the giants would not give them an edge in negotiations with matsui , and yesterday they emphasized that there were no inherent financial gains by signing him . lonn trost , the yankees' chief_operating_officer , said that the yankees and the yes network could not make side deals to broadcast games in japan , and that any revenues from the sales of yankees merchandise would go into a central fund split by all teams . but the yankees clearly expect matsui to broaden their fan base and attractiveness to advertisers . ''when you look at how small the world has become , you look at atlantic_city and las_vegas and you see a substantial number of people from foreign countries , '' trost said . ''i would hope that we would be a destination for more people , and our ticket sales would go up . when ticket sales go up , i would hope that companies dedicated to japanese customers would have advertising here that we 'd be able to benefit from . '' baseball | has a location of japan |
offered an automatic invitation as the team to play host to the tournament , japan qualified for the first women 's olympic hockey tournament because of geography , not skill . wally kozak , the team 's canadian coach , figures he will need a few trick plays to avoid finishing sixth in a six team field . that 's where an 18 year old , baton twirling forward named aki tsuchida comes in . ''maybe i could get her to distract someone on face offs , '' kozak said . ''have her throw the stick up and twirl it . '' japan opens the round robin tournament against canada , the three time world champion . also on the schedule is the united_states , which defeated the japanese in their last three meetings by a combined score of 42 0 . the americans and the canadians are expected to play for the gold_medal . japan is playing for something that may be just as satisfying respect . ''realistically , it might be a_10 goal differential with the americans and canadians , '' kozak said today as his team prepared for next sunday 's opener . ''if we lose by less than 10 , it 's a victory . '' there is not a more unlikely team in the tournament than japan , whose captain is a kindergarten teacher and whose most indispensable player is a defender from houston who graduated from brown_university . while other teams field full time players , the japanese players are part time athletes and full time students , office clerks and secretaries . they play 10 or so games a season in industrial leagues and practice three or four times a week . for the olympics , they have either taken leaves of absence or quit their jobs because of uncooperative bosses . ''women 's ice_hockey in japan is starting in nagano , '' maiko obikawa , the team captain , said . ''we are the pioneers . we have to play well , then maybe elementary schools will get interested . they never televise games . no one knows about women 's hockey . if we play good , maybe attitudes will change . '' ten of the team 's players are from hokkaido , japan 's northernmost island , which has a russian influence and a long hockey tradition . there are about 30 women 's club teams on hokkaido . most players on the women 's olympic team are affiliated with the iwakura trucking company . the team has little speed and struggles to control the puck , but it spackles over the lack of talent with an olympian sense of dedication . last fall five players paid their way to a hockey camp in calgary , alberta . on a recent european swing , japan defeated the german national team in germany . ''they are at the stage where people are watching them and not feeling sorry for them , '' kozak said . when he first coached the team , at the 1996 winter asian_games in harbin , china , kozak said that even he struggled to keep from laughing at the haplessness of his players . ''they could n't complete passes , they could n't shoot and they fell down a lot , '' he said . it was at that tournament , however , that japan collected its first international victory with a shutout of kazakhstan , which had never played a game and which unsuccessfully tried to convert speed skaters into hockey players . ''they were the best skaters out there during warm_ups , '' kozak said of the kazaks . ''then they threw the puck out and no one could stand up . '' a 9 4 loss in the tournament final to china was encouraging , given that japan had lost by 18 0 in the previous meeting . but the japanese preferred their own coaches , so kozak returned to calgary to teach physical_education and coach hockey until he was hired again in december with the olympics approaching . he uses an interpreter at practice to overcome the language_barrier . but he sometimes finds himself struggling to scale the cultural barrier . today , for instance , some of his players were sick with colds , which raised a larger , sensitive question of how hard japanese women should be pushed during practice . ''they say there is somewhat of a danger because they will allow you to push them without stopping themselves , '' kozak said . in general , however , kozak said he preferred to coach japanese women over japanese men because of a cultural reticence that he found in the men who play . in a country that prides itself on respect for elders , he said , younger male players are hesitant even to body check an older player . women , on the other hand , do not seem bound by japan 's rigid cultural restraints while playing hockey , he said , displaying aggressiveness , passion and emotion often lacking in the men who play . ''in japan , out in public , women have to be reserved , '' said defenseman chie sakuma , a graduate of brown in management who followed her older brother into hockey as a girl in houston . ''on the ice , it 's just women . they do n't have to worry about the outside world . they can be themselves . '' sakuma , according to her coach , is the ''glue that holds the team together . '' kozak said , ''you can call her the coach . '' she first played hockey in japan as a_10 year old , when her father , hajime , now an importer exporter in new york city , coached her houston peewee team on an international tour . after women 's hockey joined the olympic roster , sakuma moved to japan in 1994 and now works as an interpreter for the iwakura trucking company while playing for the company team . she also serves as an interpreter for the japanese olympic team , which has made her invaluable to kozak , but has also somewhat alienated her from her teammates , he said . ''sometimes , i have to do interpreting for the team that 's not why i do n't fit in as well , '' sakuma said . ''i think it 's just different ways we were brought up . it 's not too bad , though . we just do our thing on the ice and that 's what matters . '' what matters at the olympics is securing at least one victory . finland is out of japan 's league , but kozak believes a victory against sweden is possible . the game everybody wants to win is the unofficial asian championship match against china , which learned its chippy style by watching videotapes of national_hockey_league games . ''they 've improved a great deal , '' kozak said of his players . ''now they want to see how much they 've learned . '' olympics | has a location of japan |
in the former east_german sports system , athletes were chosen the way some people choose tomatoes . body type meant everything . gunda_niemann was told that her legs were too short for track and field . determined to succeed anyway , she switched to speed_skating at the age of 17 . nine years later , at the 1992 winter_olympics in albertville , france , she became the first woman to win a gold_medal for a reunified germany . ''i am very proud of this medal , '' niemann , 31 , said from her home in erfurt , germany , speaking through an interpreter . ''it is close to my heart . i was skating for all of germany . '' she won two gold medals and a silver in albertville and a silver and a bronze at the 1994 winter_games in lillehammer , norway , becoming as dominant in distance skating as bonnie_blair was in the sprints . currently the world champion at 1 , 500 meters , 3 , 000 meters and 5 , 000 meters , niemann could add three more golds at the nagano games , matching blair 's career total of five . niemann keeps the medals in a safe place , outside of her home . on occasion , she takes them out and looks at them as if they were photographs , each one defining a surpassing moment in a brilliant career . because she won all of her medals for a unified germany , no one is asking that she give any of them back . her predecessors in the east_german system are not so lucky . east_germany is gone , but revelations and suspicions about its dishonest athletic past continue . some swimmers and officials in the united_states , and elsewhere in the west , have demanded that so called tainted medals be returned and perfidious accomplishments be erased from the books . documents and admissions in recent years have revealed what many had expected , that the east_germans championed communism by building an international sports power , in part through a state sponsored system of doping . many athletes apparently did not know they were receiving drugs , believing instead they were taking vitamins . four former east_german swimming coaches and two physicians have been charged with causing harm to 17 teen_age athletes in the 1970 's and 1980 's by giving them muscle building anabolic_steroids . at the recent world swimming championships in perth , australia , german coach winfried leopold had his accreditation taken away , then later restored by an australian court . leopold , a former east_german coach , admitted to the systematic doping plan in 1991 and was banned from the sport for two years . ongoing investigations by german prosecutors have produced disturbing findings . petra kind schneider , a gold medalist swimmer at the 1980 moscow olympics , has said that she was given steroids beginning at the age of 14 , without her knowledge , and that she now suffers from liver and heart problems . heidi krieger , the 1986 european champion in the shot put , has charged that she was given such massive doses of the male sex hormone testosterone , which serves as a steroid , that she developed facial hair , an adam 's apple and acute psychological problems . according to the german magazine der_spiegel , she considered the process irreversible and has changed her name to andreas after two operations intended to make her a transsexual . reverberations from the doping issue have reached the upper levels of the german_government . on jan . 9 , manfred kanther , the interior_minister , rejected as ''one sided'' and ''absurd'' the demands that former east_german athletes be stripped of their olympic medals . walter troger , president of the german olympic_committee , agreed , saying in a statement that erasing the results of previous olympic_games is ' 'surely not the proper way'' of overcoming the problem of doping . niemann , the star speed_skater , and others have pointed out that athletes in the west also use performance_enhancing_drugs , so the east_germans should not be singled out for punishment . one of the most glaring problems with drug testing is that there are no certified tests for two performance enhancing substances that athletes are widely suspected of using human growth hormone , and epo , or erythropoietin . ''this problem in sport is worldwide , '' said niemann , 31 , who is now married to her manager , oliver stirnemann , and skates under the name niemann stirnemann . ''it 's not appropriate to find a scapegoat in the former east_germany . '' the international_olympic_committee feels the same way . at meetings in nagano before the winter_games begin , the i.o.c . is expected to put a four year limit on challenges to athletic performances . for instance , if someone questions a gold_medal accomplishment at the nagano games , the matter will have to be successfully challenged by the 2002 salt_lake_city games , or it will stand forever as a gold_medal . ''it is a policy not to rewrite history , '' francois carrard , director general of the i.o.c. , said recently in new york . ''you cannot reopen cases forever . '' niemann has repeatedly , sometimes heatedly , said that she did not use drugs as an east_german athlete and that she was never an informant for the stasi , the former east_german secret_police . and she has not been linked to either matter . speaking calmly and without any trace of defensiveness on the telephone , she pointed out that she had become a prominent athlete after the berlin_wall fell in 1989 , not before . german skating authorities said that she is now drug tested up to 30 times a year , sometimes twice in one day , and that she had never failed a drug_test . ''i 'm very clean , '' niemann said . asked if she were concerned that she might have been given drugs without her knowledge as an east_german and might later suffer health consequences , niemann said ''i 'm as fit and healthy as i can be . i do n't spend any time worrying about that . i 'm confident about my health . '' claudia pechstein , 25 , the 1994 olympic champion at 5 , 000 meters and niemann chief rival , is also from eastern_germany . but the former figure_skater was only 16 when the berlin_wall came down she said that she was not concerned that drugs that might have been given to her furtively would damage her health . ''i do n't have drugs , i will not have drugs , '' pechstein said from berlin . ''i was too young for this in east_germany . i 'm really a woman , not a little bit man . '' niemann has continued to live in the eastern german city of erfurt , which remains a center of speed_skating . with her 17 inch calves and 23 1 2 inch thighs , she powered her way to gold medals at 3 , 000 meters and 5 , 000 meters at the 1992 albertville olympics . but disaster struck four years ago in lillehammer , norway . she had not lost a 3 , 000 meter race in three years when she hit a lane marker early in the olympic race and fell . she settled for silver in the 5 , 000 when pechstein skated her career best by an astonishing 19 seconds , and managed just a bronze in the 1 , 500 . ''i was very sad in 1994 , '' niemann said . ''i was in very good form , but i was under incredible pressure from the press back home . they were writing that i was going to win three gold medals . '' she has adjusted smoothly to the new hinged clap skates , but continued recovery from arthroscopic knee surgery last april made her skip the recent european championships . still , niemann is expected to challenge for three gold medals in nagano . and she may continue to salt_lake_city in 2002 . ''everything is possible , '' she said . ''if the health and joy and spirit remain , why not ? '' nagano '98 speed_skating | has a location of japan |
lead shinya watanabe was amused at the unlikely sight of his fellow students panicking over a term paper that was almost due . nearby , students sitting in study carrels with their heads bent over western classics occasionally looked longingly out the window . shinya watanabe was amused at the unlikely sight of his fellow students panicking over a term paper that was almost due . nearby , students sitting in study carrels with their heads bent over western classics occasionally looked longingly out the window . ''this school is harder than a japanese university , '' said mr . watanabe , 20 years old . ''here , we have to study . '' although the japanese are well known for studying hard in primary and secondary_school , many college students here often spend more time hitting tennis balls than hitting the books . getting into top universities is hard but getting out is relatively easy , with fewer reading and writing requirements than comparable american schools . the student body at the school mr . watanabe attends in toyko is mostly japanese , but the school itself is , without question , american . the professors come from universities in the united_states and classes are taught in english . it is the japanese branch of temple_university of philadelphia , the first american college to establish a campus in japan . competitive products american higher_education , it seems , is one import from the united_states that the japanese are eager to buy . in fact , dr . chikara higashi , president of temple_university japan , talks about education the way others talk about cars or television sets . ''america 's industrial products are not really competitive , '' he said in an interview , ''but america 's educational products are very competitive . '' japanese higher_education has been criticized by politicians and by national and foreign educators as too inbred and narrow . universities do not encourage intellectual debate and there is little freedom for independent thought . some critics here say the system leads to parochial attitudes among the japanese . those critics are calling for the ''internationalization'' of japan 's educational system . ''if japan is to become a true member of the international_community , then education has to be internationalized as well , '' said yusuke kataoka , executive director of the u.s.a . japan committee for promoting trade expansion . the committee , headed by representative richard a . gephardt , democrat of missouri , and susumu nikaido , a senior member of the japanese parliament , is helping american universities find sites for campuses in mostly rural areas of japan . smaller towns are eager to spur their economies and keep their young people from leaving for the big city . so towns are wooing universities with offers of free land , free construction of campus buildings and free housing for faculty . enrollment is now 1 , 200 inspired by the possibility of recruiting more students and having closer ties to one of the world 's most powerful economies , american universities such as southern illinois , georgia_tech and mississippi_state are planning to start branches in japan . temple_university japan began in 1982 with 250 students . it now has an enrollment of 1 , 200 . many students choose the american_university simply because they want an alternative to the rigidity of japanese style education . temple_university japan is especially popular among ambitious young japanese women . it also appeals to japanese students who attended international schools while living overseas with their families . ''i came back to japan my first year of high_school , '' a sophomore , chiharu takano , said in a thick australian accent , ''and it was really difficult for me to go back to a japanese school . '' much of the japanese high_school curriculum , which is controlled by the federal ministry of education , is dedicated to preparing young japanese for university entrance_exams that require enormous amounts of rote memorization . that makes it very hard for those who have lived abroad to return and get into top japanese schools . ''if a student can get into good schools like keio , waseda , or tokyo_university , they 're not going to come to us , '' said george deaux , dean of temple_university japan , often called t.u.j . ''but that 's not something we 're ashamed of . '' he said that only 60 percent of this year 's college applicants will be accepted by universities . ''even susumu tonegawa could n't get in to tokyo_university , '' added mr . deaux , referring to the recipient of the 1987 nobel prize in medicine . one major problem is that the education ministry will not accredit foreign universities here . that leaves parents concerned that their children will not find good jobs . mr . kataoka of the trade expansion committee said that as more companies move overseas , they find they need employees who not only are bilingual , but also can work easily in another culture . ''many japanese companies are now taking students who have degrees from the united_states , so the attitude here toward a foreign diploma is changing , '' he said . some t.u.j . graduates have already found jobs at_large international companies , like nomura_securities , i.b.m . japan and fujitsu . education | has a location of japan |
it 's not the thousands of deaths that trouble her most , or the loss of her home , or the paralyzing fear of the ground swaying again . it 's the screams . the veterinarian around the corner was pinned in his house after it collapsed in the earthquake , but he shouted that he was all right . and so shizuko hirajima shouted back and told him he would be o.k. , and she worked frantically to rescue other neighbors who seemed to be in greater need . when the fire erupted , there was not enough time to go back and dig the vet out of his home , so they stood at the edge of the blistering heat and listened as he burned to death . " we could hear him call out , " she said , shivering . " 'help me ! ' he shouted . 'help me ! ' but we could n't do a thing . we just had to stand there . " the inferno has since been extinguished , and the temblor 's survivors are adapting to their new lives as homeless beggars . in mrs . hirajima 's case , she is dealing with the screams that haunt her by going deaf she has lost much of her hearing since the quake struck on tuesday . the veterinarian 's shouts no longer echo in her head , but she cannot hear much else , either . the reaction of mrs . hirajima , a graying woman of 61 years who wrings her hands endlessly , is unusual . but it reflects the drive of most of the millions of people in the earthquake zone to adjust to what has happened and get on with their new lives . it is this resilience that is most striking more than four days after western japan was struck by the great earthquake , which left more than 4 , 900 people dead and 202 missing and feared dead in the rubble . it also caused tens of billions of dollars in damage , making it one of the most expensive natural_disasters in history . a daylong hike through the disaster zone leaves one with a taste of amazement at the scale of destruction , pain at the quiet suffering of families that are smaller than they were a week ago , and above all of respect for the determination of newly made paupers to press on with their lives . mrs . hirajima , for instance , has done more than just become deaf . she and her neighbors extricated themselves from their damaged houses and , still in their pajamas , rushed around pulling other people from the debris . then they fought fires . and now the hirajimas and half a dozen other families have taken over a tiny public garden and set up camp . they have pitched tents and sleep in them in turns , because there are not enough to go around . they have also dug a latrine , curtained off with cloth fished from the rubble , and built a campfire and organized a rotation for cooking duties . they spend free time at their former homes , searching for anything that can still be of use . mrs . hirajima still cannot sleep at night , for fear of new earthquakes , and she has to fight back the memories of the veterinarian , and of the beautician who lived down another street . the beautician , a 60 year old woman , was entombed when the house collapsed on her , but she could still shout out that she was unhurt . for hours , mrs . hirajima reassured the beautician , telling her it was going to be o.k. , as the neighbors tried to dig her out . but it was impossible without equipment to move the slabs of concrete , and the beautician 's voice began to fade . they last heard her voice 24 hours after the earthquake , and a couple of days later , when the heavy machinery finally arrived , her body was recovered . " when i look at the rubble of her house , i 'm scared , " mrs . hirajima said . " i figure that her spirit will come out from the debris . her spirit must be angry at the way she died . because she cried out , 'help me ! ' but we did n't help . " reactions some laugh away their pains everywhere in the disaster zone , faces are lined with new creases that testify to ways they are bearing the unbearable . in the hard hit neighborhoods , everyone knows someone who has been killed , and many feel perhaps the most wrenching pain of all the shock of parents who survive their children . one man , kitai lin , reportedly held his only son in his arms for 56 hours as they were trapped inside a six story building that had collapsed . mr . lin cradled the boy , 6 year old tatsuya , as they lay in the darkness , pinned underneath a refrigerator and a bed , waiting for rescuers to reach them . " my child is in my arms , " mr . lin is said to have shouted just before being rescued . " we 're all right . " but after surviving for two and a half days in the rubble without food or water , the boy died shortly after rescuers pried them free . mr . lin is one of many in western japan for whom a_20 second temblor means more anguish than a lifetime can assuage . the paradox is that in a zone of so much sadness , good cheer is also extraordinarily abundant . there sometimes seem to be more happy people in kobe than sad ones . norio horinouchi , a lean 66 year old in eastern kobe , speaks lightly of how the earthquake knocked down his house , killing six people on the floor below him . " i had been on the second floor , and then i realized i was on the first floor , " he recalled . " when i felt the house shake , i thought that was the last moment of my life . " asked why he seemed so cheerful , mr . horinouchi grinned . " when my sons came to look for me , they were in tears to find that their father was fine , " he said , glowing with pleasure . " they were so happy ! i knew that i loved my sons , and that they loved me . " kazuko ando , a 53 year old matron whose husband is in the hospital with a back injury , joked about the difficulties of life in a refugee shelter , now that her home has collapsed . asked how she can joke , she shrugged . " we can laugh and smile , " she said . " after all , we know that lots of folks in this area really are suffering with worse problems . some people down that street lost their youngest child . over there , a young couple was killed . but my family members , we 're all safe . " the eeriest time to be in kobe is at night , when the back alleys are dark and silent and the only sound is endless sirens in the distance . the alleys are strewn with bricks and beams , and here and there a building leans so far over that it is difficult to squeeze by it . on the sides are the hulking shadows of abandoned , damaged houses and the open spaces where homes collapsed into piles of debris some of which still contain bodies , or even perhaps a person still alive but now at the limits of endurance . at the end of one such alley , just before it ended abruptly where a home lay toppled onto its side , a dozen former residents of the former houses were sitting around a campfire , cooking dinner and laughing heartily . when a visitor showed up , they beamed and offered a chair and began cracking jokes . " we 're in pain , of course , but to cheer ourselves up we get together and laugh from the bottom of our hearts , " explained kunimasa nakata , a 43 year old engineer and the group 's chief comic . " at any moment , we 're scared . but at least this way , if there 's another earthquake and i 'm killed , i wo n't die alone . " looting reports of looters are mostly rumor mr . nakata and other quake victims said the disaster had in some ways brought out the best in people , inspiring a degree of altruism and cooperation not always present in the hurly burly of mundane jobs . almost everyone interviewed also said that alongside the cooperation , looting had become a serious problem , and many expressed shock and embarrassment that such crimes could happen in japan . yet when people were pressed , the reports of looting almost always seemed to be little more than rumors . a policeman in central kobe , for instance , said gravely that looting was a significant problem that had led to increased police patrols . but he acknowledged that he did not actually know of any cases of theft . one woman said she had found signs that someone had entered her damaged home when she was away , although she did not actually find anything missing . and one man said that two bicycles had been taken from in front of his house during the first hectic hours after the earthquake , although one explanation is that they may have been seized to rescue someone . there was one clear case of looting . on thursday , several young men heaved a rock through a window of a mini market and grabbed some food and ran . " i do n't know how much was taken , because everything was still on the floor from the earthquake , and we did n't have time to count the missing merchandise , " a store clerk said . asked if he was surprised that japanese should engage in such los_angeles style practices as post earthquake looting , the store clerk was momentarily dumbfounded . " no , you misunderstood , " he said firmly . " these looters were n't japanese . they were foreigners . we saw them . three young foreign guys . " koreans helping all , without bias the looters were not koreans . but in fact the largest foreign population in kobe by far is that of ethnic koreans , who have lived in japan for generations . such koreans often face discrimination in japan , and there have long been tensions between them and their japanese neighbors . after the last great earthquake in japan , the one that devastated tokyo and killed more than 140 , 000 people in 1923 , rumors spread that ethnic koreans were lighting fires and poisoning the few remaining water sources even that they had contrived to cause the earthquake itself . japanese mobs hunted down and beat to death any koreans they could find . estimates of those killed range up to 6 , 000 . the aftermath of the quake of 1995 suggests that relations have improved , for no tensions have been reported between japanese and koreans in kobe . " people rescued anybody who cried out for help , " said kang chu ok , a 38 year old korean housewife in one of the worst hit parts of kobe . " nobody paid attention to whether the victim was korean or japanese . people helped me just as if i were japanese . " mrs . kang , who spoke in the alley in front of her new home , now tilting precariously and devoid of its front wall , said firefighters had given the same priority to fires in korean homes as to fires in japanese homes . officials with the two korean associations one linked to south_korea , the other to north_korea also said they had not heard of any discrimination against their members . casualties busy hospitals , busy morgues the second busiest person in kobe these days may be yosuke matsumura , deputy director of the kobe western city hospital , in one of the worst hit areas . mr . matsumura was at home when the earthquake struck , but he immediately hiked the 10 miles to the hospital no other transportation was available and began treating the wave of patients with burns and other injuries . mr . matsumura has not been home since , and he has scarcely slept . the hospital 's first crisis was that it had no emergency generator , and the lights went out and two patients on respirators died in the confusion . one was a cancer patient , the other had pneumonia . a woman was also in advanced labor , with the crown of the baby 's head already visible . the doctors decided that the woman could not give birth by herself , but they dared not perform a caesarean section with no lights or electricity . despite her state , they put her in an ambulance and took her over rubble strewn streets to another hospital where the caesarean was performed successfully . as 1 , 600 patients swarmed the hospital , the atmosphere was virtual chaos . " it was difficult beyond imagination , " mr . matsumura recalled . " on the first floor , patients were told to stanch their bleeding themselves , and to find a place on their own to lie down , because there was no space . and 65 people were brought in already dead , to be revived by us , but we had to focus on the living . " while none of the hospital 's doctors were killed , some had lost their homes or had family members missing , and that did not help their concentration . two of the 260 nurses are still missing , and many staff members are having problems getting to work because of traffic_jams and impassable roads . it is getting better , however . the hospital now has electricity , and while it does not have running water , two portable_toilets have been installed outside the front door . the stream of patients has slowed as well . if mr . matsumura is the second busiest person in kobe , perhaps the busiest is akihiko hagisawa , an undertaker . " for three days after the earthquake i did n't sleep a wink , and then i got five hours' sleep , and then i have n't slept since , " mr . hagisawa said as he drove a body to a temporary resting place in a school auditorium . the problem is not just that the area around kobe has an extra 5 , 000 bodies to dispose of . the undertakers themselves lost employees in the earthquake , and the local government was so overwhelmed at first that it could not issue the death certificates necessary before bodies can be picked up . then the problem became where to find the extra coffins and how to find enough hearses or even station wagons to carry them to the crematoriums . in any case , with the gas supply cut off , the crematoriums could no longer dispose of bodies , and so they piled up in spare rooms of the schools that are used everywhere as refugee shelters . the new homeless find themselves sleeping in one room of a school , while loved ones are laid out along with dozens of other bodies in another room . the winter air is cool , but even so the bodies are beginning to smell , and relatives are outraged . " when i go to a school to take away a body , people surround me and ask for help in cremating other bodies as well , " mr . hagisawa said . " we want to cremate them , but there 's a long line to cremate . " it will take a month to dispose of all of the bodies left from the earthquake , mr . hagisawa estimated . in the meantime , the problem may get worse . " with so many people still missing , " mr . hagisawa said grimly , " i think the backlog of corpses is only going to get longer . " quake in japan the scene | has a location of japan |
saburo masaoka speaks with the enthusiasm of a klondike prospector . in rapid fire sentences that roll figures and the fanciful into one , he talks about panning for gold , silver , platinum and palladium . but mr . masaoka is no ordinary 49er . he is a salesman at yokohama metals , a scrap_metal recycler whose mother lode is found on the dark side of the wireless revolution the millions of cellular_phones thrown in the trash heap each year . yokohama metals , one hour west of tokyo on the road to mount fuji , is one of a handful of japanese recycling companies that mine precious_metals from high tech gear past its prime . walking through the company 's spartan warehouse , mr . masaoka , 51 , waves toward 20 foot high racks holding baskets of circuit_boards , ceramics and wiring that will be melted , with the metal removed and refined into ingots . the prize catch , though , is brought down by forklift two bales containing thousands of handsets . sorting through them is like an archeological dig . clunky models from the early 1990 's are tossed in with sleek star_trek style handsets that still bear the cutesy stickers applied by their former owners . to mr . masaoka , they are all part of a trove because one quarter of each cellphone by weight is metal . ''old jewelry is easier to recycle , '' he said . ''but it 's better than pulling gold out of the ground . '' cellphone recycling is in essence a numbers game , and the numbers are sufficient to make it viable while , as yet , voluntary . last year yokohama metals hauled in 1.7 million used handsets , about 10 percent of japan 's recycled phone market . the company pays 10 yen ( 7 cents ) for each handset it buys the gold and other metal in each phone is worth about 30 yen . in all , 120 , 000 phones are needed to produce a one kilogram bar of pure ( 99 . 99 percent ) gold , which sells for just under 10 , 000 . japan is not alone in trying to squeeze gold from high tech discards . across asia , recyclers are collecting millions of tons of old electronics from the united_states and elsewhere and mining them for precious_metals . in places like china and india , where rules governing waste_disposal are weak and rarely enforced , electronics recycling can pose both environmental and health hazards , according to a report by five environmental groups issued this week . but the same report credited japan for its approach , which has included steps to put more safely recyclable material into electronics equipment and has given manufacturers the primary responsibility for collecting the used gear . mining cellphones for gold is , in fact , just one way the japanese are finding new uses for what they cast off . they are among the world 's most avid recyclers , and for good reason . with nowhere near the abundance of natural_resources found in the united_states , japanese have long recycled items ranging from lacquered lunch boxes to tatami mats . still , the amount of garbage produced has soared nearly 60 percent in the last three decades , and the tokyo metropolitan_area , where 20 percent of the population lives , is fast running out of landfills . as the cost of waste_disposal soars , recycling has increasingly become not only a habit but a requirement , too . last april , the government passed a law requiring home appliance manufacturers like hitachi and toshiba to recycle all the washing_machines , refrigerators , air_conditioners and televisions they make and import . the government is likely to expand the law to include personal_computers and office equipment ( though not cellphones ) , a prospect that is pushing companies to increase the amount of reusable and recyclable content . ''they see the writing on the wall , '' said dylan tanner , a briton who is director of the yokohama office of environmental resources management , an environmental consulting_firm . ''they are going to have to phase out using a lot of materials , so they want to stay one step ahead . '' but with the exception of the cellphones and a few other items , recycling is a money loser . for home appliances covered under last year 's law , consumers pay a recycling fee of up to 35 , with 60 percent going to manufacturers and the remainder to retailers who collect the goods and turn them over for recycling . while motors and metals are easily sold , most of the remainder must be dumped . that makes it difficult for electronics makers to turn a profit on recycling even though they retrieved more than one third of the nearly 20 million appliances thrown out last year . ''basically we 're losing money , but we 're getting more products than we thought , so our loss is shrinking , '' said yusuke tokita , who runs the recycling promotion group at the mitsubishi electric company , which built the nation 's first recycling plant that uses no water or incinerators . cellphone recyclers have better luck because handsets have no resale value and transporting the phones from shops to warehouses is less expensive . but extracting the metals from the phones is not easy . handsets are poured en_masse into a crusher , which spits out a pulp that is then melted at high temperatures and turns into black sludge . canvas sacks full of that material are suspended from racks and dunked into pools of solvent . over two four day periods , chemicals leach silver from the bags . metal collects like tinsel on the sides and bottom of the tanks . similar processes extract gold , platinum and other materials from the sludge . ( the company says it disposes of the waste properly , and it has been certified as meeting international environmental standards . ) the metal in cellphones , however , is low grade . though the gold in japanese phones is 30 times purer than what is typically mined in south_africa , recyclers must still spend days or weeks on the refining process that ultimately yields the one kilogram bars of gold that are shipped to stores and manufacturers . over all , it takes six months to extract metals from a cellphone , compared with a month to melt and refine jewelry . that limits profit_margins , which also depend heavily on market prices . yokohama metals makes a profit of up to 7 cents for every gram of gold and palladium that it resells and one fifth of one cent for every gram of silver . fortunately for the company , fears of a financial downturn in japan have driven local gold prices to a three year high . there are other hiccups in the recovery and recycling process . although most carriers tell handset manufacturers not to include certain toxins in their phones , many older handsets still contain lead soldering . and most companies are unwilling to pay recyclers extra to take apart phones by hand , rather than melting , to ensure that plastics are disposed of in the cleanest way possible . even the cellphone recyclers face uncertain economics . with the mobile_phone market almost saturated and the recession pushing customers to hang on longer to their phones , handset shipments fell last year for the first time since 1996 . ''the era of high turnover rates for phones is over , '' said mr . masaoka , who expects collection rates to rise only slightly this year . for now , in any case , recyclers are getting a steady flow of phones from japan 's carriers . with little government involvement , ntt_docomo , kddi and j phone , the country 's three largest mobile_phone operators , took back nearly 10 million old phones in the year ended last march , or one fifth of the 53 million phones produced , the telecommunications carriers association says . unofficial estimates suggest that the figure may have been closer to 15 million . the collection process is relatively painless for the carriers . retailers receive old handsets from customers who buy new models . carriers run promotions like the ''come back'' campaigns of ntt_docomo , the market leader . for two months , three times a year , customers who turn in phones can win eco friendly sony minidisc players , solar powered watches and other items . ''there 's no law for us to follow , but we are trying to do our part , '' said satoshi yokoshima , a manager in the corporate citizenship office at docomo , which started collecting handsets in 1997 . similarly , battery makers have formed an alliance with retailers to collect and recycle used batteries from phones and other gadgets . and cellphone makers no longer use nickel cadmium , which is toxic , and mainly produce lithium ion batteries that can be recycled . by voluntarily setting up such programs , the companies give the government less incentive to mandate them . but law or no law , mr . masaoka of yokohama metals will get his phones . after all , there 's gold inside those handsets . treasures gleaned the amount of metals in a metric_ton ( 1 , 000 kilograms , or 2 , 205 pounds ) of cellphones ( about 16 , 670 handsets ) gold 0.4 pounds silver 2.6 pounds copper 255 . 7 pounds palladium 0.2 pounds steel 205 pounds aluminum 83 . 8 pounds ( source ntt_docomo tokai ) | has a location of japan |
a group of high technology executives urged the wealthiest nations today to take action to erase a growing digital_divide resulting from the economic chasm separating the developed and developing worlds . the perception that the world is increasingly being divided into information_technology haves and have nots is among the topics that the seven leading industrial nations and russia will take up at their annual summit meeting , which begins on friday in okinawa . today a task_force established by the world_economic_forum , a policy organization made up of many of the world 's largest corporations that meets annually in davos , switzerland , presented a series of proposals on the issue to japan 's prime_minister , yoshiro_mori . at a news conference here , members of the task_force appeared sensitive to the issue of self interest on the part of the large corporations backing high technology spending . ''this is all about self interest , '' said vernon j . ellis , international chairman of andersen_consulting , a member of the task_force . ''there is nothing wrong with self interest , as long as it is enlightened , long term self interest . '' the task_force , including the chief executives of sony_corporation and toshiba_corporation , japan 's two largest consumer_electronics companies , proposed a set of principles including telecommunications and internet deregulation , universal access to education and technology training , as well as support and financing for small entrepreneurs . the proposal , prepared at japan 's request this year at the davos meeting , also includes the creation of a peace_corps style volunteer group , the global digital opportunity corps , and the establishment of local technology community centers . japanese high technology executives said tonight that mr . mori planned to announce at the summit meeting that japan would commit 12 billion in loans and 3 billion in grants over five years to information_technology initiatives in the developing world . the move is intended to prompt similar commitments from other countries , a japanese executive said . mr . mori , who acknowledged this week that he is a computer novice who has only recently learned how to use a mouse , appeared today with an international group of high technology executives to underscore his nation 's commitment to the proposal . ''i 'd like to make this an information_technology discussion , mainly focusing on the developing nations , '' mr . mori said . ''this digital_divide issue is a crucial matter . '' the issue of the a global digital_divide has been seized on in the last year by corporate executives , eager to prove they are socially responsible . but there is disagreement over what the divide represents . a number of economists and technologists believe that the world income gap created by the industrial_revolution may still be the fundamental dividing line between rich and poor nations rather than the question of access to technology . one member of the task_force said the digital_divide should not overshadow traditional issues defining rich and poor nations . ''it 's really not a digital_divide , said the participant , richard t . k . li , chairman and chief executive of the pacific century group , an internet company based in hong_kong . ''it is an education divide , and information_technology is only a conduit to promote education . '' other companies represented on the task_force include sun_microsystems , microsoft , yahoo , 3com , motorola , hewlett_packard , novell and alcatel . sony 's chairman , nobuyuki idea , acknowledged that his company had struggled with its own internal digital_divide and had been slow to deploy information_technology among its workers . ''this is a good indication of the problems that will confront us , '' he said . klaus schwab , the founder and chairman of the world_economic_forum , said in an interview this week that he believed that inexpensive digital wireless_technology systems would increasingly spread in the third world . ''i personally feel that a breakthrough is coming , '' he said . united_states officials said on monday that information_technology held promise for creating economic opportunity as well as improving access to health_care and education . but they noted that while there are now an estimated 332 million people connected via the internet around the world , only 1 percent live in africa . and less than 5 percent of the computers connected to the internet are in developing_countries . the officials would not offer any united_states commitment or pledge of a specific dollar amount to help bridge the digital_divide . but they said they would welcome such proposals from other nations and from the american private_sector . correction july 24 , 2000 , monday an article on thursday about a call by technology executives for action on the world 's digital_divide referred incorrectly to two companies represented in the group sony and toshiba . ranked by worldwide sales last year , they are the third and fourth largest electronics companies in japan , trailing hitachi and matsushita . | has a location of japan |
it was cloudy and cool outside the north portico of the white_house this morning as steve doocy , the jovial fox_news_channel weatherman , asked al roker , the ebullient nbc weatherman , just why it was that the president of the united_states had invited them over . ''because we promised to bring krispy kremes ! '' mr . roker chortled . then he sobered up and told the fox viewers watching the live broadcast that mr . clinton wanted to talk about changes in the global climate . ''al , let me ask you this , '' mr . doocy said . ''about the global_warming thing we 're against it , right ? '' ''we do n't like global_warming , '' mr . roker agreed . but he added that , looking at the bright side , he owned some land in pennsylvania , ''and within a few years , i may have beachfront property ! '' on the theory that you do , in fact , need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows , mr . clinton invited more than 100 national and local television forecasters to the white_house today for a chat with him and vice_president al_gore and for briefings on climate_change from government experts . the administration hopes that the forecasters will influence public opinion on climate_change more than the journalists on the evening news clinton aides complain that they pay scant_attention to the issue . ''you , just in the way you comment on the events that you cover , may have a real effect on the american people , '' mr . clinton said this afternoon to the assembled broadcasters , who were overwhelmingly white , male and shorter than they appear on television . playing host to the nation 's television weather forecasters was the most innovative step in a white_house campaign to rally public support for new binding global targets for restricting greenhouse_gases . a broad coalition of industry and labor groups is spending some 13 million on advertising opposing such targets , which may be adopted at an international conference in december in kyoto , japan . ''i do n't ask for you to advocate or do anything outside of whatever your own convictions are , '' mr . clinton said this afternoon , as the skies cleared and the east_room brightened . ''but i do think it 's very important , since you have more influence than anybody does on how the american people think about this , that at least you know what you believe and how you think we should proceed . '' as the 5 o'clock broadcasts rolled around , dozens of weathermen milled about in the mellowing sunlight on the north lawn of the white_house , straightening their hair , consulting notes , muttering lines . while others waited their turns , about six stood bathed in white lights before cameras , speaking to the folks back home or standing , faces blank and microphones at the ready , as they listened for their cues in the distant chatter among the anchors . as they talked about the chill in buffalo or the pleasant weather here , the forecasters also described the concerns of the president . ''he wants all of us to think about what is happening to our climate , '' said chuck gaidica jr . of wdiv in detroit . some were careful to distance themselves from the white_house 's arguments . global_warming is ''a theory that is widely accepted , but it 's still under debate in the scientific community , '' cecily tynan told viewers of wpvi in philadelphia . ''judging by the p.r . event that was orchestrated here , it 's certainly become a very hot_topic in the clinton_administration . '' but other forecasters confessed to their viewers that they were thrilled to be there . ''to be honest with you , i 'm just like a little kid , '' said bob kovachick of wnyt in albany . after the camera stopped rolling , mr . kovachick , like many of the other meteorologists , said that he intended to return to the subject of global_warming in broadcasts later tonight and on thursday . bryan norcross , of wbry in miami , told his viewers about the detailed presentations from mr . clinton and mr . gore . ''everyone in the room came away impressed that they know what they 're talking about , that this is n't just a political event , even though the vice_president is going to run for president , '' he said . several weathermen said in interviews that they had already been sold on the dangers of climate_change before their visit to the white_house . craig allen , the cbs morning weatherman , said he felt ''absolutely honored'' to be invited to the day 's session . ''he feels very strongly about it , '' he said of the president , ''and he just wants us to get the message out . and i 'm happy to do it because i lean in that direction . '' calling the day a success , michael d . mccurry , the white_house_press_secretary , said that the weathermen ''appreciated being treated as something other than airheads . '' gail macdonald , president of the global climate coalition , which is made up of business and trade groups opposed to binding targets for reducing emissions , said she did not object to the white_house 's tactics . ''we think that any kind of any increased public discourse is good , '' she said . ''we think the journalists involved will look critically at the data and be professional . '' indeed , some forecasters said they were frustrated that mr . clinton and mr . gore had not spelled out any remedies . mr . clinton , who is planning to hold a conference on climate_change at georgetown_university on monday , is not expected to reveal his proposed emissions targets for another two or three weeks . ''we really have n't heard what it is they expect us to give up or change in our habits , '' mr . gaidica said . ''i mean questions as simple as can we use the barbecue today or can we use the waverunner anymore . '' beyond such skepticism , some weathermen took advantage of their appearance at the white_house to attach a few barbs to their famously chipper chatter . ''we got here real early this morning , '' mr . doocy deadpanned on fox . ''it was just me , the crew , and the special prosecutors . '' correction_october 10 , 1997 , friday an article on oct . 2 about a visit by television forecasters to the white_house misidentified the television_station in miami where bryan norcross presents the weather . it is wfor , not wbry . | has a location of japan |
a report in the technology briefing column of business day on friday about microsoft 's plan to push its new xbox video_game player into the online game business in japan misstated the number of game titles sega would develop for xbox . it is 11 , not 5 . | has a location of japan |
hideki_matsui 's broken left wrist is brangelina level news in japan , the type that prompted a former prime_minister to offer solace and sent a nation of his fans to mourn the end of his streak of consecutive games played . ''fans gasp over the broken bone , '' the mainichi_shimbun 's headline said last week . ''his professionalism amplifies the shock . '' so it was no surprise that most of the 65 to 70 japanese journalists credentialed to cover matsui ( and the yankees , often their secondary interest ) gathered with the smaller non japanese press corps to question , photograph and videotape him yesterday at yankee_stadium in his first post fracture news conference . ''he 's a superhero in japan , '' yasuko yanagita , a reporter for the hochi shimbun , said in the steamy , packed auxiliary clubhouse . ''not only in the baseball world , but in the sports world . '' many of the japanese journalists in the yankee_stadium press box last thursday held up tape_recorders when matsui 's injury was announced over a loudspeaker by rick cerrone , the team 's senior director for media relations . scores lingered outside the stadium after he was taken for x rays . five days later , there was matsui , his left arm in a sling , his chin jutting , his expression unreadable , the center of a bilingual news conference that was a microcosm of the frenzy in japan of which he professed ignorance . first came the english_language portion , with translation by roger kahlon , then a longer one in japanese , moderated by isao hirooka , the yankees' media adviser for japanese affairs . matsui relaxed a bit in the japanese session even as a dozen photographers , nearly all japanese , closed in on him from his left and right flanks , clicking like cicadas . matsui offered few clues as to how quickly he would recover and said he did not want to come back short handed , according to the translation . in japanese , he said that he had worried for a while that an injury would end his streak , and that now he could relax , yanagita said . it is a journalistic predicament for the japanese contingent , here largely to chronicle the matsui era , to see him unable to play , his streak of playing 1 , 768 games consecutively with the yomiuri_giants and the yankees ended . ''he was the treasure of japan , '' said go egawa , a producer for the public broadcaster nhk , which may now reduce its slate of 15 yankees games by adding games featuring teams with other japanese players . japanese fans and the news_media were so spoiled by matsui 's nearly gehrigian resilience and hitting feats that he remains bigger than any star still in japan . ''we were too used to seeing him , '' said takeo nakajima , a reporter for nhk . ''him so suddenly hurt and out for a couple of months is a big deal . '' hiroshi kanda , a reporter for kyodo_news , said confidently , ''no other player 's broken wrist would be front page news . '' egawa added ''the whole nation of japan is worried . viewers want to know how he 's doing . '' he said that the news conference ended too early to be shown live on nhk 's morning show but would be seen on a tape_delay . news of the broken wrist led nhk 's morning and evening news . just what will the large japanese news_media contingent do while matsui 's wrist heals , a period that could stretch to the end of the season ? the reporters may cover lesser japanese stars like closer akinori otsuka of texas ( who gave up the winning home_run to jorge_posada in the yankees' 14 13 victory last night ) , outfielder so taguchi of st . louis or second baseman tadahito iguchi of the chicago_white_sox . they may spend a little time with the other , less accomplished , less beloved , often injured matsui , kazuo of the mets . but you sense they would rather not leave , that hideki_matsui , ensconced on the disabled_list and unable to hit , remains their most compelling option . ''i 'm covering hideki , '' said kanda of the kyodo_news . ''but i wo n't be here all the time . i 'm going to cover his practice , his rehabilitation . it 's still an interesting story . but maybe i 'll go to st . louis or texas . '' some other japanese reporters , a few of whom kanda had never seen until yesterday , may return to japan until matsui returns , he said . perhaps a few will find their way to seattle games , but 25 japanese journalists are already embedded with the mariners , chiefly for ichiro_suzuki , but to a degree for kenji johjima , the first japanese catcher in the major_leagues . but if matsui stays in new york , as he said , and is asked to root from the dugout , as he said he would , yanagita said she needed to follow him . ''if something happens , there has to be a hideki update , '' she said . ''fans want to see what he 's doing . i 'd like to stay here . '' tv sports | has a location of japan |
apple made no new hardware announcements at its big macworld computer show in san_francisco last month , but it made up for the lapse in japan yesterday when it unveiled new and upgraded versions of its powermac , powerbook and ibook product lines . seeking to capitalize on the surprising success of the graphite colored imac special edition desktop computer that it introduced late last year , apple introduced a special edition of its ibook notebook . but aside from a new color_scheme and a modest increase in processing power , the new ibook se is not as special as its desktop counterpart , whose appeal included more memory , a bigger hard_disk and a dvd drive . the new ibook se ( 1 , 799 ) has the cool graphite and ice color_scheme of the imac se , and it has a 366 megahertz g3 processor , up from the 300 mhz offered in the original ibooks . otherwise it has the same 64 megabytes of ram , 6 gigabytes of hard_disk space and cd_rom drive that apple offers in its upgraded orange and blue ibook siblings . the price of the 300 mhz ibooks , still available in either orange or blue models , remains unchanged at 1 , 599 despite the doubling of memory and hard_disk capacity . the more impressive portable macintosh announcements came at the high end , as apple substantially upgraded the performance of its g3 powerbooks . the new powerbooks keep the same physical design but come in 400 mhz and 500 mhz models . both have an airport wireless networking antenna , a dvd drive , better 2 d and 3 d graphics , and a pair of high speed firewire ( ieee 1394 ) ports for working with digital_video . the new 500 mhz powerbook , which costs 3 , 499 , has 128 mb of memory and a_12 gb hard_disk . apple says it weighs 6.1 pounds with a high capacity battery . for an extra 500 , the hard_disk capacity swells to 18 gb . the 400 mhz powerbook comes with 64 mb of memory and a 6 gb hard_disk and costs 2 , 499 . the announcements of new and more powerful versions of apple 's g4 desktop computers were somewhat anticlimactic , in that apple had originally announced them last year but failed to deliver when it could not get enough of the high end chips from motorola . apple now says it has a reliable supply of the 500 mhz g4 chips , so it simply recycled its original announcement . peter h . lewis news watch | has a location of japan |
american engineering experts said yesterday that they were surprised by the extent of the collapse of roadways and other structures in the earthquake near kobe , japan . but they said it was too early to tell if some of the damage was related to the fact that the japanese take a slightly different approach to earthquake engineering than do americans . sections of several major expressways collapsed , as did many modern buildings . some roads and overpasses buckled . and as can be expected in an old , densely_populated city , many wooden buildings with heavy tile roofs collapsed . " i am extremely surprised by the damage , " said andre reinhorn , a professor of structural engineering in the national center for earthquake engineering research at the state university of new york at buffalo . " a building or bridge or other structure is not a single object , " he said . " it is a complex piece of engineering with core components . " those include columns that connect decks and side portions that help hold the structure together . japanese and american engineers connect those elements in slightly different ways , dr . reinhorn said . and the details can be critical . in general , he said , japanese engineers use more steel . their beams and columns are stiffer . they tie components together in novel ways , using different kinds of bolting methods , arranging steel rods inside concrete differently and putting different amounts of reinforcement around side columns . the japanese are also fanatical about quality_control , dr . reinhorn said . this approach provides strength over flexibility , he said the structures are designed to stand firm rather than yield in an earthquake . american structural engineers , dr . reinhorn said , use less steel and more concrete , so the buildings are not as strong . but they are tied together in ways that make them more flexible , he said . " each structural element is designed to deform after it is damaged without completely breaking , " he said . the two countries' building codes are equivalent in terms of protecting structures in moderate and large earthquakes , dr . reinhorn said , and " one is not better than the other . " the goal of both is to let structures sustain damage , but not so much as to cause them to collapse . if it turns out that newer structures were deformed by the kobe quake but did not collapse , dr . reinhorn said , then japanese engineering efforts will be shown to have succeeded . but if they failed , he said , structural engineers on both sides of the pacific will have to reconsider everything they have learned . dr . michael constantinou , a professor of civil_engineering at the buffalo campus , said the japanese approach to earthquake engineering could account for some failures . " if you design a building to be strong , you may get a false sense , from weaker quakes , that the structure is safe , " he said . " by designing for strength , the structures may be less able to deform elastically . " quake in japan | has a location of japan |
by the last night in japan , things were so normal that baseball reverted to the usual fare of bobby_valentine 's managerial etiquette and incipient feuds , to say nothing of benny_agbayani 's announcing loud and clear that he really ought to stick around . the brief experiment in exporting north_american baseball like a traveling rock show ended tonight with agbayani clobbering a pinch hit grand_slam homer with two outs in the top of the 11th inning to give the mets a 5 1 victory over the cubs , who had won the first overseas game wednesday night . agbayani knows he is due to be demoted to the minor leagues as soon as the mets need to activate glendon rusch to be their fifth starter , probably within a week . he has not been thrilled with the prospect , since he showed considerable power as a part time starter last year . on wednesday night he had dinner with konishiki , a prominent sumo_wrestler in japan , who is of hawaiian descent , as is agbayani . ''he told me to keep the faith and work hard , '' agbayani recalled . in the 11th inning , danny young , making his first major_league appearance , loaded the bases and agbayani blasted the ball over the 406 foot sign in deep center to send all the hard working salarymen home for a few hours of sleep . agbayani leaped in the air , ran around the bases and was soon rewarded with a replica of a shogun 's helmet , the traditional prize for the star of every baseball game here . but agbayani also realized that his precarious state with the mets still exists because he can be optioned to the minors , while several other players notably his fellow outfielder jay_payton are out of options . ''i 'm glad he 's here today , '' said valentine , who has made it clear he prefers to keep agbayani with the mets . ''i 'm glad he was here last year , helping us win games . i think he 's a good player . '' then valentine added , ''he 's a big boy , and he knows life is not always fair . '' true to the code of a loyal samurai serving the shogun , agbayani said ''it 's only one game . it 's not like i did it for 50 games . '' the agbayani situation replaced the earlier controversy , involving the itchy relationship between valentine and cubs manager don baylor . baylor had been annoyed wednesday night by valentine 's ninth_inning protest of an irregularity on the cubs' lineup card . baylor had written jeff reed 's name twice as a reserve and omitted jeff huson 's name , and valentine decided that could mean the cubs were using an ineligible player . it was merely a slip of the hand , and valentine soon admitted ''there is no protest , '' but in the meantime , he had introduced an american style litigious note in front of a bemused japanese audience . ''i would n't have done it , just out of respect for the guy on the mound , '' baylor said tonight , defending his closer , rick aguilera . ''aguilera has over 200 saves in the major_leagues . you keep him standing out there trying to distract him . for me , it was pretty much nonsense . '' valentine seemed astounded that baylor would be upset , saying ''the manager makes up his lineup card and the other manager protects his team by protesting . i said five times in the dugout , 'i do n't want to do this , ' but i had guys telling me i had to do it . '' fred_wilpon , the co owner of the mets , said he ''would n't have been terribly disappointed'' if the cubs actually had 26 men , and valentine had not protested . wilpon added ''we lost the game on the field . we gave up 10 walks and a hit batsman . '' bud_selig , the commissioner , thrilled with this expedition , did not want to fan the little controversy , saying , ''i 've watched managers for the last 50 years and i 'm never surprised , good and bad . '' baylor 's set jaw suggested he might remember the incident after the cubs crossed the international dateline . but tonight , it was mostly straight baseball . the mets scored first off kyle farnsworth in the fifth on two walks , a sacrifice bunt by rick reed and a sacrifice fly rickey_henderson . the cubs tied the game in the fifth after a walk to joe girardi . farnsworth put down a bunt , and todd_zeile , who has been converted to first base this season , heaved the ball wide of second base , sending girardi to third . girardi scored on an infield double_play . reed pitched eight innings for the mets , giving up four hits and the one unearned run . both teams went deep into their bullpens , which they could afford because they did not have another game until their stateside openers on monday . a bemused laugh went around the ball park at the end of nine innings when the announcement was made in japanese that the game would be played to its conclusion . in the central_league here , all games must stop after 15 innings if tied , and in the pacific_league the limit is 12 innings . in the 11th , zeile hit a single with two outs , rey ordonez and melvin mora walked , and agbayani put in his bid to cancel his exile . how can you farm out a player with a shogun helmet ? inside pitch rey ordonez fumbled a first inning grounder by eric young , his first error in 101 games , a record for major_league shortstops . he had handled 418 straight chances in that streak . armando_benitez finished the game but did not get a save . dennis cook was the winner . . . . in the spirit of this international series , fans were allowed to keep all foul balls that went into the stands . when the giants open the central_league season friday night , the fans will have to exchange balls for inexpensive trinkets . . . . the winner of the john j . murphy award for the outstanding rookie in spring_training this year is none other than garth brooks , the country singer who was hitless in 17 at bats in exhibitions . his charity work and spirit made brooks accepted by players and fans . he will receive his award next monday , before the home opener against the padres . baseball | has a location of japan |
when henry wong talked to ambassador walter f . mondale yesterday , his only remaining hope was that a search team of american embassy officials in japan would find the body of his daughter , apparently the only american killed by tuesday 's earthquake . mr . wong said he had told mr . mondale that he wanted the body of his daughter , voni lynn wong , retrieved and sent home before it was cremated with many of the thousands of japanese who were killed . " our daughter was beautiful , " mr . wong said in an interview yesterday . " but she is glorious now . " her death , he said , simply means that " she is just leaving a little ahead of us . " ambassador mondale had phoned mr . wong at his home in van nuys , calif . , to express his sorrow at the death of his 24 year old daughter , who was crushed to death in her bed in ashiya , about 10 miles east of kobe , when the earthquake struck at dawn tuesday . mr . wong said he had asked mr . mondale to " do everything you can to recover the body of my daughter and her possessions . " he quoted mr . mondale as saying , " we 'll do everything we can . " toward that end , a team of embassy officials from tokyo were in kobe yesterday , searching through the hospitals , schools and buddhist temples where most of the victims were taken for american casualties . in the chaos of the stricken city , with nearly 900 people still missing , there was no way to know yesterday how many other americans might have perished under the char and rubble of demolished buildings or have been seriously injured . the state_department said there were about 12 , 000 americans in the kobe and osaka areas . of that number , it said , anywhere from 1 , 200 to 2 , 000 lived in or near kobe , an industrial and commercial city of 1.4 million inhabitants . nyda budig , a state_department spokeswoman , listed ms . wong 's death as the only officially confirmed american fatality . her death was reported to her family by friends who knew her in japan . ms . wong was an honors graduate of the university of california at los_angeles . her father is a retired engineer at litton guidance systems in woodland hills , calif . all her grandparents were born in canton , china . henry wong , the victim 's brother , said " my sister originally wanted to teach in china . but she found she could make more money in japan , so that 's where she went . " he said the institute where she taught had suffered from financial problems recently , and she had applied to a government_agency for nearly 6 , 000 in back wages . he said that she had returned to kobe after a visit to china two weeks ago and that jack serra , a friend who accompanied her on that trip , had volunteered to bring her body back to los_angeles . the last word her family received from her was a postcard from china . quake in japan victim correction january 20 , 1995 , friday an article yesterday about victims of the earthquake in japan referred to the death of one foreigner incorrectly in some copies and misstated his citizenship . the police in kobe , japan , say that the dead man , nana demasio , was found hanged and that they are treating the case as a suicide , not as a quake death . mr . demasio 's family said in new york yesterday that although he had applied for american citizenship , he was still a ghanaian citizen . | has a location of japan |
one of the biggest changes in japan 's education system since it was established 120 years ago will take place on saturday . schools will be closed . public elementary , middle and high_schools throughout japan are to close for one saturday a month to give overworked students a break . government officials say the move is the first step toward a full five day school week some years in the future . one saturday off a month might not seem like a whole lot of extra leisure time , but in workaholic japan the new policy has set off a wave of debate , and even fear . while some educators , parents and students say it will improve the lives of children , others warn that it is the beginning of a descent into laziness that will undermine the nation 's academic achievement and industrial competitiveness . 'some kind of plot' " i almost tend to think this is some kind of plot to weaken japan 's economic prowess by attacking the final fortress education , " said miyuki ohashi , a professor of sociology at nihon university . others are worried about a more immediate matter how are the students going to fill this new free time ? " i have nothing to do unless i come to school , " said atsushi sumida , a 13 year old seventh_grader at ginza junior high_school in tokyo . concerned that children , or their parents , might not be able to come up with ideas by themselves , the ministry of education has called on local_governments , corporations and cultural institutions to organize activities for saturday . and japan inc . , with a mixture of patriotism and self interest , is rising to the occasion . department_stores are organizing tours , story telling sessions and other activities to help the national cause , and to lure some young customers . a fish cultivation center in shizuoka prefecture will allow children to dive into a concrete tank containing 10 , 000 red_sea bream . even the country 's pool halls will throw open their doors on saturday to let children play free . the envy of others one thing education ministry officials do not want to see children doing this saturday morning is studying . japan 's education system is often the envy of other countries because it produces a well educated and disciplined work force . but some scholars say the system robs children of their childhood and turns them into automatons in matching uniforms and backpacks . japanese students attend school 240 days a year compared with about 180 days in the united_states . there are about six hours a day of schooling on weekdays and three or four hours on saturday mornings . on top of that , many students attend private cram_schools , or juku , on nights and weekends to prepare for college and high_school entrance_examinations . getting into the right college is all important in determining one 's career prospects . critics contend that in addition to the long hours the schooling is geared too much toward rote learning rather than creative thinking . " maybe the school education has been too strict , creating kids who are rather uninspired , " said masami zeniya , director of the elementary_school education division at the ministry of education . " we should focus more on raising children who can think by themselves and make decisions by themselves , rather than just accepting knowledge . " free thinking is the aim the saturday off plan , by giving children more time for themselves , is intended to encourage free thinking . it is also part of a push by the government to make japanese relax more . many companies and government agencies have already gone to a five day work week . not everyone thinks the saturday closings will result in more leisure . the education ministry , they note , has neglected to change the school curriculum , which calls for a certain number of hours to be devoted to each subject a year . to meet the requirements , schools are making up for the missing saturday classes by having students stay longer on weekdays or by scheduling classes at times once used for sports or club activities . " i 'm not happy at all because the hours we cut on saturday will be added to the other days , " said shino ikeda , an eighth_grader at ginza junior high_school . a principal is warned as in any revolution , there are those who resist . many parents are against the plan because it will mean more time taking care of their children and will pose hardships when both parents work on saturday . a poll by the newspaper tokyo shimbun last spring found 49 percent approving the idea of one saturday off a month , with 44 percent disapproving . but when it came to the idea of closing schools every saturday , those opposed slightly outnumbered those in favor . government officials are trying hard to stamp out the counterrevolutionaries . a high_school principal in kagoshima prefecture , in southern japan , was reprimanded by the local authorities when he suggested too strongly that students attend voluntary classes that will be offered on the saturdays school is closed . some experts say that as long as the pressure of college entrance_examinations remains , it will be difficult to reduce school hours . with public schools closed on saturday mornings , some students will just go to cram_schools instead . yoshiya abe , professor of comparative culture at aichi gakuin university , said a more fundamental change might occur because japan 's low birth_rate was leading to a gradual reduction in the number of high_school seniors . " by the year 2005 there will be more places in the universities than there are applicants , " he said . " this will really reduce the pressure to work hard for the college entrance_exams . " | has a location of japan |
just past the tattoo parlors and used cd shops on st . marks place in the east_village of manhattan , erudite gamers scour the racks of a cluttered video_game shop called multimedia 1.0 . rows of vintage atari 2600 cartridges are in one corner . new titles for the playstation_2 are down the way . but the real draw is the japanese imports epic adventures , cheeky dating simulations and surreal do it yourself disc_jockey games that , though big in japan , will not officially get to the united_states for weeks or months , if they ever make it at all . zone of enders , for example , is an import action adventure for the playstation 2 that will be released here this month . it sells for 80 , about 30 percent more than most american releases . but for hard core players like kevin o'connor , the extra cost is worth it . ''we buy games at incredible mark ups , all in the pursuit of the hottest and newest , '' said mr . o'connor , a 25 year old import fan from fort_lee , n.j. , who spent twice the retail value of a sega dreamcast machine just to have it six months before its american release . ''we live gaming . we do n't care about games being in japanese . we 'll prod and stumble until we get through . it 's the highest level of gaming there is . '' in the production universe of the multibillion_dollar gaming industry , japan has long been the mother ship . the country has been supplying a steady stream of games ever since donkey kong stomped into american arcades in the early 1980 's . japanese companies like nintendo , capcom , konami and square soft continue to churn out hundreds of new titles every year , but fewer than half make it to the united_states . some of the lure of imports lies in the age old desire to have something before everyone else does . ''if you 're a real gamer , '' said jesse labrocca , owner of multimedia 1 . 0 , ''you want to be the cool guy on your block who has the games that no one else has . '' but for mr . o'connor and others , a large part of the appeal is the alien nature of the games themselves . japanese games often have a different look and feel than similar types of american games . and there are some game genres that are popular in japan but virtually unheard of in the united_states . take dating simulations , which challenge a player 's ability to woo a high_school sweetheart . such games are chart toppers in japan , but little known in the united_states . tokimeki memorial , a classic of the genre , is set among high_school freshmen . american gamers snatch up such titles . ''it is interesting to see the cultural differences in the games , '' said greg wilcox , 36 , a new yorker who has collected thousands of japanese titles in the past decade . ''you might see a japanese game with a western cowboy who has a sword in one hand and a gun in the other . '' japanese games often push further into the realms of sex and violence than american products . depictions of smoking and drinking , common in japanese versions , are not acceptable for mainstream united_states release . ''japan tends to be ahead of the curve as to what kinds of games are accepted , '' said richard briggs , a sega product manager . when japanese game developers are deciding whether to market a title in the united_states , a factor they consider is how it will be rated by the industry 's voluntary ratings group , the entertainment software ratings board . companies will also consider the quality of the graphics and the levels of interactivity . ''many japanese games tell a straightforward and compelling story , but these do not come with the interaction nor the depth of graphics that consumers in the u.s . market are looking for , '' said ken ogasawara , a manager at konami of america who assesses and develops games for american release . capcom , a japanese developer that produces games for sony , nintendo and sega , employs similar guidelines . ''if a game would n't make sense to the american consumer , then we wo n't release it , '' said matt atwood , a company spokesman . in these cases , gamers have to settle for buying the import games at specialty shops like multimedia 1 . 0 , which gets its supply through japanese connections . a foreign game that is selected for united_states release has to go through an elaborate process called localization . a game is evaluated to see what changes need to be made for american audiences . some of the changes , which are implemented by the developers and dictated by publishers like sony , are little more than cosmetic . for example , when sony 's crash bandicoot appeared in japanese games , his eyes were small and beady . when crash came to the states , his eyes were large and wide . sometimes the changes are based on difficulty levels . the conventional_wisdom is that american gamers like to be challenged more than the japanese_american versions , as a result , often include more difficulty options for players to choose , as well as little stumbling_blocks through a game , like fewer bonus health packs . among gamers , such changes cause controversy . when a japanese horror game called biohazard 2 was released in the united_states as resident evil 2 , players protested online , saying that although sony promised the original game , it delivered one that was less violent and missing key scenes . the company responded eventually by releasing resident evil 2 director 's cut . one of the first and most obvious changes is language . role playing games , which are especially dialogue heavy , often require as much translation as a foreign film , if not more . some players say the games are translated in a slapdash manner . greg cook , an import fan in new zealand , sat down to play final fantasy vii in english , only to find himself scratching his head . ''so many times during the game i could n't really understand what they were talking about , '' mr . cook said . ''i felt that the translation just did n't do the game justice . '' as a result , some import fans collect japanese releases the way a nabokov fan hunts down original works in russian . fan web_sites offer translations and walk throughs of the games . mr . o'connor said he had even picked up some rudimentary japanese from years of playing import games . coping with instructions in a foreign language is only one of the hardships that fans of imported games endure . to get the programs to work on american console systems , mr . labrocca said , players often need to modify their systems with black_market hardware . mr . labrocca said that companies make too many assumptions about the tastes of american gamers . in addition to the status of having games that few others have , import fans like the variety that japanese games offer . jeremy goldman , a_20 year old student in new york , said that japanese games were often more inventive than american releases . one of his favorites , dragon ball z , a street fighter import that will probably never be released in america , has a cast of anime characters with their own personalities and moves . ''these people at these companies think we wo n't like these games , '' he said . ''but we actually do . '' beyond japan from many nations , space , fantasy and action games though most imported playstation titles ( as well as those for the pc ) come from japan , many come from other countries outside the united_states . here is a sampling mdk2 country canada what it is the sequel to the 1997 hit mdk . ''austin powers'' inspired kookiness as players become kurt hectic , a heroic custodian who fights alien invaders . theme hospital country england what it is essentially , sim sickos . this simulation game lets you build your own hospital . then you have to hire staff , like psychologists and janitors . laura's happy adventure country france what it is eerily cheery children 's game based on a line of german toys . laura has to charm her way through a fantasy land to light up all five sides of her magic diamond . enemy infestation country australia what it is shoot 'em up game . players join an intergalactic human space colony that must battle a swarm of alien insects . jet force gemini country england what it is a rave music inspired team created this ''jetsons'' style space caper with cyborg insects , gunfights and characters resembling the indie band cibo matto . picker country russia what it is a company description ''you are walking through the woods , picking up edible mushrooms and avoiding poisonous ones . the journey is dangerous ! good for children . '' david kushner | has a location of japan |
a few weeks ago prime_minister kiichi_miyazawa , who graduated from the university of tokyo in 1941 , turned to his chief aide , koichi_kato , who graduated from the same university in 1964 , and declared that a nagging problem with the japanese government had got out of control too many of the country 's powerful bureaucrats emerged from the same school . so a few days ago mr . miyazawa 's cabinet issued what passes for japan 's first affirmative_action program , one intended to diversify within carefully proscribed japanese limits the country 's ruling_class . over the next five years , mr . miyazawa 's government declared , no more than 50 percent of the recruits for japan 's top government jobs may come from the campus known as todai . after all , mr . miyazawa said , " a healthy society has a variety of values , " and it would be foolhardy for a country in desperate need of some innovative ideas in the 21st_century to entrust its future entirely to leaders who all sat through the same lectures , passed the same tests and drank at the same watering holes . 'it wo n't be easy' or would it ? after listening politely and nodding in seeming agreement , the senior officials of the ministries that keep this country plowing ahead despite perpetual political scandals were widely and anonymously quoted in the nation 's biggest newspapers , asking who this miyazawa fellow thought was running japan , anyway . " it wo n't be easy , " kazuya taguchi , the assistant_director of the personnel division of the prime_minister 's office and a 1980 graduate of todai , said with some resignation the other day when a visitor inquired how he would begin to put the new rules into effect . " can you imagine wanting to be a bureaucrat and going to waseda ? " he said , referring to one of japan 's most exclusive private universities . " unthinkable . " ever since the emperor meiji created tokyo imperial university a century ago , the university , particularly its law_school , has been the breeding ground of japan 's governmental and business leadership . todai graduates plotted japan 's strategy in autos and computer chips . they set foreign_policy and industrial_policy , rising in lockstep with their " class " on rungs of the government ladder . and despite a lot of talk about how quickly japan is changing , the todai tradition seems in little danger . of the 24 new graduates who survived this year 's grueling competition for a spot on the " elite track " of japan 's ministry of finance the ministry where mr . miyazawa began his career five decades ago 22 are todai graduates . so are 59 percent of those accepted for the fast track at the education ministry , the telecommunications ministry , the trade ministry and other centers of power . last year 14 , 836 students took the test for the " elite track , " and 508 passed , more than half of them todai graduates . of those , 310 accepted government posts the others , presumably , were lured away by higher salaries in private industry . " the first thing that people know about you when you enter a ministry is whether you went to todai or not , " a young official of the foreign ministry , who did not , said the other day . he added that " in a lot of ministries , there are many jobs you can forget about " if you graduated from someplace else . symbol of greater ills for years social critics here have complained about this system , finding it at the root of some of japan 's worst ills . mr . kato seemed to echo those complaints at a news conference the other day , saying " the concentration of university of tokyo graduates in government ministries is a symbol of the academic oriented society that has spawned the 'exam hell' phenomenon , " the years of preparation for japan 's all important university exams . nothing makes a japanese mother happier than if her child passes the todai exam or , failing that , marries a todai graduate . so complete is todai 's hold that many are skeptical that mr . miyazawa really wants to tinker with success . some say he is merely grandstanding , hoping to win the hearts of the vast majority of japanese who resent todai 's monopoly on power . " you have to assume that it is just an effort to win some popularity , " said taichi_sakaiya , a former high official of the ministry of international_trade and industry , and a member of the todai class of 1960 . others say that mr . miyazawa 's intentions are pure , but that he stands about as much chance of changing the way japan works as detroit stands of driving toyota into bankruptcy . indeed , mr . miyazawa is attacking not only todai 's hold on power but , curiously , tokyo 's hold as well . though it is a national university , the vast majority of students attending the university of tokyo come from the capital or its immediate surroundings . few come from japan 's outer islands of hokkaido or okinawa . no academic boasts similarly , young women often report that they view todai as a hostile place , and not surprisingly , they too are vastly underrepresented in the senior levels of the bureaucracy . no one has suggested , however , that quotas or targets be set for women or others who have traditionally been excluded from the high reaches of the government . curiously , very few people even the university 's graduates argue that vastly superior academic achievement accounts for todai 's standing with the government . in recent years the newspapers have been filled with reports questioning the university 's academic standing , and faculty_members report an institutional insecurity about whether the place is up to snuff . " there is no proof that todai students are better than non todai students , " mr . sakaiya said . " and the number of very good professors at todai is small . but japan is based on brand name goods , and todai is the brand name . " at todai , the faculty has taken this all in stride . the president of the university , akito arima , said that " of course , monopoly is bad , but i cannot approve government control " of the quotas . a senior member of the law faculty said the whole thing would be " sort of ignored , unless it takes any real effect . " meanwhile , the todai graduates in government also seem fairly relaxed . japan changes prime_ministers with great regularity and little effect , but its bureaucrats stay behind their battered gray desks forever . | has a location of japan |
lead a strong earthquake with a preliminary reading of 5.6 on the richter_scale occurred in the pacific_ocean off central japan today , the hong kong observatory reported . the observatory said the quake hit at 12 56 p.m . and its epicenter was about 340 miles south of tokyo in an area where several small islands are located . a strong earthquake with a preliminary reading of 5.6 on the richter_scale occurred in the pacific_ocean off central japan today , the hong kong observatory reported . the observatory said the quake hit at 12 56 p.m . and its epicenter was about 340 miles south of tokyo in an area where several small islands are located . the observatory had no additional information on the quake . there were no reports of damage or casualties . | has a location of japan |
on the verge of winning a medal in men 's figure_skating , todd_eldredge ticked off the name of other athletes whose redemptive success had come after years of failure . it was a club he hoped to join by saturday night . ''i think it would be a great ending , like john_elway , like dan_jansen , like paul wylie , '' eldredge said . ''to end it that way would be fantastic . '' wylie was the last american man to win an olympic figure_skating medal . he took silver at the 1992 winter_games in albertville , france , while eldredge was beginning a three year slump caused by injury , illness and a lack of confidence that even led him to briefly quit skating . while wylie skated the program of his life in albertville , eldredge finished an undistinguished 10th . he had skipped the united_states championships with a back injury , receiving a bye to the olympics . in albertville , he was stiff and tentative . the takeoff on his triple_axel ''felt like someone was sticking a knife in my back , '' eldredge said . he fell on the double_axel . ''when you 're in pain , it 's hard to be aggressive , '' he said . a year later , eldredge finished sixth at the 1993 national championships . he had won consecutive titles in 1990 91 but appeared to be washed up at age 21 . his confidence was already shaken , and when he overheard a judge criticizing his skating , his self assurance shattered . after the national championships , he quit the sport and returned home to chatham , mass . , where he had learned to skate at age 5 on hockey skates . ''i was n't having a good time , '' eldredge said . ''every time i got on the ice , i wondered if i would be able to land a jump or if i would stand up . '' for two months , he played golf , hung out with his brother , scott , and tried to untangle the knot of bad feelings about skating . eventually , he said , he grew bored and felt unfulfilled . so he called his coach , richard_callaghan , in bloomfield_hills , mich . , and decided to give skating another shot with a different approach . he would skate for the enjoyment of it if he fell , so what , he would still have fun . ''i wanted to get back in there and make it right , '' eldredge said . a year later , though , he suffered another misfortune at the 1994 olympic trials in detroit . several days before the competition , eldredge began suffering from flu like symptoms and passed out in his hotel room . still weak during the competition , he finished fourth , while only scott davis and brian_boitano qualified for the winter_games in lillehammer , norway . while he watched on television , all the favorites collapsed . boitano , viktor petrenko and kurt browning were replaced on the medal stand by the kids on the block aleksei_urmanov of russia , elvis_stojko of canada and philippe candeloro of france . ''when i saw what happened in the olympic_games , that spurred me to keep going for another four years . '' eldredge said . by 1996 , eldredge had become world champion . a year ago , he won a silver_medal at the world_championships . he has recovered from a shoulder injury earlier in the season , and thursday night he finished third in the olympic short_program to ilya kulik of russia and stojko . he has got to this point with consistency , not risk , and he is not likely to attempt a quadruple_jump in saturday 's long program . ''i want a clean , strong program , '' callaghan said . ''he 's going to have to prove to me that the quad is a piece of cake . '' if kulik , stojko and aleksei_yagudin land the quad , so be it . eldredge , 26 , would rely on his advantage in spins and speed and blend of athleticism and artistry . dependability is his main strength . during warm_ups before the short_program , eldredge felt his legs were dead , so he left the ice and rehearsed his jumps in a hallway . having regained his composure , he skated a clean program and landed a flawless double_axel , flashing back to albertville . ''do n't miss like '92 , '' he told himself , and he did n't . he added more elaborate footwork and change of direction to his long program after skating dull crossover strokes at the national championships . and he would count on the possibility that suffocating pressure would leave the men 's competition resembling boxing , with the man left standing declared the winner . ''that 's what we 've tried to work on consistency , '' eldredge said . ''going out and making everything happen . if things do n't go great , do n't dig it into the ground . let it roll off and keep plugging away . '' the xviii winter_games figure_skating | has a location of japan |
lead the japanese have a word for people like hiromitsu ochiai . the word is ''goketsu . '' it is not a quality japanese parents encourage in their sons . the japanese have a word for people like hiromitsu ochiai . the word is ''goketsu . '' it is not a quality japanese parents encourage in their sons . ''goketsu'' translates roughly as ''individual hero . '' in a country that talks of trying to promote individuality as a group effort , ochiai stands apart . he does so both in performance and in character . last season , the 32 year old ochiai won his third triple_crown and his second in succession . he batted . 360 , hit 50 home_runs and drove in 116 runs . now he stands apart in salary , too . in december , ochiai became the highest paid player in the history of japanese_baseball . his new team , nagoya 's chunichi_dragons , will pay him roughly 850 , 000 a year this after a month 's speculation on the front pages of japan 's sports dailies about where he might play after he refused to sign with his former team , the lotte orions . that he refused to re sign after lotte 's manager was dismissed , that he insisted on holding out for what is in japanese_baseball an inordinate amount money , only reinforced the image ochiai has fostered . he is not only japan 's best hitter , he is also the japanese game 's most celebrated character character being the polite assessment of a man who titled his autobiography , ''whatever you may say , i 'll do it my way . '' generally , the only time a japanese will publicly use the words ' 'my way'' is when he is in a bar and very drunk and is singing the song that bears the words as its title . his own training method ochiai 's way means training the way he wants to train , which has meant refusing to swing at a single pitch in an exhibition_game so that he could sharpen his batting eye . it has meant opening the season by openly predicting he will win another triple_crown . it has meant going to see the same romantic movie five times rather than join everyone else in practice . of such behavior , in japan , heroes are made , heroes who become heroes for all the wrong reasons . ''it 's rare in this country to find someone who will do it his own way , '' ochiai said . he smiles and jokes . he has the look of a boy forever being sent to the principal 's office . ''it 's hard to find a person worthy of the word goketsu , '' he said , ' 'someone with his own ideas who cannot be bothered by someone else . i do n't think i 'm that kind of person . but people want to see that kind of image in me . '' that they do tells much about what this country looks for in a baseball idol both the acceptable and barely acceptable sorts . ochiai 's emergence has come at a time when japan has been eagerly trying to fill the void left by the retirement of her two greatest baseball heroes , shigeo nagashima and sadaharu oh . oh hit more home_runs than anyone else in the world . nagashima won the nation 's heart . he was to japan what babe_ruth was to america , a man whose lusty , ebullient play encapsulated a society on the upswing japan of the 1960 's , as compared to america of the 1920 's . played with 'guts' nagashima was polite . he did not brag . he was deferential and a team man . he hit the game winning home_run at emperor_hirohito 's first game . he displayed proper ''fighting spirit'' and played with ''guts . '' and in so doing he defines a socially acceptable japanese sporting hero . heroism , like all things japanese , is achieved according to a specified ''way . '' that ochiai did not follow the way of the hero set him apart all the more . ''first you become a star at koshien , '' daigo tamura , a writer for baseball magazine , said of the stadium near osaka where each summer the nation turns to watch japan 's most popular sporting_event the high_school baseball tournament . stardom at koshien can lead to a professional contract , or to a good college team , or perhaps to a company team . ''but ochiai , '' tamura added , ''was quite unknown when he was a high_school boy . he entered the university and quit after one year . he worked for a company that was not even famous in the inner city corporate tournament . '' even at an early age , tamura said , ochiai was prone to flouting the rules . ''he was not an obedient student in high_school and college , '' he said . ''he would be told to go to practice and not go . when he did n't go to practice he would go to the movies , to romantic movies made for women . always romantic movies . '' teammates cool to him still , it was while he was playing for a company team in a tokyo suburb that lotte noticed him and signed him . ochiai was not an immediate hit with his teammates , according to those who remember his early years with the team . the older players , they said , did not much care for his public declarations of personal ambitions . he talked of batting titles . he talked about what he wanted for himself . in his third season he led the pacific_league in batting and did so again in his fourth and fifth years . in his fourth season he also won his first triple_crown . and although he has always played for a team with a limited following the orions play in an old , decaying stadium in the gray industrial city of kawasaki people began taking notice of him . the joy of being an ochiai booster , tamura said , came in the vicarious pleasure of watching someone saying and doing things that are very hard to do here . ''everybody has a sort of desire to be like ochiai , '' he said . ''japanese company employees are such a suppressed people . parents may say , 'do n't be like ochiai . ' but today 's kids may themselves want to be like him . '' understanding his appeal ochiai , too , understands the nature of his appeal . ''everybody envies the other person 's way of living , to be like the boss , or to be like me , '' he said . ''if i were a salary man i could n't succeed like i do in the baseball world . this is a world based upon true ability . i can do or say anything i want to say . '' for a long time , ochiai said , ''i walked on the dark side . now i walk on the bright side . '' he talks about helping his new team . he practices with the other players . but perhaps , he added , it was his early reluctance to conform and his subsequent life as an outsider his years on ''the dark side'' that freed him from the constraints that keep most people here from straying too far . having been already deemed a failure , or at least a disappointment , he said , he stopped worrying about what people thought of him . ''i felt that once i had failed i no longer cared , '' he said . ''if someone can think that way , they can be like me . '' and although ochiai may speak to a certain place in the japanese heart and he remains one of the few dynamic personalities , tamura said , in a sea of bland sports personalities last season provided a reminder that , given a chance , japan will seize upon a hero who might represent her more noble qualities . ochiai may have his followers among the disaffected , but last season was the season of the ''golden rookie , '' a 19 year old first baseman named kazuhiro kiyohara . another baseball 'genius' kiyohara is tall and handsome and by the season 's end was being dubbed as a baseball ''genius . '' he hit 31 home_runs , breaking the record for a rookie , and helped his team , the seibu lions , win the japan_series . there were stories told of 20 , 000 people leaving the ball park after kiyohara 's final time at bat because they had seen what they had come to see just as they had once left when oh and nagashima had finished batting . kiyohara has done everything right . he was a high_school star . he was signed by a popular team . and when he was not signed by the team of his choice , the yomiuri_giants , he bravely fought back tears . tears can score points for a hero in japan . kiyohara 's rise brought with it the remarkably intensive news_media scrutiny accorded to those who the media has deemed worthy of watching . no detail of his life was left unreported not his weight at birth more than 10 pounds his hobby sleeping his least favorite food fermented bean paste , or his romance . in kiyohara , it seemed , the nation had finally found a suitable replacement for nagashima and oh . and though ochiai continued hitting , and talking his mind , it became clear that although japan has a place for an unconventional hero , the greater glory goes to those who become a hero in a suitable way . | has a location of japan |
few have risen and fallen as spectacularly as takafumi horie , 34 , the self made internet billionaire now on trial in japan 's courts of justice and public opinion . at age 31 , he became famous overnight for trying to wrest a baseball_team from a_league controlled by some of japan 's most powerful businesspeople , or , in his words , ''the club of old men . '' he turned his start up , livedoor , into a household name and built it with the kind of aggressive moves unseen here . a swooning media crowned the spiky haired , t_shirt clad , trash talking upstart as the living challenge to japan 's ossified establishment . for 18 short months , mr . horie defied gravity . then in early 2006 , the offices of livedoor , which had built an eclectic social network site , were raided , and he was arrested on charges of securities_fraud depending on one 's view of mr . horie , the charges amounted to just deserts or political payback . television networks showed his enemies gloating about his downfall , reinforcing the impression that the establishment , or some part of it , had decided to destroy mr . horie . he was transformed into the symbol of all that was bad about the new japan and its supposed embrace of a ruthless , american style capitalism . denounced and demonized , mr . horie has yet to be silenced . in a country where defendants face enormous pressure to plead_guilty and criminal cases almost always result in convictions , he has fiercely proclaimed his innocence . and though his trial has yet to end , mr . horie has taken the extremely unusual step of speaking out to the media , leaving nothing unsaid . ''i 'm being made into a bad guy through endless leaks from the prosecution to the media , '' he said . ''so when something 's wrong , i have to state that it 's wrong . otherwise , they 'll set people 's image of me , and that 's not good . '' at the tokyo_district_court , prosecutors have demanded a four year prison term for mr . horie , whom they accuse of having masterminded accounting frauds totaling more than 40 million and other securities violations at his company . driven by greed , lacking a law abiding spirit , mr . horie had shown no remorse and still presents a menace to society , they said . ''is n't it a fact that you raised the value of livedoor shares , sold them and used the profits to pursue your personal interests and desires ? '' one prosecutor asked early in the hearing . mr . horie replied ''you have a twisted mind . you should repent . '' he said livedoor 's accounting practices were on the level . he has acknowledged misreporting the source of about 10 million , but blamed ryoji miyauchi , now 39 , the chief_financial_officer . mr . miyauchi , who has pleaded_guilty to similar charges against him , said in court that mr . horie was aware of the wrongdoing . but mr . miyauchi wavered on this point under cross_examination . mr . horie said he was caught in the cross hairs of a japanese establishment of elite bureaucrats who he said do not want ordinary japanese ''to think too much'' and powerful business executive who fear the changes he represents . the infractions with which he is charged ''are not something that typically merit a raid and arrest , '' he said . indeed , by any standard , mr . horie has been treated very severely by the authorities . in japan , companies have long engaged in financial window_dressing , often in collusion with accounting firms , though regulators have cracked down on this practice in recent years . despite the change , companies charged with accounting violations similar to or greater than livedoor 's have been penalized by financial regulators but have not drawn criminal indictments . in november , for example , the nikko cordial corporation , japan 's third largest brokerage house , admitted to falsifying its books by 160 million , but the case was settled with a_4 . 2 million fine and the resignation of the company 's two top executives . mr . horie is expected to receive his judgment in march . during a two hour interview in his lawyer 's office , mr . horie spoke with his characteristic self confident , blunt and unguarded style . his lawyer , yasuyuki takai , was present but did not interrupt once . mr . horie wore jeans and a black pullover with ''billionaire boys club'' across his chest . ( at the peak of livedoor 's stock , his wealth topped 1 billion it is estimated to have dropped to about a tenth of that . ) mr . horie often speaks of his youth in yame , a city known for its tea agriculture , in western japan . his father , a salaryman , never gave him an allowance but bought him only useful things , like a set of encyclopedias , which the boy devoured , and a bicycle , which he rode 12 miles a day to and from a famous private secondary_school . he started at the university of tokyo , the nation 's top college , but dropped out to run the company he had founded with 50 , 000 in capital livin' on the edge , the predecessor to livedoor . consciously imitating american internet start_ups , mr . horie built a very un japanese company where informality reigned . in contrast to most japanese companies , employees were hired regardless of school ties , and they moved up thanks to ability and ambition , regardless of seniority or gender . ''the people who found me the most offensive are mid managers with a stake in the old system those in their 40s and 50s , '' mr . horie said . those people have invested decades in their companies , he said , in the expectation of enjoying the full rewards of senior status . ''they do n't want the world they believed in and guarded until now to break apart , not after they 've toiled for 20 , 30 years without enjoying its benefits . they 're going to let this punk smash it all ? '' he expanded livedoor by buying up various businesses , then took aim at the core of japan 's establishment by trying to buy a baseball_team and part of the fujisankei communications group . the establishment pushed back , accusing him of getting rich without the sweat of his brow and of playing a ' 'money game . '' ''i called them a club of old men , but that 's exactly what they are , '' mr . horie said of the conglomerates that own baseball teams . ''it 's a world of connections , that 's it . if you 're young , have no connections , and you 're from a modest family , there 's nothing you can do , your whole life . this is a big loss to society , a society in which you ca n't put your talents to use . this kind of society will keep declining . '' his audacity won him the admiration of many japanese , especially the young , who found him exciting and refreshing , even endearing . he may have dated models and driven around town in a ferrari , but there was also in him the fat kid at school . he was nicknamed horiemon , after a lovable pudgy cartoon cat named doraemon . during the 94 days he spent in detention , mr . horie was tried and convicted in japan 's clubby news_media . leaks from the authorities fueled reports that livedoor had laundered money and had ties to the underworld , though no such charges were filed . investigators searched in vain through mr . horie 's private life for damaging information , according to mr . horie , his lawyer and a recently published book . ( prosecutors declined to comment on the case . ) ''they printed out the photos and names and background information of dozens of women i 'd met , and they pumped people for information about them , '' he said . nowadays , with free time on his hands , he has pursued a lifelong interest in space travel by investing in the development of a new rocket . he watched ''the aviator'' and felt a kinship with howard hughes , the billionaire aviation pioneer who is the focus of the film , ''though i 'm not as handsome as he is , or as obsessive compulsive . '' true to his character , mr . horie has not assumed the posture of contrition that japan demands of someone in his predicament . he says he would not change the way he challenged the old men or tried to buy their companies , even though he failed . ''i enjoyed each occasion , '' he said . ''instead of doing anything to succeed , i want to succeed on my own terms . because if i ca n't i 'm , like , 'whatever . ' '' the saturday profile | has a location of japan |
for many , his quest had come to say as much about japanese provincialism and insularity as as it did about baseball . but in the end , tuffy rhodes , a veteran american player with the kintetsu_buffaloes , came up short in his bid to set a single season home_run record in japan . in his final game of the season tonight , a grimacing rhodes showed the first signs of the frustration that has surely eaten away at him for at least a week . he swung for the fences but could do no better than a short fly ball in going 0 for 4 in a_7 1 loss to the orix blue wave . rhodes had been stuck at 55 home_runs since sept . 24 , leaving him tied with sadaharu oh , the legendary japanese slugger , who set the record 37 years ago . rhodes , 33 , had bounced around the major_leagues for several years before landing in japan , where he found his groove as a highly productive hitter . but near season 's end he seemed to come unglued by a blatant effort by oh 's team , the daiei hawks , to deprive him of a shot at the home_run record . rhodes was deliberately walked time after time in a weekend series that had no bearing on the standings . rhodes had no hits in that series and could do little in the season 's final series against the blue wave , the former team of the japanese sensation ichiro_suzuki . but rhodes will enjoy postseason play because the buffaloes comfortably won the pacific_league pennant . in addition to leading the league in home_runs and tying the record , he came close to winning the triple_crown with a . 327 average and 131 runs batted in . the sweetest reward , however , may be the new seeds of doubt about the spirit of openness to outsiders and about fair play in japanese_baseball , especially at a time when the united_states is proving more cosmopolitan than ever , not in the least through the celebration of suzuki , the seattle_mariners' new standout . in an ichiro mad japan , where a 1 for 4 performance leads the sports news , rhodes 's run at a storied home_run record merited scant_attention . tonight 's game was not televised nationally , or even in the kansai region where the game was played . ''it was an insult to the fans , and japanese_baseball will decline if such behavior continues , '' said kunihiko ichimura , a 58 year old from kyoto who took a half day off from work to attend rhodes 's season finale . ''daiei 's conduct violates basic sportsmanship . records exist to be broken , and if rhodes was a japanese , i do n't think he would have been walked that way . '' randy bass , another american , was the last player to threaten oh 's record , and his season ended in a similar way . oh was the manager of the team that walked bass throughout the final series of that 1985 season , leaving bass at 54 home_runs . baseball | has a location of japan |
chihiro sato hated the morning and evening mass in the catholic_school she attended in first grade and felt ostracized by other students when she switched to a public_school for second grade . she began suffering headaches and nausea when it came time to go to school . ''my father would pull me out of bed and force me to go , '' chihiro , now 16 , recalled . but by the end of second grade she had joined the ranks of a growing group in japan children who will not go to school . last year , one in 85 junior high_school students missed at least 50 days of classes because of school phobia , according to the ministry of education . as schools in japan reopened after summer vacation , there is concern that the truancy rate will increase again this year , just as it has for more than 20 years . the school refusers , as they are called here , represent an underside of japan 's vaunted education system , which is generally admired for producing nearly universal literacy , a conscientious work force and high_school graduates who can solve sophisticated mathematical problems . but the pressure to conform and excel can overwhelm some students , experts say . the truancy problem is viewed seriously here as a sign of societal breakdown and of the need for a broad re evaluation of japan 's school system , which some educators and business leaders say stifles individuality and creativity even as it indoctrinates children into japan 's group oriented society . to be sure , the truancy rate in japan appears small compared with that in the united_states . while directly comparable figures are not available , about 6.6 percent of american junior high_school students are absent from school on any given day , for all reasons . in japan , truants have generally been considered psychologically ill , or social misfits with character defects , at least up until a few years ago . ''in the past they were taken to therapists or hospitals and locked in a room like a prison cell and soaked with medicine , '' said keiko okuchi , the founder of an alternative school for children who refuse to go to regular schools . nowadays , there is more tolerance of the truants . and after protests from parents of such children , the ministry of education in 1992 changed its guidelines to admit that the school system itself , not only defects in the child 's character , could be contributing to the problem . while the problem is most severe among junior high_school students , truancy has also been growing among elementary_school pupils , 1 in 667 of whom were absent at least 50 days last year . experts say a major reason that children stay away from school is that they are bullied by other students . yuji suzuki , now 19 , stopped going when he was in fifth grade . fellow students , in a play on his first name , began calling him ''uji , '' or maggot . ''during breaks i drew pictures by myself in the room when others went out to play , '' he said . strict rules covering behavior , dress and hairstyles , and corporal punishment by teachers are cited as other reasons . and then there is grinding pressure . for some students , sports practice and club activities begin at 6 a.m . after school , many students attend private cram_schools into the evening to prepare for high_school or college entrance_exams that could have a big impact on their future . mrs . okuchi , a former teacher , has led a crusade to change attitudes . in the early 1980 's her eldest_son was bullied at school . ''he started having headaches and stomachaches , '' she recalled . ''he began to lose weight and could n't walk and stand up . '' a psychiatrist recommended letting him stay home from school . but the school principal said that would ruin her son 's life . and he chastised her for raising her child poorly . so 10 years ago mrs . okuchi founded tokyo shure , the name being the japanese pronunciation of schule , the german word for school . the 100 students at tokyo shure , who include chihiro sato and yuji suzuki , are under no obligation to attend every day or to take any of the classes offered in subjects like english and history . on one typical day , most students were playing_cards or table_tennis , reading comics or taking a dance class . tuesdays are set aside for day trips like hikes or museum visits . students can get involved in projects like helping to plan and build a log_cabin . mrs . okuchi 's attitude is not widely shared . many programs for the refusers aim at getting them to go back to school . but the success rate is low . ''giving you actual percentages would destroy the hopes of parents whose children are trying to go back , '' said dr . taizo satoh , vice director of tokyo metropolitan umegaoka hospital , which has 210 patients and , he said , is the largest psychiatric_hospital in the world devoted solely to treating students who refuse to go to school . | has a location of japan |
takeshi komatsu should have been at his office this morning . instead , dressed in his suit and carrying his briefcase , he was standing with about 200 other people in a light rain , staring at a huge television screen mounted on the side of a building . " i 'm going to go right after nomo finishes , " promised komatsu , who works for a construction company . japanese_baseball fans , and many people who are n't fans , turned out in large numbers to see los_angeles_dodgers pitcher hideo_nomo , who has become a hero in japan , start for the national_league in the all star game at arlington , tex . the game was broadcast live on satellite_television via channel nhk , the public_broadcasting company , but many people do not have satellite antennas . and the game started at 9 30 a.m. , when japan 's diligent salarymen are supposed to be at their desks . so , many people gathered to watch the game on big screens set up by nhk in public places . others crowded into electronics stores . still others , at places ranging from nomura_securities , toyota and the powerful ministry of international_trade and industry , watched the game in their offices , even though this might have been against the rules . in shibuya , a fashionable shopping district , people stood under umbrellas . some people gasped when kenny_lofton , the first batter against nomo , pulled what appeared to be a home_run toward the right field stands . they let out their breath when the ball curved just foul . a minute later , they applauded as nomo struck out lofton , the first of the three strikeouts he recorded in two innings of shutout pitching . still , this being japan , where reserved behavior is the norm , most of the onlookers did not cheer or applaud at all . the 26 year old " tornado , " who was a star pitcher for the kintetsu_buffaloes in japan for five years , has become the pride of his country for making it in the supposedly superior major_leagues . his story has struck a particular chord with japan 's salarymen , who labor long hours for the same company their whole lives and cannot easily change jobs . nomo , by contrast , had a dispute with his bosses at kintetsu , and got his revenge by leaving and making it big elsewhere . " he 's a typical success story , following his own dreams , " said mario kamo , who works for a government affiliated institute . " many salarymen ca n't do that the same way . " today 's morning television news shows were filled with live reports from the ballpark in arlington , focusing on how nomo , the national_league 's strikeout leader , had inspired a mania in the united_states . japan 's colorful sports newspapers , with their garish tabloid style headlines and girlie pictures inside , splashed nomo stories on their front pages . sports nippon stretched a string of big yellow k 's across its front page . nikkan sports said that nomo had " hijacked " the all star game by stealing all the attention . some of the papers ran small profiles and photographs of all the starters in the all star game , a sign that nomo 's success has led to increased interest in american baseball in general among the japanese . nonetheless , most people had come only to see nomo . after his two innings were over , nhk interrupted its broadcast of the game for a few minutes of news . when the game broadcast resumed , many of the onlookers had left . " he did pretty well , " said minoru tsuchida , who came to watch after working the graveyard shift . " he 's cool , " said akinori uchiyama , a_20 year old college student . he added that he wished catcher mike_piazza had dropped frank thomas 's foul pop in the second inning so that nomo would have had a chance to strike out the white_sox slugger . baseball | has a location of japan |
if ''the closer'' is n't any good , blame the winter_olympics hype . among cbs 's perks for broadcasting the olympics despite lower than expected ratings was its ability to unleash torrents of promotions for its programming , including last night 's premiere of tom selleck 's new situation comedy . having spent about 80 hours in cbs 's company , i know selleck is back . ( but where 's courteney cox ? ) i 'm certain ''cybill'' is moving to wednesdays . and i 'm glad to declare that i love raymond , too . ( now , will channel 2 finally stop the sappy olympic athlete and family profiles ? ) so it was n't one extended , 17 night hermann_maier tumble for cbs . by various measures , the 1998 winter_games were highly successful for the network , even if the 16 . 2 prime time nielsen_rating was far below guarantees to advertisers . even if critics were cranky and viewers appeared dissatisfied . ''the olympics were not without disappointment , '' said gil schwartz , cbs 's senior vice_president of communications . ''but in substantial ways , they did exactly what they were supposed to do for cbs . '' john tinker , an analyst with nationsbank montgomery securities , said ''the stations did well , the network rating was way higher than the competition 's and letterman was matching leno . in that sense it was successful . '' a peek at the numbers ( but if you do n't want to know , turn away ) for the february sweeps really the main reason to pay 375 million for the winter_olympics cbs won every night but sunday ( when oprah winfrey 's film ''the wedding'' beat all ) . cbs 's 16 . 0 rating was 70 percent better than nbc 's 9 . 4 , 122 percent better than abc 's 7.2 and 132 percent better than fox 's 6.9 . the 12 stations that cbs owns in nielsen 's 38 metered markets averaged an 18 . 2 rating in prime time , up 88 percent from the same period a year ago . in new york , channel 2 jumped to a 16 . 3 from a 9.3 . the minneapolis station leaped 89 percent to a 23 . 3 . kdka in pittsburgh rose 81 percent to a 22 . 6 . plus , the stations' late news averaged an 11 . 6 rating , up 40 percent from 1997 . ( so if you fancy how fetching warner wolf looks on channel 2 's new set , you might stay . that 's the great thing about having the olympics as your lead in . ) ''late show with david_letterman , '' which seemed to revive creatively , beat ''the tonight show'' by a 5.6 to 5.4 nielsen score . the race culminated with letterman 's 8.5 overnight rating last friday , which thumped the 4.8 of ''tonight . '' ''a significant number of people rediscovered letterman , '' schwartz said . but now it 's back to regular programming . ''the nanny'' will have to do more than deliver reports from nagano . whatever halo effect the olympics provided for the network and the stations may disappear tonight . ''you ca n't expect the halo to go on forever , '' said neal pilson , an industry consultant who was the cbs_sports president when the nagano deal was made . ''your programming still has to be good . '' said schwartz ''it 's back to the usual battle . there are no gimmes . '' but at least more people know where to find their cbs station 184 million are said to have watched all or part of the olympics . now , the olympics are all nbc 's , from 2000 in sydney to 2008 in a city to be named much later . will cbs 's struggles with the 14 hour time difference from nagano to the eastern time zone bear on nbc 's efforts in sydney , which will have a 15 hour time difference ? will cbs 's woes with event postponements in a blizzard beset winter locale shift plans for 2002 in salt_lake_city ? dick ebersol , the president of nbc_sports , anticipates no problems . ''the summer_olympics is a 26 ring circus , and there 's never a paucity of events to put on , '' he said by telephone from sydney . ''and americans are medal participants in all sports . '' despite the time difference , despite everything being on tape , ebersol said his production will be propelled by storytelling . nbc should have an easier time in salt_lake_city than cbs did in japan . besides being a domestic enterprise , ebersol said , ''we 've shown that the olympics have to be produced more as an entertainment than a sporting_event . '' pilson had a scheduling idea for salt_lake_city nbc should show an indoor event , like pairs figure_skating , on the first night of competition , to avoid a weather related postponement of downhill skiing , which bedeviled cbs . ebersol is convinced that storytelling will triumph over choices offered by other media , which will surely expand and morph over the next four years . ''there is a lot more fragmentation out there , from on line , so they 'd better hit the emotional high points all the time , '' tinker said . emotion ? at nbc ? no problem . john tesh will be playing his keyboards at the luge and halfpipe . weeping snowboarders should move us all . airwaves bob page , set to leave ''msg sportsdesk'' april 1 because his contract was not renewed , anchored his last show sunday . his reference to ''politics behind the scenes at madison_square_garden management'' during a report on the rangers' firing of coach colin_campbell ired network brass . ''we had an arrangement with mr . page and his representatives that he would be professional , and we are not pleased with the results of that arrangement , '' said mike mccarthy , executive_producer of msg . sandy montag , page 's agent , said ''it 's no big deal . '' tv sports | has a location of japan |
in a resolution that sends everything back to the beginning , outfielder kevin millar was freed from his agreement with the chunichi_dragons last night and returned to the roster of the florida_marlins . the next step , a lawyer close to the situation said , will be for the marlins to sell or trade millar to the boston_red_sox , who want him to play first base . the lawyer said the language of the agreement still had to be completed . major_league_baseball announced the settlement shortly before midnight . under the agreement , the dragons , of japan 's central_league , will receive an undisclosed amount of money for dropping its claim on millar . the dragons paid the marlins 1 . 2 million last month for rights to the 31 year old millar , then reached an agreement with him on a two year , 6 . 2 million contract . the marlins then placed millar on waivers to release him so he could go to the dragons , and the red_sox claimed him . however , acting on his agreement with the marlins , millar rejected the claim . millar then changed his mind about playing in japan , saying his family did not want him to leave at a time of possible war with iraq . baseball | has a location of japan |
the rookie season of the los_angeles_dodgers pitching star hideo_nomo has been selected as the top sports story of the year in japan by both the daily yomiuri newspaper and the kyodo_news service , a japanese news_agency . nomo , 27 , the national_league rookie of the year who is from japan , had a 13 6 record with a 2 . 54 earned_run_average and led the n.l . with 236 strikeouts . he started in the all star game and pitched two scoreless innings . ( ap ) sports people baseball | has a location of japan |
japan , indicating that it was ready to go into space alone , today outlined an ambitious space_exploration program , including helping to put a huge telescope on the moon . the 10 year government program includes regular unmanned probes of the moon and the planets and development of new space vehicles . the program coincides with wide publicity for a japanese astronaut , koichi wakata , who flew last week on the united_states space_shuttle endeavor . the report says a japanese mission to the moon should serve as the first step toward expanded manned_space activity . | has a location of japan |
negotiators from more than 150 countries moved closer today to an agreement requiring reductions in the emission of heat trapping greenhouse_gases by industrial countries , but a firm deal continued to elude them . with a deadline looming later today , the discussions focused on a proposal put forth by raul estrada oyuela of argentina , the chairman of the talks , that would cut average emissions of carbon_dioxide and other greenhouse_gases during the period 2005 through 2010 by 5 percent below the level of emissions in 1990 . in meeting the overall target , different countries and groups of countries would be assigned different targets according to their economic profiles . thus , while the united_states would cut its emissions by 5 percent and japan by 4.5 percent , for instance , emissions of the european_union would be reduced 8 percent . but all would fall within a narrow band ranging from that 8 percent reduction to increases of 5 percent permitted in australia and norway . ''the trend is a very positive one , '' mr . estrada said after the talks recessed at 2 30 a.m . at issue are emissions of six greenhouse_gases . the most important is carbon_dioxide , which is produced by the burning of fossil_fuels like coal and oil . the others are methane , nitrous_oxide , hydrofluorocarbons , perfluorocarbons and sulfur hexachloride , but various proposals on reductions would leave decisions on some gases for another conference . all trap heat in the atmosphere , and some scientific advisers at the talks say the gases will raise the average global temperature by 2 to 6 degrees_fahrenheit by 2100 if emissions are not reduced . by comparison , the world has warmed by 5 to 9 degrees since the depths of the last ice age , and these scientists say the predicted warming would cause widespread climatic and environmental disruption . on the sticky question of how developing_countries can be brought more closely into the effort to control emissions , the proposal suggested setting up a special fund to serve as a conduit for the transfer of money and technology from rich countries to poor ones , so that the latter can adopt appropriate technologies . the united_states ''welcomes'' this concept , said stuart eizenstat , the chief american negotiator , who called it ''exactly the kind of bridge both worlds should hope for . '' mr . estrada 's proposal also provides for developing_countries to submit to binding controls on emissions at any time , at their option some countries , including chile , have expressed interest in this . the developing_countries have been insisting that they will not accept any further commitments under the 1992 rio treaty on climate_change , beyond general ones already binding them to take measures to cut emissions , until the rich countries submit to binding reductions . but dr . mark mwandosya , chairman of the developing_country caucus in the talks , said on tuesday that ''we will not be a stumbling_block'' to mr . estrada 's efforts to forge a deal . the united_states signaled that it was moving in the direction of mr . estrada 's plan on at least one key element , that of the emissions reduction target . mr . eizenstat said the united_states had proposed going below 1990 levels . earlier reports from the european camp that the proposal involved a cut of 2 percent were ''understated , '' he said . mr . eisenstat said the revised american target was contingent on the acceptance of a package that includes the ''trading'' of emissions among countries and regions , and the estrada proposal includes this feature . in emissions trading , a country or industrial company would be able to meet its target by cutting emissions itself , by buying reductions from a country or company that achieved excess cuts , or by both approaches . proponents of the approach argue that it provides an incentive for companies and countries that find it easier and cheaper to cut emissions to reduce them below the target and then sell the excess reductions , at a profit , to companies or countries that find it harder or more costly to reduce emissions on their own . the americans say this results in cheaper and more effective reductions , but the europeans worry that countries might be able to buy their way out of their obligations . the americans proposed on tuesday that the united_states join with a group of countries including but not limited to japan , russia , australia , new zealand and canada in an emissions trading group . this would potentially make it easier for the united_states to achieve its commitments because russia 's economic troubles have reduced its emissions drastically . the european_union has long insisted that its 15 countries be allowed to band together to achieve a common target . the estrada plan would allow countries to meet part of their obligation by counting natural features , mainly forests , that absorb carbon_dioxide . the americans favor this , but the europeas are skeptical . | has a location of japan |
the builder of a rocket that had to be destroyed after it careened out of control over the atlantic_ocean focused its investigation today on engine failure . a multimillion_dollar japanese broadcasting satellite was aboard the rocket . the television_network in tokyo that was counting on quick use of the spacecraft said the loss might result in a service disruption for its four million customers . the atlas centaur rocket was blown up by remote_control six minutes after it lifted off thursday night from cape canaveral air force station , sending a hail of debris into the ocean about 240 miles away . the explosion was too far away to be seen or heard from shore . the rocket and satellite were valued at more than 100 million . the spacecraft was insured . cause of failure the builder of the rocket , the general_dynamics_corporation , said the problem occurred just after the centaur upper stage separated from the atlas booster as planned . a preliminary review indicated that one of the two engines on the upper stage had failed to ignite , the company said . the 30 foot centaur , with the satellite still attached , immediately lost speed and began tumbling toward earth . the air_force sent commands that destroyed the rocket to keep it from falling on land . the company that makes centaur engines , the pratt_whitney division of the united_technologies_corporation , said today that it would not speculate on the cause of the accident " until the results from the investigation are known . " the pratt_whitney engine , which weighs 305 pounds and stands more than five feet high , is the world 's first liquid hydrogen fueled space engine . it was designed in the late 1950 's and has been used since 1963 to power the centaur upper stage , which guides spacecraft to their proper orbit . record of successes before the accident on thursday , 178 of the engines had fired in space , all successfully , the company said . the last atlas centaur failure , in 1984 , was caused by a fuel tank leak that had nothing to do with the engine . three years later , lightning destroyed an atlas centaur rocket shortly after liftoff . the last atlas centaur launching , which was the first commercial version of the rocket , successfully put a nasa scientific satellite in orbit in july . the japan broadcasting corporation ordered the satellite to replace one that was destroyed in the explosion of a european ariane rocket in february 1990 . it was to have been a backup for one put in orbit last august that recently developed solar panel trouble . japan 's national nhk television_network had asked the satellite 's owner , the astro space division of the general electric corporation , to get the spacecraft up and running as quickly as possible . g.e . astro planned to pass ownership of the satellite to the broadcasting company once it was in orbit 22 , 300 miles above borneo . officials at g.e . astro talked to executives of japan broadcasting on friday , and further telephone conferences were planned . " it certainly was a service nhk was counting on , " said lawrence greenwood , vice_president and general_manager of g.e . astro . the accident was a major setback for general_dynamics , a newcomer in the commercial launching business . the industry was formed after president_ronald_reagan ordered all commercial cargo off space shuttles after the 1986 challenger accident . general_dynamics' atlas program lost 300 million last year . | has a location of japan |
the principal 's office in the little country school here has a gleaming new bell and loudspeaker system to broadcast messages and summon the student body from recess . but it would be simpler to yell through the window for daiki saito to come in . daiki , an impetuous 7 year old with a mischievous sparkle in black eyes that dance beneath bushy eyebrows , is the only student in the entire school . this boxy , cream colored schoolhouse is a monument to japan 's commitment to equality and also to japanese inefficiency . daiki is the sole child living in this little village surrounded by forests in the foothills of mount_fuji , but the government spent more than 100 , 000 renovating an abandoned old schoolhouse for daiki and then assigned him his own first grade teacher and principal . it costs 175 , 000 a year to run daiki 's school . as japan struggles to revive its economy and avert a global recession , it is under enormous pressure to make itself more efficient and thus stimulate a new burst of economic_growth . but it finds itself profoundly torn , for efficiency would come at the price of egalitarianism and other values that many japanese regard as at least as important as economic_growth . ''nowadays , everybody calls for reforms and efficiency , '' said tomishige yazaki , daiki 's principal . ''but if we just pursue efficiency , the world would become a very dry place , with no sensitivity . '' japan is often denounced as recalcitrant and paralyzed as its economy sinks into its worst recession in six decades , and it is true that japanese leaders have spent years denying the existence of economic nettles instead of grasping them . but in some respects this is a principled paralysis . japan 's economic catastrophe has harmed all of asia and arises largely from political incompetence , endemic corruption , webs of relationships that misallocate resources and a parliamentary system that hugely over represents the most backward parts of the country . some of japan 's most serious delays , such as confronting its bad_debts and banking instability , have involved more paralysis than principle . yet while everyone around the globe is complaining about how bad japan is , in other respects the problem is that it has been too good . economists have long known of the ''paradox of thrift , '' which states that although it is admirable to save , a country that saves too much ends up hurting itself . that is one of japan 's ailments , but more broadly it is being pummeled by what might be called a ''paradox of virtue . '' the economy is in deep recession in part for reasons that , in an old fashioned way , seem honorable a passion for prudent fiscal planning , for stamping out inflation , for saving for the future and perhaps most important of all , concern for the human flotsam of capitalism and for equality for all citizens . fiscal nightmare recklessness urged japan 's commitment to equality is intricately linked in at least two ways to its economic crisis and the world 's . first , it is producing a welfare_state for the inefficient , leading to a growing misallocation of resources in the world 's second largest economy . second , the impulse to improve the quality of life in remote areas by building tiny schools and countless mountain roads has helped send costs spiraling out of control . soaring budget_deficits and concern about how to pay for the retirement of japan 's baby_boomers led the government to raise taxes last year . there is now broad agreement that the tax increase was a fatal misstep that plunged japan into recession . but even if its timing was catastrophic , japan was trying to do what economists believe is in principle the right thing reduce budget_deficits and plan for the aging of the baby_boom generation . all industrialized_countries face this challenge but most have put off the hard decisions , while japan 's leaders last year ignored its economic weakness and confronted the problem by raising taxes . in retrospect , this was as foolish as it was well intentioned , and the results were calamitous japan 's economy fell to pieces , and the government now says that economic output will contract this fiscal year for the second year in a row . the stock_market is at a_12 year low , and japan 's biggest banks eight of which have assets worth as much as the entire russian gross_national_product are wobbling . ''japan has found itself in the position of fighting the last major economic war , the great depression , '' said adam s . posen , a scholar at the institute for international_economics in washington and author of a new book on japan 's economy . ''and its government has chosen to pursue the strategy that lost that war . '' mr . posen and many other economists here and abroad recommend a gigantic fiscal_stimulus , such as a huge new spending program coupled with tax cuts . japan has reluctantly taken steps in that direction , but it has dithered because huge spending increases seem so , well , irresponsible . japan finds itself hampered as well in its monetary_policy , because in the past it attacked inflation so relentlessly that interest rates are extremely low . that makes it difficult to ease monetary_policy by lowering rates further , and so some experts are urging japan to get out of this box by pledging to be irresponsible and taking steps to nurture inflation . the upshot is that for a diligent , serious nation like japan , the present economic crisis is a nightmare it is being scolded on all sides and advised that it must be more fiscally reckless and monetarily irresponsible . a fiscal or monetary stimulus may rescue japan in the short run , but most economists here and abroad say that in the longer_term japan must restructure its economy and pay much more attention to efficiency rather than equality . yet the calls for efficiency run smack into the egalitarianism that has been a national ideology since the end of world_war_ii , when a defeated japan was told of the evils of its traditions of authoritarianism and hierarchy . many economists and business leaders say that an obsession with equality is stifling japan . inefficiencies and bureaucracies take the government 's building projects . they are partly a way of showing thanks to construction companies , which contribute mightily to the liberal_democrats . yet such projects also seem to reflect an egalitarian commitment to improve the lives of people in remote areas . on ikarajima , a sleepy little islet in southern japan that is home to only 350 people , a dazzling new 125 million steel bridge rises like a mirage , to connect one end of the island with a neighboring island . the bridge , built in 1996 to replace a ferry that used to take 15 minutes , cost 357 , 000 for each resident of ikarajima . that led to some sniping about waste of money , and so plans for a 250 million bridge on the other side of ikarajima have been put on hold for now . ''the island people have been eagerly waiting for this new bridge , but now because of reports of waste , they are deprived even of their dreams , '' said kenzo uehara , a town official on the island . ''i do n't know that you can criticize these projects just by the logic of numbers . '' one of the most breathtaking economic inefficiencies is the expenditure on tiny schools with just a handful of students . while daiki 's case is unusual , another school near ichinosetakahashi also has just a single pupil , and so does a school in the southern city of kumamoto . the education ministry says it does not know how many single student schools there are in japan . but it says the country has 3 , 324 elementary schools 14 percent of the total with fewer than 50 students in all grades put together . why run an entire school for a single student , regardless of cost ? the main reason is obliviousness to costs , coupled with a feeling of obligation to rural communities that want their children to have a neighborhood school just like city kids . but japan 's sometimes rigid bureaucracy can also be a factor . in daiki 's case , the neighboring town operates an elementary_school just 20 minutes away . but the authorities say that because that school falls under a different administrative region , it is inconceivable that daiki go there . income distributed too equitably ''it might be less costly , and we would be happy to make such an arrangement if it were possible , '' said tadashi michibayashi , an official in the enzan board of education . ''but we in the administration have to draw the line somewhere . '' of the various elements of egalitarianism , japan is particularly proud of its even distribution of income . the richest third of the population in japan enjoys a total income three times as great as that of the poorest third compared with more than five times as much in the united_states . several global studies have found that an egalitarian distribution of income helps promote economic_growth within a country . but by most counts japan takes it too far . japan relies on 65 percent marginal tax rates its tax system is among the most progressive in the world and japanese companies suppress income differentials by paying employees according to seniority rather than merit . the tax rates and corporate practices reflect a psychology of egalitarianism , many say , that has tended to suppress entrepreneurship and hold back the most talented sector of the population . ''when i was here in high_school , there were four classes of about 50 kids each in my 11th_grade class , '' said robert alan feldman , who first came to japan as an exchange student and is now chief economist at morgan_stanley in tokyo . ''and as i looked around , it struck me that there were a couple of really bright kids in each class , and a bunch of medium kids and a bunch of dumb kids . and i asked the teacher , 'well , why do n't you track the kids in some way , like have a bright class ? ' ''and he gave me an answer i 'll never forget . he said 'it would n't be democratic . ' and i thought , gee , these people define democracy very differently . '' gaining consensus , respecting 'wa' more broadly , japan seems troubled by economic changes that are beneficial overall but that make losers out of some people . creating losers would upset the society 's ''wa , '' or harmony , a value that has been central to japanese society at least since prince shotoku in 604 proclaimed a constitution decreeing ''wa must be respected . '' the emphasis on wa often impresses visitors , but it also results in paralysis . japan has difficulty carrying out changes that benefit the majority but that are vigorously opposed by a small group of prospective losers . ''japan is a society of consensus , and as long as 30 percent of the population holds out against a decision , the government will not act , '' said yoshio hatano , a former ambassador to the united_nations . the tensions between the united_states and japan thus seem to arise not just from tokyo 's political paralysis but more fundamentally from a set of enormously different attitudes and values , not just about economics but about life itself . ''we are at two ends of the spectrum , the u.s . and japan , '' said masaru yoshitomi , one of japan 's leading economists . mr . yoshitomi noted that japan 's egalitarianism runs so deep that when schoolchildren take part in sports day activities , the prizes often go not just to the winners of the races but to absolutely every child who takes part . he suggested that this takes equality too far , breeding cohesion but suppressing the excellence that drives a modern economy . ''there are no outstanding people in japan , '' mr . yoshitomi said , only partly joking , ''and that has to change . '' | has a location of japan |
when the detroit_tigers signed cecil_fielder three years ago for 3 million over two years , many people wondered why the tight fisted tigers would spend so much money on a player returning from japan who had been a part time player before he left . now comes orestes destrade , and the florida_marlins hope he will be cecil ii . destrade , 30 years old , has played in japan for the last four seasons . before that period , he batted 76 times in the major_leagues with the yankees and the pittsburgh_pirates after laboring in the minor leagues for seven seasons in the yankees' organization . so why should the expansion marlins sign destrade to a two year contract worth 3 . 5 million ? " our scouts felt he would help the big_league club , " general_manager dave dombrowski said . " he 's got tremendous power . he always has had that . you 're not looking at a guy who 's been taking advantage of short fences . no question , there 's some gamble in it , but we felt it was worth it based on the reports we received . " destrade , a first baseman , led japan in home_runs each of the last three seasons the first foreigner to do so with 42 , 39 and 41 . not so coincidentally , his team , the seibu lions , won the japanese championship all three years . the lions were prepared to give destrade about 6 million for two more years , but he could n't pass up the chance to go home . " it 's a great opportunity , me being a cuban from miami , " he said , speaking from hawaii , where he and his seibu teammates were celebrating their most recent championship . " my family " his wife and two young children " and i love japan , but there 's nothing like being at home . " montreal , cleveland and st . louis also made him offers , destrade said , " but i would n't have gone to any of those places . it was either miami or back to japan . " in his younger days , destrade had difficulty reaching the majors with the yankees because don mattingly was the first baseman . when he was traded to the pirates , he found sid bream at first . finally , in june 1989 , destrade gave up on baseball in this country and went to japan . when fielder spent a season in japan , destrade said , he gained greater confidence in his ability and learned to play while being the center of attention . fielder returned to the major_leagues and has become their most awesome slugger . what has japanese_baseball done for destrade ? " definitely i 'm better , " he said , " but a lot has to do with maturing age wise . i had to become mentally stronger . i was on a team with only one other foreigner , and he was a taiwanese pitcher . i had to mentally motivate myself . i did n't have coaches and friends when i got in slumps . that 's where my game has gotten stronger . " santiago 's plunge benito santiago was once considered the premier catcher in the major_leagues . in the last couple of years , however , his reputation plunged precipitously both as a catcher and as a personality in the clubhouse . despite his more recent status , the marlins decided to sign him as a free_agent for 7 . 2 million for two years . " we felt a change of scenery will benefit him a great deal , " dombrowski said . " we felt he was eager to play here . he had a good visit with rene lachemann . lach felt very comfortable after visiting with him and felt he 'd like to have him . " with top flight catchers a rarity , the earlier santiago would have commanded at least 5 million a year . if lachemann and dombrowski have guessed right , they could have a bargain . if they guessed wrong , the marlins would have squandered money better spent elsewhere . the definition of chaos on the last day of the winter_meetings , dec . 9 , bud_selig of the milwaukee_brewers , the man in charge of the major_leagues in the absence of a commissioner , told assembled reporters in no uncertain terms that contrary to whatever they may have written or thought , baseball was not in chaos . one week later , participating in a panel discussion , richard_ravitch , the owners' chief labor executive , said , " there is chaos in baseball and nobody can deny that . " selig , who as chairman of the player relations committee board is also ravitch 's boss , was said not to be amused by the contradiction . on the other hand , charlie sutton , the agent for terry steinbach , must have been amused at least puzzled when the yankees made what they said was a four year , 16 million offer to the free_agent catcher . adding the numbers , sutton got 17 million and informed general_manager gene michael of his mathematics . " then i guess it 's 17 million , " michael was said to have replied . unconvincing the son in law insists he is running the yankees himself with no help from his still exiled father in law , but he has n't convinced anyone in baseball . although no one has first hand , eyewitness evidence , owners and executives who are asked their opinion see the fingerprints of george_steinbrenner all over the yankees' deals of recent weeks . asked if there were any doubts that steinbrenner was orchestrating the club 's moves , one executive laughed and said , " of course not . " joseph molloy , who has added the duties of general_manager to those of general managing partner , denied last week that he toots his tuba to the beat of steinbrenner 's baton , although he admitted that sometimes he has to " bite his tongue " to resist temptation . they did n't even discuss free agents at thanksgiving dinner , baseball 's best known and best behaved son in law said . perhaps not . but one can imagine a coded conversation at the dinner table in which the father in law clearly gave molloy instructions to sign four free agents . and the shrewd steinbrenner was so clever that anyone listening would have thought just the opposite . chomping on a big turkey leg , steinbrenner might have said , " owin' as to how the key to our season is my return , we ca n't get bogged down in discussions about free agents now . " sad days for pirates now that the dismantling of the three time division champion pittsburgh_pirates has been completed , syd thrift has only the memory of his success in resuscitating the team and insuring its continued residence in pittsburgh . " it 's sad , " thrift said when asked how it felt to see the developments of the past 13 months , in which barry_bonds , bobby bonilla , doug drabek , john smiley and jose lind have left the pirates . thrift was the general_manager who built the team that manager jim leyland molded into a champion . their efforts came just as the pirates were teetering on the precipice of disaster and departure to another city . looking at the remains of the pirates , thrift , now the chicago_cubs' assistant_general_manager , acknowledged that they have a difficult task ahead . but he added " they 're better off than we were in 1986 because of the players they have . they 're stronger . " bonds at the podium barry_bonds should know when he 's ahead and stop talking about his years in pittsburgh . he 's becoming offensive . during the national_league playoff in october , bonds went on and on about what a great place pittsburgh was to live in ( it was the best , he said ) , what a great bunch of guys the pirates were to play with and what a great manager jim leyland was to play for . of course , bonds was n't willing to take fewer millions to remain in his personal eden . with his agent , dennis gilbert , maneuvering to make him the highest paid player , bonds became a free_agent and held out for top dollar . when he got it from the san_francisco_giants , he instantly told the world how wonderful it was to go home ( his father played for the giants from the time barry was 3 years old until he was 10 ) . then , at his unveiling in san_francisco last week , bonds told a rally of giants' fans , " when i was in pittsburgh , we would 've played for jim leyland for nothing . " in truth , he would n't have played for leyland for 7 million a year , because even that would n't have made him the highest paid player in the game . notebook | has a location of japan |
government officials and businessmen in japan reacted with indignation and puzzlement today over reports that american baseball officials were opposed to the offer by a japanese company to help buy the seattle_mariners . hiroshi yamauchi , president of the nintendo company , which has teamed up with a group of businessmen in washington_state to bid for the mariners , held a news conference today to explain the offer . he said he might be forced to withdraw the bid if the public reaction was negative . although the reception in seattle was favorable , the baseball_commissioner , fay_vincent , said it was unlikely the bid would be approved . yamauchi said the company should not be criticized for making a takeover attempt because it was first approached by political leaders in the united_states . " this is entirely different from an acquisition of an american corporation by a japanese corporation , " said yamauchi . 'simply a response' " it is simply a response to the urgings of the senator and governor of washington , " yamauchi said at a news conference in kyoto , where his company has its headquarters . " a foundation was established , and upon request , i invested in that foundation . " if accepted and approved by baseball officials , the offer by the family that founded nintendo would represent the first time that a potential investor outside north_america had bought a controlling interest in an american club . the controversy over the bid for the mariners was one of a string of episodes in the last week that have emphasized what some say is growing american resentment of japanese economic strength . news reports have focused all week on american anger over a comment by a leader of the japanese parliament that american workers are lazy and illiterate . there has also been considerable publicity over the rejection by los_angeles of a previously awarded bid by subsidiary of the sumitomo corporation for construction of railway cars . japanese officials have been careful not to denounce the county of los angeles by name , but some warn that the cancellation of the los_angeles contract could have damaging repercussions for the american drive to get construction contracts in japan . " this new japan bashing is very unfortunate , " said a senior economic policymaker , asking not to be identified . " any backlash in japan will make it more difficult to make progress in our own government_procurement procedures . " he was referring to japan united_states pacts in recent years permitting american construction companies to bid on dozens of projects , many of them airports and other projects put up by local authorities . a spokesman for the foreign ministry , masamichi hanabusa , said that the latest efforts to block japanese activity may be part of a wave of criticism or japan bashing , but that this was a temporary phenomenon caused in part by the recession . in defending the nintendo baseball proposal , yamauchi said the bid was in keeping with the community minded spirit of the american subsidiary of the company , which has made considerable money in america . " this is a kind of social service , not a business activity intended to make a profit , " yamauchi told the yomiuri newspaper today . he said it was not his intention to change the name of the mariners or to utilize the mariners' name in the nintendo business . echoing this view , hanabusa of the foreign ministry said he could not understand why there would be a negative reaction to a possible nintendo purchase , because it should be seen as part of japanese efforts to support community activities . baseball | has a location of japan |
ichiro_ozawa , a highly unusual japanese politician who calls for a virtual revolution in his nation 's politics , economics , society and foreign_policy , was elected leader of japan 's main opposition party today . mr . ozawa , who would almost certainly put relations with the united_states on a new footing , thus moves one step closer to the prime_minister 's office . his platform calls for sweeping deregulation in almost every sector , a far reaching restructuring of the educational system and much greater willingness to use military force . still , it is far from clear that mr . ozawa will become prime_minister after the next general_election is called . and even if he were to become prime_minister , it is uncertain how much impact he would have . in any case , though , his rise to lead the main opposition party , the new frontier party , underscores a generational transition toward politicians who aim to be leaders as well as prime_ministers . mr . ozawa and others of his generation he is 53 are far more self confident than those who have ruled japan for 50 years . " i will fight to my last breath , with all my power , for the new frontier party and for japan , " a beaming mr . ozawa told a victory celebration of supporters who cheered him with shouts of " banzai ! " meaning " 10 , 000 years , " or " long life . " if mr . ozawa were to become prime_minister , there would inevitably be some strains in relations with washington , for his vision is of japan as a full partner of the united_states rather than as its caddie . yet mr . ozawa also favors the kind of broad deregulation in japan that americans have yearned for . moreover , mr . ozawa places enormous emphasis on military cooperation , and he would be far more willing than any other japanese politician to back up united_states forces in a conflict with north_korea or another country . the election of mr . ozawa means that the next prime_minister is likely to be either he or ryutaro_hashimoto , the leader of the liberal democratic_party , japan 's biggest political group . mr . hashimoto is also a new style politician , unusually assertive and ready for japan to exercise power , although he does not favor the same kind of sweeping changes . mr . hashimoto today called mr . ozawa " a superb politician " and said , " i look forward to being able now to hold a fair and aboveboard debate on the issues . " that was a dig at mr . ozawa 's reputation as a king maker , forging back room deals without stepping forward to engage in public debate . one reason mr . ozawa is not more popular is that he is widely seen as embodying precisely the tradition of behind the scenes machinations that he says he is determined to end . the party election process broke new ground . normally it is primarily members of parliament who choose a party 's leader . but the new frontier party allowed any japanese over 18 to vote for a_10 contribution , and 1.7 million people voted . a general_election must be held by july 1997 . mr . ozawa has a reputation as a brilliant campaign strategist he masterminded his party 's stunningly good performance in july elections for the upper_house of parliament and the next election will be held under a new system of single seat constituencies that make the outcome difficult to predict . mr . ozawa faces two other obstacles his health and his prickly personality . he has had heart problems , although it is not clear how severe they are now . what is clear is that he is a difficult person to work with , often as prone to pummel egos as to stroke them . a broader challenge would be how to prevail over an entrenched bureaucracy . two years ago another bold young politician , morihiro_hosokawa , became prime_minister and talked of far reaching change . he lasted less than a year as prime_minister and left little mark on the nation . | has a location of japan |
in a nation that was widely regarded as well prepared for earthquakes , something clearly went wrong last week in the city of kobe . and now , some people are saying the temblor also exposed what is wrong with the leadership of japan . newspapers editorialists and other critics are complaining strongly about the response by the administration of prime_minister tomiichi_murayama , who did not hear about the earthquake until he watched the morning news on television . in a possible sign of weakening confidence in the government , the nikkei stock_market_index dropped more than 1 , 000 points today , a decline of 5.6 percent , after smaller declines in the days immediately after the quake . and newspapers are publishing a growing number of accusations that poor preparation , indecision and bureaucratic rivalry may have added to the death toll . " this earthquake symbolizes the systemic weak point in our postwar system , " said takeshi sasaki , a professor of political_science at tokyo_university . " there is no systemic flexibility . this kind of rigidity in our system is proved by this enormous tragedy . " " when something disrupts our system , " he added , " the system becomes unworkable . " fault lines run underneath the soil of most parts of the japanese islands , so earthquakes have been a part of this country 's psyche for generations . as a result , japan has developed sophisticated equipment for measuring and detecting earthquakes , as well as systems in earthquake resistant buildings that automatically shut off gas at the first tremor . the problem is that while money went into earthquake related technology , it does not seem to have gone into crisis_management organizing rescue and relief operations in the aftermath of an earthquake . of course no city could be expected to insulate itself against an earthquake of this scale , and after all , 99 . 9 percent of the population in the earthquake zone survived . nonetheless , critics say , even after the quake the kobe region and the national government seemed to be at a loss as to how to handle the crisis . " early warning of the earthquake was practically impossible , " said seizaburo sato , professor of political_science at keio_university . " but once the earthquake started , the government could have done a much better job . " " murayama said he was inexperienced , that it was natural to make mistakes , " he added . " that 's an excuse that no japanese_prime_minister should use . it 's like if japan is invaded , the japanese_prime_minister cannot just say 'i 'm inexperienced , and this is my first experience with this . ' " government officials acknowledge that there were problems in the response to the quake . " we realized the large scale of the damage almost at the same time as they were reported on the television , and we were surprised , " said masayuki kitamoto , deputy director at the national land agency 's disaster prevention bureau . " probably local officials were confused , and communication lines were shut down instantly . at least we should have flown a helicopter much earlier to grasp the whole picture earlier . " some critics say mr . murayama did not grasp the gravity of the quake soon enough , and the mainichi daily news quoted the chief_cabinet_secretary and other cabinet members as saying they were poorly informed of its scale . then , because of a quirky bureaucratic procedure , the order to send a full fledged contingent of the self_defense forces , japan 's military , was not issued until nine hours after the quake . moreover , traffic_jams delayed the arrival of many soldiers for five more hours into kobe and its stricken neighbor , nishinomiya . firefighters were available to tackle flames that had erupted throughout kobe and nishinomiya , but water was not , and so buildings and houses burned down . trucks equipped with food and water were sent late and were delayed even longer because of the traffic_jams . the tardy response seems to have resulted partly from the bureaucratic system and the consensus style of management for which japan is noted . communication lines among bureaucracies and ministries broke down , and many officials seemed reluctant to act decisively , scholars and critics say . in addition , emergency measures were difficult to initiate because of the devastating nature of the quake . for starters , electricity in the government building went out , generators to power satellite transmissions were damaged and a number of officials were unable to get to work . the result was that emergency plans could not be carried out . one reason for the heavy losses was that while japan has stringent codes to protect buildings from quake damage , many homes predated the regulations . many residents interviewed in kobe and nishinomiya seemed completely surprised by the earthquake and said they thought that their area was in no danger of quakes . many middle_aged citizens interviewed in recent days said they had never taken any precautions or made any preparations for an earthquake . " i never went through any drills , " said kazuko miyamoto , a 60 year old woman who stood in line waiting for water in kobe one recent evening . " i naively believed that this is a safe place . i was too optimistic . " kobe is often considered one of the nicest places in japan to live , and some people even move to kobe to evade the risk of earthquakes in other areas , like tokyo , or yokohama , a suburb of the capital . kobe had no record of a serious earthquake . " i grew up in yokohama and believed that an earthquake could ruin our lives , " said mitsui oku , 57 , who moved to kobe 13 years ago . after the move , she said " i completely forgot about earthquakes . i thought that we were so lucky to be living in a disaster free area . " the schools , however , are the one remaining pillar of earthquake discipline . students go through practice drills in classrooms , jumping under desks , dashing to the safety of the playground outside , sometimes running through tunnels of smoke with handkerchiefs over their faces . but while these drills may have at one time served to educate the japanese about earthquakes , most of the preparation is focused in the tokyo area , and most japanese seem to pay scant_attention . " we used to do drills in school , " miki demoto , a 25 year old resident of kobe , said in a phone interview . " but i never took them seriously . " on jan . 17 , the day of the quake , a japan american workshop on reducing the hazards of earthquakes in urban_areas was being held in kobe , as a way of drawing the attention of local officials to the risks . " kobe was chosen for the reason that we were trying to bring attention to this area , " said susan k . tubbesing , executive director of the earthquake engineering research institute , based in oakland , calif . " there are lots of places in the united_states that have similar seismic risk potential , like seattle and the new madrid area in the southern midwest kentucky , tennessee , missouri , and arkansas . " quake in japan the leadership | has a location of japan |
during a recent violent rainstorm , about 300 soldiers from japan 's self_defense forces were hastily dispatched to mount fuji , where 100 or so heavily armed invaders had seized control of the scenic summit . in the ensuing battle , which lasted two days but went unreported in the news_media , japan 's ground troops proved little match for the well entrenched enemy forces and suffered heavy casualties from intense shelling and hidden minefields . as the brutal conflict unfolded , japanese commanders at a nearby military base watched it live over short_circuit television , monitoring the position and performance of every soldier on computer screens . the skirmish , of course , was a battle simulation . but though the soldiers were real , just about everything else the machine_gun blasts , land_mines , mortars and artillery ignited only within the digital battlefield of an elaborate computer program . it was the computer that informed soldiers , who were equipped with radio headgear and electronic guns , when they had been killed or wounded . the dead were required to stand at attention in the battlefield , while the injured were rushed to a make believe infirmary . ''this was one of the most overwhelming exercises of my career , '' said maj . hiroki fujii , a 17 year veteran of the self_defense forces who commanded the japanese field troops . ''when you see your soldiers being killed and injured one right after the other , it adds a sense of realism to the drill . '' in the more than half century since japan was defeated in world_war_ii and formally renounced military aggression , its armed_forces , which are limited by the constitution to self_defense , have never engaged in real combat . in fact , computerized war games like the recent invasion simulation at mount_fuji are as close as postwar japanese troops have ever come to actual conflict . but thanks to the country 's scientific know how and generous budgets , the self_defense forces have become one of the most technologically_advanced militaries in the world . in recent years , their role has expanded from defending national territory to providing emergency backup to united_states troops stationed in japan , taking part in overseas peacekeeping operations , and responding to natural_disasters like the devastating 1995 earthquake in kobe . as a result , the public image of its armed_forces has never been better . but japan 's self_defense forces are still far from a real military , and it is doubtful that they will ever be because of constitutional restrictions , japan 's deep_rooted pacifism and neighboring countries that have not forgotten the atrocities they suffered under japanese_military occupation . ''in a material sense , japan 's self_defense forces are a full fledged military , '' said shunji toaka , who covers military affairs for the asahi_shimbun , a major daily newspaper . ''we have the weapons and the technology , but for the last 50 years we have had no practical experience in war . we have thousands of guns but we 've never fired any in battle . not one military surgeon has ever treated a soldier with a battle wound . '' under article 9 of the constitution that the united_states imposed on japan after world_war_ii , the japanese people forever renounced war and the threat or use of force . japan has interpreted that clause to mean that its military activities are restricted to defending its territory from attack . as a result , japan has no bombers , no long range missiles and no aircraft_carriers , and , theoretically , no means to project power beyond its own borders . japanese soldiers who take part in international peacekeeping operations are limited to providing logistical and transportation support . with the end of the cold_war , however , and the growing threat of new conflicts in asia , especially involving china and north_korea , more and more japanese are calling for a reinterpretation of the constitution or an amendment to give japan 's armed_forces greater freedom . motoo shiina , a member of parliament who heads an independent party , said the time had come for japan to revise its constitution to clarify exactly what role the self_defense forces would play in the post cold_war era . ''it 's ridiculous that we still are debating this issue after all this time , '' he said . the debate is unlikely to be resolved anytime soon , as the japanese remain deeply divided over expanding the role of the self_defense forces . and the country remains content to rely on its longstanding military alliance with the united_states , which has 45 , 000 troops in japan , to help defend its borders and provide stability to the region . for all the constitutional restrictions and historical sentiments , japan has built its self_defense forces into one of the most powerful armies in asia . its annual military_budget of 45 billion is the second largest in the world after that of the united_states . the size of its forces and the sophistication of its weaponry are roughly equivalent to those of britain , which has an annual defense budget of about 33 billion . japan has about 236 , 000 military personnel , compared with britain 's 220 , 000 . the government spent more than 140 million to develop the battle simulation technology used at mount_fuji . the complex program has an indirect firing system that registers virtual land_mines and mortars and laser_beam machine_guns . each soldier is monitored using a positioning satellite system . in fact , during the mount_fuji drill , the battle was suspended for several hours because a thunderstorm raised fears that lightning might strike the soldiers , who wore heavy electronics and radio gear . ''of course , we cannot reproduce each and every situation that may occur in the actual battlefield , but the major items can be duplicated in these simulations , '' said gen . yuji fujinawa , chairman of the joint staff council for japan 's defense agency . asked what were the major security concerns facing japan , general fujinawa cited the unresolved conflict on the korean_peninsula and territorial disputes . japan has long running disputes with russia and china over the sovereignty of several islands . | has a location of japan |
lead one of japan 's most powerful politicians , finance minister ryutaro_hashimoto , told the cabinet this week that the reason for an alarming decline in the country 's birth_rate is the government 's policy of encouraging japanese women to obtain a higher_education . one of japan 's most powerful politicians , finance minister ryutaro_hashimoto , told the cabinet this week that the reason for an alarming decline in the country 's birth_rate is the government 's policy of encouraging japanese women to obtain a higher_education . mr . hashimoto 's commments , reported over the last two days by government officials and the japanese press , appeared to suggest that japan should take strong policy measures perhaps including steps that would discourage women from continuing their education to assure that japan has a sufficient work force to meet its economic_growth plans in the next century . according to government studies , japan 's birth_rate fell to an all time low last year of 1 . 57 children per woman . in 1988 , the rate was 1 . 66 . mr . hashimoto 's comments prompted a somewhat embarrassed flurry of statements from the government 's chief spokesman , misoji sakamoto , who at first suggested that the finance minister was expressing japan 's official view of how to reverse the low population_growth trend , and then backed away from the comments . ''it is not such an easy matter to get japanese women to bear children for us , '' mr . sakamoto said . mr . hashimoto 's statement received a rather muted response here , perhaps because japanese society still broadly expects women to put child rearing ahead of most other concerns . but his comments created enough of a stir that late today he issued another statement . ''since japan 's birth_rate has been recently decreasing , i talked about a possible review of the higher_education system , '' he said through jun shiozaki , director general of japan 's management and coordination agency . ''but i did n't mean to say that the pursuit of higher learning by women is related to the drop in the birthrate . '' mr . shiozaki , who had conveyed mr . hashimoto 's original remarks , said he must have misinterpreted the finance minister 's statement , and apologized ''for the trouble i have caused . '' mr . hashimoto 's observations were widely reported , and cast as another example of the governing liberal democratic_party 's continuing troubles with women who vote , who make up much of the support for japan 's opposition_parties . earlier this year , during a strenuously contested election campaign , a prominent member of the liberal democratic_party suggested publicly that voters should be suspicious of takako doi , leader of the japan_socialist_party , because she is unmarried and has no children . the comment immediately drew harsh criticism , though miss_doi 's party did not fare as well as it had hoped in the election . but the socialist victory in an election last summer for control of the upper_house of parliament was attributed in part to the growing solidarity of women , who were angered by a new government sales_tax and by a sex_scandal that forced the ouster of prime_minister sousuke uno after two months in office . mr . hashimoto , a political ally of former prime_minister noboru_takeshita , is frequently mentioned as a strong candidate to become prime_minister in the next few years . but he is known for controversial statements , especially by japan 's demure standards . a month ago , he was forced to backtrack on suggestions that japan should resume its aid to china before other western allies agree to take the same step . few experts dispute mr . hashimoto 's basic observation that a growing number of japanese women have delayed beginning families so that they can complete their education . today more than a third of all japanese women go to a two year or four year college . twenty years ago , only about 17 percent went to a college of any kind . until now , no one has publicly suggested policies that would discourage women from attending college . ''higher_education , if we consider including women , is contributing to lowering the birth_rate , '' mr . hashimoto was reported to have said . ''i want the government to study this point . '' | has a location of japan |
perhaps the best indication of kobe 's progress in recovering from the earthquake in january is that shizuko hirajima can hear again . when the earthquake struck , mrs . hirajima did not have time to rescue a neighbor who was trapped in the rubble . a fire swept through , and from the edge of the blaze she listened to his screams as he burned to death . haunted by her failure to rescue him , she coped by going deaf the screams went away , but so did all other sounds . " recently my hearing got better , and now it 's almost back to normal , " mrs . hirajima said . " there 's no point in dwelling on the past . i 've got to keep struggling ahead . " all of kobe is struggling ahead these days and making remarkable progress in recovering from an earthquake that killed 5 , 500 people and left 300 , 000 homeless . electricity , water and gas have been restored everywhere , most shops have reopened , and trains again link kobe with the rest of japan . mrs . hirajima has fixed up her home and moved back into it , giving up the tent in which she lived at first . but the roof had caved in , and in the process of repairs her two story house became a one story home . for all the bustle of recovery in kobe , it is now clear that it may take a decade for this beautiful port city to recover fully from the quake . buildings still lean over the street at dangerous angles , forcing pedestrians to hurry by as they peer nervously upward , and 27 , 000 people are still living in schools and other refugee centers . " there 's no place for us to go , " said kazuko nakashima , a housewife without a house . she lives with eight other members of her extended family in a classroom of a school one of the few buildings in her neighborhood to survive the quake . the government has erected 25 , 000 prefabricated huts so far , and they fill parks , tennis courts and even parking_lots throughout kobe . but even so , the refugees complain that the only available huts are in remote areas that make it difficult to commute to jobs . the schools are trying to evict refugees by the end of july , so that they can hold normal classes again . but some of the refugees say they cannot leave because there is nowhere to go . so mrs . nakashima and her relatives pass the time in their classroom , comforting young ones who still cry whenever the ground rumbles , even if it is just a passing truck . the biggest lifesaver , they say , was the arrival of two american teenagers , mormon missionaries from utah , who help prepare meals and play with the children . in addition to those in refugee shelters , hundreds of homeless people are living in tents in parks and other open areas . takeshi nakane , for example , borrowed a metal frame and bought some plastic to build a tent on a strip of grass beside a pile of rubble that is all that is left of his home . mr . nakane , like many of the hardest hit people , is a burakumin , traditionally the outcasts in japan . kobe has a particular concentration of burakumin , and their neighborhood was one of the hardest hit . the burakumin , a caste somewhat similar to the untouchables of india , were poor to start with , and many lived in shoddy homes that collapsed and then burned when fire engines were unable to get through the tiny alleys in the burakumin neighborhood . many worked in shoe factories and other small businesses that burned after the quake , so that in one stroke they lost jobs , homes and family members . mr . nakane is luckier than some , for he still has his job and his family , but he has no idea where he will get the money to rebuild his home . even a prefabricated home would cost more than 200 , 000 construction costs are enormous in japan and the bank said it could lend him only 40 , 000 . " i 've worked so hard all my life , " said mr . nakane , who is 60 . " and now i 've got to start all over again . " construction equipment from all over japan has been brought to kobe , and dump_trucks carrying away rubble are a ubiquitous sight . but the demolition work will not be completed until late this year , and the reconstruction phase has not even begun yet , except for small private homes . " we have to design new buildings and get permits from the government , " said hideki uchide , an executive of obayashi corporation , a major construction company that has 20 , 000 laborers working on its demolition jobs in kobe . " the construction will begin next year on major buildings . " still , reconstruction of private homes has already begun in some areas , and the government has worked frantically to rebuild roads , bridges , rail lines and the port . the port of kobe , gateway to 11 percent of japanese trade , is struggling to repair its damaged wharves , and it can now handle about 60 percent of its capacity before the quake . city planners say that kobe is even improving itself in important ways . congested neighborhoods that were destroyed in the quake are being rebuilt , for example , with parks and wider streets . one big advantage of kobe , even before the quake , is that it is an unusually pretty city . unlike tokyo and osaka , kobe does not look as if it were designed solely to increase sales of cement . it has greenery , charming tree lined streets and pleasant hillsides overlooking pretty bays . " we want to make kobe the leading port of asia , " said akira hanaki , who heads a group of city officials studying how to restore the city after the earthquake . " we want to make kobe better than it was before . " | has a location of japan |
the death toll from the huge earthquake that devastated this city passed 4 , 100 today , and 275 , 000 homeless people huddled on floors and in stairwells of public buildings and other shelters , their initial shock giving way to discontent and even despair . the homeless included more than one tenth of this city 's population of 1.5 million and many others in surrounding areas . in kobe , they gathered mostly at city hall and 471 other public buildings and schools that have been converted into shelters . with water , food and gas in short supply , city officials were worried about food panics or epidemics , though so far such problems have not occurred . kobe 's government said today that it would build 2 , 000 temporary homes , but it appeared likely that that might not be enough . as of mid afternoon , 4 , 124 people were confirmed dead and 729 were missing , according to the national_police_agency , making the earthquake that struck tuesday morning the deadliest in japan since the one that destroyed tokyo in 1923 . more than 21 , 600 people were injured and more than 30 , 000 buildings damaged or destroyed by the temblor , which japan 's meteorological agency measured at 7.2 on the richter_scale . prime_minister tomiichi_murayama toured the area on thursday and said the government would consider a special supplement to the national budget to finance the response to what he called a disaster " beyond anyone 's imagination . " but his appearance just added fuel to a growing feeling of discontent here over what is seen to be the government 's slowness to mobilize . and despite the prime_minister 's reassurances , many people are coming to the grim realization that their lives and the city 's commerce will not return to anything even near normal for months , if not years . though the national and local_governments now seem to be moving more aggressively to alleviate shortages of food and water , some victims and analysts complain that the authorities were initially too lethargic in responding to the catastrophe . " they say they will build new houses , but they ca n't build all the houses for 200 , 000 people all at once , " said seiichi kusudo , 61 , whose home was first knocked down then burned in the earthquake . " it 's going to take many years . " since the earthquake occurred , mr . kusudo has been sitting on the floor of a city ward office covered by blankets . hundreds of other people are crammed side by side , leaving only a narrow path for walking . there is no heat in the building and no running water , so the toilets are filthy and smelly . there was no electricity for two days either , making it pitch black at night . " we eat only once a day , " mr . kusudo said . " we only wait for the relief goods to come . " like many of the shell shocked kobe residents , mr . kusudo said he had no idea how he would buy a new home . the death toll surpassed the 3 , 769 killed in an earthquake of magnitude 7.1 that occurred in june 1948 in fukui prefecture , central japan . the great tokyo earthquake of 1923 , which measured 7.9 on the richter_scale , killed more than 140 , 000 , mainly by fires . soldiers , the police and firefighters continued to comb the wreckage of buildings looking for survivors . a dozen specially_trained dogs arrived on thursday from switzerland to help in the search . while the odds of finding survivors are growing slimmer , rescuers on thursday recorded a handful of near miracles . on thursday afternoon , rescuers noticed a futon poking up from the rubble of an apartment building in nishinomiya , near kobe . when they turned it over , they found 9 year old shinsuke yamada . one 80 year old woman in that city was able to walk away after being rescued from the wreckage thursday , her eyeglasses still intact , according to the kyodo_news service . but the death toll mounted far more quickly . at murano technical high_school , one of the places in kobe designated for collecting bodies , 532 had arrived as of thursday evening . three rooms reserved for the bodies filled to capacity , so tents were set up outside for them . bodies wrapped in blankets lay on the ground as family members huddled around them sobbing . funeral parlors are overloaded , so kobe is considering holding mass funerals . " i think some people feel that the people who died in the same disaster should be buried together because they shared a destiny , " said dr . kaneatsu miyamoto , the director general of kobe 's public_health bureau . the united_states embassy in tokyo said a second american woman had been killed in the quake , but it withheld her name . the first american reported killed was voni lynn wong , 24 , a teacher from los_angeles . there was some progress toward bringing the city back to normal . electric power was restored to many parts of kobe on thursday , so fewer than one third of the city 's people remained without power , officials said . kobe 's subway has resumed some operation , and cars bumped along the damaged asphalt . bullet_train service is to be restored to osaka , near kobe , on friday . but gas and water service are still out for about two thirds of the population , a city official said , and almost all shops in the damaged areas remained closed on thursday . bullet_train service west of osaka through kobe is likely to take three months to restore , railway officials said . long lines of people formed in front of water trucks and the few convenience_stores that were open . the city of kobe , worried about a " food panic , " has been urging stores to stay open late , seiichi sakurai , a spokesman for the city said . so far , the people have endured the long lines in an orderly fashion , much as they do their daily commute on crowded trains . another concern is health problems either from contaminated water , or from the flu , which was already prevalent here and which could spread quickly through the shelters , dr . miyamoto said . doctors and nurses are being brought in from other cities , he said . hospitals are strained . hyogo hospital in kobe was already full with flu patients when the earthquake occurred and had to send quake victims elsewhere , said itaru horimatsu , the general_manager of the office . nhk , the public_broadcasting corporation , reported that at the central hospital in nishinomiya , patients were sleeping on the floor . prime_minister murayama , on his trip here , viewed a hospital in which the fifth floor had collapsed , forcing the patients to be evacuated . he also went to an elementary_school being used as a shelter , urging the temporary residents to keep their chins up and saying the government would help . but inside the hospital that the prime_minister visited , hisano tanaka was not convinced that the government would help . " we have n't received anything from them at all , " said mrs . tanaka , who has been living in the lobby of the hospital with her frail mother since her apartment was badly_damaged . " his policies are so ambiguous . " the criticism is mounting because the government did not decide until wednesday , a day after the disaster , to send the self_defense forces , japan 's military , to help in the rescue . " quake toll at 3 , 083 response finally on , " a front page headline in the asahi evening news said thursday . it also appears that the government relied on crowded roads to send supplies , although recently helicopters have been used . many people here say they have come to rely on friends and family more than on the government . mrs . tanaka , who complained that she had not washed her face in three days , said her son had brought her water , traveling five hours on motorcycle through traffic clogged roads . even the friendly neighborhood gangsters are helping out . the yamaguchi gumi , japan 's largest organized_crime syndicate , was offering free food and water from its headquarters in one of kobe 's badly_damaged wards . about 200 people gathered outside as word spread on thursday , according to the kyodo_news service . it is a peculiarity in japan that the offices of organized_crime syndicates function openly in many parts of many cities , often with the tolerance of the police . the syndicates carry out extortion , gambling and prostitution rackets but also are seen in many areas as protectors of order in the neighborhood . the big factories making steel , rubber and auto_parts remained closed today . at kobe_steel , one of the largest private employers in the area , the blast furnace is shut down , partly because of light damage and mainly because of lack of power and water . it will take at least one month to resume operations , said hideaki ochi , general administration manager . the industrial impact is spreading beyond the area affected directly by the earthquake . for instance , mazda , the automaker , said it would close a production line in hiroshima for about a week because it cannot get needed parts from a supplier in the kobe area . but in a country oriented toward business and imbued with a spirit of customer service , even a huge earthquake could not keep some people down . junizo morimoto was poking around on thursday through the rubble of the building that had housed his home and dry_cleaning shop on a street where virtually all the homes and small shops were destroyed . his elder sister , sleeping on the first floor , had died when a wall fell on her . mr . morimoto was not looking for family momentos or valuables , however , but for the shirts and other clothing belonging to his customers . " it is my responsibility to return them , " he said . " i 'm going to clean them and return them . " to guard the clothing from theft even though there has been virtually no looting in kobe mr . morimoto and his family slept on the street in front of their collapsed former home in near freezing_temperatures . the japanese character showed in other ways as well . even as they stayed in uncomfortable public shelters without food or water , some people said they would not move in with relatives because that would be imposing . " japanese houses are really just big enough for the family alone , " said mr . kusudo , at the ward office . " we feel more relaxed in the shelter than in our children 's home . " quake in japan the overview | has a location of japan |
when japan was chosen as the site of this year 's conference on climate_change , it relished the chance to play host to a landmark meeting to help save the planet from global_warming . the meeting , to be held in the ancient capital of kyoto dec . 1 to 10 , was supposed to demonstrate japanese leadership and to show that japan is ready to achieve its dream of a permanent seat on the united_nations_security_council . but these days , some officials worry that the meeting will turn out to be not a triumph but a fiasco . ''i 'm very worried about it , '' said kazuo aichi , a former cabinet minister who is now a pro environment member of parliament . ''this will be a test not only of the environment but also of japanese diplomacy . '' the problem is that the kyoto conference was intended to be a historic convention that would commit countries to cuts in emissions of heat trapping greenhouse_gases like carbon_dioxide , which mainstream scientists believe are linked to global_warming . but now that the time for sacrifice is approaching , some countries are losing their enthusiasm . there is even some possibility that japan will preside over a conference that simply falls apart . ''there is that possibility , but we would like to make utmost efforts to avoid the chance that we have no agreement at all , '' said a senior japanese government official involved in preparations for the meeting . prime_minister ryutaro_hashimoto is caught in a double crossfire on this issue . one is the international battle over whether to require sharp cuts in emissions and if so , to whom to apply them . any agreement that mandates sharp restrictions or places them only on industrialized_countries may be torpedoed by washington , while one that places a significant burden on poor countries may not get their backing . the other crossfire is taking place among japanese bureaucrats , who , as usual , are telling the country 's leaders what positions to adopt . the environmental agency is insisting on steep cuts in emissions , while the ministry of international_trade and industry says that is preposterous . mr . hashimoto seems to be leaning toward a compromise that would require industrialized_countries to cut their carbon_dioxide_emissions by the year 2010 to 5 percent below their 1990 level . that is much weaker than the european proposal for a 15 percent cut below the 1990 level but it may still be tougher than the united_states is willing to accept . president_clinton is convening a major conference on the issue monday and is expected to decide on the american position later this month . some japanese are demanding that their government do more to influence the united_states now . ''the kyoto conference will not succeed if japan simply watches america 's reaction and follows it , '' the asahi_shimbun , probably japan 's most influential newspaper , declared in an editorial . ''the government should change its thinking so that it can set a higher target and lead america . '' still , mr . hashimoto knows that the final treaty needs america 's backing to be effective . the united_states produces 22 percent of the world 's carbon_dioxide_emissions , far more than any other country . ''without the united_states , we cannot make it , '' the senior official warned . ''the u.s . is vital to this negotiation , and we have to find a solution that is acceptable to it as well . '' the japanese plan that is emerging would adhere to some american suggestions that would effectively ease the burden of the cuts . for example , the treaty would allow trade in emission rights and permit developed countries to get credit for reductions that they help bring about in developing nations . the prime_minister has yet to decide who will be the chairman of the conference , largely because of skirmishing within the bureaucracy . in the meantime , the dispute has left a vacuum in japanese preparations . japan saw this forum as ideal for displaying its leadership . japan 's ''peace constitution'' rules out military leadership but tokyo has had a long time interest in the environment . now , though , as the kyoto meeting looms as a far greater challenge than was expected , it raises the risk that it will harm japan 's chance to win a seat on the security_council . the asahi_shimbun quoted an unnamed cabinet minister as reflecting , ''it was from the beginning a mistake for us to take on the host nation 's role . '' | has a location of japan |
hundreds of people gathered in tokyo , locking arms and singing ''we shall overcome'' to protest the adoption of textbooks they say whitewash japan 's world_war_ii history . the protesters , who included japanese , south koreans , chinese and filipinos , surrounded the education ministry to denounce the middle_school books . china and the koreas have demanded that japan reject or amend them . howard french ( nyt ) | has a location of japan |
lead after several days of controversy that has embarrassed the governing liberal democratic_party , japan 's finance minister has denied saying that the growing number of women seeking higher_education are responsible for the sudden decline in japan 's birth_rate . after several days of controversy that has embarrassed the governing liberal democratic_party , japan 's finance minister has denied saying that the growing number of women seeking higher_education are responsible for the sudden decline in japan 's birth_rate . the finance minister , ryutaro_hashimoto , who is considered a strong candidate to become prime_minister in coming years , was quoted in the japanese press and by some of his own colleagues as suggesting at a cabinet meeting last tuesday that japan should rethink its policies of promoting college education for women . in a letter on saturday , mr . hashimoto said , ''it was distressing and damaging for me to be accused of having made a statement i had not actually made . '' but his letter left many questions unanswered and seemed unlikely to quell what mr . hashimoto himself termed a ' 'strong fury among japanese women . '' a raw nerve the reports of his comments have struck a raw nerve for an increasingly assertive population of young japanese , particularly women . awareness of women 's issues has grown significantly since last year , when the votes of women proved decisive in ending the liberal_democrats' control of the upper_house of parliament . nonetheless , the reaction to mr . hashimoto 's remarks clearly took the ruling party by surprise , and its leaders have spent much of the last few days furiously backtracking . ''it has become an issue , '' said kuniko inoguchi , a professor of political_science at sophia university , ''because the declining birth_rate really reflects the fact that the government 's policies have failed to provide young japanese couples with better amenities in life , like bigger and more affordable_housing . ''we do n't want politicians looking for other causes , or suggesting that the problem is the fault of women , '' professor inoguchi said . ''people want an honest recognition that the country 's policies are hostile to young couples that want to have bigger families . '' sharp decline in birth_rate japan 's birth_rate has fallen precipitously in recent years . a government study released several weeks ago said the average number of children that a woman in japan could expect to have in her lifetime dropped to 1 . 57 in 1989 . in 1965 , the figure was 2 . 14 . in the last few years the decline has accelerated , stirring concern among government and business leaders . japan already suffers from an acute labor shortage economists are questioning whether the labor force will be large enough to sustain planned economic expansion in the early 1990 's . few politicians are willing to call for a sharp increase in the birth_rate , in part because such a move would be reminiscent of japanese policy before and during world_war_ii , when the government urged women to reproduce as quickly as possible to preserve the japanese empire . jun shiozaki , the minister of japan 's management and coordination agency , told reporters after the cabinet meeting last tuesday that mr . hashimoto had urged the education and labor ministries ''to examine the relationship between higher_education for women and the birth_rate . '' confused accounts japanese newspapers went further , quoting mr . hashimoto as saying that higher_education is ''contributing to lowering the birth_rate . '' the reports suggested he had left the strong implication that japan should rethink its policy of encouraging young women to go to college rather than marrying and beginning families early . another senior government official who attended the meeting gave a nearly identical account of mr . hashimoto 's comments . by late wednesday mr . shiozaki had changed his account , saying that mr . hashimoto had said nothing about the birth_rate but rather had requested a ''comprehensive study on the relationship between higher_education and its impact on employment in general . '' in his letter , mr . hashimoto said the decline in japan 's birth_rate ''is usually explained by a change in attitude toward marriage the physical , psychological and economic cost of raising children and the housing problem . '' father of five mr . hashimoto is the father of two boys and three girls , a very large family by japanese standards . he noted in his letter that his wife and one of his daughters are college graduates . ''against this background , '' he wrote , ''the real meaning of my statement was that , in view of the decline in the birth_rate and the acute labor shortage in japan as well as the increase in the ratio of people seeking higher_education regardless of their sex it was time for the government , especially the ministries of education and labor , to review its policies regarding higher_education . '' professor inoguchi said the election results last summer marked ''a sort of a threshhold'' for awareness of women 's issues . ''the society has become much more sensitive to comments tinged with sexism . '' | has a location of japan |
in a neighborhood where hearses and teetering buildings underscore the devastation of last week 's great earthquake , the army has set up special tents that for many residents are the main landmark in the restoration of vital services . the tents contain public baths , and the thrill they have aroused illustrates the way kobe and neighboring cities are beginning the slog back to normality . japanese are among the most scrubbed people on earth , and their army may be the only one that travels with communal baths . estimates of the damage caused by the quake are rising steadily and now often exceed 100 billion . the transport ministry said the cost of repairing railroads alone would be about 40 billion , but whatever the amount the work is proceeding . stores are reopening , some schools are summoning students to class and every day more families are getting back telephone lines and electrical connections . demolition experts are tearing down wobbling buildings , and rail service is steadily being extended closer to kobe . more than 5 , 000 people died in the earthquake , and some japanese are probably scarred forever by the jolt of finding the bodies of spouses or children . yet in more tangible ways , kobe is making a remarkably quick recovery . factories and offices are partly back to work , and everyone has shelter , food , water and access to a nearby portable toilet equipped with spare rolls of toilet_paper and sometimes a mirror on the door . the 310 , 000 people left homeless by the quake welcome all the ways in which life is getting better , but it was the return of public baths that really got kobe excited . in a nation where cleanliness is almost a fetish and drug stores sell disposable underwear , the earthquake victims had been stoical about the loss of houses and jobs but could not help grumbling about the lack of bathing facilities in the shelters in which they have been encamped . " i 'm so excited i can have a real bath now , " said toshiko hakenaka , a 66 year old woman who stumbled across the army established baths this afternoon . " i 've been cleaning myself with wet tissues , but now i can have a real bath . i 'm going to dash home and get my friends and get some clean underwear , and then i 'll be back . " mrs . hakenaka said it would be her first bath since the earthquake on jan . 17 . but some people have traveled in the last few days to osaka despite a round trip of up to eight hours to indulge in the public baths there . now , with baths in the area , some said they planned to bathe twice a day . so the bathers soaped and scrubbed themselves in the army tent separate sections for men and women , the modern way rather than the mixed bathing that used to be common and then simmered in a communal vat of steaming water for as long as they could endure it . a couple of other public baths also have reopened in kobe , to huge lines . in the shelters , the prime gossip is about the baths and about special discounts that baths in osaka offer to quake victims . bulldozers and backhoes from all over japan have been rushed to kobe , and they are visible on almost every street . the first step is to cart off the rubble , but other workers nearby are already busy on the next step assembling 11 , 000 tiny prefabricated homes on parking_lots and other bits of spare ground so that some of the homeless can move out of school gymnasiums . electricity and phone service has been restored almost everywhere in kobe , but running water will not return for another month to many areas . gas supplies are also cut off for the next few weeks . although schools are beginning to reopen in the kobe area , particularly in neighborhoods that were not badly_damaged , more than 290 remain closed . an informal survey suggests that in the hard hit areas very few schools are open . many are still packed with hundreds of refugees , and the city will have to figure out what to do with them before it can resume classes . " i like it these days , because i do n't have to study , " said kaori nakamura , 11 , who lost her home and is now camping outside a shelter in a tent . " i play around with my friends , and sometimes i go out and collect firewood . " most children interviewed seemed to feel the same way . they did not exactly voice approval of the earthquake , but so long as they had not lost friends they seemed willing to put up with endless days of games and camping out . " i like living in a shelter here , " said kukori morimoto , 7 , as she played with a donated lego set in a camp for hundreds of people in a school gym . " i can make friends here , and i can get on television . and now i can get in a newspaper . " kukori 's mother has other ideas , however , and is about to send the girl to another city . families all over japan have volunteered to put up the children of quake victims , so kukori has grumpily agreed to live with one such family and go to school there . " we did n't want her to get behind in her studies , " the mother , kazuko morimoto , said as kukori grimaced . shops and supermarkets are reopening throughout the earthquake zone , and most are able to restock with trucks from osaka . there have been some reports of price_gouging , but most shops are charging the same prices as before the quake . yoshiharu yamone 's bakery , for example , is again fragrant with the aroma of sandwiches , danish pastries and loaves of bread . the bakery was undamaged by the earthquake . but mr . yamone 's mother in law died a day later , apparently of shock , and two of the bakery 's employees lost their homes and are no longer able to work . the lack of running water has complicated the baking process . despite such difficulties , mr . yamone said the bakery was gradually returning to normal . he said he also intends to reopen a neighboring toy shop that he owns when he finds people to replace the sales employees , who have left the area to stay with relatives . asked if he had raised prices to whatever the market would bear , mr . yamone paused in momentary shock , and rushed to say that such a tactic would be unthinkable and would only offend his customers . " my customers have been so good to me , " mr . yamone said , " that i feel badly about charging any money at all . " | has a location of japan |
crowds build ever so slowly around zensaku sakurai , a sidewalk crusader who berates japan 's leaders for what he calls their arrogance , corruption and failure to serve the needs of real people . political apathy has long been the norm in this country . but with mr . sakurai 's followers brandishing political banners and charts that purport to track the failings of members of parliament , people stop one by one to listen these days . many nod in approval or even volunteer to join the movement . but in a country where direct criticism of others even public figures strikes an uncomfortable chord , there are always one or two people who jeer him and denounce what he is doing as ''un japanese . '' the hecklers are not the only people jarred by mr . sakurai 's movement , known as the rakusen undo , or blacklist campaign , the most successful of several grass roots movements that are catching fire here . members of the governing party and its coalition partners , who are already on the defensive as hotly_contested national elections scheduled for june 25 draw near , have shown their anxiety by crying foul . ''movements like these are not democratic , '' muneo suzuki , campaign director of the liberal democratic_party , which has governed japan for 43 of the last 45 years , told the daily asahi_shimbun . ''there is a fear that opposition candidates may take advantage of this campaign . their criteria are not clear , and it is not appropriate for the media to report about it . '' its aim is to encourage people to vote against politicians who receive low ratings from the movement . the unlikely figure at the center of the campaign , mr . sakurai , is a lifelong , but until now mostly solitary , activist who operates from the kitchen in his modest suburban home . ''as a people , the japanese are deeply reluctant to criticize others , and always mindful of harmony , we never want to stick out , '' said the salt and pepper haired 65 year old retired insurance_company employee . ''in general that means that people do n't express their thoughts , '' he said , ''especially in politics . the result is a perpetuation of the status_quo . '' if that were not enough , over the years the government has created rules that seem intended to stifle insurgencies by reformists . independent candidates , for example , are sharply limited in the number of campaign posters they are allowed to put up . recently the government outlawed partisan campaigning on the internet . and there is already talk about sharply limiting , or even barring , movements like the blacklist campaign . mr . sakurai cut his teeth in dissent in the loneliest of ways , taking the leaders of the liberal democratic_party to task for corrupt schemes like the lockheed scandal , a defense contract kickback_scheme in the early 1980 's . he has also long railed against what he sees as the party 's gradual encroachment on the constitution . how his movement has gained steam , finally , is an illustration of the unpredictable nature of political cross fertilization brought about by technology , particularly the internet . south_korea 's far more vibrant civil_society successfully introduced the theme of fighting corruption in politics into the most recent legislative elections with a similar blacklist movement . more than 50 politicians who were targets of the campaign were defeated at the polls . mr . sakurai is unabashed in acknowledging that he is imitating the south_korean effort . he says he more or less copied wholesale the south_korean model of using the internet to generate voter complaints about politicians in the interest of barring the worst of them from re election . ''we may not be as successful as the koreans , '' mr . sakurai said . ''but they showed us how to trigger something . '' he seems to be attracting interest . there have been well over 100 , 000 hits on the blacklist campaign 's web_site , a very high number for japan . and the group has been inundated with complaints about politicians . there are so many volunteers these days that mr . sakurai said he no longer recognizes all of them . the change comes after japan 's years of economic drift and a string of blunders by the new prime_minister , yoshiro_mori . ''for such a long time the japanese people have been prohibited from thinking for themselves , '' mr . sakurai said . ''this is the legacy of the prewar imperial system in which people were trained merely to accept and not to ask questions . i feared that we were going back to that system . ''the purpose of our campaign is to make the voters realize that they possess our sovereignty . '' | has a location of japan |
for audiophiles lusting after the latest japanese gadgets but not prepared to take off for tokyo and snatch them up in person , an entrepreneur named kohn liu thinks he has the answer . his online store , audio cubes ( audiocubes . com ) , sells electronic goods that are hard to find or unavailable outside japan , like wooden audio technica headphones ( 459 ) and a roll up yamano piano keyboard ( 279 ) . mr . liu , 24 , got the idea for the site in 2001 as a tufts_university undergraduate studying in japan . there he noticed stores selling headphones in various styles and colors . ''the kind of trend that 's in the u.s . for the consumer is , they 're looking for bargains , where in japan they 're looking for the newest , the most feature packed product , '' he said by phone . having started a site for aficionados of the sony minidisc in 1999 , mr . liu sensed an unmet american demand for japanese creations . he started audio cubes in march 2002 , initially selling mostly headphones , earphones and some minidisc players and recorders . now the boston based site also offers car stereos , japanese toys and more . he has also started audio cubes ii ( www . audiocubes2 . com ) , a site carrying high end audio devices . some american customers said the audio cubes sites satisfied their urge to get hot products quickly from the other side of the world . ''the service was very good , and they were able to ship the things over to me in a very timely manner , '' said john tverdik , 53 , of burnsville , minn . , who bought a 230 pair of stax headphones at the site . there is a drawback the products typically lack a manufacturer 's american warranty . audio cubes products have a one year japanese warranty unless otherwise stated . the store will replace defective items , and accepts returns on unused headphones and earphones for a limited time after purchase . santiago barela , 34 , who owns a karate school in pueblo , colo . , had a problem with one of his orders in august . he had to pay to send his sharp minidisc recorder back to japan , where it was repaired . nonetheless , he 's pleased . ''i 've had a great experience , '' he said . rachel metz site specific | has a location of japan |
lead baedeker , the trusted world travel guide , offers some forbidding advice to a horseplayer visiting japan ''betting is under state control and offers poor odds . in particular the system is so complicated that it is virtually impossible for foreigners to participate . '' baedeker , the trusted world travel guide , offers some forbidding advice to a horseplayer visiting japan ''betting is under state control and offers poor odds . in particular the system is so complicated that it is virtually impossible for foreigners to participate . '' to this foreigner , that sounded mighty like a dare , and the challenge was accepted . we were merely willing to dine on eel and jellyfish , and merely resigned to paying 8 for a cup of coffee , but absolutely determined to make and cash a bet here in the land of the rising yen . there are two types of thoroughbred horse racing in japan at small regional tracks , where second class racing is conducted by local_governments , and at the major tracks , where rich racing is conducted by the national government under the auspices of the japan racing association . being broad minded sort of travelers , wishing to taste the full variety of japanese culture , we thought it was only right to try both types . a night at the races the first stop was oi rhymes with ' 'snowy'' a local government track located eight miles south of tokyo . oi is sort of the meadowlands of japan , presenting horses a notch below the very best but the only night racing in town . our japanese hosts provided the local racing sheets . there are five competing versions of the equivalent of the daily racing form , all printed only in japanese . we were , however , able to make out the system by which the public handicappers designated their top selection a double hoop above the horse 's name seemed to mean ''best bet . '' we have made larger bets on even less information . so it was decided to risk 5 , 000 yen about 38 on the chances of a son of kauai king named kauai fountain , no . 8 in the program . he also was the top choice of a selector calling himself ''chief track man . '' there was nothing terribly complicated about the betting system . accompanied by an interpreter , who proved unnecessary , we walked to the window , handed over 5 , 000 yen and held up eight fingers . ''win ? '' asked the clerk . we nodded , and the bet was struck . kauai fountain won easily at odds of 3 to 1 , and the international bankroll was up to 15 , 000 yen . we stayed for only one more event , and managed to give back only 6 , 000 yen on a slow grandson of northern_dancer . takamatsu no miya cup several days later , we tried again at chukyo , a huge , modern track near nagoya , the nation 's third largest city with a population of more than two million . the featured event was the grade two takamatsu no miya cup , at 2 , 000 meters ( just about the kentucky_derby distance of 1 1 4 miles ) . the heavy favorite was oguri cap , who began his career at the local government tracks and made a rare leap to the major circuit , where he had won four consecutive stakes races , as if a claimer from west_virginia had become the best horse at belmont_park . oguri cap , a 3 year old grandson of native dancer , might have won some or all of japan 's triple_crown races this spring , but he was not nominated to them because of his humble beginnings . his chukyo debut was also his first start against older horses , but he was still the 1 to 10 favorite , far too short a price for any self respecting horseplayer to accept . it was time to move into the realm of exotic betting , to hook up oguri cap with someone else in the race in order to improve the price . the only forms of betting offered at japanese tracks are win place and quinella , so the latter was the way to go . who would run second to oguri cap ? the public selectors all favored a son of bravest roman named land hiryu , meaning flying dragon , and we liked two longshots who looked lively in the paddock . so we decided to go for broke and divided our 9 , 000 yen bankroll into three parts , taking quinellas of oguri boy with land hiryu and our two longshots for 3 , 000 yen apiece . oguri boy rallies it should have been a superfecta . oguri boy rallied strongly to run down land hiryu in deep stretch , with the two longshots finishing third and fourth . what an easy game ! we went to cash our winning 3 , 000 yen quinella with one of the ticket clerks . either baedeker was right about the odds being poor , or we had just hit the smallest quinella in asian racing history , the equivalent of 3 . 40 for 2 , or 5 , 100 yen for our 3 , 000 yen quinella . we could have done nearly twice as well just putting the whole 9 , 000 yen on oguri cap to win . our profits for the trip were now down to a single tin coin worth 100 yen , about 77 cents . but not to despair . one can buy many things for 100 yen in japan these days , such as a box of wooden matches , or about an eighth of a cup of coffee . in any language , it beats losing . | has a location of japan |
as he listened to the questions being translated into japanese , his sunglasses were perched atop his blue " la " cap and he held his hands behind his blue jersey with " dodgers " in white across the chest above a red 16 . sometimes he smiled , sometimes he shook his head , sometimes he muttered , " mmmmmmm . " but when hideo_nomo was asked if he was overwhelmed by all this attention , he answered quickly , in english . " yes , " he said . at tonight 's all star game , more clouds than stars will be in baseball 's sky because of its lingering labor dispute , but between all those clouds is a rising sun . hideo_nomo is the dawn of the future , not only the first japanese player to merit making an all star squad but the national_league 's starting_pitcher . sometime in the next decade or two there will be a real world world_series our world_series champion against japan 's best team . " that 's the japanese obsession , " said tom lasorda , the dodger manager . " to have a real world_series and beat the americans . " when that happens , hideo_nomo , a 26 year old right hander whose wife and son have remained in japan , will be remembered as the first japanese missionary who proved he was as good as any of our major_leagues' best . " the level of play in japan is pretty much the same as it is here , " he said . " there are talented players in japan just like here . " nearly half a century ago , jackie_robinson was the first of the african_american players in the big leagues , then roberto_clemente , orlando cepeda , juan marichal , minnie minoso and luis aparicio were the best of the early latin_american players . and now there 's hideo_nomo . " the all star game is not just americans , " he said . " i see more coming here from all countries , not just japan . " but when asked if he felt any " undue pressure " because of all the attention on him , he listened to the translation and had another quick answer that his interpreter , kent brown , relayed . " no , " he said . at a sturdy 6 feet , 2 inches and 210 pounds , he has a 6 1 record with a 1 . 99 earned_run_average . his opposing batters are hitting . 158 . his 119 strikeouts lead the league his 50 strikeouts over four starts broke the dodger record of 49 that supposedly had been chiseled in granite by sandy koufax . he 's done it with a windup that resembles a fast_food counterperson turning to grab a hamburger before tossing it onto a tray . " i did n't have anybody to teach me , " he said , alluding to his windup . " this is the way i learned how to throw that is most effective for me . " his forkball , alias split fingered fastball , is his two strike pitch . " i listened to others in japan , " he said , " and developed my own . " maybe his second time around the league , he wo n't be so effective . maybe he 'll develop arm trouble . but over five seasons with the kintetsu_buffaloes of japan 's pacific_league he had a 78 46 record with a 3 . 15 e.r.a. , including 1 , 204 strikeouts . he declared his " voluntary retirement " there in order to be eligible to go to the united_states to pitch . accompanied by an american agent , don_nomura , he visited the seattle_mariners and the san_francisco_giants before stopping in los_angeles , then was scheduled to visit the yankees , the atlanta_braves and the florida_marlins . when the dodgers owner , peter o'malley , offered a 2 million signing_bonus to go with the 109 , 000 minimum salary , he signed . o'malley had relied on information from what he called a " great number of longtime friends " in the orient over four decades of dodger trips there . " when he came to vero beach , " lasorda recalled , " i told our coaches , 'i do n't want nobody trying to change him . let 's see what he 's got . ' his windup did n't bother me . luis tiant got hitters out with that windup . " but in spring_training his pitches were higher than lasorda wanted . in japan , where the strike_zone is higher than it is here , those pitches had been called strikes . but the n.l . strike_zone is much lower than the japanese strike_zone , even lower than the american_league strike_zone . " when he gets two strikes , watch out for the forkball , " lasorda said . " and he 's been striking out good hitters . " tonight he 'll be facing the american_league 's best hitters . but he knows who they are , saying , " i 've seen them on television . " and they know who he is . | has a location of japan |
in its 4.5 billion years of existence , the earth has withstood both deep cold that nearly turned the entire planet into a ball of ice and blazing heat that opened the arctic to alligators and other warm_weather creatures . compared with that , and even with far less extreme climatic swings in the 10 , 000 years since the end of the last ice age , today 's climate for all its sometimes sharp variations is remarkably stable . now , for the first time , humans are altering the atmosphere in ways that mainstream scientists believe are threatening to shatter that relative_calm and set off a new round of climatic disruptions and extremes . starting today , representatives of some 150 countries will meet in kyoto , japan , to take what they hope will be the first step in a decades long effort to cope with the prospect of global climate change . rarely , if ever , has humanity made an attempt like this one to exercise deliberate , collective foresight on a risk whose full impact is unclear and will not be felt for decades . and rarely has any question on the global bargaining table been so difficult . the negotiators' task is to agree on measures that would begin to reduce emissions of waste industrial gases that trap heat in the atmosphere . chief among these ''greenhouse'' gases is carbon_dioxide , which is spewed into the air every day around the globe by the burning of coal , oil and natural_gas in power_plants , factories and motor_vehicles . the world runs on these fuels , and any action to control their use would reverberate in every corner of the global economy . this attempt to manipulate the world 's energy system has set off a complex clash of economic and political interests . among other things , it pits rich countries against poor ones , rich countries against one another and the nations and industries that produce fossil_fuels ( as well as some industries that use them heavily ) against much of the rest of the world . even as the great majority of players say they accept the need for common action , each is making its own calculation of cost and benefit , advantage and disadvantage . the panel of scientists from around the world who advise the negotiators under united_nations auspices has said that if no action is taken , the average surface temperature of the globe will rise by two to six degrees_fahrenheit by the end of the next century , and more after that . that might not sound like much , and it is a far cry from the deepest cold and hottest heat of the remote past . but it is not trivial the difference between the average temperature now and that at the depths of the last ice age , some 20 , 000 years ago , is only five to nine degrees . it would be more warming , coming more rapidly , than the planet has experienced in the last 10 , 000 years , the period in which human civilization arose . it could profoundly affect the earth 's climate . the seas would rise , according to the panel of scientists , inundating many coastal areas and swamping small island nations . the world as a whole would become rainier , with most of the increase coming in the big downpours that cause floods . at the same time , drought prone areas would get more droughts . climatic zones would shift away from the poles , the scientists predict . since the warming would be unusually rapid , many natural ecosystems might be unable to adjust , and whole forest types could disappear . growing seasons are already lengthening in northern latitudes , and temperate zone agriculture might benefit in the long run . but in dry areas , like much of africa , warming could bring agricultural and economic ruin . tropical diseases like malaria and dengue fever could spread . and while temperate zone winters would be milder , summer heat waves would be more intense and deadly . the list goes on . such forecasts , of course , are rife with uncertainty . but many scientists believe that much of the impact is unavoidable . the implication is that preventive action to head off the risk , however uncertain , should have been taken years ago . but who knew ? it has been only two decades since 20th_century scientists , with their computer models , first began to make numerical forecasts of climate_change , only one decade since the issue first burst into the public consciousness and only five years since the nations of the world gathered at rio de janeiro and signed a treaty aimed at preventing dangerous climatic change . for much of the last two decades , scientists have cited a doubling of atmospheric carbon_dioxide concentrations to 560 parts per million from 280 parts per million before the industrial_revolution began in the late 18th_century as a threshold of concern . if that threshold should be reached , they say , the air at the earth 's surface would warm by anywhere from a relatively moderate three degrees to eight degrees , a_level at which the impact of some of the predicted climatic changes could assume catastrophic proportions . now many are saying that it may not be possible to prevent a doubling late in the next century . the world 's economic and political systems cannot turn on a dime , they say , and they argue that the real task now is to prevent concentrations from growing beyond a doubling , to possibly even tripling or quadrupling . those concentrations , they say , would bring certain climatic catastrophe . in the meantime , the world may have to learn to adapt . not everyone is so pessimistic . environmentalists' goal is to stabilize carbon_dioxide concentrations at about one and a half times the preindustrial level , then to begin to gradually reduce them . although that might still cause some disruption , they believe , it would head off the most damaging effects . there remain contrarians who say the problem has been overblown and may not exist . given the uncertainty that permeates climate science , even many experts who are not skeptics argue for modest action until the extent of the problem is clearer . as has been the case all along under the 1992 rio treaty that governs the kyoto talks , the industrialized_countries are expected to take the lead in setting specific targets for reducing emissions . the rationale , based largely on considerations of equity , is that they got rich by burning fossil_fuels and are responsible for most of the problem . but developing_countries are also to undertake specific commitments at some point because their emissions will probably surpass those of the rich nations in two decades or so . when that will happen , and how , will be a big issue in kyoto , possibly a deal breaker . if the talks collapsed , the process would not be over because discussions would certainly resume at some point . but proponents of action argue that valuable time would be lost . at rio five years ago , the rich nations adopted the voluntary goal of stabilizing emissions at 1990 levels by 2000 . but many nations , including the united_states , will miss that target . proposals now on the table for the meeting in japan call for legally_binding reductions . they range from reducing the rich countries' emissions to 1990 levels by around 2010 ( proposed by the united_states ) to cutting them to 35 percent below 1990 levels by 2020 ( proposed by the developing_countries ) . none of the proposals would reduce emissions enough to keep overall atmospheric concentrations from rising . but , given the political reality , those proposals probably define the range of what can be achieved just now . some environmentalists believe that it is possible to emerge from the talks with cuts sufficient to preserve the option of eventually stabilizing concentrations at one and a half times preindustrial levels . they also say it is possible in kyoto to send a signal to industry that business as usual must change . some experts who argue caution , on economic grounds , believe likewise . but other interested parties , including oil producing countries and many american manufacturers , argue that any action now risks unacceptable short term economic damage . environmentalists counter that by insisting that in the long run , cutting fossil_fuels would make the economy more efficient . at most , kyoto will be a beginning , not an ending . global_warming | has a location of japan |
before gloom , doom , fog and brown_tide swallow up major_league_baseball , let this be said its all star game outdraws those of all other sports . there is still potency in one of the beleaguered sport 's family jewels . but how much of that power will be evident tonight during abc 's telecast ? will the game 's nielsen_rating approach last year 's pre strike 15 . 7 ? will it drop by as much as baseball 's 20 percent attendance decline ? will the relative meaninglessness of the midseason exhibition be rendered more meaningful than before ? will viewers opt instead for nick at nite 's " i love lucy " 8 11 p.m . marathon ( including stomping grapes in italy ) , nbc 's " frasier , " cbs 's " rescue 911 " or american movie classics' " thunderhead son of flicka " ? for abc 's tim_mccarver , a player in the 1966 and 1967 all star games , and the broadcaster of six others , the first post strike all star game the first post strike broadcast network game may be of paramount importance . " it could be a good jump start for the second half if it 's a great_game with great performances , " he said yesterday from arlington , tex . " if hideo_nomo strikes out seven of nine hitters . if tony gwynn gets four or five hits . i think it can really escalate attendance in some ball parks and get people talking . " mccarver who felt his glove hand nearly flatten from tom seaver 's stinging fastballs in the 15th inning of the 1967 game said that he expects to feel subtle pressure to do or say something extra to make tonight 's game special . " i do n't feel any direct pressure , " he said . " realistically , i 'm not going to make any overly dramatic comments . you try to handle this like any other all star game , with the realization that it 's not like any other . it should be like any other one , and in this one , the big story should be nomo . it 's not an important game , but it 's important to baseball . with the atmosphere , it is more important than the six others i 've done . " but whether it 's a blowout , a slugfest or a pitchers' duel , no one should make too much of the all star game . it 's no secret that only a labor deal can change baseball 's tarnished image , not personal appearances or autographs . " saying players will sign autographs had a ring of artificiality to it , " he said . " but it 's an unfair rap . in what other sport are players supposed to sign autographs a half hour before the game ? do fans lean over the boards at hockey for autographs ? as long as there 's speculation a labor deal wo n't be done , why should a fan invest money in tickets to games ? " the strike 's damage may continue to be discussed , but that 's not what concerns pancho ito , the self proclaimed tim_mccarver of the fuji television crew that will call the all star game for viewers in japan . that concern is , naturally , nomo . fuji tv , and nhk , a second network , will carry the game live . " forty to 50 percent of all baseball fans will watch , " he said . " we 're expecting a 15 rating . " that compares with a 25 to 30 for the japan_series . ito said there are more japanese players in their prime playing years who want to play in the major_leagues . " they want to play in the big leagues , " he said , " but i think the league president might be very upset . " the party most upset by nomo 's smashing first half season with the dodgers is his former team , the kintetsu_buffaloes , for whom he played since 1989 . said ito " their president resigned after he could n't get nomo to stay . " but for the most part , ito said , japanese fans are happy about nomo 's 6 1 start , as evidenced by the run on nomo merchandise in japanese stores . " we 're all very excited , " he said . " it 's fanatastic . " how do you say , " oh , baby , i love it , " in japanese ? at the net nbc 's john_mcenroe was scintillating on the wimbledon telecasts , whether it was insulting ivan_lendl 's golfing skills , joking about his tantrums as a player , or being brazenly blunt about a player . chris_evert , already working at a high level , seemed enlivened during her time on air with him . dick enberg was a quantum leap more at ease than he is on golf . what of bud collins ? relegated to interviews , he was almost invisible . i missed his madcap ways and historical knowledge , but not his grunts or chattering . nbc and hbo both paid a lot more money to retain their wimbledon rights and they got good news nbc 's wimbledon men 's final telecast on sunday produced a 5.6 overnight nielsen_rating , up 68 percent from last year the women 's final on saturday rated a 5 . 3 , up 4 percent . hbo 's overall rating rose 36 percent . the good and the bad good yarns about boston 's mo vaughn and others made nbc 's " baseball 's brightest stars " on saturday worth watching . . . . espn 's " voices of the game , " about great baseball announcers , was so good that it begat a disappointing sequel , which will air on sunday . this one uses 20 voices to tell the story of franchise movement and expansion but the presence of so many means no single one says much . . . . jim dolan , doing fill in weekend sportscasting at wabc_tv channel 7 , tosses around creative yet lugubrious phrases like " smoking like a pinto in a rear end collision " to augment clips . it 's amusing but numbing jim , relax , turn down the volume . tv sports | has a location of japan |
the standard way to begin a letter in japanese is ''haikei , '' an honorific that can be literally translated as ''your enlightened worship . '' so it was a problem when a young businessman miswrote a few strokes as he penned the characters , inadvertently beginning the letter with ''you enlightened piece of waste . '' that kind of writing mistake seems to be becoming more common in japan , and in some other parts of east_asia where chinese_characters are used for writing . one of the culprits is computers people get used to tapping a couple of keys and having the computer write the character , so they forget how to do it themselves . ''i can read characters for grape or soy sauce , but i ca n't write them , '' said yuri abe , 28 , a manager at kirin beer company , who writes every day by hand and is studying for national exams on characters . ''i also have problems with names of people or names of fish or birds . '' it may seem odd that japanese have difficulty writing ' 'soy sauce , '' a character that most people see just about every day of their lives as they add the sauce to their food . but while soy sauce in japanese is simple enough to pronounce ( ' 'shoyu'' ) , it takes 25 strokes to write the chinese_characters . ''the only time i write by hand is when i write envelopes and when i have to fill out forms , '' said tsunao ogino , a 43 year old japanese linguistics professor , who admits he is forgetting his characters . ''when it occurs to me that we need spinach and soy sauce , i write an electronic message to my wife , even if she is in the next room . '' of course , americans constantly forget how to spell words that they see all the time . but the problem is greater in the places that use chinese_characters japan , china , south_korea , taiwan and hong_kong . when the cultural agency in japan researched the effect of word processors , they discovered that nearly 40 percent of respondents said they had become more forgetful in writing characters . forgetting a few dots , or even one , can have huge repercussions . for satoko katano , 27 , a public_relations employee at sanyo electric company , the lapse in handwriting sometimes makes her frown . her name actually means ''wise child katano . '' but on the pages of a sloppy writer , her first name sometimes turns into ''haji'' and takes on a new meaning ' 'shameful child katano . '' ''it happens when they write by hand , mostly when i receive letters or new year 's cards from younger people , '' miss katano said . miss katano says she does n't see so many mistakes on new year 's cards from her adult colleagues , but one reason for that is that these days people are so lazy that even the new year 's cards are printed up . even so , there is likely to be the odd mistake , so that when the wrong character is used , the traditional ''year end party'' becomes the ''losing all senses party . '' writing chinese_characters , or kanji as they are called in japan , takes much more discipline and practice than writing english letters . japanese uses far fewer kanji than chinese , and japanese also use a couple of alphabets based on pronunciation . so if a japanese does n't remember just how to write a character , it is possible though declasse to write it in hiragana , an alphabet based on pronunciation . japanese children start out by memorizing 80 characters by second grade , going all the way to 2 , 000 characters to allow them to read a newspaper in high_school . still , only 16 . 3 percent of test takers pass a national kanji exam that requires about 2 , 000 characters . these days , more children are choosing computers over calligraphy , and sometimes even grade school teachers have lost their talent for teaching the traditional brushes . ''at school , teachers themselves ca n't write well anymore , '' said yuichiro oshiro , 25 , a calligraphy instructor who teaches children how to write kanji . ''so they ca n't teach how to write properly anymore . '' china uses far more characters than japan most educated chinese adults can read about 5 , 000 characters but in mainland_china many people can still write fairly well because they have not been spoiled by computers . but in taiwan and japan , a growing number of people use computers they peck in a couple of keys to get the pronunciation of ' 'shoyu'' or ''jiangyou'' in mandarin_chinese , and the pre formed character for soy sauce appears on the screen . reporters at asahi_shimbun , a major national daily , are drilled to watch for common blatant errors . unless they are careful with their handwriting , ''his majesty the emperor'' becomes the ''emperor under the staircase , '' and the first name of tomiichi_murayama , the former socialist prime_minister , changes from ''place of wealth'' to ''number one rich . '' a local newspaper in southern japan had to publish a correction several months ago when it misprinted the word for embassy , or literally , ''hall of the ambassador . '' instead , it printed a character with an extra line in a strategic place that could be read as ''hall of feces . '' kirin beer company began encouraging its employees to take kanji tests after a manager became fed up with the mistakes in company memos . ''some employees could not even write the easiest kanji , and used hiragana in documents for business , which is shameful it would be shameful to disclose such documents to the public , '' said kohsei tabata , a public_relations manager at kirin who is studying for the highest level national kanji exam . in contrast to his father 's generation , mr . tabata said , japanese children no longer diligently study chinese poems or chinese philosophy in the original . ''we have no such learning anymore , '' he added . ''it 's like europeans using latin . '' tokyo journal | has a location of japan |
kyoto , traditionally the home of emperors , was rocked by the earthquake and suffered some cultural casualties , but no human ones . the capital of japan from the 8th to the 12th centuries , kyoto is a tourist favorite , and its gardens , shrines and temples have a relaxed and traditional flavor . it lies about 40 miles northeast of kobe . while most buildings survived intact , cracks developed in the golden pavilion , which was built in the 14th century . the cracks apparently do not threaten the structure . this was not the first time the building had been damaged . in 1950 , the pavilion burned to the ground after a fire set by a religious zealot and was rebuilt . cracks were also reported in the pagoda of the daigoji temple , built in the 10th century and reputed to be the oldest structure in kyoto . three statues in koryuji temple , founded in 622 , were toppled one lost its right arm . six statues of the goddess of mercy in sanjusangendo hall also fell over . there were no reports of deaths or injuries in kyoto . | has a location of japan |
lead as mike_tyson glowered , hung his head in boredom and bobbed to music only he could hear from the earphones he wore , the subject that had many onlookers abuzz at the heavyweight champion 's last news conference before his fight sunday was whether or not they would meet donald_trump and michael_jackson . as mike_tyson glowered , hung his head in boredom and bobbed to music only he could hear from the earphones he wore , the subject that had many onlookers abuzz at the heavyweight champion 's last news conference before his fight sunday was whether or not they would meet donald_trump and michael_jackson . the scene was a measure of the relatively flat interest in the fight . in an effort to add some spark , tyson 's publicity people had spread the word that trump and jackson were coming to town for tyson 's bout with the earnest underdog , james ( buster ) douglas , no less to announce details of tyson 's next fight in june with evander_holyfield . the publicists also let it slip that the rolling_stones , in tokyo for a concert two days after the tyson douglas fight , had inquired about tickets . but the rock stars need not have asked for any special favors so far , only about 60 percent of the 63 , 000 seats in the tokyo_dome , known as the big egg , have been sold for the fight , said a dome official . the rock concert , also to be held at the dome , has been sold out for weeks . big difference in two years two years ago tyson created a sensation in tokyo when he came to fight tony tubbs . japanese reporters and cameramen followed tyson 's every step japanese fans pawed at him , then spoke in awed terms as tyson pummeled the challenger into the canvas in the second round . the novelty has clearly worn off , with the only real flash of interest being a knockdown tyson suffered during sparring two weeks ago . he insisted at the conference today that it was a slip . tyson has met with a nearly 500 pound sumo_wrestler and has visited a martial_arts school , but he has not been swarmed with quite the same enthusiasm . japanese sports reporters said , barring an upset victory by douglas , they doubted that the tyson douglas fight would outdo the headlines made this week when hideyuki ohashi , a japanese straw weight contender , ended a two year drought of japanese occupying world boxing titles by knocking out a korean , choi jum hwan , and taking the crown . kazuhiro imanishi , deputy sports editor of nikkan sports , a daily newspaper , said part of the reason for the lukewarm interest is the feeling that there was no real competition for tyson . discouraging prices imanishi added that with ticket prices 50 percent higher this time it costs 150 , 000 yen or a little more than 1 , 000 for ringside seats and the prospect that the fight will last just a few minutes , many fans have been discouraged . tyson has a_37 0 record , with 33 knockouts . for his part , douglas has been training hard and was cool today , even after tyson kept him waiting 30 minutes before arriving for the news conference . dressed nattily in a suit , douglas waved to his friends , said he weighed 230 pounds , about 4 pounds heavier than he wanted to be sunday , and emphasized that he thought he was in the best mental shape in his career . douglas , the son of a professional fighter , has a 29 4 1 record . tyson strode in wearing a t_shirt and jeans . he declared himself in perfect condition , and then stunned both his manager , don_king , and the audience by responding to a question about his mental preparation by saying ''if you ca n't fight , you 're . . . . '' and then a japanese translator used an expression for the unprintable english , one which roughly meant ''in a difficult position . '' is tyson 219 or 223 ? tyson said he weighed 219 pounds , but a member of his staff said his weight was closer to 223 pounds , a bit over his best fighting weight . after the news conference , douglas said he gave little credence to reports that tyson had not trained hard and was not in good shape . that opinion was seconded by trevor berbick , a former heavyweight contender , who is here as one of tyson 's sparring partners . ''let me tell you something , '' berbick said in an interview . ''this guy is ready . i hurt my elbows hurt . he nearly took my head off a couple of times because i did n't know he was taking this so serious . he has never been in better shape . '' berbick , who lost in a seventh round_knockout to douglas two years ago , gave the challenger what he considered a compliment . ''i think he 'll last four or five rounds , '' berbick said . | has a location of japan |
vice_president al_gore arrived here today hoping to ''generate some momentum'' in talks on what to do about global_warming , and immediately said he had told the american delegation ''to show increased negotiating flexibility . '' even as mr . gore signaled that the united_states might make some compromises , however , he indicated that it remained committed to its original position on reducing rich countries' emissions of heat trapping greenhouse_gases . ''we came to kyoto to find new ways to bridge our differences , '' mr . gore told a high level gathering of ministers from more than 150 countries as they opened the decisive three day session of the kyoto talks . but in so doing , he said , ''we must not waver in our resolve . '' the united_states , he continued , ' 'remains firmly committed to a strong , binding target that will reduce our own emissions by nearly 30 percent from what they would otherwise be a commitment as strong , or stronger , than any we have heard here from any country . '' the administration has said previously that it would achieve the 30 percent reduction by cutting its emissions of greenhouse_gases back to 1990 levels between 2008 and 2112 . that is the target it proposes for all industrialized_countries . environmentalists and european delegates say that target is too low , while representatives of the fossil_fuel industry say it is too aggressive . the vice_president extended an olive_branch to the developing_countries , who have resisted the united_states' entreaties to commit themselves to some sort of new emissions control action . ''we understand that your first priority is to lift your citizens from the poverty so many endure and build strong economies that will assure a better future , '' he said . ''this is your right it will not be denied . '' but he reiterated the american desire that developing_countries and rich ones participate in joint efforts to reduce emissions in the poorer nations . senator chuck_hagel , republican of nebraska , said that mr . gore had a ''prime opportunity'' to ' 'make a strong case for why all the nations of the world must be included in any agreement , '' but that ''instead of asking for binding commitments from developing nations , he offered grand rhetoric on global understandings . '' what form new american flexibility might take , should it develop , was unclear . mr . gore linked it to the adoption of a broad framework encompassing both market mechanisms to reduce emissions and the ' 'meaningful participation of key developing_countries . '' senator john h . chafee , republican of rhode_island , said the call for flexibility did not necessarily mean that the united_states would change its position on targets and timetables for emissions reduction , and that there were other areas of possible compromise . one , said senator joseph i . lieberman , democrat of connecticut , might be the number of greenhouse_gases included in an agreement . senator lieberman called the speech ''an important statement that could break the ice jam and result in a major agreement . '' some environmentalists also portrayed the speech as a breakthrough . ''at the eleventh hour , the vice_president 's statement has given us some cause for hope , '' said john_adams , executive director of the natural resources defense council . fred krupp , executive director of the environmental defense fund , said the speech ''provided the key to unlocking the global gridlock which has paralyzed the negotiation process . '' other environmentalists were not so positive . greenpeace expressed ''extreme disappointment at the speech 's failure to commit the u.s . to reducing its greenhouse_gas_emissions . '' representatives of the fossil_fuel and energy intensive industries like the auto_makers were cool to the speech . william f . o'keefe , chairman of the global climate coalition , an industry group , said the reference to flexibility ' 'suggests that the delegation is willing to go beyond the president 's policy . i think that only means greater trouble for the economy . '' as the vice_president spoke , perhaps 48 hours remained in which to forge an agreement . while differences had narrowed on some major issues , none were settled . two big areas of concern are under discussion . one is the extent to which industrialized_countries should reduce emissions of greenhouse_gases , and on what schedule . the other is the question of the near term role of developing_countries in helping solve the problem . with the endgame under way , many participants in the talks believed , a settlement was within reach on the question of the rich countries' commitments . the european_union has proposed cutting emissions of the three principal greenhouse_gases carbon_dioxide , methane and nitrous_oxide 15 percent below 1990 levels by 2010 . japan has proposed cuts ranging from 2.5 percent to 5 percent below 1990 levels for the same three gases . the united_states favors cutting average emissions for the period 2008 through 2112 back to 1990 levels , but it would include three other greenhouse_gases hydrofluorocarbons , perfluorocarbons and sulfur hexachloride . all six gases trap heat in the atmosphere , although carbon_dioxide is by far the most important . the combined effect of the gases , many scientists say , will raise the average global temperature by 2 to 6 degrees_fahrenheit by 2100 if emissions are not reduced . this , say the scientists , would cause the oceans to rise , rains to become heavier , floods , droughts and heat waves to become worse , ecological and agricultural zones to shift northward and growing seasons to become longer in northern climes like those of canada and russia . the european_union also proposes that its member countries be allowed to meet a unionwide cut of 15 percent by requiring some member countries to make deeper cuts while allowing the emissions of others to grow . | has a location of japan |
as if the rumbling earth had not created enough misery here , the skies opened up today and poured down more of it , with heavy rains in kobe threatening to touch off landslides and topple earthquake weakened buildings . the rain complicated the search for nearly 200 people still listed as missing after the deadliest earthquake in japan in more than 70 years . the death toll approached 5 , 000 tonight and seems likely to exceed that number later this week . rescue teams said the downpour had soaked through the rubble of collapsed homes and other buildings , mixing the debris with a torrent of thick mud . scores of families had to be evacuated from their homes in the mountains behind kobe because of the threat of landslides . a 78 year old woman and a 66 year old man were pulled to safety here today after spending almost 128 hours buried beneath their toppled homes , but the police said it appeared that they might be the last of the missing to be found alive . " for me , the rain is just one more bit of suffering , " said sumihisa suji , 64 , a kobe businessman who spent the morning in high rubber boots , trudging to the home of friends to make sure that they were safe . with what remained of the day , he said , he planned to make inquiries about a way to hurry the cremation of his 68 year old sister , who was killed when her house collapsed in kobe , trapping her beneath heavy furniture . her body is now stored in a coffin in the home of her eldest_son . " i am told by the authorities that they cannot do the cremation until the very end of the month , " said mr . suji , whose voice took on the tone of stoicism so common now among the survivors . " in japan , we must cremate the bodies , " he explained . " it is our tradition . but so many people are dead that we must all wait . there are too many bodies to burn right now . " despite the cultural necessity , few cremations can be carried out now , as a result of structural_damage to the city 's funeral homes and the desperate shortage here of the natural_gas that is needed . the bodies threaten to become a serious public_health problem in this city of 1.5 million people , since there is also not enough dry ice to preserve them until the cremations can be performed . city officials have begun to talk of the need for mass burials for the hundreds of bodies stored in school gymnasiums , classrooms and other makeshift morgues . the rain came down in torrents at times today , but mostly it was a chilly , gray drizzle that captured the mood of many in kobe who , while grateful to have survived the quake , have grown weary of the daily routine of simply surviving . " in the first day and second day and third day after the earthquake , you felt lucky to be alive , " said manabu takai , 30 . " now , the depression of it all is setting in . we are all very tired . " mr . takai , whose small family owned gallery specialized in ancient japanese ceramics , estimated that he lost about 30 , 000 in quake damage to his shop . almost all of the hundreds of delicate antique plates and pots on show in the gallery , including several that dated from the edo period of the 17th_century , toppled over from their display cases during the quake , shattering . and that is not the worst of it , since he is not certain that the gallery itself can be salvaged . like most businesses here , the gallery had no earthquake insurance , which was prohibitively_expensive . " all of my family survived , so of course we are lucky , " mr . takai said . " but i do not know how we can start over again . " as the rain began to fall this morning , thousands of blue plastic sheets were hurriedly spread across hundreds of acres of the shattered skyline , the only hope that the owners had of preventing the rain from soaking through what remained of their homes and offices . for many of the thousands of homeless in kobe , plastic sheets donated by the government were all that they had to protect them from the cold and wet . ishii kenichi , 44 , a printer , pointed up at the blue plastic sheet that was all that stood between him and a drenching in the rain . " this is our roof , " he said , shaking his head and smiling at what had become of his neighborhood in nagata , an area of kobe devastated first by the earthquake and then the fires that followed . " this is our house . " mr . kenichi and several of his neighbors are living beneath a plastic sheet stretched between trees in a tiny public park , the boundary of their new home marked by maroon velvet chairs salvaged from a restaurant . some of mr . kenichi 's neighbors sleep in their cars . others risk returning at night to sleep in their crumpled homes . " we would go to the shelter , but it is already full of people , " said yoshi tsuda , 78 , who was here in the open air with her husband , kichinomii , 82 , a retired carpenter . " we are all right . we have good conversation , and we have enough to eat and drink . " she nodded to three cans of beef stew that were bubbling over a small hibachi set on the pavement . kobe was the target today of a welcome invasion , as thousands of people from other parts of japan found their way into this city by car , ferry or foot , using their sunday to bring food and other supplies for family members and friends who had been caught in the earthquake . " i have tried to call my friend many times , but it is impossible to get through on the telephone , " said tsutomu ioku , 63 , a retired school teacher from osaka who came by ferry today to search for nobuko miyoshi , 23 , a member of his hiking club . " i have known her for one or two years , and i am very worried about her . " he first went searching for her in shelters set up in public schools near her apartment . he carried a maroon vinyl knapsack in which he had put cans of condensed milk and paper towels that he hoped to give to miss miyoshi , a secretary , and her family . wherever he went , he posted handwritten signs with his name , telephone_number and the message " please contact me , if possible . " after an hour of searching , mr . ioku found the apartment building . its walls were cracked , with large chunks of the pale stucco wall blocking the walkway leading to miss miyoshi 's sixth floor apartment . he walked over the rubble and knocked on the door . miss miyoshi answered . " oh , ioku san , " she yelled . " i am so happy . how did you get here ? it has been so terrible for us . thank you , thank you for coming . " walking into the apartment , its floor still covered with shards of glass , mr . ioku told miss miyoshi how he had tried to telephone her . " i was worried , because i did n't know what had become of you and your family , " he said , beginning to unpack his gifts from the knapsack . " i feel so lucky to find you and to see you are safe . many people are not as lucky as i am today . " | has a location of japan |
suddenly , droves of women on this city 's crowded subways are gazing intently into tiny cell phone screens , checking their messages and then laboriously tapping out replies . just as abruptly , office workers are fumbling with the tiny gadgets to confirm their evening plans the moment they step out of company headquarters , their faces glued to the monitors almost as if they were navigational aids . even giggly teenage couples meeting in cafes often seem to reserve their dreamiest gazes not for their dates , but for the e mail messages constantly popping up on the flip top phones by which many measure their popularity nowadays . as if all at once , e mail has arrived in japan . if any further proof were needed , the official statistics are in 10 million e mail capable telephones are now in use throughout the country . japan had been one of the slowest developed countries to take to e mail , thanks in part to the paucity of home computers . but by next year , according to some industry estimates , internet usage in japan will be the highest in the world , largely as a result of the explosive spread of cellular_phones . given the frenzied way that correspondence by cellular_phone is taking the country by storm , it is only natural to wonder what in the world people are saying to each other with such urgency ? try , ''what are you eating for lunch ? '' or ''where are you now ? '' said 16 year old satoko ishihara , reading two of the latest messages from her little phone as she took a break from her part time job . then , after typing in the message ''i drank too much last night , '' came this flash , ''my friend just got her hair dyed red , but does n't like it , so she 's decided to cut it off . '' on the evidence , the strained eyes and linguistic gymnastics required to enter substantial amounts of text into this country 's ultra compact phones are sacrifices made for little more than the smallest of small talk . but people are chattering in stupendous , fortune generating volumes nonetheless , and pulling it off , characteristically for the japanese , in highly innovative ways all the while . with the cellular_phone , the japanese have married the ever faster world of the internet with the seemingly ever smaller world of japanese gadgetry , and the repercussions for life here , for the japanese_language and for the future of technology are still being tallied . it has long been noted here that space is the biggest handicap to the widespread use of personal computer . many japanese homes are so small that the living room doubles as the dining_room , before finally becoming the bedroom , once the dishes are cleared . but with the cell phone , known here as the keitai , the japanese have enjoyed a pocket sized privacy a portable realm where children and lovers are able to lead discreet lives , away from the prying ears of parents and others . with the introduction of rudimentary internet_service on millions of cell phones here last year , this private realm has just been dramatically expanded people 's telephones now double as portable offices . and making this work has required another feat of miniaturization with the country 's written language . four different writing systems are in constant , simultaneous use in japan , making it one of the world 's most semiotically challenged societies . japanese have long enjoyed abbreviation , but to be practical , writing on a typical 15 button keyboard calls for hyperconcision . the typical new year 's greeting here , ''akemashite omedeto gozaimasu , '' for example , was rendered this year as simply ''ake ome'' on millions of mobile_phones . still , even this kind of pruning is not enough , given the multiple strokes needed to produce the right chinese character , from a choice of about 2 , 000 commonly used ones , for a given word . for this reason , cellular_phone makers like docomo , the industry leader here , and others have added a whole new set of symbols to the linguistic stew 200 or so pictographs depicting simple objects like golf clubs , karaoke boxes , movie projectors , food , and faces reflecting various emotional states , all of which are now used in combination with ordinary writing to form words . think of the happy face run wild . thus , ''please call me'' is written as a symbol for telephone , followed by kure , a shortened version of a request word . ''would you like to go out for a drink tonight ? '' has been radically shortened by the picture of an overflowing mug , followed by the verb ending used in invitations . ''once you get used to the symbols it is very convenient and very quick , '' said maiko yagi , an 18 year old high_school student who sat with two friends in a cafe , corresponding with another friend by phone about an all night party that weekend . ''my keitai is always with me , and with e mail i am never out of touch . '' in the short time that cell phone e mail has been in use , there are signs that these kinds of linguistic sleights of hand are spreading into general usage . young women seem to be the lead innovators . ''if something becomes part of everyday life , there will be an influence on writing , '' said hiroyuki sasahara , a researcher at the national language research institute in tokyo . ''people have actually begun to use these symbols in their handwritten letters . '' mika okabe , 19 , had no time for linguistic arguments . indeed , given the hundred e mails she said she taps out each day on the two mobile_phones she carries everywhere , she would seem to have little time to spare for anything else . she is so adept at writing with her phones that she does so without looking . her telephones have become the center of her life , a virtual place where she hangs out , meets new people , arranges blind dates and gets news from others in bite sized doses . ''we keep our chats short because the screen is limited to 200 characters , '' she said . ''it is cheaper than calling someone on the phone , and moreover , it is fun . for my generation , that has made it pretty much universal . '' | has a location of japan |
lead she is the michael_jordan of figure_skating , a dazzling athlete of uncommon skill who performs at a_level unattained by many skaters , unattainable by most others . she is the michael_jordan of figure_skating , a dazzling athlete of uncommon skill who performs at a_level unattained by many skaters , unattainable by most others . ''i remember watching her in practice last year , '' said jill trenary , a three time american champion . ''i was in awe of how high she jumps . i did n't expect her to be as good as she was . '' and now , as the women 's competition of the 75th world_figure_skating_championships begins wednesday , midori_ito of japan may be even better . in the year since she won the 1989 world title in paris , she has found ways to bring her artistic scores closer in line with the typically high technical marks that reflect the difficulty of her programs . last year , she became the first and remains the only woman to complete a triple_axel jump , the only triple in which the skater takes off from a forward position , spinning three and half times in the air before landing . her free skating program includes that little trick , five other kind of triples , seven triples altogether . even if she were to falter this week , losing to trenary or evelyn grossmann of east_germany , the european champion , or another of the 29 women competing , ito 's absence from the victory podium would appear to be only temporary . this is the last major tournament to include compulsory figures , an exercise in which skaters cut loops on the ice and trace them twice . they count for 20 percent of a skater 's overall score , which makes them not unimportant . she 'll miss compulsories compulsories are the weakest of ito 's skills , and their passing would be like telling jordan he had to play only offense . ''in training , i spend about two thirds of my time on the figures , '' she said at a crowded news conference on monday . ''so i will sort of miss them as part of my life . but i will not miss them in the actual event . '' she smiled as she spoke , and that has always been part of her charm since she burst into international prominence at the 1988 calgary olympics , where katarina_witt of east_germany won her second consecutive singles title . after placing 10th in compulsories , ito skated the fourth best short_program and third best freestyle to finish fifth over all . at the conclusion of her performance , the audience was on its feet , roaring . ito , smiling and waving , was so overwhelmed , she left the ice by the wrong exit . later that year in budapest , she had her best finish in four world championship appearances , finishing sixth . then last year came her breakthrough . with witt and most of the other past olympians retired from competition , ito soared to new heights , winning the world title to earn uncommon prominence for a 19 year old daughter of ordinary japanese citizens . upon her return home to nagoya , she found herself a frequent target of admiring , sometimes intrusive fans , wanting handshakes , autographs , even pictures . invitation to meet emperor in june , she was invited to meet emperor_akihito , a rare honor for athletes other than sumo wrestlers . by the end of the year , she was regarded as something between a national hero and a shrine , her victory earning recognition as japan 's top athletic performance of 1989 . ''i could not even go to a doughnut shop without people recognizing me , '' she said through a translator . she is five months short of her 21st birthday , just 4 feet 9 inches , but chunky at 97 pounds . her legs are unusually thick and are the power source of her remarkable jumps . and , can she jump . the ability became apparent not long after she discovered skating , at the age of 4 . the first time she stepped onto a rink , in nagoya , she spotted machiko yamada in the middle , giving a lesson . ito wobbled over and said she , too , would like to learn . today , yamada is still her coach . in the 1981 world_junior_championships , she completed three triple_jumps , an unheard of accomplishment for an 11 year old , to win the free skating and finish eighth over all . four years later , she landed five triples in competition . a quick study in jumping ''as a child , i could master the jumps , '' ito said . ''jumps that took others three hours to learn in practice , i learned in an hour and a half . '' although she barely grew , she found that her height , especially the length of her legs , did not impede her development . she was not only adding jumps , she was jumping higher , and by last year in paris , higher than ever . trenary , a 22 year old skater who was fourth in the olympics , found herself in ito 's practice group then . a skater known more for style than strength , trenary remembered being somewhat unnerved by the experience . ''it bothered me , '' she said . ''i did n't realize what a perfectionist midori was . '' as usual , when the paris competition began , ito was trailing the leaders after compulsory figures , this time in sixth place . trenary was second , behind claudia leistner of west_germany . but ito won the two skating programs , leaving leistner second and trenary third . still , for all the honors that followed , she was unsettled by the usual manner in which she won the title . she decided she wanted more grace in her routines , more elegance and beauty . the answer was ballet lessons . artistry is new challenge ''last year , the challenge was the triple_axel , '' she said . ''since i can do that now , this year i am trying to be more artistic . '' in the months since paris , the new efforts have proved worthwhile . she won the japan national championship for the fifth consecutive year and the nhk trophy , a prestigious annual international tournament in japan , for a fourth time . her success over the years , however , has not come without personal cost . when she was 6 , her parents separated , and she moved in with yamada 's family . she spoke of the episode delicately . ''i do n't have much memory of what happened , '' she said . ''i merely did what i was told . she accepted me as one of her children , so i did n't feel it was a hardship . '' even now , she rarely sees her parents , who have never watched her perform anywhere outside of japan . communication is more frequent by telephone , and the situation is not likely to improve . eyeing long term objectives while she was vague about her intentions beyond this week , the obvious long term objectives are far flung . among them are the olympics of 1992 and 1994 , the first on the new four year cycle , or the start of a professional career . ''i am still undecided , '' she said , looking a bit perplexed . but ask her about the near term and she brightens a quadruple_jump , she said , is within reach . only one skater , kurt browning of canada , has landed one in a major competition . ''if i am in condition , i will try it next year , '' she said , for now , leaving the most tantalizing question of all for another time . how long before you can dunk ? | has a location of japan |
colds and flu_viruses , the medical aftershocks of last month 's devastating earthquake , are rippling through the refugee camps where 270 , 000 people live huddled together in classrooms and tents here in western japan , and some of the fragile elderly are dying of the flu . but this week when an american relief organization offered to fly as many as one million doses of flu_vaccine to kobe within 48 hours , free of charge , the government politely declined . the health and welfare ministry explained that japanese made vaccines would be sufficient , even though by its own calculation it would not have enough vaccine ready for nearly two more weeks . the rejection of foreign flu_vaccine is not a surprise . elements in the japanese bureaucracy were also unenthusiastic , at least initially , to offers of foreign doctors to treat the injured , foreign dogs to sniff out those buried alive , foreign medicines to heal the sick , and foreign undertakers to prepare the dead . a mountain of tylenol still sits in a locked warehouse because officials expressed concern that it may not be appropriate for japanese bodies . normally it is western business executives who gripe about bureaucratic stonewalling as they try to penetrate the japanese market . but in the aftermath of the earthquake that was centered here , the biggest losers and complainers have been the japanese people themselves . " when the japanese government refuses aid , it 's not following its heart it 's just acting out a diplomatic game , " said kazuko tatsu , a 61 year old woman living among several families in a classroom of a school surrounded by the rubble of less solid buildings . mrs . tatsu 's eyes danced angrily as she referred to japanese press reports about the agriculture ministry 's attempt to enforce a quarantine against four french dogs that had been rushed to kobe to search for people entombed alive in the debris . the dogs did not in the end have to go through the quarantine , but their arrival was delayed until four days after the jan . 17 earthquake , and by then it was too late for them to do much good the nine victims that the dogs sniffed out through the rubble were all dead . " the government officials should be able to switch their minds more quickly in an emergency like this , " said mrs . tatsu , who added that she would like a flu shot as soon as the vaccine is available . " we do n't really care what 's happening among the top officials , but we 're very grateful for the help . " medicine tylenol sits in a warehouse japan proved to be formidable market to crack even when the aim was not to sell medical supplies to japan but to give them to the sick . that much is apparent inside the locked doors of c warehouse on rokko island , just offshore from kobe . in a corner on the cement floor are 14 forklift pallets of tylenol . an american relief organization , americares , rushed the tylenol to kobe as part of a planeload of medical supplies sent immediately after the earthquake . with 26 , 000 people injured in the quake , the tylenol seemed an appropriate contribution . but tylenol is not licensed for sale in japan an arduous process and japanese officials set it aside . health officials complained that the dosage might be inappropriate for japanese bodies , according to andrew hannah , executive vice_president of americares . ( similar arguments have been used before a cabinet minister once declared that japan need not admit american beef because the meat would not be compatible with japanese intestines . ) it is true that doses vary . a capsule of extra strength tylenol contains 500 milligrams of acetaminophen , the active ingredient . japanese products similar to tylenol contain only 300 milligrams of acetaminophen . the problem with the government 's concern about earthquake victims overdosing on a capsule of tylenol is that some of the japanese pain relievers like noshin , a well known product advise taking two capsules at a time , or 600 milligrams of acetaminophen . health and welfare ministry officials deny that they are keeping out foreign goods , and say that in this emergency situation they are willing to allow the entry of medicines that have not been approved in japan . mr . hannah of americares said he was informed by the authorities on thursday that the tylenol which he had been ready to ship to the philippines since it could not be used in kobe would now be distributed among the earthquake victims . yet , even if the authorities say they have shifted their stance , the 14 pallets of tylenol remain stacked in c warehouse on rokko island . a spot check at several clinics for earthquake refugees turned up no sign of tylenol , and none of the doctors had heard of it . decisions the system falters in emergencies the japanese authorities were cool to foreign offers of assistance in part because they did not realize how bad the damage was . prime_minister tomiichi_murayama learned about the disaster only when he happened to turn on the television . once the government had made a decision to accept a particular offer of assistance , it was usually efficient and helpful , say officials with americares and other relief organizations . the problem lay with reaching a decision in the first place , partly because the japanese authorities operate by a process of consultation and consensus building called nemawashi . " the japanese bureaucracy is very good when there 's time for nemawashi , " a senior japanese official said . " but it 's weakness is that it works poorly in an emergency , when decisions are needed fast . we already knew that this problem existed , but it became much more obvious after the earthquake . " the foreign ministry emphasized the logistical difficulties of responding immediately to the offers . terusuke terada , the foreign ministry spokesman , noted that the central government had to check with the local authorities and then arrange transportation to the disaster area as well as interpreters and accommodation . " our method took a bit too much time , " mr . terada acknowledged , adding that japan is in fact very grateful for all the offers of foreign assistance . the government , to be sure , was lethargic in the earthquake 's aftermath about using domestic resources as well as foreign ones . its slowness in calling in army troops to dig people out was blamed by one japanese magazine for one third of the 5 , 243 deaths in the quake , and another magazine accused the government of a " massacre . " " this red_tape was known by the japanese people , but now people have come to see it more clearly , " said yuriko koike , an opposition legislator from the kobe area . " it 's not just the bureaucrats , but also the regulations . they do n't want to make any exceptions , even in emergencies , because that would threaten their raison d'etre . " red_tape bureaucrats and gift horses foreign donors were often taken aback by the penchant of these bureaucrats for peering into the mouths of gift horses . the japanese subsidiary of motorola rushed 150 cellular_telephones to kobe after the earthquake , when regular telephone service was disrupted . motorola offered to lend the telephones free of charge and pay for all the calls , but the kobe city authorities replied that the phones could not be given out unless they had kobe city stickers on each of them . " i was like , 'say what ? ' " recalled robert m . orr jr . , a motorola executive who had helped to lug the telephones to kobe , partly by foot and bicycle . mr . orr said he and a colleague ended up preparing and affixing the stamps themselves . foreign doctors who flew to kobe also encountered difficulties . health officials initially suggested that they could treat the victims only after becoming licensed in japan . the foreign ministry intervened , and the foreign physicians were allowed to care for the sick . despite enormous difficulties in handling the bodies of those killed in the earthquake particularly because no refrigeration or dry ice was available the authorities also declined offers of assistance from american and british teams of undertakers , according to jeffrey e . mullenhour , who headed a team of japanese based embalmers who were allowed to work in the disaster area . mr . mullenhour says his team was allowed in only because they were already working in japan , but he adds that the authorities appeared to grow more flexible and cooperative as time went on . " i feel that , god forbid , if this situation were to happen again , they would be more receptive in the future , " he said . vaccine more is refused despite rationing in the case of the flu_vaccine , the authorities refused the assistance from americares in the united_states on the basis that they already had enough vaccine . yoshinobu hirayama , an official in the health and welfare ministry , said that the authorities already have 20 , 000 doses enough for 10 , 000 people , since two shots are needed and that 30 , 000 more doses would be prepared next week . by the middle of the month , mr . hirayama said , there will be enough flu_vaccine for 200 , 000 people . for now , however , flu_shots are being tighly rationed . they are being offered at only a handful of sites , for limited hours , and only to those 65 and over . several doctors interviewed in refugee centers said that while the vaccinations would have only limited effectiveness against the several varieties of flu making the rounds , it would still be best to give the shots quickly to as many people as possible . doctors said some elderly people had already died of the flu and related_illnesses . a survey by kyodo_news service reported 24 deaths by illness among the elderly refugees in nine days in just a part of the disaster zone . " resistance seems lower than usual , because of poor nutrition and because of the cold , " said dr . hideyuki nushida , a volunteer at one of the refugee clinics in kobe . " if we had enough vaccine , it would be good to vaccinate everyone . but for the younger ones , it 's not a big problem if they catch the flu . " some of the obstacles to foreign assistance come not from the government but from local doctors . like people everywhere , they are most comfortable with products they already use . dr . masanori matsumoto , for instance , said after being told of the issue that he would not use tylenol even if it were on hand in the refugee clinic where he works . " i would use the medicines that i 'm familiar with , " he said . " i think the health and welfare ministry is right to keep out foreign medicines with different dosages . " yet even if the authorities and doctors sometimes are cool to offers of foreign assistance , the people in the shelters themselves could scarcely be more enthusiastic . " i do n't know where you 're from , " kiyotsune yamamoto , a 60 year old steel worker whose home collapsed in the earthquake , told a visitor to his refugee center . " but i want to thank you . we 're so grateful for the foreign help . " | has a location of japan |
before lou_piniella could finish his answer , the giggles started bouncing through the room . at a postgame news conference on sunday , piniella , the tampa_bay_devil_rays' manager , explained why hideki_irabu looked different while pitching for the hanshin_tigers in an exhibition_game . his understatement needed no translation . ''he looked much more relaxed pitching here than he did before , especially when he pitched for the yankees , '' piniella said . then the laughter started . ''i 'm telling the truth . that 's what i saw . his demeanor on the mound he seemed like he was in control of the ballgame . he pitched exceedingly well . '' as the interpreter repeated his response in japanese , piniella had another thought . ''with new york , '' he said , ''it just seemed like he fought himself a little more on the mound . '' irabu was a lost soul with the yankees , never coming close to the expectations that came when he signed a four year , 12 . 8 million contract in 1997 . he left in a trade with montreal in 2000 , meandered to texas and returned to japan last season , for two years and 7 million . the yankees play hanshin in an exhibition on monday , and irabu missed them by a day . he worked six innings and gave up two runs against tampa_bay , leaving with a lead in a game that would end in a_7 7 tie . though he failed to break 90 miles an hour with his fastball , irabu spotted his pitches well and allowed no walks and six hits while striking out five . ''he was mixing up his pitches , '' said tampa_bay 's julio lugo , who struck out twice and singled . ''he threw some tough curves , and i could n't pick up his split at the beginning . i think he 's a big leaguer . he 's got great stuff . '' irabu retired eight of the first nine hitters he faced , striking out the first two on breaking balls . the scoreboard measured his fastball no higher than 89 m.p.h . asked if he wanted to see any of his old teammates , irabu replied in english , ''no , i do n't . '' one of his old teammates , tampa_bay 's first baseman tino_martinez , grounded out , singled and flied out against irabu . ''his stuff today was sharper than i had seen it before , '' martinez said . ''he also looked like he was in better shape . '' once derided as a fat toad by george_steinbrenner , the yankees' principal owner , irabu has lost weight since returning to japan . but his face is still puffy , and his conditioning habits are still poor . a notoriously weak finisher , irabu started last season 9 2 but went 4 6 thereafter . he was the goat of the japan_series , going 0 2 with a_12 . 60 earned_run_average . irabu never pitched in the world_series for the yankees , despite making a combined 55 regular season starts for the 1998 and '99 champions . his failure in new york was not a question of talent . ''i 'm not going to criticize him for not trying hard , '' manager joe_torre said . ''i just saw his personality waver a little bit . '' baseball | has a location of japan |
camping is one thing , but akemi honda has been living in a tent for more than nine months , and the view out front is not of a majestic mountain vista but a muddy playground surrounded by buildings . mrs . honda and her family were among the 300 , 000 refugees who lost their homes in the great earthquake that shattered the port city of kobe in january , killing 6 , 055 people . in most respects , kobe has made a stunning recovery , and it is possible in some areas to look around without seeing any signs of the quake . yet while the refugee centers have closed and the port has reopened , mrs . honda and hundreds of others are still stuck in lean_to tents . " the government is n't helping us any more , and the volunteer workers have all gone home , " said mrs . honda , 50 , sitting in the " kitchen " area of her lean_to . rain pattered on the awning overhead and dripped through in places , while her 29 year old son lay snoozing on the floor . mrs . honda said her apartment building is scheduled to be refurbished and made habitable by the end of the year , so she hopes to go home soon . another family that lives with a pet dog in the same school , in a room that they commandeered and that no one has dared evict them from , has also found a new home , so the refugee population in the school will drop to just three families . compared with the initial devastation after the earthquake , the progress seems almost miraculous . rail and subway service has been restored , the harbor is steadily regaining its capacity , and most of the rubble has been carted away . to be sure , a leaning house occasionally topples over onto a road or a teetering shop collapses onto a sidewalk . but kobe residents blithely walk around the obstruction . the earthquake is estimated to have caused 10 billion in damage , and it will be almost a decade before kobe is entirely rebuilt . but officials assert that the city will then be better than ever , partly because planners have taken advantage of the catastrophe to widen roads a bit and add tiny green spaces . one tent resident , a middle_aged woman who would identify herself only as mrs . arimoto , offered a less enthusiastic assessment . she is still living with her family " tell them to go away , " her husband kept saying grumpily in a tiny blue tent in a schoolyard , and the living conditions seem to have taken a toll . " everything is a nuisance , " mrs . arimoto said grimly , but she added that she had no plans to leave . the authorities have offered her a temporary home , but it is an hour away . " we ca n't live there , " she insisted . " how could we get to work ? " the government has built more than 25 , 000 temporary huts for homeless families , but hundreds of people remain in tents or school buildings because they complain that the temporary homes are inadequate . although free , they are tiny an entire house is smaller than an average american living room and many are in remote areas . the city put some huts in public parks and on tennis courts , but now the only spots left are in remote areas an hour or more away from central kobe . public transportation often costs 15 for a round trip , and so families like the arimotos stay in tents in the hope that the authorities will offer something better . some spaces are opening up , in a morbid way , because death rates are high in the temporary homes . many of the occupants are elderly people who remain disoriented from the quake , and the local newspapers are full of reports of such people dying or even committing_suicide . one of the lucky ones is takeshi nakane , 60 , a trading company employee who has lived in a tent on a strip of grass since the earthquake . he scraped together enough cash to put a down payment on a 165 , 000 prefabricated house that is going up on the site of his former home . " we want to move in as soon as possible , probably in december , " mr . nakane said , beaming . " it 's already getting very cold at night here in the tent . " | has a location of japan |
the day when sawako mitsui , 20 , and midori usuta , 21 , score above 500 on the test of english as a foreign language is the day they will celebrate . the two are studying in the intensive english program at temple_university 's branch here , and only by scoring at least 500 on the toefl , which assesses the english proficiency of foreign students preparing to study at american or canadian universities , will they be able to enroll at temple_university 's main campus in philadelphia . ''i never thought toefl was going to be this hard , '' said ms . usuta wearily . after three years of concentrated study and 10 tries at the test , she had managed only 450 . ''the listening comprehension section of the test is a nightmare , '' sighed ms . mitsui . ''grasping spoken english is really hard for me . '' they are not alone . each year , 250 , 000 japanese take the one hour and 50 minute test . with an average score of about 490 , the japanese ranked 152d in average score out of 171 national groups in 1995 , according to data compiled by the educational testing service , the toefl administrator . japan trails nearly all industrial countries and most of its asian neighbors , including china , which scored a respectable average of 549 out of a possible 677 . ( the netherlands tops the list with a 607 average . ) in a curious paradox , japan has for decades displayed a national enthusiasm for learning english , with an english_language industry estimated at nearly 5 billion annually . almost every large bookstore in japan has large displays of publications on learning english , and private english conversation schools can be found all over large cities like tokyo . english is also considered an essential subject at school . english classes are compulsory from seventh to ninth_grade and most students study it until the 12th_grade , when they cram for college entrance_examinations . the college entrance tests usually give english disproportionately higher weight than other subjects . the japanese are among the most avid takers of the toefl . the number of japanese test takers , just over 250 , 000 in 1995 , is far greater than second place korea , which had about 120 , 000 test takers in 1995 . the discrepancy between the national effort to teach english and the mediocre performance on the toefl has been especially disheartening for leaders in english education . ''it 's pathetic , '' said ikuo koike , professor emeritus at keio_university and the president of the japan college english teachers association . ''i am very disappointed at the results . i really am bordering on anger . '' he said the results cannot be discounted simply by asserting that the high number of test takers may have brought down the national average . he pointed to countries like korea and taiwan , which outperform japan by about 15 points , and where more people take the toefl as a percentage of total national population . ''you cannot explain away japan 's low scores , '' he said . experts like professor koike cite such factors as inadequate english education , the country 's history of isolation , japanese sentence structure and japan 's inward oriented culture as inhibiting people 's ability to communicate with the outside world . among these factors , japan 's english education , with its focus on grammar and reading , is often the first to be criticized . in japanese schools , teachers tend to focus on meticulous points of grammar . english passages are carefully analyzed , and word to word japanese translations are prepared . english speakers complain that english is taught and studied like math and science rather than language . yoshiaki sato , a professor of english at the university of tokyo , blames his fellow academics for having created such ' 'distorted english . '' ''university entrance_examinations have been the root of all evil , '' he said . ''and these tests are designed by english professors who have little or no command of spoken english . '' professor sato said that english , as treated in college entrance_exams , has been emulated in secondary_education because a chief mission of high_school is to insure students' smooth entries into universities . why then do japanese academics and intellectuals prefer bookish english to a more conversational brand ? eiichi chino , a linguistics professor at wako university , sees an answer in japanese history and its geographic isolation . he argues that the japanese have historically learned foreign languages for the purpose of absorbing advanced knowledge from abroad rather than for communicating with foreigners . many english conversation teachers complain that their biggest obstacle is overcoming students' negative attitudes toward english grammar , a byproduct of high_school classes that rigidly emphasize arcane points of grammar at the expense of conversational english . ''students are trained to be worried about making mistakes , '' said kenneth crown , an english instructor at toefl academy , a private preparation school in tokyo . ''every time i ask students a question , they see it as a mini test rather than a chance to say something . '' some scholars assert that the japanese face an inherent difficulty in mastering english . ken kanatani , a professor of english education at tokyo gakugei university , argues that two crucial factors help determine the difficulty a nation will face in learning english the differences between one 's first language and english , and whether the country was a western colony . ''you cannot blame school teachers in english , because the japanese_language is structurally so remote from english , '' professor kanatani said . while english sentences typically follow a subject verb object sequence , japanese sentences commonly finish with a verb . english is also phonetically challenging for the japanese . ''the japanese_language encompasses a far narrower range of sounds than english , '' said shoichi watanabe , professor of linguistics at sophia university here . ''the japanese_language has about half the sounds of english , so the japanese are at a severe disadvantage both in listening and speaking english . '' the reverse is also true . the language training institute at the state_department says japanese is among the most difficult languages for americans to learn , along with korean , chinese and arabic . but americans are not nearly as eager to learn japanese as the japanese are to learn english . hiroshi sugita , a professor of linguistics at tokyo gakugei university who is an expert in several languages , including english , asserts that the japanese do poorly in just about any language . ''japanese are , for example , terrible at chinese , '' he said . ''even with the korean language , which closely_resembles the japanese_language , we do not do nearly as well as the koreans do in our language . '' the failure to establish solid communication lines with the english speaking world can result in a clear cost . ''japan pays a significant diplomatic cost for not being able to communicate effectively in english , '' said ryuhei hosoya , a senior diplomat at the japanese foreign ministry . ''very few top officers of the government are able to handle business in english . '' he concedes that , by and large , the english proficiency of his fellow diplomats is very low . ''even compared to other non english speaking countries , there is a lot to be desired . '' mr . hosoya says the price japan pays is often invisible , like not being able to build firm relationships with foreign diplomats , and losing access to informally conveyed information . prompted by a sense of crisis , mr . hosoya proposes adopting english as a second official language of the nation and bringing in more native english teachers in the school system . but mr . hosoya and other scholars are not hopeful of meaningful change in the near future . ''it is going to take decades to change , '' he said . but in these days of computers and the internet , where english is the dominant language , the need for mastery of english is more acutely felt than ever , and the japanese will face mounting pressure to redouble their efforts on the english front . mr . hosoya of the foreign ministry said , ''it is a matter that concerns our national interest . '' think you understand english ? here are some sample questions from an english test that is part of the entrance_exam at waseda university in tokyo . 1 . choose the one word that does not belong . a . calmly . b . friendly . c . patiently . d . quickly . e . sweetly . answer b . reason a , c , d , and e , all derive from adjectives while the word friendly does n't . 2 . supply a word in the parentheses so that the each pair of sentences have the same meaning . ( 1 ) a . were it not for the 250 guards on patrol to protect the elephants in the park , none of them would survive for long . b . elephants in the park survive ( ) to the 250 guards on patrol to protect them . ( 2 ) a . this is really a very challenging job . b . this is a very difficult job but ( ) doing . ( 3 ) a . you should have made sure i was expecting you before you came to see me . b . you should have ( ) your appointment before you came to see me . answers ( 1 ) thanks ( 2 ) worth ( 3 ) confirmed no other answers are correct . miki_tanikawa , a freelance writer , works in the tokyo bureau of the new york times . | has a location of japan |
in what colleagues hailed as a historic_landmark , 120 physicists from 23 research institutions in japan and the united_states announced today that they had found the existence of mass in a notoriously elusive subatomic particle called the neutrino . the neutrino , a particle that carries no electric charge , is so light that it was assumed for many years to have no mass at all . after today 's announcement , cosmologists will have to confront the possibility that a significant part of the mass of the universe might be in the form of neutrinos . the discovery will also compel scientists to revise a highly successful theory of the composition of matter , the standard model . word of the discovery had drawn some 300 physicists here to discuss neutrino research . among other things , the finding of neutrino mass might affect theories about the formation and evolution of galaxies and the ultimate fate of the universe . if neutrinos have sufficient mass , their presence throughout the universe would increase the overall mass of the universe , possibly slowing its present expansion . others said the newly detected but as yet unmeasured mass of the neutrino must be too small to cause cosmological effects . but whatever the case , there was general agreement here that the discovery will have far reaching consequences for the investigation of the nature of matter . speaking for the collaboration of scientists who discovered the existence of neutrino mass using a huge underground detector called super_kamiokande , dr . takaaki kajita of the institute for cosmic ray research of tokyo_university said that all explanations for the data collected by the detector except the existence of neutrino mass had been essentially ruled out . after dr . kajita 's remarks , the powerful evidence he presented elicted prolonged applause from an audience of physicists from dozens of countries who packed the conference hall here . dr . yoji totsuka , leader of the coalition and director of the kamioka neutrino observatory where the underground detector is situated , 30 miles north of here in the japan alps , acknowledged that his group 's announcement was ' 'very strong , '' but said , ''we have investigated all other possible causes of the effects we have measured and only neutrino mass remains . '' dr . john n . bahcall , a leading neutrino expert and astrophysical theorist at the institute for advanced study in princeton , n.j. , said in an interview that there had been many claims in recent years of the discovery of neutrino mass by other groups . ''but this one is by far the most convincing , '' he said . ''besides the strong evidence they have found , this team has a magnificent track record of discoveries . '' but because the elusive particles cannot be seen , the evidence that they have mass is indirect . transformation is evidence of mass neutrinos come in three types or ''flavors . '' the data gathered by the super_kamiokande team during the two years the detector has operated indicate that at least one of these three ''flavors'' can ''oscillate'' into one of the other flavors as it travels along at nearly the speed of light . according to the theories of quantum mechanics , any particle capable of transforming itself in this way must have mass . study of the neutrino particle has been glacially slow since its existence was hypothesized in 1930 by the austrian physicist wolfgang pauli as a way to explain the mysterious loss of energy in certain nuclear reactions . the particle was finally discovered in 1956 by two physicists at the los_alamos_national_laboratory , dr . frederick reines ( who was awarded a nobel_prize for the discovery ) and the late dr . clyde cowan . but understanding of the particle since then has been acquired painfully slowly , because neutrinos have no electric charge and rarely interact with any kind of matter . a neutrino so rarely collides with an atom of ordinary matter that a typical neutrino can easily penetrate a one light year thickness of lead some six trillion miles without hindrance . as the writer john updike put it in a poem he wrote in 1960 neutrinos , they are very small . they have no charge and have no mass and do not interact at all . the earth is just a silly ball to them , through which they simply pass like dust maids down a drafty hall . but once in a great while , a neutrino does hit an atom and the resulting blast of nuclear debris supplies clues about the neutrino itself . the debris generally includes many particles that can race through water , mineral oil or even ice , sending out shock_waves of blue light . this light , called cherenkov radiation , can be detected by sensitive light sensors and measured . during the past few decades , scientists have learned that matter is made up of three distinct flavors or types . this means that there are three flavors of neutrinos the electron neutrino associated with the electron , the muon neutrinos , associated with the muon particle , which is a kind of fat electron , and the tau neutrino , associated with the tau particle , an even fatter relative of the electron . the role of the muon and tau particles and their associated neutrinos in the universe has mystified physicists . ''who ordered that ? '' the columbia_university physicist isidor rabi is said to have remarked when the muon was found . the super_kamiokande detector was built two years ago as a joint japanese_american experiment . it is essentially a water tank the size of a large cathedral installed in a deep zinc mine one mile inside a mountain 30 miles north of here . when neutrinos slice through the tank , one of them occasionally makes its presence known by colliding with an atom , which sends blue light through the water to an array of detectors . the enormous volume of water in the detector increased the likelihood of neutrino impacts to the point at which the discovery of neutrino mass became possible . the super_kamiokande collaboration is studying several neutrino phenomena simultaneously , but the one that led to today 's announcement was based on ''atmospheric'' neutrinos created when highly energetic cosmic ray particles from deep space slam into the earth 's upper atmosphere . finding a reason for a puzzling shortage physicists knew that different flavors of neutrinos constantly arrive from the upper atmosphere and they have calculated that the ratio between muon neutrinos and other flavors must have a certain value . but over the years detectors found only about half the muon neutrino predicted by theory . the apparent shortage of muon neutrinos was explained by the recent observations that led to today 's announcements . the physicists found that when neutrinos come from the sky directly over the super_kamiokande detector a relatively short distance the proportion of muon neutrinos among them was higher than among the neutrinos coming up from beneath the detector after having passed through the earth . the scientists reasoned that by traveling through the entire earth these neutrinos had had time to oscillate , probably many times , between muon neutrinos and some other type , especially the tau neutrino , and this accounts for the deficit seen in muon neutrinos . ( the tau neutrino has not yet been directly detected but it must exist to make observations consistent . ) a related problem has to do with neutrinos produced by the fusion process in the sun . this process , which merges the nuclei of hydrogen atoms to form helium nuclei and energy , produces neutrinos . astro physicists believe they understand the mechanism in complete detail . the trouble is that all the best detectors ever built find far fewer neutrinos than should be present according to understanding of the fusion reaction . scientists believe the anomaly can be explained by the oscillation of detectable solar neutrinos into types that cannot be detected by existing instruments . but no one has proved this explanation . worldwide efforts to unlock secrets members of the kamiokande collaboration have not limited their investigations to huge underground detectors . the leader of the collaboration 's university of hawaii group , for example , dr . john g . learned , has also worked on an underwater detection system in the pacific_ocean off the hawaiian coast ( which ran out of money before completion ) and a project at the south pole where a neutrino detector had been buried under thousands of feet of ice . another approach to penetrating the neutrino secrets involves the use of particle accelerators capable of producing intense beams of neutrinos . in two experiments currently being prepared , one in japan and the other at fermi national accelerator laboratory in illinois , beams of neutrinos will be directed through the earth toward detectors several hundred miles away . the goal will be to observe changes the neutrinos undergo in transit , both in numbers and types . physicists expect the experiment to confirm the existence of neutrino oscillations like those seen in the super_kamiokande detector . although the neutrinos are now known to have some mass , most physicists agree that the mass must be very small . the super_kamiokande experiments suggest that the difference between the masses of muon neutrinos and other types of neutrinos is only about 0 . 07 electron volts ( a measure of particle mass ) . this does not yield a value of the masses themselves , only of the difference between those of muon neutrinos and other types . although the mass of the neutrino of any flavor must be small , dr . totsuka said , it may be several electron volts , and if so , the overall gravitational effect on the universe would perhaps be significant . it has been estimated that at any given moment , every teaspoon worth of volume of space throughout the universe contains an average of 300 neutrinos , so their aggregate number is staggering . ( the electron volt is used by scientists as a unit of particle mass . one electron volt is the energy , or mass equivalent , that an electron acquires by passing through an electric potential of one volt . by this standard a neutrino is believed to have a mass only about five hundred thousandth as much as that of an electron , which itself is a light particle . ) in the last 68 years , a legion of distinguished physicists has devoted inquiries and careers to the puzzling neutrino , which was given its name by the great italian_american scientist enrico fermi . fermi quickly came to believe in the particle 's existence , even though it was not proved in his lifetime , and named it ''neutrino , '' which means ''little neutral one'' in italian . representatives of dozens of neutrino experiments meet once every two years to exchange ideas at conferences like the one under way here . present are representatives of teams that have installed neutrino detectors on the bottom of lake_baikal in siberia , under the aegean sea off the greek coast , inside the gran sasso tunnel under the alps , under the ice covering the south pole , and in many other places . lively debate has characterized discussions here . for example , dr . bahcall , who had high praise for the super_kamiokande experiment , challenged assertions by the detector team that neutrinos might have sufficient mass to slow the expansion of the universe . but there was agreement that progress in understanding neutrinos has accelerated tremendously in the last few years . another great detector built deep within a mine is nearing_completion at sudbury , ontario . when scientists have finished filling it with heavy water , water that includes a heavy isotope of hydrogen as part of its molecule , the sudbury detector will be uniquely capable of distinguishing between electron neutrinos one of the three types and the other two flavors . this ability is expected to cap the investigation of neutrino oscillations for which super_kamiokande has now furnished the ' 'smoking_gun . '' | has a location of japan |
after two months of sporadic eruptions and frequent , earth shaking tremors in an island chain south of tokyo , officials today ordered the complete evacuation of miyake island , which has been at the center of the seismic_activity . the evacuation , ordered almost simultaneously by the mayor of miyake , and by the governor of tokyo prefecture , comes after almost half of the island 's 3 , 850 inhabitants had quietly left the island to escape what has become near constant volcanic activity . ''this decision was made because the earthquakes and eruptions have become so frequent that they represent a risk to human lives , '' said keita takashima , a spokesman for the tokyo government . the evacuation marks the second time in recent months that volcanic activity has forced large scale relocations in japan . earlier this year , 13 , 000 people were evacuated from villages in northern japan near mount usu , after a major eruption of a volcano that had been dormant there for 22 years . since it lies only 120 miles south of the capital , tokyo , the eruptions of mount oyama on miyake have revived fears here of a huge disaster in the case of a major earthquake . several powerful tremors have been felt in the capital itself , with one of them reportedly caused by movements in the earth 's crust deep below the city . experts say that the frequent tremors and eruptions on miyake , and throughout the surrounding ise island chain , have made this summer one of the most seismically active seasons on record . scientists say that the seismic_activity in the ise chain is caused by shifts in huge underground pools of magma , but there is disagreement among them over its relevance to tokyo 's tectonic stability . these fears are reinforced by the still vivid memories of the devastation of kobe , a major port city southwest of tokyo that was struck by a violent earthquake in 1995 . friday was also the anniversary of the great tokyo earthquake of 1923 , which killed an estimated 150 , 000 people and left most of the city burned to the ground . partly as a result of the kobe quake , the tokyo government has organized its largest annual emergency preparations drill on sunday , which is traditionally held at the beginning of september , to commemorate the huge quake that destroyed this city . for the first time , the prefectural government has called out more than 7 , 000 members of the self_defense forces , including members of its air , sea and maritime branches , for highly visible drills that include military style rescue maneuvers involving helicopters , light tanks , troop_transport vehicles and landing_craft . the drills have fueled a major polemic here in a japan , which remains officially pacifist and without an army , about the role of the self_defense forces . antimilitarists here say they suspect that an unstated goal of the high profile exercise is to raise the profile of the armed_forces gradually , improving the prospects for conservative proposals to revise the constitution to allow japan to form an army for the first time since world_war_ii . the debate over the exercises has also involved complaints that it is aimed at intimidating foreign asians who reside in japan after menacing comments five months ago by tokyo 's governor , shintaro_ishihara . ''many third country nationals and foreigners who have entered japan illegally have perpetrated heinous crimes , '' mr . ishihara said in april . ''in the event of a major earthquake , riots may break out , and there is a limit to the police 's ability to cope with such a situation alone . i want you , the self_defense forces , to carry out your mission , not only to deal with natural_disasters , but also to maintain law and order . '' in fact , historians were quick to reply , thousands of koreans were lynched and their property stolen or destroyed by rioting japanese who had been whipped up by xenophobic local leaders during in the great tokyo earthquake . since those remarks , mr . ishihara has been forced to apologize to japan 's foreign asians , and ever since , has played down the law and order element to the earthquake drill . ''there were over 6 , 000 people killed by the kobe earthquake , and we were all ashamed by the poor response to the emergency , '' said atsuyuki sassa , a security expert who has advised mr . ishihara . ''the self_defense force is a national asset , and we must use it in emergency situations . '' correction september 5 , 2000 , tuesday an article on sunday about the evacuation of the japanese island of miyake during volcanic eruptions referred incorrectly in some copies to the year a big earthquake struck kobe , japan . it was 1995 , not 1985 . | has a location of japan |
when a bridge and an elevated_highway collapsed during the big san_francisco_earthquake of 1989 , minoru hirano , a japanese highway designer , reassured his countrymen that japanese bridges were stronger than those in america . " i did n't think it would happen to japan , " mr . hirano , director of project planning for the japan highway public corporation , recalled today . " i thought our design code would be enough . " but as a major elevated_highway toppled to its side and thousands of buildings crumpled in a huge earthquake near kobe this morning , mr . hirano and others in japan realized , to their horror , that it could happen here . " we can never be prepared enough . that 's my comment now , " he said . the earthquake , which measured 7.2 on the richter_scale , shook more than foundations . it has undermined japan 's confidence in its anti quake technology and raised the level of fear in a nation that thought it had reached an accommodation with an ever present threat . " before this , i felt that if it happened in tokyo , it would be okay , " said atsuko sekine , a young office worker shopping in tokyo 's ginza area . " but now , i 'm very worried . " most prediction efforts are aimed at forecasting a quake southwest of tokyo , not in western japan . " we do not have any earthquakes there , " said shin aoyama , a spokesman for the science and technology agency . " it 's really an astonishing event . " the last big earthquake in western japan was in 1946 . measuring 8.0 on the richter_scale , it killed more than 1 , 300 people . lack of preparation in kobe , a port city , may have contributed to the scope of the devastation . many questions remain unanswered . japanese buildings and homes have systems that automatically shut off the gas in the event of an earthquake . it is still unclear whether these systems were in use near kobe and , if so , why there were dozens of fires , many of which had still not been extinguished by nightfall . some of the houses and office buildings that collapsed might have been built before the earthquake code was revised in the 1970s . mr . hirano of the government affiliated highway corporation said that , in general , the panels of the roadbed on elevated highways in japan are connected to each other more firmly together than they are in the united_states . the roadbed is also connected more strongly to the pillars . with one highway that collapsed today , he said , the roadbed stayed intact and connected to the pillars . but the entire structure toppled over as one piece , collapsing at the base of its pillars , perhaps because the ground supporting the pillars gave way . the other highway that collapsed was the oldest in japan , opened in 1965 , he said . mr . hirano said he thought highways in western japan were not upgraded to the latest standards because the threat of earthquakes there was perceived to be low . after last year 's los_angeles quake , hisanobu ichimasu , director of the design and research division in tokyo 's metropolitan expressway public corporation , said japan 's and california 's standards for elevated roadways were now very similar , although at one time japan had a more stringent code . for instance , he said , until a big quake in the san fernando valley in 1971 , california required fewer horizontal steel hoops in pillars than japan did . the hoops are designed to prevent the vertical steel reinforcing bars from buckling outward . but now , he said , the standards are similar . masakazu ozaki , a professor of architectural engineering at chiba university , said that " mostly japanese buildings are stronger than u.s . buildings , " but that it depends on the type of building . still , he and others said a revision of japan 's codes will now be inevitable . professor ozaki said it is politically difficult in japan to criticize the building codes because people do not typically challenge the government here . perhaps no place on earth , including california , lives under as constant a threat of earthquakes as japan . today 's quake was the third since october that measured over 7.0 on the richter_scale . but most earthquakes in recent years , including the two other big ones since october , have done little damage and resulted in few casualties . even in a july 1993 earthquake that measured 7.8 on the richter_scale and killed more than 200 people , almost all the deaths and damage resulted from huge tsunami waves rather than from the earth 's shaking itself . the result , some people here say , is that japan became overconfident and somewhat complacent . japan 's newspapers and television stations provided extensive coverage of the san_francisco_earthquake , which measured 7.1 on the richter_scale , and of the los_angeles temblor , of 6.7 magnitude , which occurred exactly a year ago . while the media questioned whether the same damage could occur in japan , experts were frequently quoted saying how japanese building and highway codes here were more stringent than california 's . to some extent , japan 's ability to withstand earthquakes is probably better than in the united_states , experts say . but some of japan 's good track record can also be attributed to luck . most of the big earthquakes have occurred in the pacific_ocean or near lightly populated_areas . the epicenter of today 's earthquake was very near kobe and at a relatively shallow depth of 20 kilometers , or 12 . 4 miles . that makes it the first big temblor to occur in a major city since the great tokyo earthquake of 1923 , in which more than 140 , 000 people died . earth quakes are a major concern for the japanese . children are trained to prepare for earthquakes from an early age some elementary schools require pupils to sit on fireproof seat cushions that can be worn as a hat to shield the head from falling debris . in the 1970 's , the tokyo fire department gave away free to each home a plastic water bucket that would hold enough water for a week 's worth of drinking or for dousing fires after a quake . every sept . 1 , the anniversary of the great tokyo earthquake , millions of people in the tokyo area take part in earthquake drills . children practice running through tunnels of smoke with handkerchiefs over their faces and military personnel practice rescues from helicopters . japan is also spending about 106 million a year to study the mechanism of earthquakes in an effort to eventually be able to predict them . the government is using signals from satellites and distant stars to measure minute shifts in the earth 's crust . it is drilling wells more than a mile deep in which to put equipment to measure earth movements , and it is monitoring faults under the ocean . one project , to see if the behavior of catfish can provide a warning of earthquakes , has drawn some international ridicule . " the government is always saying that japanese buildings are completely safe , " said mr . ozaki , who is the japanese chairman of a united_states japan committee looking at how to improve building design to withstand earthquakes . no matter how the codes are improved , he said , no building will ever by completely free from risk from a big enough earthquake . in that sense , some japanese are resigned to living with a permanent threat of quakes . " i have a feeling there 's nothing we can do about it , " said yukio suzuki , an office worker in tokyo . " just make sure to turn off the gas . you do n't want to worry too much or you become neurotic . " for kayoko onishi , 77 , today 's earthquake revived memories of the 1923 tokyo quake , which she experienced as a little girl and which killed her father . " we had to sleep outside in our big garden , under a table , " she said today . " we could n't go back inside the house . " now , she said , she is scared again , but there is little she can do . " this is my country and i ca n't escape anywhere else , " she said . quake in japan the engineering | has a location of japan |
it was 3 30 on a cloudless afternoon and the members of the tigers new era fan club were already assembled in the far corner of the right field bleachers . the ragtag group of two dozen or so factory workers , shopkeepers and hangers on were there to cheer the hanshin_tigers , working their way through the team 's fight songs even though game time was more than two hours away . ''we 're all crazy for the tigers , '' said yoshio morita , a 55 year old businessman draped in a black and yellow tigers happi coat . between slugs of beer and choruses of ''the wind of mount rokko , '' the tigers' anthem , he ran through his game day routine , which includes driving two hours from neighboring shiga prefecture to get to the stadium by 9 a.m . and line up for a ticket . morita 's devotion , a tale repeated by many of the 53 , 000 fans packed into koshien stadium , is typical of the baseball fever in nishinomiya , a city of 400 , 000 in the osaka metropolitan_area , japan 's second largest . the tigers , japan 's oldest baseball franchise and long one of its worst , are on a march toward only their second championship since 1950 , when the two league system was started . their sudden success this year has turned this recession bit region into something bordering on a permanent party . to understand the excitement , imagine what might happen if the boston_red_sox or chicago_cubs ever exorcised their demons and won the world_series . in fact , the baseball fates seem to be working on something of a parallel universe , with the red_sox and the cubs remaining stubbornly competitive at the halfway point of the major_league_baseball season . unlike the red_sox , who last won the world_series in 1918 , or the cubs , who last won in 1908 , the tigers last won the japan_series just 18 years ago . but their record of ineptitude has left scars on their fans the tigers have finished in the bottom half of the six team central_league 15 times since . as a result , tigers fans , like those of the red_sox and the cubs , talk of a mystical burden their team must overcome . in hanshin 's case , the burden is known as the curse of colonel sanders . after the team won its lone championship in 1985 , fans assembled at the dotonbori bridge in osaka 's flashy entertainment district . one by one , those who resembled tigers players jumped into the river to raucous cheers . but since no one looked like randy bass , the team 's star slugger , fans stole a statue of colonel sanders from a nearby kentucky_fried_chicken outlet and tossed it in . legend has it that the tigers will not win a championship until the colonel is found . efforts to dredge the river and recover the statue have proved fruitless . this season , tigers fans seem to be putting their fatalism behind them , and for good reason . the tigers have become the fastest team to reach 50 victories , and they are already 30 games above . 500 , the first time they have reached that mark in a half century . their batters are hitting nearly . 300 and their pitchers are the league 's stingiest . crucially , the tokyo yomiuri_giants , the league 's pre_eminent team , have stumbled this season with their longtime star , hideki_matsui , now playing for the yankees . coincidentally , the tigers have benefited from the return of a former yankee , pitcher hideki_irabu , who returned from north_america after six seasons and has already won 10 games . another major_league_baseball refugee , jeff williams , a former dodger , is the league 's top closer . ''we have a big chance to win it all this year , '' said irabu , who also has the league 's lowest earned_run_average . ''it 's right in front of our eyes . '' the tigers have perhaps the best manager in japanese_baseball , senichi hoshino . pugnacious and crafty , he leads much the way earl weaver did in baltimore in the 1960 's and 1970 's , relying on strong pitching , scrappy hitting and aggressive base running . like weaver , he kicks dirt on umpires and screams at his players , a brand of leadership that the fans embrace . the passion surrounding the tigers this year is about much more than victories . like the red_sox and the cubs , the tigers suffer from a permanent identity crisis . since world_war_ii , osaka has been in the shadow of tokyo , where the nation 's government , media and business elite are centered . home to many of the country 's leading manufacturers , the osaka region now has one of japan 's highest unemployment rates as companies move their factories to china . because of osaka 's blue_collar roots and hard knocks , any victory over a tokyo team and its white collar fans is particularly satisfying . ''basically , hanshin fans are against centralization , against power and against money , all the things that the giants represent , '' said koichi kunisada , an osaka based economist who embroiders the names of his favorite tigers players in gold silk on the inside of his suit jackets . while jaded fans in tokyo have come to expect winners , people in osaka cannot hide their fanaticism . on a major thoroughfare in the amagasaki district , shopkeepers unfurled a banner that included the team 's magic number on it even though it was still june and the tigers needed 79 more victories or losses by their opponents to clinch the pennant . ( the magic number fell to 54 on july 2. ) ''some people might say we are brash , but we 're simply having a good time , '' said kenichiro yoshioka , the 43 year old camera shop owner who put up the sign . politicians are also getting into the act . the governor of osaka prefecture , fusae ota , wants to clean up one of the city 's dirtiest rivers , one that fans jump into to celebrate hometown victories . the government 's economics minister , heizo_takenaka , said a tigers pennant run would change japan 's economic landscape just as it did in 1985 , the last time the tigers went all the way . the tigers' success is already giving the ailing economy a lift . tickets are suddenly scarce , even when the tigers are on the road . the broadcast of a tigers giants match up earlier this season drew a record high 30 . 2 percent share , twice the typical audience for a baseball game . shops are also doing a brisk business in anything emblazoned with the tigers logo , even stores in enemy territory . at the keio department_store above tokyo 's shinjuku station , the hanshin_tigers shop sold 696 million yen ( 5 . 8 million ) worth of towels , megaphones and cellphone straps in june , five times the level in may . shares in hanshin department_store ltd . , whose parent company owns the tigers , have risen nearly 40 percent since the season began . in all , a tigers championship could generate 113 . 3 billion_yen ( 945 million ) in extra spending , according to the japan research institute . the party , though , would come to an end if the tigers reverted to their old ways and performed a late season swoon . the biggest hurdle is shino roodo , or the road trip of death that the tigers endure every year . for three weeks in august , their crumbling , ivy covered stadium here holds the national high_school baseball tournament . few tiger squads have fared well over this stretch . back in right field , morita and his fellow merrymakers shrugged off such concerns . the tigers , they say , are on destiny 's road . as the tigers completed their victory against the chunichi_dragons , the fans released thousands of whistling balloons in celebration . the customary ''hero interview'' was conducted near the dugout and broadcast over the stadium loudspeakers . once finished , outfielder shinjiro hiyama received another round of cheers for hitting for the cycle in the game . a half hour after the final out , the fans finally filed out , many hoarse from all the screaming . yet morita , who faced a numbing ride home through traffic , seemed energized . he taped the television broadcast of the game and planned to watch it again . ''i was so busy cheering , '' he said , ''i did n't even see all those home_runs . '' baseball | has a location of japan |
lead when hiroshi yamamoto goes for his first job_interview and is asked what he did in four years of college , he plans to look his potential employer in the eye and tell him the truth he played table_tennis . when hiroshi yamamoto goes for his first job_interview and is asked what he did in four years of college , he plans to look his potential employer in the eye and tell him the truth he played table_tennis . mr . yamamoto , a senior at the prestigious keio_university in tokyo , works hard at table_tennis . he practices with the other members of his table_tennis club five hours a day , six days a week . for mr . yamamoto , as for most other college students in japan , a club , not academic study , is the center of his university life . to a degree unthinkable in american universities , japanese students forsake their studies for their clubs . students will choose classes at which attendance is not taken so they can devote more time to club activities . indeed , clubs are so important that prospective employers scrutinize not grades but club_memberships . on the surface , clubs are about having fun , an escape from the years of grinding study required to enter a japanese university . but clubs are where students are schooled in the all important ways of japanese society how to work together in harmony , how to devote themselves to group goals , how to make and preserve relationships , how to defer to their seniors and guide their juniors . a plus for a student ''in japanese colleges , many students spend four years without doing much of anything , '' a spokesman for sumitomo bank said in describing his company 's recruiting process . ''so it is a plus for a student if he can say he did something with devotion . if a student was a captain of the club , then he is likely to be trained in harmonizing the team to produce good teamwork and to work under pressure . we do n't require them to submit grades . even if grades are bad , it does not necessarily mean that we do n't want a student . we stress personal characteristics . '' mami hasegawa , a junior at keio , learns these lessons on the tennis_court . during the hot summer months , when her club goes on a tennis retreat , she wakes at dawn to begin chasing tennis balls . ''we have to yell , 'fight ! fight ! ' '' she said , describing her regimen . ''if our senior hits a good shot , we have to call out , 'nice ball ! ' during the summer it is very hard physically . but i think have learned from this hard training . i feel like i 'm pushing my limits of physical and mental strength . but we can do that because afterward we organize small groups and each one puts on entertainments , and that 's fun , too . '' even though miss hasegawa 's club is not particularly strict compared with the table_tennis club table_tennis is a serious team sport in japan members are required to attend at least one training session a week during the school year . her club practices tuesday through friday , from 9 a.m . to 11 a.m . and from 1 p.m . to 5 p.m . students receive points for attendance . ''we race to attend as many sessions as possible , so people skip class , '' miss hasegawa said . curriculum called unrewarding many students seek in clubs a community and sense of purpose that japanese university education does not offer them , said toshiaki izeki , a professor of sociology at keio . ''the popularity of clubs is not something we completely approve of , '' he said , ''but it shows the underlying problems of the japanese college system . '' top level japanese universities , professor izeki and his students say , are huge and impersonal and offer a narrow scholarly curriculum that does not seem useful in the world outside the university . at keio , as at many japanese colleges , only a limited number of students can gain entrance to small seminars . without any direct contact with a professor , said daisuke nakagawa , a keio senior and an avid member of the school badminton club , students have little incentive to show up on campus , and he knows many who come to keio only once a month . japanese have even coined a phrase , ''may sickness , '' for the dislocation many college freshmen feel after the excitement of entering school in april has worn off . it is during may of their freshman year that many students gravitate toward clubs . ''students feel very uneasy unless they belong to something , '' mr . nakagawa said . ''in clubs , you can find close friends , you know you can have fun , and when you get older and become a leader , it 's fun to be able to mold an organization . it 's kind of like training to be an adult . '' a long lasting relationship for years , students have sought that training in sports clubs noted both for their demanding physical workouts and for the formal relations between the older members , known as senpai , and the younger ones , or kohai . junior members must use honorific language when addressing their seniors , and run errands for them that include fetching them refreshments or doing their laundry . but in return the seniors try to watch out for their juniors , coaching them and protecting them , in a relationship that often lasts a lifetime and will have its counterpart in company life . many companies want to hire students who are members of these ''hard training'' clubs because they believe the students have learned discipline , teamwork and good manners there . ''to be a member of the baseball_team is worth 100 a 's to company recruiters , and the mountain climbing team is worth 50 a 's , '' said nobuhiro tominaga , a keio junior . but ''hard training'' clubs have fallen out of favor with a new generation of students who have come of age in an affluent and relatively self confident japan . ''hard training is a drag , '' mr . nakagawa said . indeed , kentaro kakihana , a keio junior , started out as a member of a tennis club . but he found the regimen too onerous and the club so big that he had little chance to play . so he decided to organize an informal baseball club . the main attraction no practice and no scheduled games . ''we work so hard just to get into college , and when we get out , we can expect a life without any vacations , '' he said , exaggerating somewhat to underline the rigorous work life that lies ahead . ''so we want a four year moratorium . '' | has a location of japan |
as they stepped among the fallen beams and crumbling plaster that are everywhere , the cold and weary residents of this city tried to collect the broken pieces of their homes and their lives today , and many sought shelter in schools , cars , municipal buildings and hospitals . they stood in line very patiently to buy food , to get water , to make telephone calls to friends and relatives . classes in schools were suspended , but teachers still paid house calls to check on their students . public transportation was virtually halted , but doctors and nurses still showed up for work . and food was scarce , but neighbors still shared their reserves . the police said that as of 3 p.m . today ( 1 a.m . eastern time ) , 3 , 156 people were confirmed dead and 16 , 202 had suffered a range of injuries stemming largely from falling debris . another 829 people remained unaccounted for , and many were believed to be trapped in the debris throughout the city . the earthquake , which measured 7.2 on the richter_scale , is the worst to strike urban_areas of japan in more than 70 years , and aftershocks continued through this morning . few people had stored up food reserves in preparation for an earthquake , and many residents interviewed said they could not remember very accurately the earthquake drill procedures . as a result , in just 20 seconds the quake transformed kobe , with its posh shopping streets and western style architecture , into a city of dignified beggars . few people went to work . instead , many set out to forage for food , stepping delicately over blocks of fallen concrete , around corners with sinking , tilting buildings and under highways that had collapsed . a major goal for many residents in this wealthy port area was to find drinking_water . one desperate japanese man scooped water out of a street puddle into a plastic soda bottle , while others ladled water from a nearby swimming_pool . when that ran out , they stood in lines where supplies were distributed by army troops . at about 6 a.m. , a hundred people formed a line single file down a hilly road , clutching their water bottles or huddling around large coolers , buckets , kitchen bowls and any other big containers they could find . " we had a water_supply yesterday , and then i got some water from a friend , but now we need to wait in line for water , " said kazuko miyamoto , 60 , as she held two water bottles at the front of a line of 100 people . " i 'm anxious about the aftershocks . we have food to last maybe a week , but we ca n't continue to live like this forever . " in a city that has thrived for more than a century on trade and commerce , it was hard for residents to understand why food , water and other necessities were not reaching them right away . many stores had crumbled in those that had survived , rows of shelves were bare . " we bought some noodles , " said mrs . miyamoto 's husband , isamu . " but the four clerks who tended the store were slow . " moreover , without electricity , all the tallying of prices had to be done with pen and paper . the authorities are allowing only supply trucks to use the two main roads from osaka to kobe . in the evening , caravans of food trucks drove through the heart of the city . repairmen dotted the main streets , spreading fresh asphalt on gaping roads , and fire trucks circled the city . supplies of necessities were slow to arrive , many residents said , but they were reluctant to openly criticize the government . " i hope the local authorities will provide us with services soon , " said chizuko ue , whose 44th birthday is on friday . but even if she had the spirit to celebrate , she would have to forsake her cracked house , with its displaced walls , caved in floors and menacing tilt , and use the flimsy plastic tent she and her neighbors constructed outside to shield her family against the chilly winds . her house , on a slope near a small stream , began to crumble after the quake , so she and her husband and three children moved into their car for the night . " what if i walk into the house and it shakes again ? " said mrs . ue , who shivered in her red coat and scarf . " i do n't know what to think . my head is just a blank slate . i 'm still in a panic . " mrs . ue lost a friend in the quake and the mother of one of her children 's friends was crushed to death . indeed , many people are still thankful just to be alive . tatsumi tahara , a 61 year old mason , is still grinning over his wife 's good fortune . when the quake struck she happened to be in the bathroom when a heavy dresser fell squarely over her empty futon . it does not seem to matter now that they have moved into the local school with just a few blankets . more than 200 , 000 people , a sharp increase from tuesday , streamed into schools , hospitals and government buildings to escape the winter temperatures that have hovered around the freezing mark during the day . about 500 , 000 homes still had no electricity , according to the official nhk radio_station . more than 70 , 000 people were evacuated from a central area where a tank of liquid petroleum had begun to leak . at the kobe west city hospital , tomiko harada and her husband squatted in the first floor waiting room , renting futons and blankets from the hospital . mrs . harada 's husband suffered a slight injury during the quake , but the main reason they are staying in the hospital is to escape their messy home . " our house is in ruins , " mrs . harada said as she leaned over her sleepy husband . by her side were two shopping bags filled with clothes , pretzels , cakes and other necessities . " they gave us candies and a bottle of milk today . " actually , the administrators are trying to edge them out of the hospital for the sake of safety . during the quake , the sixth floor of the seven story hospital wing that houses the patients simply collapsed , enveloping 51 patients and nurses in rubble . all but one of those people were rescued safely . " the situation is beyond anything i ever imagined , " said yosuke matsumura , the 57 year old deputy chairman of the hospital . " we 're not able to do major operations because we do n't have enough supplies and our supply of electricity is scant . " the hospital , in the heart of the damaged region , is running on its emergency electricity source and a skeleton staff of 48 doctors and 260 nurses . persuading the staff to work at the hospital , rather than on their homes , has been an effort , but many staff members have reported to work and the clinic was still functioning . " on tuesday , after the quake , many staff members called up to say that their houses were buried in rubble and that they could n't come to work , " mr . matsumura said . " today , almost all of them showed up . " mr . matsumura himself walked two hours on foot the morning of the quake to get to work and has not left the hospital since . nor has he had time to sleep since overseeing the treatment of 600 patients who came in tuesday with injuries . most injuries were related to being crushed by falling beams and other furniture , and the number dropped today to about 200 . whenever possible , the injured are treated and then sent on their way . about 300 soldiers from the army 's seventh regiment , based in the kyoto region to the west , arrived today to help remove bodies . they pulled 12 or 13 bodies from the ruble , one soldier said , before finding a 93 year old woman still alive . she was one of two injured people the army crew had rescued from rubble and brought to the damaged hospital for treatment . quake in japan the overview | has a location of japan |
touring major_league stars realize it will take a better effort than they gave two years ago to keep from losing a series to their counterparts from the japanese league . the major_league stars , who suffered their first series loss to japan on the last goodwill tour in 1990 ( 3 4 1 ) , take the field in tokyo tomorrow night with boston 's roger_clemens on the mound to start an eight game series against the japanese stars . the major_leaguers , chosen from among the best players in the game , include ken griffey jr . of seattle , cecil_fielder of detroit , ozzie smith of st . louis and wade boggs of boston . ( ap ) sports people baseball | has a location of japan |
it was a typical exercise to promote orderly response . the teacher called on each student , who was to shout out his name . ''here ! yuuki tamori , i am fine . '' but yuuki , 10 , was shy . ''why ca n't you do it when everybody else is doing it ? '' the teacher admonished him . he was made to stand beside his desk for the rest of the class . yuuki failed to respond to his name on several more occasions . ''the more the teacher pressed him , the more difficult it was for him to do it , '' said his mother , haruko tamori . ''i felt a sense of crisis after a while because yuuki was losing self confidence . '' mrs . tamori decided to send her son to the learnnet global school in kobe , one of a growing number of ''free schools'' that have emerged in reaction to the rigid curriculum , group oriented instruction and large class size ( typically 40 students ) of the japanese school system . like alternative schools in other countries , free schools in japan range broadly in quality and mission , from helping children who have difficulty adjusting to regular schools to offering nontraditional approaches to education . but unlike in other countries , they are by definition unaccredited in japan . while not enforced , the law requires that children up to age 15 attend schools that comply with government stipulations on curriculum , facilities and number and qualifications of instructors . strictly speaking , free school attendance is illegal . nonetheless , 300 to 500 such schools have opened over the last 10 years , fueled by a phenomenon known as toko kyohi , or refusal to go to school . nearly 140 , 000 children refuse to attend one in every classroom in japan and more than double the number a decade ago , according to the ministry of education , culture , sports , science and technology . while poor grades and boredom often lead to chronic truancy , the reason most often cited is bullying , a problem so severe that it has drawn international attention . the government is considering accrediting a school in tokyo designed for toko kyohi children , and it has deployed counselors to schools around the country . but nothing has stemmed truancy , which is a particular problem in junior high . critics say that the problem is too entrenched , and that the emphasis on regulation breeds school phobia and makes misfits of children who are just a little different say , with a peculiar mannerism or even curly hair . the growth of free schools , they say , has been a reaction to the failure of conventional schools to change with the times , with a society that now demands individual leadership , creative thinking and entrepreneurship . ''conformity and assimilation have been critically important'' in schools , says hidenori akiba , a professor of educational psychology at osaka kyoiku university . ''they have bred the disposition to reject even a slightly different behavior . '' in an attempt to inspire more creative thinking , the ministry of education introduced several radical changes this school year , including reducing the material that teachers must cover by 30 percent and adding two to three hours a week of nontraditional studies , anything from a computer class to english conversation to exploring museums . the retrenchment is intended to reduce pressure on students and teachers , allowing time ''to think of the meaning of the subjects more for example , how math applies in their life , '' says ken terawaki , deputy director general at the ministry of education . he concedes that schools turn off many students , both academically and socially . ''there has been a terrible pressure to conform at japan 's schools , '' he says . the changes have not been embraced in all quarters . with concerns that the curriculum cut could mean less preparation for important entrance_examinations , cram_schools report an enrollment boom . teachers also worry about being held accountable for the new nontraditional hours , which they have to fill with field trips and activities of their own imagination , says ichiko higashi , a deputy director of the teachers union . all agree that ingrained behavior is not something swiftly changed by government order or by unions . ''the change may have some impact , but i do n't believe it will reduce the number of kids refusing school attendance , '' says masaharu hata , a professor of education at osaka_university . ''you have to change the way you teach , instruct and orient the students . there have to be qualitative changes . '' most free schools are privately initiated , often by a parent whose own child refuses to go to school or by professors and pastors with strong views against conventional education . administrators have sprung from a range of professions , from homemaker to artist to businessman . toshiki sumitani , who founded the learnnet global school in kobe in 1998 , was a management consultant with mckinsey_company in denmark when he sent his 4 year old daughter to a school that emphasized individual talents . ''my daughter was very shy but by the time we left , she had a network of friends , '' he says . on returning to japan , he could not find a similar school so decided to start one himself . free schools are not exactly free the 35 students at learnnet global elementary to middle_school age pay about 6 , 000 a year in tuition . aside from math and reading , which follow the government curriculum , students engage in self directed field study projects like investigating the role of prices in the economy or how a rocket launches , and share the findings in classes . ''here , we do n't give tests , '' mr . sumitani says . ''some kids learn in five years what is designed for six years , some take longer . '' students drill individually with the help of teachers called navigators because they assist in students' intellectual development by helping them become autonomous learners . students attend group classes for english , music and other subjects organized loosely by age . personal projects are posted at the back of one classroom ''will compile a pictorial book on smap'' ( a japanese pop group ) , ''will become ping_pong champion of the school , '' ''will master standing on my head . '' students draw up their own objectives and pursue them on their own time to instill initiative and motivation , two qualities lacking in many japanese students , mr . sumitani says . in a typical japanese school , ruler bearing teachers enforce a panoply of musts and must nots . personal belongings like watches might be forbidden . regulations cover hairstyles , the length of uniform skirts and the shape of trousers . even the amount of money to be spent on snacks for excursions ( the only occasion children can take snacks to school ) is regulated . mr . terawaki , the education official , says the school system has merely reacted to parents' wishes . ''it was parents who wanted the school to impose rules on how much snack you can bring to excursions , '' he says . ''it was parents who wanted the school to introduce uniforms . it was a question of passing responsibility to the school rather than teaching children how to decide how much snack would be appropriate . it 's easy to ask the school to impose rules on children , escaping the burden to think for themselves . '' professor hata , however , points out that for generations the teachers' role has been to micromanage student behavior and to keep class harmony and group orientation . until the new two hour a week reprieve , curriculum has also been standard . ''japanese schools have been all the same around the country , '' he says . ''you will find that fifth graders in math class at this time of year are studying exactly the same thing from okinawa to hokkaido . '' japan 's scrupulously standardized approach to education took shape in the late 19th_century , when the nation ended its isolationist policy and began importing products and ways of life . to catch up with the west and under a perceived threat of colonization , speed was crucial . the need to rapidly educate the public led to standardized methods and reliance on tests . this style of education was strengthened after world_war_ii , when economic_growth was the country 's new objective . well educated masses equipped with uniform skills proved powerful in producing globally competitive products like cars and home electronics . ''in an industrial economy , what you need is people who can read the manuals , press the buttons and operate a machine in a plant and so forth , '' says takashi sakata , associate professor of law and education at the japan women 's university in tokyo . today , however , the economy is loaded with slumbering corporate giants with little growth potential . ''in an information oriented society , what you need is people with creativity and spontaneous energy , '' he says . japanese children have famously scored at the top in international contests for math and sciences . but in a 1996 survey of scientific literacy by the organization for economic cooperation and development , an international organization for developed economies , japanese adults placed second from the bottom among the 14 most advanced countries . ( danish adults scored highest , with the united_states sixth . ) ''i am hypothesizing that japanese kids do well on tests when they are forced to study , '' says mr . sumitani of learnnet . ''but they did not learn out of curiosity and did not go through a self motivated process of why they are learning and how studying will serve them . '' while free schools aim to shake up the status_quo , most struggle to survive . many are poorly financed , lack good facilities and equipment , and open and close quickly . ''you may see them in a directory or something at one time , but they are gone by the time you call , '' says keiji muto , president of the japan free schools association and principal of a free school for toko kyohi children with slight learning_disabilities . some schools wrestle with the very question of freedom exactly how and how much should be given . dream planet international , a free school for teenagers in okinawa , allowed students to take as many classes as they liked , or none at all . students loafed , and in the fall of 2001 some classes became mandatory . nearly a quarter of the 130 students boycotted the classes and holed up in the dormitory . the principal , who advocated the laissez_faire curriculum , was dismissed . freeing students from all rules is swinging to the other extreme , mr . sakata says . he also notes that some teaching methods at free schools are without track_records in japan . ''they have to prove themselves to the society with some convincing results , '' he says . but everyone credits the movement with at least one thing providing an alternative . one school promotes outdoor activities others focus on music , art , dance or international education . philosophical foundations range from religion to rudolf steiner and montessori . removed from the pressure to conform and keep up , students at learnnet global seem generally satisfied with their environment . mrs . tamori says that yuuki is much more independent minded . he had to live with his grandparents in kobe while attending learnnet , spending summer breaks in tokyo , where his parents live . mrs . tamori remembers her pleasant_surprise when yuuki declined her offer to accompany him back to kobe on the bullet_train . he wanted to go alone . ''mom , '' he said , ''i want to have an adventure ! '' miki_tanikawa is a freelance writer in tokyo . | has a location of japan |
every 10 minutes , like clockwork , another drama filled with anguish and pathos and the sweetness of a lovers' reunion is played out in this shattered japanese city , because every 10 minutes another train pulls into the station . until last week nishinomiya was just one stop among many on the route of dozens of trains that connected the western port city of kobe to most of the rest of japan . but after kobe and its rail lines were ravaged in a huge earthquake that left more than 4 , 900 people dead , nishinomiya became the last stop on the line . this is as close as trains can get to kobe before they must turn around and head back to the east , a fact that has left the streets of nishinomiya resembling a refugee_camp , the critical transit point where the haggard people who have left kobe can make contact again with the outside world . those leaving kobe were joined here by hundreds of japanese who arrived by train today from other parts of the country to bring relief supplies to family members and other victims still trapped in the devastated city . " we agreed to meet here after i learned that yuji was o.k . , " said tomoko ashida , an osaka woman , tears of relief rushing down her windblown cheeks , her tiny hand clasped tightly to that of her fiance , yuji watanabe . " after the earthquake , i thought at first that he might be dead . " mr . watanabe , a 25 year old salesman who has lived in kobe all his life , joined the 11 mile trek to nishinomiya station this morning , bringing with him only a bicycle on which he had tied a dresser drawer that held the few pieces of clothing that he was able to salvage from his family home . all that remained of the house , he said , was little more than glowing embers after it was ravaged by one of the fires that swept across kobe after the earthquake . " the earthquake was like a dream , like a bad dream in which the city had been bombed , " he said . " i just want to go now with tomoko back to her house in osaka and try to forget this dream . " kenji saito , a 50 year old office worker from kyoto , was clapping his hands together for warmth as he waited outside the station , guarding the suitcases stuffed with food and clothing that he had brought on the train today for his 71 year old mother , who is now living in a shelter in kobe but who refuses to leave her native city . " her home in kobe tilted and then it collapsed , so she ca n't live in there anymore , " he said . " i am doing what all these people are doing . the train from kyoto was crowded with people who were bringing help for their families . " that the train_station here still operates does not meant that most of nishinomiya does . this city of 80 , 000 people was also devastated in the earthquake , the worst in japan in more than 70 years . on virtually every block and along every narrow alley of the city , there are collapsed houses with paper bags and boxes set outside on the pavement , filled with whatever could be saved from inside . nishinomiya has lost most of the wooden houses that were its last examples of traditional japanese architecture . the collapsed houses now resemble chocolate trimmed white wedding cakes pushed over to one side . " soon we will look like every other city in japan , with gray concrete as far as the eye can see , " said an old woman who inspected the damage this afternoon to a wooden shinto shrine in the city center . " nature is destroying old japan . " in much of the city , electricity and running water have been knocked out . occasional ominous whiffs of gas still drift out from abandoned homes . gaping cracks run down the middle of several large streets . an almost constant stream of people from kobe struggle past the shuttered shops and offices of nishinomiya , making their way to the station , where trains leave for osaka , japan 's second largest city , about 16 miles to the east . some arrive on bicycles , others have come on foot . with few exceptions , all must come under their own power because all but emergency vehicles have been barred from kobe 's rubble strewn streets . other people come to nishinomiya to buy food and other necessities and then to head back to kobe . " look at my shelves this one is empty , this one is empty , this one is empty , " said hideaki masada , the owner of a drug store that is one of the few that remained opened . " i have already run out of many things that people want to buy . baby food , soup packages , antiseptic , sanitary napkins . i would call my wholesaler and ask him to bring more , but there is no way to call because the phones do not work . " outside the train_station , mr . watanabe , the young salesman who came here to meet his fiancee , began to unpack his belongings from the wooden drawer that he had tied to his bicycle . " it took me almost three and a half hours to get here from kobe , peddling hard all the way , " he said . " the road from here to kobe is all bent , " he explained , making a wave like motion with his hands to show how the road had stretched and buckled in the earthquake . " there are people , bikes , motorbikes everywhere a big traffic jam of people . " as mr . watanabe and his 25 year old fiancee talked outside the station , a small crowd gathered round to listen , pleased to hear a story from the earthquake that offered a happy ending . " my family all survived the earthquake , so i feel lucky , " mr . watanabe said . " we were all asleep when the earthquake hit , and we knew that we were all still alive because we shouted out to one another , 'mother , are you there ? ' 'father , are you there ? ' " his parents and his 23 year old brother are still in kobe , living in a school gymnasium that has been converted into a shelter . after the earthquake , he could not call his fiancee in osaka because the phone system had been destroyed . " after i helped my family out of the house and then helped my neighbors , i ran all over the city , looking for a way to call tomoko because i knew she would be worried . but there were no phones for the first day , no way to call . " back in osaka , miss ashida sat for hours in front of the television , watching the horrifying scenes from kobe and waiting for the phone to ring with news , good or bad . " i could n't drink or eat , i could not sleep , " she said . on wednesday , the day after the earthquake , mr . watanabe heard a rumor that a special telephone bank had been set up for people in kobe to call loved ones outside the city , and he rushed to find it . but there were phone lines available only to tokyo , so mr . watanabe called the tokyo offices of his company and asked an employee there to call miss ashida in osaka and tell her that he was safe . " the phone rang , and i picked it up so fast , " miss ashida said , shuddering at the recollection . " when i heard it was the company that was calling , i was sure that meant that yuji was dead . he was n't calling , so he must be dead . i could n't breathe . " when she realized that the news was in fact good , she said , " it was the happiest moment that i have ever felt in my life . " on thursday , the lines to osaka were restored , and mr . watanabe spoke to his fiancee directly . " i said , 'it 's me i 'm fine , ' and there was no sound at the other end of the line , " he said . miss ashida said that she could not speak after finally hearing his voice . " i could n't talk because there were only tears , " she said , as the tears came again . their marriage is still scheduled for april , although the wooden shrine in kobe where the ceremony was supposed to take place had crumbled in the earthquake . " i saw it before coming here , and it was flattened , " said mr . watanabe . " maybe we will have to delay the formal ceremony , " miss ashida said . " but now all i know is that i want to get married as soon as possible . after this , i know how strongly i feel about yuji . " quake in japan the exodus | has a location of japan |
lead it was a few seconds before the start of high_school , and as usual several students were dashing to arrive before the close of the entrance gate . but this time , a 15 year old girl fell , and a teacher slammed a heavy_metal gate into her head . she died later of a concussion . it was a few seconds before the start of high_school , and as usual several students were dashing to arrive before the close of the entrance gate . but this time , a 15 year old girl fell , and a teacher slammed a heavy_metal gate into her head . she died later of a concussion . the death this month of ryoko ishida , the student at kobe takatsuka senior_high_school in western japan , has spread shock and cries of outrage throughout the country and brought an anguished re examination of the way rules are often arbitrarily and rigidly enforced in schools . japan 's school system is generally admired for turning out high caliber students . but critics say schools rely too heavily on rote learning and on a multitude of rules on clothing , hair length , what movies or coffee shops students can go to , even the number of pleats in girls' dresses . corporal punishment is also fairly routine in schools , with many parents saying that they prefer the schools to carry out disciplinary_actions that they are reluctant to carry out at home . 'preoccupied with rules' ''certain rules are necessary for schools because they are places of group responsibility , '' said the yomiuri newspaper , japan 's largest circulation daily . ''but what a cruel punishment this was . we see a teacher who was preoccupied with enforcing rules and forgot all other things . '' the teacher who was closing the gate , toshihiko hosoi , has been dismissed and faces possible criminal_charges for negligence in shutting the gate on its tracks as a dozen youngsters were scrambling to get inside . according to some reports , the teacher was aware that young miss ishida had fallen on the tracks , but other accounts said he was looking in another direction . still others said he was taunting the students , counting down and warning them that the gate was about to shut . by most accounts , the school gate was only occasionally slammed at 8 30 a.m. , the start of school , and students were being warned that this would be one of the times . mr . hosoi , the teacher , has been quoted in the press as complaining that he has been made a scapegoat , and saying he would now seclude himself at a buddhist_temple . 'so much effort to my work' ''i will make this sacrifice alone , '' he was quoted as saying this weekend . but he added ''the board of education is setting me up as an abnormally violent teacher . why did such a tragedy happen to me , when i devoted so much effort to my work ? '' the high_school principal has also been severely criticized because after the incident on july 6 , he called a school assembly to express sorrow and grief but also to remind students that this was the kind of thing that could happen when they are late for school . his comments were widely reported in news articles , with many commentators denouncing him for insensitivity and cruelty . two weeks after the initial outcry over the incident , the board of education of hyogo prefecture , where the incident occurred , reprimanded the principal , atuo nomura , and accepted his resignation . by coincidence , the occasional cruelty of teachers was reflected this month in the suspension of seven junior high_school teachers in fukuoka for alleged involvement in beating two students and then burying them up to their necks on a beach as waves crashed in . the incident occurred last september , apparently in response to charges that the students had been extorting money from a student . the fukuoka authorities have not determined who carried out the punishment or why , and there is an investigation by independent civil_liberties lawyers in the area . in kobe , where miss ishida was killed , her parents are suing the school_district for damages but have generally not said anything in the press . little re examination many of the commentaries in recent days have criticized the hyogo prefectural school system for failing to order any kind of re examination of the way in which school rules and discipline are carried out , which they say is the core of the problem . for instance , morkatsu imabashi , a professor at ibaraki university in central japan , wrote in a newspaper that the punishments announced so far were ''absolutely meaningless as a solution to the problem if they are treating the accident as an isolated case of negligence . '' mr . imabashi , who has conducted research on corporal punishment in schools , said ''the serious legal and educational responsibilities of the principal in the school 's administration have been unfairly played down . '' some news accounts said the school authorities might have tried to cover up the incident in the first days . the mainichi newspaper reported that students who witnessed the incident wrote reports to the school but that the official school report to the police omitted the accounts blaming the teacher for negligence . later , the newspaper said , the police asked students to write a second report directly to them , and several students refused a request from the school to make copies available to the school . the suggestion in the report was that the students and the teachers did not trust each other . | has a location of japan |
texas a m university is one of the largest institutions of higher_education in the united_states and prides itself on the academic programs there . but that did not impress people four years ago when the college opened a campus in this city north of tokyo and tried to attract japanese students . people " think this is an english_language school , " takeshi watanabe , a student , said as he stood in the asphalt yard of the nearly deserted campus shortly before it was shut down in august . " they do n't look at it as a university . " texas a m is only the most recent american college to fail in japan . in the late 1980 's , american colleges flocked to start programs in japan , mainly to funnel students to their american campuses , but also to provide a place for americans to study in japan . by 1991 , japan had more than 20 american campuses . but at least nine programs , including that of lehman_college of the city_university of new york , have already been terminated , the victims of japan 's recession and recruiting difficulties . many of the remaining programs are suffering from a shortage of students . the closings could widen what both countries agree is a serious imbalance between the more than 40 , 000 japanese students studying in the united_states and the estimated 1 , 800 american students in japan . the small number of american students here reflects japan 's high cost of living , the language_barrier and a lack of programs for american students , experts say . the texas a m campus here grew out of meetings in 1986 between american and japanese politicians who felt that having american colleges in japan would promote mutual understanding . instead , it became the focus of a dispute between the college and its host city and another symbol of friction between the two economic superpowers . koriyama , a city of 320 , 000 that lies 90 minutes north of tokyo by bullet_train , wanted another campus to help keep young people from fleeing to the big cities . with the mayor 's strong support , the city assembly pledged about 25 million in 1989 to back the effort and to help build a permanent campus . the college opened in 1990 in a temporary campus consisting of four prefabricated buildings surrounding an asphalt lot that doubled as a parking area and a basketball court . the college offered freshman level courses taught in english and intensive english lessons . after two years , students would transfer to the main campus in college station , tex . but the campus had fewer than 100 students its first year and never attracted the 300 new students a year needed to break even . the city decided that it would be foolhardy to build a new campus . b . a . stout , the director of the program here , said the city 's reneging on the permanent campus was the " fatal blow . " college officials also say the campus had a poor reputation . " texas a m was not understood for what it really was , " said demar taylor , assistant_director for external_affairs at the campus . " it was looked at by most citizens as a place where students who could n't make it elsewhere would come to school . " american colleges in japan say such reputation problems result from unfair_trade_practices . japan 's ministry of education refuses to accredit the american branch campuses , so many japanese students shun them and their american students cannot get student visas . last year , in response to pressure from washington , japan agreed to give such students cultural visas , with some of the privileges of student visas . officials of american colleges here concede that they do not meet all the requirements for accreditation , nor do they want to . offering an american style education is their main selling point . an official at the american embassy in tokyo said japanese colleges must specify four years in advance every course that will be offered and who will teach it , allowing little flexibility . when the american colleges began to open here in the 1980 's , japan was in an economic boom . many of the colleges that came were small , obscure ones invited to enter partnerships with japanese businessmen who saw an american education as a marketable commodity in a nation trying to internationalize . and the colleges wanted the income . but with the recession in japan the last three years , their plans fell by the wayside . an early casualty was the u.s . international university , a san_diego based college that was already in serious financial difficulty at home when it opened here . " certainly , there were too many at one time and many were here for the wrong reasons , " said william young , associate dean of temple_university japan , which opened in 1982 . it is the oldest american branch campus and has the most students , 1 , 800 . by the time texas a m koriyama closed its doors , the campus had run up a_7 million debt . the city , the college and an entity set up by the city to run the college are fighting over who will pay . the remaining students have been sent to the main campus in texas , even if they had not yet finished their english training . " eventually , " mr . young said , " there will be only three or four american universities left here . " | has a location of japan |
two employees at one of japan 's prestigious private universities were dismissed today over charges that they were involved in a growing scandal over cheating on entrance_examinations . meiji university said the two workers had helped stand ins pass examinations for more than 10 applicants . the employees kentaro takizawa , 48 years old , and takashi shimohara , 56 were arrested and indicted last week on charges of forging school documents . last week , the police arrested tsuyoshi mitsuzawa , the former manager of the school 's baseball_team . news reports said the police suspected that mr . mitsuzawa had arranged stand ins for applicants and received payments from parents of successful applicants reportedly more than 100 , 000 in some cases . | has a location of japan |
british detectives play cat and mouse with pedophiles who prey online , while , more out in the open , gangs lure young girls from burmese villages to bangkok bordellos . from technology to trafficking , these latest twists in the problem of commercial sexual exploitation of children were discussed and debated at a four day conference that ended here on thursday . ''each year , millions of children boys as well as girls are bought and sold like fresh produce , commodities in a global sex industry steeped in greed and unspeakable cruelty , '' said carol bellamy , executive director of unicef , which sponsored the conference with the japanese government and two private groups . unicef estimates that every year one million youths under age 18 ''are forced into the sex trade . '' the conference drew 3 , 000 delegates , three times the number that took part in the first such gathering five years ago in stockholm . in the halls and in the 107 workshops , participants sketched out the latest developments in this fast changing world . in developed nations , the internet and cellular_telephone explosion has been a boon to adults who prey on young people for sex , participants said . ''we have this image of pedophiles lurking around playgrounds , looking for victims , '' said nigel williams , chief executive of childnet international , a british based group working to reduce the vulnerabilities of children on the internet . ''now they do n't even have to leave their own homes . they can reach children playing online . from a pedophile 's perception , this is a wonderful playground . '' pedophiles have gravitated to the internet , he said , because it offers anonymity , immediate contact with children , the ability to store photographs and the ''validation'' that comes with meeting other pedophiles online and sharing interests and experiences . citing concerns about pedophiles infiltrating youth chat_rooms , he said that his group 's web_site of safety tips , www . chatdanger . com , drew 80 , 000 visitors in its first week online . trying to quantify an amorphous , fast growing phenomenon , mr . williams said that in a survey of 5 , 000 canadian children conducted this year for media awareness network , a private group , one quarter said they had had an experience online that they did not like and that 5 percent had followed up an internet encounter with a face to face meeting . the use of computers and of japan 's cellphone internet_services by those who prey on children was a major issue at the meeting , with participants noting that in the five years since the last conference , internet usage had increased to 500 million people from 30 million . in europe , japan and the united_states , about 20 police teams have been trained with the technological skills to track down pedophiles through the internet , estimated john carr , a technology expert with end child prostitution in asian tourism , one of the meeting 's private sponsoring groups . he cited the case of manchester , england , where the police in 1996 seized 12 child pornographic images , all photographs or videos . in 1999 , the same police department seized 41 , 000 child_pornography images , with almost all originating from the internet . in the united_states , the f.b.i . has estimated that online offenses against minors appear to be growing about 10 percent a year . to help identify victims , interpol has developed a huge database of images culled from the internet and available to the group 's 179 member countries , said hamish mccullough , an officer with interpol 's trafficking in human beings branch . the british police have developed a computerized facial recognition system that has helped to identify 17 sexually_abused children , said carol hewlett of the london metropolitan police serious crime group . in sweden , software has been developed to allow high speed comparison of pictures to help determine the photo 's age and to cross reference background evidence . german police officers are experimenting with a virus that would destroy child pornographic images on the internet . japan , which was severely criticized at the last conference for being the nation with the world 's largest number of child_pornography web_sites , was praised this week for closing down sites and for combating child sex tourism . arrests in japan for distributing child_pornography through the internet jumped to 114 last year , up from 9 in 1999 , the year a law banning distribution went into effect . the law also made it illegal for japanese citizens to have sex with child prostitutes . ''in korea , japan and taiwan , there is a new awareness of child sex tourism because men have gotten caught , '' said samuel koo , director of the unicef office in japan . japan is one of 21 countries , including the united_states , that have adopted laws that allow the police to arrest people for paying for sex with children while overseas . in several highly_publicized cases , japanese men have been arrested for having relations with minors while on trips to poor southeast_asian countries . earlier this month , the police in western japan arrested a 34 year old japanese man for paying 550 to a 14 year old vietnamese girl to have sex with him during a long weekend in a hotel in cambodia . the problem , however , is constantly shifting , conference participants said . for example , trafficking in teenage_girls for prostitution has eased in villages in northern thailand , largely because of work by social groups . but now , girls from cambodia , laos , myanmar formerly burma and southern china are appearing in bangkok brothels , said june kane , an australian who helped write a new study of child trafficking flows for the international labor office . the 50 million children born each year in nations where their births go unregistered are especially vulnerable . in japan , child prostitution arrests frequently involve older men meeting high_school girls through dating web_sites or cellphone internet_services . ''children are using the internet without any supervision of parents , '' warned akio kokubu , a leader of internet association , a private japanese group . ''a leveling up of internet literacy rates by parents is important . '' in a typical case , kenji oki , a 41 year old man in osaka , was arrested on dec . 14 and accused of setting up and administering a message board , accessible by cellphone , to help adult men meet high_school girls . this practice , known as compensated dating , was analyzed at several workshops . participants blamed inattentive parents , girls swept away by a highly materialistic society and the girls' lack of self_esteem . takako yoshida , a writer , blamed japan 's mass_media for extensive and sensationalistic coverage of the practice , leading many girls to believe it was commonplace and fashionable . a gynecologist who provides medical care to young prostitutes in tokyo 's roppongi district , a nightlife area , demanded , ''why do n't clerks stop a junior high_school student from buying chanel goods ? '' community indifference was frequently blamed during the conference . in many countries , youths working in prostitution are on the fringes of society , either members of racial minority groups or illegal_immigrants from a poor country . conference participants urged the police to stop looking at young people in prostitution as criminals . they said that travel agents , hotel clerks and parents monitoring their children 's internet and cellphone usage were the first lines of community defense against youth prostitution and sexual_abuse . ''in the middle of the night , 4 o'clock in the morning , i would go to a store and grab a package of cigarettes and a package of condoms and the guy at the counter never asked me if i was o.k . , '' said cherry kingsley , a shuswap indian woman from british_columbia who fell into prostitution at age 12 . hotel clerks , she added , never questioned her when she checked into vancouver hotel rooms at age 14 with an older man . | has a location of japan |
japan said last week that it was reviewing how it wants to explore space and added , somewhat vaguely , that it might for the first time consider putting a man up there . no matter how vague , the mere mention of a manned flight touched upon something profound going on here after a century and a half of singlemindedly catching up and competing with the west , japan is asking itself what kind of country it wants to be . does japan , in short , want to compete with the world 's great_powers ? the review resulted from recent failures of japan 's space_program , but perhaps japan was also reacting viscerally to actions taken by the two nations that have most shaped its history . the united_states has said it will send astronauts to the moon and to mars , reiterating its intention of staying no . 1 . and china launched a man into space three months ago , becoming only the third nation to do so , after the former soviet_union and the united_states , and announcing its resolve to become a global power . how to deal with the rise or re emergence of china as a great_power will very likely be the biggest foreign_policy issue facing japan over the next generation . for east_asia , it is often pointed out , has never had both a strong china and a strong japan at the same time . china , long the center of asia , fell under foreign domination in the last century and a half . japan , long content in its relative isolation or as a tributary nation to china , went out into the world , competing against the west and dominating asia . but china never lost its sense of being a great_power and appears comfortable now in reassuming its traditional role in asia . what of japan then ? let americans land on mars or even venus . having lost militarily and economically to the americans , the japanese have no problem accepting that . but even as japanese have become less focused on competition and more on their quality of life , there is deep fear and ambivalence about becoming second class to the rising power next door . it is , after all , a country that the japanese had colonized a mere half a century ago . kiichi_miyazawa , a former prime_minister , pointed out in an interview that japan thought of itself as a great_power only once in its history , in the decades leading up to world_war_ii , when japan ruled swaths of asia and eventually attacked pearl harbor . ''japan wanted to compete , and did it fully , '' mr . miyazawa said . ''only we failed and gave up . '' not completely , of course , in the 1980 's , during the height of the so called bubble economy and talk of ''japan as no . 1 , '' some businessmen and politicians spoke of teaching lessons to the world . but that talk died down long ago , as japan 's economy ground through a decade long recession in the 90 's . many americans reared in a nation whose identity is inseparable from its no . 1 status find it hard to grasp why there is not greater unhappiness in japan , which fell from such heights and has yet to pull itself decisively out of the slump . but japan has now grown into a mature society that is trying to forge forward with its own standards . hidehiko sekizawa , executive director of the hakuhodo institute of life and living , conducts a comprehensive survey on attitudes toward life every two years . his findings show that people are focusing on enjoying life and are happy despite the long slump . there is strong nostalgia nowadays for the edo period , the feudal era preceding the last century and a half of rapid change . while the edo period had many social problems , people are now remembering it as a time of stability and great cultural vitality . ''people want to return to an era where life was perceived to be more enjoyable , '' mr . sekizawa said . the feeling is noticeably strong among the young . if the icon of the 1980 's was the ' 'salaryman'' who sacrificed his private life for his company , today 's icon is the ''freeter'' the young japanese who take odd jobs to make just enough money to enjoy their personal interests or choose their way of life . the stress of competing inside japan , let alone as part of a country competing against a visibly , and to some , frighteningly , hungry china , is furthest from their minds . indeed , ' 'soothing'' is a key word nowadays . this year 's popular car color is a soothing beige . a popular boyfriend is the soothing type , one who will relieve a woman 's anxieties . even japan 's decision to send ground troops to iraq seems rooted not in an aggressive foreign_policy but in a move to dispel worries over a nuclear north_korea and a rising china by cementing ties with the united_states . ''japan has the economic and technological power to put a man into space if it tried , but it does n't do so , '' said he zhi , 26 , a chinese graduate student at kyushu university in japan . ''japan gives no . 1 priority to economic advancement , not political advancement . '' against this backdrop , the prestige game of manned_space flights ''is not worthwhile for japan as a nation , '' mr . miyazawa said . putting a man into space would require a big increase in japan 's current 1 . 7 billion space_program . but even engineers at the japan aerospace exploration agency are looking inward . ''i 'd like an increase in our budget , '' said hiroshi sasaki , 40 , an engineer . ''but many companies have gone bankrupt around me . it would be difficult to request a doubling or tripling of our budget when there are people being laid off around us . '' the council reviewing japan 's space_program is expected to present a new plan this summer . the decision should yield a clear indication of what japan wants to be and what asia might become in the decades ahead . the annual new year 's eve ''red and white song contest'' television show provided a clue , though . smap , perhaps japan 's most famous pop group , closed the show with last year 's best selling song , ''only one flower in the world . '' the song was popular among antiwar demonstrators , but more than anything else it struck a chord here by asking , ''why do we want to be no . 1 when each of us is different ? '' small flowers , big flowers , none of them are alike so it 's o.k . not to be no . 1 every one of them is the only one . letter from asia | has a location of japan |
spring_training has begun , but all is not right with our national pastime . still troubled about the dismal nielsen ratings for last year 's world_series , the lords of baseball surely must be intrigued with the packaged , made for television melodramas being broadcast on the winter_olympics . maybe they 'll push for some changes . . . hello , everybody , this is jim_nantz at the cbs autumn games broadcast center , where we 're moments away from the final round of the men 's baseball interleague championship between the los_angeles_dodgers and the new york yankees . let 's go to verne lundquist and scott hamilton , who are standing by at beautiful , time honored dodger stadium . verne ? thanks , jim . we 're here at beautiful , time honored dodger stadium , and our first contestant , representing new york , is leadoff_hitter charles knoblauch , or chuck , as he 's known to friends and teammates . the opening pitch from hideo_nomo of japan is swing and a miss ! strike one . verne , chuck clearly overextended himself on that pitch . looking at the cyber simulation replay , you can see how he failed to lock his hips , then swished his bat in a tight loop , barely inches below the oncoming curveball . when you do that , the umpire subtracts a point . that 's not the chuck_knoblauch we saw back in new york . but i watched chuck during his practice session this morning , and he did not look comfortable . at one point , he threw his bat in disgust and spat onto the playing surface . i 'm worried about him . there 's a short delay . in the meantime , for those you who may not be familiar with chuck_knoblauch , our own christin cooper had a chance to visit with chuck , and she filed this report . ( theme from ''chariots of fire , '' scene of sun rising over field of corn . ) it is said that baseball is a metaphor for life . there are wins . there are losses . and there are many other things , too . so it is with chuck_knoblauch . . . . ( fifteen minutes later . ) . . . so as this plucky twin turned yankee battles on , chuck_knoblauch strives to reclaim the_dream that he and his father once shared the_dream of a world series ring . ( music up . scene of sun setting over field of corn . ) we 're back at dodger stadium , where it is now the fifth inning , and things have not gone well for chuck_knoblauch . in the first inning , he was called out on strikes and then ejected from the game after his urine tested positive for chewing tobacco . meanwhile , the dodgers have opened up a 3 to 1 lead , thanks to a home_run by mike_piazza of los_angeles . and that 's where our own fran drescher is standing by , with some very special people . fran ? thanks , verne . with me here are the parents of mike_piazza , the handsome young pixie of this dodger dream team . mrs . piazza , you 're sitting here , watching , and everybody in america has fallen in love with your son . it must make you feel proud , happy . how does it make you feel ? proud , happy ? ( six minutes later . ) . . . ha ha ! and , hey , if he gets 70 million , maybe mike will buy you that hockey team ! back to jim_nantz at the broadcast center . thanks , fran . there has been a major development in the men 's finals . tim ryan and yekaterina gordeyeva are standing by in deep center_field . tim ? jim , it is now the top of the ninth , and momentum has again shifted . the dodgers lead , but the yankees have loaded the bases with two outs , and they 're sending star outfielder bernie_williams to the plate . but before we bring you the winning runs , which actually were scored yesterday , let 's revisit a truly special moment that happened just prior to the game the ceremonial playing of the national_anthem . . . . hart seely is a reporter for the syracuse post standard . | has a location of japan |
when a bridge and an elevated_highway collapsed during the big san_francisco_earthquake of 1989 , minoru hirano , a japanese highway designer , reassured his countrymen that japanese bridges were stronger than those in america . " i did n't think it would happen to japan , " mr . hirano , director of project planning for the japan highway public corporation , recalled today . " i thought our design code would be enough . " but as a major elevated_highway toppled to its side and thousands of buildings crumpled in a huge earthquake near kobe this morning , mr . hirano and others in japan realized , to their horror , that it could happen here . " we can never be prepared enough . that 's my comment now , " he said . the earthquake , which measured 7.2 on the richter_scale , shook more than foundations . it has undermined japan 's confidence in its anti quake technology and raised the level of fear in a nation that thought it had reached an accommodation with an ever present threat . " before this , i felt that if it happened in tokyo , it would be okay , " said atsuko sekine , a young office worker shopping in tokyo 's ginza area . " but now , i 'm very worried . " most prediction efforts are aimed at forecasting a quake southwest of tokyo , not in western japan . " we do not have any earthquakes there , " said shin aoyama , a spokesman for the science and technology agency . " it 's really an astonishing event . " the last big earthquake in western japan was in 1946 . measuring 8.0 on the richter_scale , it killed more than 1 , 300 people . lack of preparation in kobe , a port city , may have contributed to the scope of the devastation . many questions remain unanswered . japanese buildings and homes have systems that automatically shut off the gas in the event of an earthquake . it is still unclear whether these systems were in use near kobe and , if so , why there were dozens of fires , many of which had still not been extinguished by nightfall . some of the houses and office buildings that collapsed might have been built before the earthquake code was revised in the 1970s . mr . hirano of the government affiliated highway corporation said that , in general , the panels of the roadbed on elevated highways in japan are connected to each other more firmly together than they are in the united_states . the roadbed is also connected more strongly to the pillars . with one highway that collapsed today , he said , the roadbed stayed intact and connected to the pillars . but the entire structure toppled over as one piece , collapsing at the base of its pillars , perhaps because the ground supporting the pillars gave way . the other highway that collapsed was the oldest in japan , opened in 1965 , he said . mr . hirano said he thought highways in western japan were not upgraded to the latest standards because the threat of earthquakes there was perceived to be low . after last year 's los_angeles quake , hisanobu ichimasu , director of the design and research division in tokyo 's metropolitan expressway public corporation , said japan 's and california 's standards for elevated roadways were now very similar , although at one time japan had a more stringent code . for instance , he said , until a big quake in the san fernando valley in 1971 , california required fewer horizontal steel hoops in pillars than japan did . the hoops are designed to prevent the vertical steel reinforcing bars from buckling outward . but now , he said , the standards are similar . masakazu ozaki , a professor of architectural engineering at chiba university , said that " mostly japanese buildings are stronger than u.s . buildings , " but that it depends on the type of building . still , he and others said a revision of japan 's codes will now be inevitable . professor ozaki said it is politically difficult in japan to criticize the building codes because people do not typically challenge the government here . perhaps no place on earth , including california , lives under as constant a threat of earthquakes as japan . today 's quake was the third since october that measured over 7.0 on the richter_scale . but most earthquakes in recent years , including the two other big ones since october , have done little damage and resulted in few casualties . even in a july 1993 earthquake that measured 7.8 on the richter_scale and killed more than 200 people , almost all the deaths and damage resulted from huge tsunami waves rather than from the earth 's shaking itself . the result , some people here say , is that japan became overconfident and somewhat complacent . japan 's newspapers and television stations provided extensive coverage of the san_francisco_earthquake , which measured 7.1 on the richter_scale , and of the los_angeles temblor , of 6.7 magnitude , which occurred exactly a year ago . while the media questioned whether the same damage could occur in japan , experts were frequently quoted saying how japanese building and highway codes here were more stringent than california 's . to some extent , japan 's ability to withstand earthquakes is probably better than in the united_states , experts say . but some of japan 's good track record can also be attributed to luck . most of the big earthquakes have occurred in the pacific_ocean or near lightly populated_areas . the epicenter of today 's earthquake was very near kobe and at a relatively shallow depth of 20 kilometers , or 12 . 4 miles . that makes it the first big temblor to occur in a major city since the great tokyo earthquake of 1923 , in which more than 140 , 000 people died . earth quakes are a major concern for the japanese . children are trained to prepare for earthquakes from an early age some elementary schools require pupils to sit on fireproof seat cushions that can be worn as a hat to shield the head from falling debris . in the 1970 's , the tokyo fire department gave away free to each home a plastic water bucket that would hold enough water for a week 's worth of drinking or for dousing fires after a quake . every sept . 1 , the anniversary of the great tokyo earthquake , millions of people in the tokyo area take part in earthquake drills . children practice running through tunnels of smoke with handkerchiefs over their faces and military personnel practice rescues from helicopters . japan is also spending about 106 million a year to study the mechanism of earthquakes in an effort to eventually be able to predict them . the government is using signals from satellites and distant stars to measure minute shifts in the earth 's crust . it is drilling wells more than a mile deep in which to put equipment to measure earth movements , and it is monitoring faults under the ocean . one project , to see if the behavior of catfish can provide a warning of earthquakes , has drawn some international ridicule . " the government is always saying that japanese buildings are completely safe , " said mr . ozaki , who is the japanese chairman of a united_states japan committee looking at how to improve building design to withstand earthquakes . no matter how the codes are improved , he said , no building will ever by completely free from risk from a big enough earthquake . in that sense , some japanese are resigned to living with a permanent threat of quakes . " i have a feeling there 's nothing we can do about it , " said yukio suzuki , an office worker in tokyo . " just make sure to turn off the gas . you do n't want to worry too much or you become neurotic . " for kayoko onishi , 77 , today 's earthquake revived memories of the 1923 tokyo quake , which she experienced as a little girl and which killed her father . " we had to sleep outside in our big garden , under a table , " she said today . " we could n't go back inside the house . " now , she said , she is scared again , but there is little she can do . " this is my country and i ca n't escape anywhere else , " she said . quake in japan the engineering | has a location of japan |
the space_shuttle_endeavour and its crew glided to a safe landing in darkness at the kennedy_space_center today , bringing back a japanese science satellite that had been in orbit for nearly one year . the shuttle commander , col . brian duffy of the air_force , piloted endeavour to touch down on a floodlit runway at 2 42 a.m . it was only the eighth time in 74 missions that a nasa shuttle landed in the dark . the nighttime landing was dictated by the course the shuttle had to follow in chasing down the japanese satellite . the endeavour logged 3.7 million miles in the busy nine day flight , in which crew members fetched the satellite and walked in space . besides the japanese satellite , the shuttle transported a nasa probe into space , which the six astronauts released and retrieved two days later . about 50 people from the japanese space_program gathered at the landing strip to welcome back endeavour and the crew , especially the japanese astronaut , koichi wakata . mr . wakata said he was looking forward to celebrating " in the near future with all the crew members over japanese sake . " capturing the japanese satellite , which held a variety of experiments , was the top priority for endeavour . the japanese space_program paid nasa about 65 million for pickup and delivery . the satellite is missing its two fold down solar_panels . they had to be cut loose by ground_controllers last week after they failed to latch into place . crew members took two space walks , on monday and wednesday . two civilians , dr . leroy chiao and dr . daniel barry , and capt . winston scott of the navy spent a total of 13 hours in space testing heated spacesuits and tools and techniques suitable for building a space_station . the equipment performed well , they said . the construction of an international_space_station is supposed to begin in 1997 and take five years . nasa plans to practice space walks on three more shuttle missions the next one will be this spring . the shuttle columbia is due to fly next , in late february , on a mission to deploy an italian tethered satellite . in 1992 , the satellite was extended on a string only 850 feet far short of the goal of 12 1 2 miles because a protruding bolt interfered with the maneuver on a flight of atlantis . | has a location of japan |
no buildings have collapsed , yet . no one has been hurt . but the case of the architect caught cheating on earthquake building codes has transfixed japan . night after night , television news programs feature video clips of tearful condominium owners moving out of their new apartments , while construction company owners , inspectors and the architect involved in the deficient buildings blame one another for the failings . so far , seven hotels have been forced to close , including a 260 room tower that opened in august near the tokyo_stock_exchange . ''it 's not entirely my fault , '' hidetsugu aneha , the architect , told reporters last week . to cut construction costs and win more commissions , authorities say , mr . aneha designed 21 buildings over the last decade that would not withstand a moderate earthquake . working in almost half of japan 's 47 prefectures , mr . aneha had a hand in nearly 200 structures , largely apartment buildings , but also hotels and temples . in one 11 story condominium complex studied this week by the newspaper asahi_shimbun , columns and steel reinforcing bars were found to be too thin and too far apart , and different earthquake force figures were used for the same floor . the report for this tokyo building , the newspaper said , was ''filled with inconsistencies that any expert could easily have picked up . '' the scandal , which many fear could spread even further , strikes at a core insecurity for many japanese . located atop four tectonic plates , japan is exceptionally prone to earthquakes . a decade ago , a severe temblor flattened sections of the port of kobe , killing about 6 , 000 people . after that , the country tightened its already strict building codes , leading many japanese to believe that they live in the world 's most earthquake safe nation . ''with the kobe earthquake , we saw high rises pancaking , the highway keeling over , we learned builders had used wood instead of steel reinforcing bars , '' said jeffrey kingston , director of asian studies at temple_university japan . ''we live in a earthquake hot zone , and so it is imperative that the government strictly enforce building standards . '' it now appears that corners were cut as the construction industry struggled to reduce costs as it coped with a deflationary economy and a stagnant population . ''i felt pressure from the industry 's overall trend to seek speed and low cost , '' mr . aneha told reporters , according to kyodo_news . ''i did n't feel i was doing anything wrong , and i was too busy to sense any feeling like that . '' the architect defended his buildings . but under questioning by reporters , he conceded that in a medium_sized earthquake , ''they might crumble . '' one construction company is planning to file for bankruptcy next week , as a result of the scandal . others are reeling under the pressure of financing the costs of demolishing or repairing defective high rise condominiums . government officials now are focusing on the private companies that were contracted to review architectural plans . under a system established in 1999 , architectural firms won the right to choose the companies that inspect their building plans . government officials now say that inspection companies that gave quick , cursory checks won the most business . ''everybody involved , developers , original architects , construction companies , knows about the cheating because it is a system , '' takayoshi igarashi , an urban policy professor at hosei university , said in an interview . ''since 1999 , about two million buildings have been built with inspection by private_sector inspectors , and it probably was not just aneha who cheated . '' but some see the investigation as a sign of progress . ''the fact that this story came out before anybody died , before any building collapsed , while buildings were under construction , to me that is an encouraging sign , '' said mr . kingston , whose recent book , ''japan 's quiet transformation , '' talks about growing government transparency and accountability in japan . | has a location of japan |
in a corner of the tiled tunnel leading from a subway stop to the kyoto international conference hall , the kindergarten children of kyoto left a message for delegates to the climate conference here this week . their message was an assemblage of miniature trees and flowers accompanied by a small sign . ''the kyoto people are praying for the success of this conference , '' the sign said . ''the future of all people , especially the children , depends largely on the outcome of this conference . '' but even if it is ultimately ratified , the agreement to cut emissions of heat trapping greenhouse_gases that emerged today from 10 days of high stakes politicking will not secure those children , or their children , from the climatic disruptions that mainstream scientists say lie_ahead . participating countries could obey its emission limits to the letter , and atmospheric levels of the gases , produced chiefly by the burning of fossil_fuels like coal and oil , would continue to rise . the kyoto_protocol does make a start , however . it would establish at least the foundation of an institutional framework and accompanying mechanisms for dealing with the problem in coming decades . and it signals business and industry that the issue is here to stay , that the ways in which energy is produced and used must change , and that these issues should be taken into consideration in planning and investing for the long term . the burning of coal , oil and natural_gas , the energy mainstays of the modern economy , produces waste carbon_dioxide that remains in the atmosphere , trapping heat . if nothing is done to limit emission of these gases , scientists advising the delegates here say , the earth 's average surface temperature will rise by 2 to 6 degrees_fahrenheit by 2100 if the world pursues business as usual . ( by comparison , the world is now only 5 to 9 degrees warmer than in the depths of the last ice age . ) the scientists say this much warming would bring rising seas , more severe droughts , rainstorms , heat waves and floods , together with broad shifts in climatic and agricultural zones that would benefit some regions but seriously harm others . the kyoto_protocol legally binds industrialized_countries to cut their greenhouse emissions , collectively , by an annual average of about 5 percent below 1990 levels for the period 2008 through 2012 a 30 percent reduction below what they would otherwise be . some are to cut more than that , some less , and a few will be allowed to let their emissions grow because of special circumstances . among the industrialized big three , the united_states must reduce its emissions 7 percent below 1990 levels , the 15 nation european_union 8 percent and japan 6 percent . but even if the countries adopt and adhere to these standards , an uncertain prospect , they will only be slowing the accumulation of heat trapping gases in the atmosphere . as a result , many experts believe that it may already be too late to avoid serious climatic disruption , that the task ahead is one of keeping it from becoming truly catastrophic . although there are dissenters , many scientists now predict that unless far more drastic action is taken , atmospheric levels of carbon_dioxide , the major contributor to climate_change , will double sometime late in the next century from the pre industrial levels of the late 18th_century . atmospheric levels of cardon dioxide are now about 360 parts per million , and many experts say it will be difficult , if not impossible , to stabilize them at 550 parts per million , close to a doubling of pre industrial concentrations . though it is difficult to predict exactly what climate changes would result from such a doubling , there is wide agreement that they would be highly disruptive . predictably , the fossil_fuel industry warned that the kyoto cuts would bring economic pain , while some environmentalists said they did not go far enough . other environmentalists and many business interests hailed the protocol as a solid agreement that would make the economy more efficient and boost growth in the long term . only time will tell who is right . what seems clearer is that ordinary americans will notice little immediate impact on their everyday lives . if it is able to win senate approval of the agreement , the clinton_administration intends to phase in domestic measures to meet the kyoto target over time , starting with the provision of financial incentives , tax cuts and cooperative government industry efforts to accelerate the use of energy efficient technologies . after a decade or so of experience , according to the clinton plan , the united_states would inaugurate the centerpiece of its emissions cutting strategy and a principle hard won here emissions trading . under this arrangement , a cap would be set on permissible carbon_dioxide_emissions . companies that reduce their emissions more than required could sell the excess emissions , at a profit , to those that exceed the cap . the administration argues that use of this mechanism for reducing industrial emissions of sulfur_dioxide has shown that it achieves more emissions cuts at lower cost . but emissions trading emerged as one of the most contentious items here , almost torpedoing the talks . after a bitter 11th_hour debate , the developing nations agreed to an international trading mechanism for developed countries . but they fear that trading would allow rich countries to buy their way out of reduction obligations , so it remains to be seen whether they will agree to the regulations necessary to make it work . the issue will be debated in the next round of climate talks , scheduled to begin in buenos_aires in november . another innovative mechanism approved here is an international fund through which rich countries could invest in specific emissions saving projects in developing_countries . the two countries involved would share in the resulting emissions credits . apart from that , the kyoto agreement did little about the future involvement of developing_countries . while everyone recognizes that their growing greenhouse emissions will ultimately require them to submit to binding limits , the poorer countries have refused to accept them until the richer countries show the way with action . the question remains a subject for future negotiations . because the new protocol does so little about developing_countries , it is unclear whether the administration will sign it , and there are very grave doubts that the senate would approve it . but president_clinton has said he will proceed with his domestic plans for emissions reduction in the meantime . beyond that , the kyoto_protocol is about the long term , and the united_states could join it at any time in the years immediately ahead if conditions are right . the 10 days of sleepless negotiations may well have established a adjustable instrument that in coming decades can respond to emerging new knowledge about both the science and economics of the problem if the governments of the world buy into it seriously . should they do so , the descendants of those kyoto kindergartners and others like them throughout the world may have cause to be grateful . the climate accord the outlook | has a location of japan |
toru kondo , an english teacher at a public_high_school here , had never before been reprimanded in his 32 year career . but he was recently required to take a two hour ' 'special retraining course , '' lectured on his mistaken ways and given a sheet of paper on which to engage in half an hour of written self examination . his offense was to defy the tokyo board of education 's new regulation requiring teachers to sing the national_anthem while standing and facing the national flag . he and scores of colleagues refused , because for them the rising sun flag and the anthem , ''kimigayo , '' or ''his majesty 's reign , '' are symbols of imperialism . ''when the japanese_military invaded asia , the rising sun flag led the corps and the 'kimigayo' was sung when japanese soldiers won a battle , '' mr . kondo said . ''i 've been telling students that the two are linked to japan 's militarism . '' many japanese felt the same way for decades after world_war_ii . but perhaps because they are now more comfortable with their history , or perhaps because japanese society has moved right , the authorities here have made respect for the flag and anthem mandatory for teachers and students . to supporters , the move is a step to make japan into a so called normal country that can be patriotic and proud of itself . to critics , it is dangerous indoctrination that has no place in a democracy . in a city in fukuoka prefecture , education officials conducted a survey this year on how loud students sang the anthem at graduation and enrollment ceremonies , classifying each school as ''high , '' ' 'medium'' or ''low . '' in tokyo , 243 teachers have been punished this year because they did not stand before the rising sun flag and sing the anthem 67 more have been warned because they did not instruct their students to do so . the police raided the home of one former teacher here who handed out copies of a magazine article about the issue at a graduation_ceremony . in tokyo , the only municipality to have meted out broad punishments , the authorities were hoping to use the capital 's influence to make respect for the flag and anthem compulsory nationwide . while newspaper polls show voters here opposing such a movement , voters have still remained firmly behind its leader , shintaro_ishihara , the rightist governor of tokyo . the movement suffered a setback recently , from an unexpected corner emperor_akihito , who stated his opposition to the regulation . the imperial_household_agency , some politicians and newspapers played down the comment by the emperor , who , according to the constitution , is forbidden from interfering in political matters . but others saw in his rare political utterance a sign that he was worried about japan 's direction . after japan 's defeat in world_war_ii , the rising sun flag was banned for more than three years under the american occupation . asian neighbors remain suspicious of japanese nationalism and of the country 's new assertiveness overseas , including sending 550 troops to iraq . the young in seoul or shanghai may consume pok mon or other symbols of the new japan . but since they are thoroughly taught about the brutalities of japanese colonialism , unlike their japanese counterparts , their often visceral reactions to symbols of the old japan lie near the surface . japan long was ambivalent toward its flag and anthem , and it was only in 1999 that the government made them legal national symbols . since 1990 , public_school teachers have been told they ' 'should instruct'' students to pay respect to both . but in october 2003 , tokyo made respect compulsory at graduation and enrollment ceremonies in public schools , and disobedience punishable . the regulation states that the national flag must be raised in front of the stage , with the tokyo government flag to the right . an official will cry out , ''singing of the national_anthem , '' then teachers and students must rise , face the flag and sing . board or school officials instruct sitting teachers to stand and sing and take the names of those who refuse . ''the deputy principal walked down the aisle between the wall and the teachers' seats and approached me and said , 'please stand up and sing , ''' said mitsuo kondo , 61 , a martial_arts teacher , who is not related to the english teacher . ''so i said 'i wo n't stand up . i wo n't sing . ''' mr . kondo , whose teaching contract was canceled as a result and who now is a part time carpenter , said he had not opposed the anthem and flag until showing respect was required . he said he used to sing the anthem at the top of his voice . ''patriotic feelings ca n't grow by force , '' he said . takayuki tsuchiya , a tokyo assemblyman , said the new regulation was necessary to counterbalance decades of leftist lectures by teachers , especially members of the japan teachers' union . for decades , he said , the teachers have led a campaign to denigrate the nation 's symbols , placing the flag next to toilets . ''the japan teachers' union has been teaching students that the white of the rising sun flag is the color of bone and red is the color of people 's blood , '' he said . ''they are depriving students of the freedom to stand up . they hate the emperor and they hate japan . would american kids stand up if you teach them america did terrible things in vietnam ? '' the teachers' union , considered one of japan 's largest left leaning organizations , has been losing membership and influence in keeping with japan 's overall political shift . yuzuru nakamura , the union 's secretary general , said the group did not oppose the flag or anthem , but rejected the tokyo government 's regulation . mr . nakamura said he saw it as part of a rising nationalism in a japan made increasingly insecure by its generation long economic malaise and china 's ascendancy . ''the government needs symbols of unity for the country , '' he said . ''i think the national flag and anthem are being used to establish japanese ethnicity or identity . '' tokyo officials clearly hoped they could spur the stand and sing movement to grow nationwide by drawing the emperor to their side . in october , kunio yonenaga , an education board member who oversees the new regulation in tokyo but evidently wants his influence to reach beyond , told the emperor ''making sure that students and teachers raise the rising sun flag and sing the national_anthem at schools across the country is my job . i 'm doing my best . '' mr . yonenaga , who had expected encouragement , was instead rebuked by the emperor , who said , ''it 's not desirable to do it by force . '' taken aback , mr . yonenaga , who declined to be interviewed for this article , interrupted the emperor and blurted out , ''thank you for your wonderful words . '' mr . tsuchiya , the tokyo assemblyman , could barely disguise his disappointment . asked why he thought the emperor held such a view , mr . tsuchiya mentioned the influence of elizabeth vining , a quaker schoolteacher from philadelphia , who tutored akihito , then the crown_prince , from 1946 to 1950 , and even gave him a nickname . ''the emperor was raised by mrs . vining , who called him jimmy , '' he said . | has a location of japan |
one island of calm in this smashed , overwhelmingly sad city today was the warmly lit branch of the bank of japan , the central_bank . even though it was a sunday and most of the city remained paralyzed , bank officials in three piece suits were busy , planting the first seeds of economic regeneration with those brave enough to think of the future . " basically , we came through almost untouched , " said shigeru uebayashi , the assistant branch manager , as he nodded toward the businessmen lining up to withdraw cash inside the squat vault of a building . " i know our outward appearance is rather unimpressive , but this is a strong structure . " his comments aptly summed up the economic prospects that kobe and japan face after last tuesday 's earthquake left nearly 5 , 000 dead and this genial city of 1.5 million devastated . kobe 's outward appearance is grim indeed . rain today threatened to touch off landslides and to topple already weakened buildings , complicating the search for those still missing in the rubble and the lives of the nearly 300 , 000 people now without homes . page_a8 . the port here japan 's second largest , surpassed only by yokohama will not operate properly for months . the central commercial district near the bank of japan is a jumble of buildings at twisted angles , hundreds of which will have to be replaced . takeshi tsuji , head of the city 's economic_development bureau , said he believed that the estimated cost of rebuilding 100 billion was too low . but few experts doubt that even with the serious disruptions to trade and life , japan 's economy will be able to absorb the blow and still generate substantial growth in the year ahead . many agree that the burst of construction and new investment the government is expected to stimulate could provide a modest economic fillip , adding a few tenths of a percent to the growth rate of the second largest economy in the world . indeed , the unusual weekend activity at the bank of japan branch the first time many people here had access to cash was a prelude to the reopening sometime next week of routine financial transactions between banks , the lifeblood of real commercial activity . nevertheless , the tragedy offers some stark challenges that could well make the bitter kobe earthquake of 1995 a sorry economic turning point for this prosperous region . local officials , who have focused for the last few days on little more than survival , have just started to address the larger economic issues , and they admit to being anxious about what lies ahead . the amount of destruction is shocking , and many here wonder where the money will come from to replace the miles of buckled streets , overturned highways and twisted rail lines . just disposing of the rubble is expected to cost nearly 1 million . the government has promised aid , but ultimately local residents and businesses themselves are going to have to borrow huge_sums of money to finance their city 's economic rebirth . numerous residents huddled today among the filthy blankets and half eaten box lunches in city shelters were asked how they planned to rebuild their homes . all said they had little if any insurance , modest savings and few ideas . the regional economy faces even tougher questions because of the damage to this port , which until last tuesday received 8.4 percent of japan 's imports and shipped 12 percent of its exports . in recent years , many port operations were expanded onto huge landfill islands , parts of which sank five feet and more in the quake . some of those facilities may not be reconstructed , or they will have to be moved at considerable expense . tourism , another important industry , is also unlikely to be revived soon , but it is unclear what could replace it as an employer . nearly all of the factories that once made kobe an enduring center for manufacturing shoes from synthetic materials were burned to the ground last week , and city officials worry that production will now be moved to low wage countries like china . some also worry that the risk of more tremors here will cause some small businesses and consumers to move elsewhere , leaving the city 's commercial districts adrift . " i know many other shopkeepers who are already saying it 's not worth it to stay here , and they are talking about going to osaka , " takao tachibana commented as he surveyed the twisted remains of his clothing store in the once smart sannomiya neighborhood . " there 's no infrastructure , and it could take years to rebuild . who can wait for that ? " adding to the problem is the fact that tens of thousands of kobe 's residents have already begun looking elsewhere to fill their everyday needs , as a third of shopping streets here , with the clusters of small shops that the japanese still favor , were destroyed or badly_damaged . a long recession , which was just letting up when the quake hit , had taken a heavy toll on the region 's commercial_banks , and rumors had already stirred that several local institutions were in trouble . the damage from the quake could worsen those problems , securities analysts said , and force the government to undertake several expensive financial rescue operations that could impede the flow of loans to the region . a more fundamental concern grips those who have pushed hard in recent years to force the intrusive government bureaucrats in tokyo to ease their tight grip on the region 's economy that the massive rebuilding campaign will reverse the trend toward deregulation . much of the aid for kobe is likely to be funneled through government owned lending institutions . as it is , they finance everything from small businesses to highways and heavy industries , and account for a disproportionate 20 percent of total lending in japan far more than in most other industrialized_countries . " what i 'm worried about is that the bureaucrats will surely use this calamity as an excuse to delay reform , " said toshihiro kiribuchi , a senior executive of the omron corporation , an electronics company . " that 's the way they think . " the battle over deregulation is an issue with great political significance . each of japan 's last three prime_ministers insisted that he would reverse a century of government intrusion in the economy . officials here will now be watching not just the amount of government assistance , which most agree is essential to prime kobe 's economic pump but how that money is provided , and how much control it gives tokyo over the shape of future investment . still , it is easy to see why these concerns , grave as they are , remain abstract for many officials here . for the time being , kobe is a city consumed with life and death . correction january 29 , 1995 , sunday an article last monday about rebuilding kobe , japan , misstated the cost of removing rubble created by the earthquake . it is expected to cost nearly 1 billion , not nearly 1 million . | has a location of japan |
they have seen it so often that they come to expect it . so here , in such an emotional and intense setting , hideki_matsui 's teammates had a feeling he would come through again . this was matsui 's homecoming to the tokyo_dome , where he starred for a decade with japan 's most revered team , the yomiuri_giants . playing against them with the yankees in an exhibition_game sunday , matsui came up for the first time as the leadoff batter in the second inning . the fans in the right field bleachers chanted , ''home_run matsui ! '' on the yankees' bench , manager joe_torre said to a coach , rob thomson , ''would n't it be something if he hit a home_run here ? '' the backup catcher john flaherty turned to the catching coach , gary tuck , and made the call . ''i said , 'knowing this guy , he 'll probably go deep the first at bat , ' '' flaherty said . ''you almost have come to expect it now . we saw it last year when he hit the grand_slam on opening day in new york . it 's his personality . you expect it , and he delivers . '' on a 2 2 pitch from a former teammate , the left hander hisanori takahasi , matsui blasted a curveball deep into the center_field seats . it produced the yankees' first run in a 6 2 victory that also included homers from jorge_posada and derek_jeter . nobody yelled for those players to do that . matsui had hit 332 homers for the giants , and when the fans asked for another , he provided . ''that 's hard to do , '' jeter said . ''it 's hard enough to hit a home_run in batting practice , let alone in a game . he 's a special player to be able to deal with all the attention and scrutiny and deliver like that . '' after the homer , jeter told matsui , ''you can hit . '' matsui demurred . ''japanese pitching , '' he said . that may have had something to do with it . in their exhibition games here , the japanese pitchers throw japan league baseballs , which pitchers say feel smaller and have tighter seams . ( the yankees pitchers throw major_league balls . ) matsui , who hit only 16 homers last season after ripping 50 for yomiuri in 2002 , said he noticed a difference . ''it feels like it flies a little bit longer , '' matsui said through an interpreter . at a news conference on saturday , a japanese reporter asked torre where matsui would bat . knowing the importance of lineup spots to japanese fans , torre was prepared . matsui , he said , would bat sixth . later , in a smaller interview session , new york reporters asked torre if he had considered batting matsui cleanup and playing him in center , as a nod to his giants career . torre said he had not thought of it , but he seemed to like the idea . overnight , he decided to do it . ''we allow someone to be bigger than the team today , which is not our nature , '' torre said before the game . ''but today is an exception . '' matsui scored two more runs after the homer . he singled to lead off the fourth and scored on posada 's three run blast . when he walked in the fifth and sixth , some fans razzed the pitchers . more hooted in the ninth at the plate_umpire who called matsui out on strikes . many filed out of the dome as soon as that at bat was over . matsui was given a check for 500 , 000 yen ( about 5 , 000 ) as the game 's most valuable player . fans screamed for him as he thanked them , and yomiuri 's m.v.p. , shinnosuke abe , bowed toward matsui . for all of the pomp , matsui said repeatedly that he was able to treat it as if it were a normal day . ''of course there was an excitement , but it was business as usual , '' he said . ''the way i dealt with the game itself , i was able to approach it in the usual way , with a bit of enthusiasm and excitement . but in the batter 's box , my approach and attempt was to go about business as usual . '' closer mariano_rivera , who allowed an unearned run in the ninth the yankees made four errors on the artificial_turf said matsui had mastered the trick of making intense environments seem casual . ''i tell you what , he 's good at handling that pressure , '' rivera said . the rest of the yankees seemed to share that feeling . they have come this far to reconfirm their belief in the magic of matsui . ''special , '' general_manager brian_cashman said , as he left the clubhouse sunday_night . ''very special . '' inside pitch the hanshin_tigers beat the yankees , 11 7 , at the tokyo_dome on monday . donovan osborne , trying to secure the fifth starter 's spot , gave up seven runs in the second inning the other candidate , jorge depaula , followed and allowed one run in three innings . tony clark crushed a 521 foot homer that damaged a small section of the scoreboard high above center_field . officials said the scoreboard would cost 5 , 000 to repair . . . . on sunday , jos_contreras baffled the giants , striking out six in five innings and allowing three hits and an unearned run . ''when you go to the plate , you have an impression of where the balls are going to go , '' yomiuri manager tsuneo horiuchi said through an interpreter . ''but the pitches tonight went in a different direction . '' contreras had command of his fastball and a wicked slow forkball . . . . the yankees will keep center_fielder bernie_williams active , joe_torre said , leaving them the option of using him in their series at tampa_bay on april 6 7 . williams is in tampa , fla . , recovering from an appendectomy and will play in the field for the first time this spring in a minor_league game on monday . baseball | has a location of japan |
the earthquake that struck japan early this morning caused major damage to one of japan 's most distinctive big cities and the country 's second largest port . thus the disaster could have a major impact on japan 's economy , at least in the short term . kobe , with a population of 1 . 47 million people and an area of 208 square miles , is a thriving port city , the sixth busiest in the world . it has been a lifeline to the outside world for more than a thousand years . the city , once known as hyogo , was an important outlet for japan 's trade with china and other asian nations since the nara period , in the 8th century , and still plays a major role in the nation 's economic life . it is now the capital of hyogo prefecture and serves a region of more than 18 million people . the city faces osaka_bay , on the pacific_ocean , and is the principal port to the city of osaka and the surrounding region , known as kansai . this is a region with an economic output that would make it one of the largest economies in asia if it were a separate country . kobe is second as a japanese port today only to yokohama , near tokyo . among the industrial products for which it has long been known are textiles , steel , construction materials and a traditional product , sake . kobe prospered in the 15th and 16th centuries , when it was a principal outlet for japan 's then growing trade with china . when japan was forced open in the middle of the 19th_century by american warships , kobe was one of the first ports that foreigners were permitted to use . the opening only added to the cosmopolitan atmosphere of kobe , which has long been distinguished by its unusually large foreign population for a japanese city . in recent years , kobe has been the center of a huge project to build a series of man made islands in osaka_bay . and those developments may have made this city even more vulnerable to the sort of devastating earthquake that struck today . starting in 1968 , kobe began to develop what is known as port island , a huge area of landfill on which the city built thousands of apartments , with about 17 , 000 residents , as well as port facilities and other industrial structures . it is not yet clear how those structures fared , but landfill tends to be particularly vulnerable to major tremors . in addition , the largest airport in the area is the newly opened kansai_international_airport . this 14 billion complex is located on another huge man made island in the middle of osaka_bay , not far from kobe . quake in japan the focus | has a location of japan |
after the strongest earthquake in six years shook buildings and jolted residents awake in the early morning , the police in tokyo reported today that only about 30 people had been injured and that the metropolitan_area had suffered only minor damage . tokyo residents seemed more concerned today with digging out from another blast of nature , a storm that dumped nearly 7 inches of snow friday night and saturday , clogging roads , disrupting trains and air_traffic and cutting off electricity briefly to 140 , 000 homes . the japan central meteorological agency said the earthquake , which struck at 4 04 a.m . today , measured 5.7 on the richter_scale and 5 on a scale of 1 to 7 that is used in japan to measure damage caused by quakes . the agency said the quake 's epicenter was deep under tokyo_bay . throughout the city , residents were awakened when their homes shook , causing pictures , books and other objects to fly off shelves and table tops . statistics showed that it was the worst quake in six years , but many residents said it was one of the worst they had experienced in the last 30 years . many precautions taken tokyo and indeed all areas of japan are susceptible to earthquakes , and building codes require materials and construction techniques to minimize damage . residents and schoolchildren also go through periodic drills , mindful of the earthquake disaster of 1923 , in which 100 , 000 people died , mostly in fires . many homes and buildings are equipped these days with automatic devices that shut off the gas during an earthquake to avoid fires . the fire department reported today that these devices had done their job throughout the city , and it was flooded with requests for how to turn the gas back on . the fire department also did a telephone survey and found that nearly a quarter of tokyo residents sped to their front doors and opened them to provide a possible escape route , which is a routine precaution . the railway authorities shut down service after the earthquake to inspect for damage , but all trains were operating by late morning . that was more than could be said of the city 's roads , which remained buried in snow . only the main thoroughfares and neighborhood streets were clear today . the snowfall affected all of central japan , where as much as 20 inches of snow fell in the northern and mountain areas . the major expressways in and out of the capital were sealed off for a time on saturday but cleared by today . | has a location of japan |
two years ago , a 16 year old high_school girl who lived near here was hospitalized with a high fever . after doctors found that she had an acute case of genital herpes , she told her parents that her teacher had had sex with her . when approached by the parents , the teacher denied the claim , warning them that their daughter would be expelled if they reported him . experts say molestation and statutory rape are commonplace in schools across japan , and that victims rarely come forward . to do so would violate a host of powerful social conventions , said akiko kamei , a retired teacher who is the country 's only nationally known expert in classroom sexual_abuse . ''in japan there is a rape myth , which says that the victim of a rape is always to blame , '' ms . kamei said . ''moreover , women are told that if you suffer molestation or groping , you have to be ashamed . if you talk about it to anyone else , you are going to be tainted for the rest of your life . '' beyond that , even when they are identified and caught , molesters rarely receive more than a slap on the wrist . speaking at a public symposium , a member of parliament , seiichi ota , recently made light of reports of gang rapes at a tokyo_university . ''boys who commit group rape are in good shape , '' mr . ota said . ''i think they are rather normal . whoops , i should n't have said that . '' ( the legislator 's comments were carried in many japanese newspapers . ) recently , however , the public tolerance for rape has begun to change as a handful of victims or their families have pressed charges against classroom molesters . the mother of the girl infected with herpes , for example , went to the police , which led not only to the dismissal of the 49 year old teacher , but to a one year prison sentence for him as well . in an interview about the incident , the mother requested_anonymity , as do most people involved in such cases . she said that if her identity were revealed , she would be ostracized and could even lose her job . as if to underline the family 's concern , the daughter has left japan , fleeing the taunts of fellow students and the cold shoulder of teachers at her former school . ''whose interests would it serve for us to go public ? '' said the mother , who asked not only that her name not be used , but that the name of her town , which is near hayato , in western japan , not be revealed . ''we would have liked to receive solidarity from other people , but that is not how it works in japan . i grew up in this community , and although a foreigner might not understand , it is a fact that the victim is always cast in a negative light . '' this reality was vividly demonstrated in another recent molestation case in osaka , where a 13 year old girl insisted , against her parents' advice , on bringing charges against a 51 year old teacher . in february , the man was fired and given a two year prison sentence for fondling the girl in a school office , though more than 40 teachers , friends and colleagues signed a petition requesting leniency . the victim 's best friend told her she had ruined the teacher 's life , according to one newspaper , the mainichi_shimbun . when the girl answered that it was the other way around , the classmate replied ''well , you are young . you have a second chance . '' the victim told the court that after the teacher 's arrest she became an object of ridicule . ''when i was at a supermarket , i was surrounded by some senior students i had never spoken to before , '' she said , according to the newspaper account . ''they shouted , 'that 's the sexually harassed one ! ' and laughed at me . '' the girl 's family and lawyer would not agree to requests for further interviews . ms . kamei , who published books on sexual_abuse under a pseudonym while she was a teacher , came to her field more than a decade ago , when an alarmed mother approached her to say that her 8 year old girl was masturbating . it emerged that a teacher had been fondling the girl . ms . kamei said that at the time , she and the mother merely insisted that the teacher be sent to another school . ''even today , if a prosecutor fails to bring an indictment , the teacher is completely off the hook , '' she said . ''even after administrative dismissal , some of these teachers find work in other schools in other districts , or even as volunteers with children , although some people estimate there is an almost 100 percent chance of recidivism . '' there are no generally accepted statistics on classroom sexual_abuse in japan . according to figures compiled by the education ministry , which parents and advocates for victims say reflect vast underreporting , there were 27 cases of molestation by teachers in 1992 , a number that included cases in which teachers themselves were victims . by 2001 , the most recent year for which statistics are available , the number of reported cases had risen to 122 . in tokyo , an education ministry official minimized the extent of the problem . ''compared to other issues such as bullying , truancy and school_violence , the rate of incidence is not so high , '' said yoshiyasu tanaka . ''of course i do n't think the official reporting shows everything , but still , this is not something that occurs in every school , whereas problems like bullying occur almost everywhere . '' that is small comfort to the mother from the school near here . when asked whether she felt satisfied with the punishment meted out in her daughter 's case , she paused and shook her head . ''it is a fact that he was punished , when lots of other cases are swept under the rug , but i ca n't say that we got 100 percent justice , either , '' she said . ''one year in prison is too light . the disease given to my daughter was n't taken into account . i just wonder what the judges were thinking about . '' | has a location of japan |
it was a sign , bob sapp knew , that his self described beast phenomenon had gone too far he shaved his chest for a television commercial and someone swept up the hair and sold it for 500 . it was also a sign of how far sapp had helped take k_1 , japan 's kick boxing league . since arriving in japan nearly two years ago , sapp , a former n.f.l . lineman and pro wrestler , has become perhaps the most popular entertainer and sports figure in the country . his ring name , the beast , has come to symbolize not only his fearsome 6 foot 7 , 375 pound build , but also a media frenzy that has turned a burly fighter into a multimillion_dollar enterprise . sapp , who will take on akebono , a hawaiian born former sumo grand champion , on new year 's eve in a baseball stadium , says he has fought 3 pro wrestling matches and 10 kick boxing bouts in the last year . he also says he has been interviewed 1 , 000 times , made 200 television appearances and 10 commercials , and been the subject of four books . hundreds of products from clocks to dolls to a video_game have flooded the market with his image . his promoters are now trying to arrange a fight with mike_tyson next year the format , k_1 or traditional boxing , is still to be negotiated . sapp , who is 29 and calls seattle home , also has hopes of becoming a hollywood action hero . while sapp ate dinner recently at a restaurant in tokyo , dozens of people walking by stopped to take pictures of him through the window . two young assistants worked on his schedule on a laptop computer his two daily training sessions , media appearances and other commitments were blocked out in different colors . ''how do you say no to that ? '' sapp asked , pointing at the computer . ''it 's so hard . this stuff is really selling . '' the main product sapp is selling , k_1 , was created 10 years ago by kazuyoshi ishii , a seidokan karate school owner who wanted to settle the age old question which fighting style trumps all ? ishii set up single day tournaments in which fighters competed in three three minute rounds , with the winners working their way to a title bout . the k in k_1 stands for karate , kick boxing , taekwondo and kung_fu , all styles that can be used during the short and often violent fights . the 1 represents the winner . knockouts are the most common outcome , and more than a few fighters leave the ring bloodied . the nature of the fights conjures up images of gladiators . sapp is an unlikely star of the sport . after a brief and unhappy career in the national_football_league with the minnesota_vikings , sapp , who is not related to warren of the tampa_bay_buccaneers , joined a pro wrestling league that soon folded . ishii 's organization spotted him boxing in a celebrity event against william_perry , the former chicago_bears defensive lineman . facing the prospect of working at a funeral_home , sapp went to japan to fight in k_1 , a sport he knew nothing about . although not much of a kicker , sapp used his size and tongue_in_cheek character to become an instant hit with the japanese . purists say his fighting style has turned the sport into a farce . other critics accuse him of reinforcing negative stereotypes of african_americans among other things , he has appeared in advertisements eating bananas . sapp 's critics are offset by thousands of fans who adore him and dozens of companies that are eager to use his image . ''as sapp gets more popular , he gets more endorsements , which lead to bigger sponsorship deals and then bigger purses , '' said daisuke teraguchi , the international operations manager for k_1 . ''it 's like a chain reaction . '' sapp missed a shot at the k_1 world championship when he was disqualified for hitting his opponent while he was down during a match in october . still , sapp received a huge round of applause when he appeared at the k 1 world grand prix finals on dec . 6 he was there to promote the idea of a fight against tyson . sapp remains so popular that tickets for his dec . 31 fight with akebono sold out in a day . the bout will be held in a domed baseball stadium in nagoya , a two hour bullet_train ride south of tokyo . the same kind of fanaticism was on display at the tokyo_dome , where eight finalists vied for the world title . the fighters had worked their way through about 20 tournaments held in more than a dozen countries during the year . in a testament to the sport 's international appeal , the contenders came from australia , belarus , france , japan , the netherlands , new zealand and south_africa . the kicking and the punching in the k_1 ring are real , but k_1 events are elaborately orchestrated a cross between the pyrotechnics and theatrics of pro wrestling and the drama and blood curdling energy of boxing . at the world championship , fighters entered the cavernous stadium on cranes and cars , with smoke , strobes and fireworks . music blared over the public_address system . like pro wrestlers , the k_1 fighters adopt personas . fran_ois botha , known as the white buffalo , is a former international_boxing_federation champion who resembles hulk hogan . the three time grand_prix champion peter aerts enters the ring dressed as a lumberjack . remy bonjasky , a former banker known as the gentleman , earned a second nickname , the flying dutchman , for his high kicks . legions of fans follow the fighters . musashi , the only japanese finalist , is the envy of nozomi tsuchimura , a 30 year old office worker , and her three friends , who cooed at the thought of his chance to win the title . ''if he wins , i 'll cry , '' tsuchimura said . an hour before fight time , she and her friends met in front of the tokyo_dome . like many fans , they had traveled from afar for the event . the four women met a few years ago while chatting on a musashi fan club web_site . since then , they have attended three or four fights a year together . with its rock concert like feel , a k_1 event draws a mixed audience . about half the fans at the tokyo_dome were women . the crowd was mostly young people . ringside seats cost 35 , 000 yen ( about 325 ) , and upper deck seats went for 5 , 000 yen ( about 46 ) . yet k_1 had no trouble filling more than 60 , 000 seats at this year 's finale . millions more watched the fights on television they were broadcast in prime time . sponsors are eager to be involved . sapporo breweries and the consumer loan company aiful had billboards at the tokyo_dome . konami , another advertiser , developed a k_1 video_game . kick boxers have helped sell everything from noodles in a cup to sports drinks to electronics . sapp even appeared in an ad for the government 's small business agency . just like a fight night in las_vegas , k_1 bouts draw comedians , television stars and pop singers to ringside . kazuhiro_sasaki , a relief_pitcher for the seattle_mariners , took his young son to watch the title bouts . ''i came here to see the championship , to see what i can look forward to , '' said al faccinto jr . , the president of mgm_mirage international , which has staged k_1 fights at the mirage and bellagio hotels in las_vegas . ''k_1 is not a fight , but an event . people want to be here . '' the bouts are short and unpredictable , largely because the fighters' styles are often quite different . some are strong with their fists but weak at kicking others use their speed to surprise larger opponents . fights can end violently in seconds . peter graham crumpled after bonjasky jumped high to drive his knee into his chin . graham staggered to his feet , but within a moment bonjasky floored him again with another kick , this time ending the bout . several hours later , bonjasky was crowned champion , after having won two more fights . all the fighters returned to the ring with their retinues to hug and watch as bonjasky was given a golden olive_branch for his head . with the tournament season completed , fans and the sports media are focusing on the year 's final event , the showdown between sapp and akebono . the fight promises to be a spectacle , mostly because neither fighter is a kicker , but also because sapp will finally face someone as large as he is . mike_tyson , who is being courted by k_1 , will offer commentary via satellite from hawaii , where he will be on vacation . having sapp and akebono , who are both american , battle it out in japan should help the sport in the united_states , said scott coker , the chief executive of k_1 usa . coker has struck deals with espn to expand its coverage of k_1 , and he calls sapp an ambassador for the sport . k_1 is still relatively unknown in the united_states , but as more children take up martial_arts , k_1 is bound to grow , coker said . he has hired a scout to search for more bob sapps . ''we 're overturning stones to find them , '' coker said . ''it 's just a matter of getting them not to play baseball or football . '' k_1 | has a location of japan |
as rescue workers and survivors dug through the rubble of coastal communities devastated by japan 's strongest earthquake in 25 years , japanese authorities said today that 97 people died and upwards of 167 may be missing , many of them victims of towering waves and raging fires . the worst damage , and more than half of the confirmed deaths , occurred on okushiri , a small island of fishermen and vacationers in the sea of japan off the southwestern coast of hokkaido , japan 's northernmost territory . television images of the island 's low lying village showed scenes of utter devastation , with houses and buddhist temples splintered in the mud , boats thrown far inland , and roofs of some homes floating out to sea . estimates of the number of injured vary_widely , from 73 to 190 . since the earthquake and immediate tsunami wave on monday_night , many residents have been picking through the rubble looking for the bodies of relatives under the smoldering ruins . police authorities said they believe some of the victims were swept into the ocean by tsunami waves that were 10 to 30 feet high . although tsunami waves are often referred to as tidal_waves , they are set off by earthquakes rather than the pull of lunar gravity . the yoyoso hotel , located below a hillside , was demolished in a landslide . elsewhere on the island , which has a population of fewer than 5 , 000 , waves and fires destroyed hundreds of homes . " we ca n't see any trace of houses here , " a television news reporter said as his camera panned the desolation in aonae district , on the southern tip of okushiri . the quake , which occurred monday_night at 10 17 p.m . local time , registered 7.8 on the richter_scale . its epicenter was 50 miles west of hokkaido , 30 miles beneath the sea of japan . it was followed minutes afterward by tsunamis , huge waves that flung boats onto the shore and washed houses out to sea . fires , thought to be caused by gas explosions , raged unchecked through southern okushiri . early tuesday evening , television news reports from the scene showed smoke still rising from the smoldering remains of wooden homes . prime_minister kiichi_miyazawa flew to hakodate , a city in southwestern hokkaido , on tuesday night and headed for the damaged areas . he flew to okushiri by helicopter this morning and promised that the government would make efforts to reopen the harbor quickly so that material for rebuilding houses could be brought in . okushiri 's mayor , yukio koshimori , told the prime_minister that he was also anxious to have water , electricity and telephone service restored as quickly as possible . in this coastal town of 12 , 000 people , about 100 relatives of okushiri residents sat fornlornly at the ferry terminal , waiting for the emergency_service that would take them to the island . a hand drawn sign on the window of the terminal building described five bodies that had recently been recovered from the sea and asked people to help identify them . " woman , late 20 's , wearing pajamas , " said one description , while another said , " woman , 50 's , with permanent and round face . " " my wife 's parents are missing , " said one man who had been sitting on a blue tarpaulin outside the terminal for four hours . " judging from the scenes on tv , their house is no longer standing , " said the man , who refused to give his name . " i just want to go and see with my own eyes . " normal ferry_service to okushiri is not operating . about 20 cars were swept into the harbor by the tsunamis , and they now block the ferry 's access to the dock , forcing tugboats to navigate around the autos to take passengers to the ferry before they can begin the almost 40 mile ride to okushiri . the armed_forces flew in more than 300 troops to conduct rescue operations and to distribute emergency food , water and medical supplies . homeless people on okushiri took refuge in a school and community center . one television shot showed refugees sitting near corpses in a gymnasium , burning incense in a buddhist ceremony of mourning for the dead . badly injured people were taken by helicopter to hospitals in hakodate or sapporo , hokkaido 's largest city . japan 's meteorological agency issued a warning for tsunamis about five minutes after the quake , but it was too late for residents of okushiri and coastal towns on hokkaido . experts and eyewitnesses estimated the height of the tsunamis at anywhere between 10 and 30 feet . people ran for higher ground as fast as they could . the waves capsized or damaged hundreds of boats on the sea of japan coast , ranging as far south as central japan . there were also reports of boats being damaged or destroyed in south_korea and in russia 's far east . russia 's interfax news_agency reported that three people were missing at the port of rudnaya pristan , about 150 miles northeast of vladivostok , according to the kyodo_news service . outside of okushiri , most damage and casualties occurred in towns on the southwestern coast of hokkaido . there , craters suddenly opened in some roads and swallowed cars and trucks . at least 17 roads were damaged , according to the police agency . thousands of people were without electricity . japan sits atop a seismically active zone . this particular quake took place where the pacific plate of the earth 's crust is sliding under the eurasian plate . ten years ago , 104 people were killed when an earthquake that measured 7.7 on the richter_scale , followed by tsunami waves , occurred in the sea of japan south of monday 's quake . | has a location of japan |
for centuries the japanese have gathered the worn out detritus of daily life , from sewing needles and children 's dolls to chopsticks and old cleaning brushes , and burned them in annual neighborhood rituals of thanks for years of uncomplaining service . but the architects of japan 's postwar economic rise have never paid similar tribute to the parts that built the modern japanese techno state . and that is why akihiko masuda and other quality_control engineers met one recent sunday morning at chomeiji temple , the four century old temple of long life , toting their used transistors and old camera lenses , their burned out micromotors and their aluminum recording heads , worn thin by spinning past miles of videotape . " japanese quality_control and japanese devices are now so very famous , " mr . masuda , a serious looking engineer from nec , japan 's largest personal computer maker , said as he greeted his competitors near the temple 's dark wooden gate . " but to get this kind of quality we had to torture many of these parts . we boiled them and froze them , and ran them day and night . we engineers feel for our devices , and we want to give thanks . " shrines in the factories if such a ceremony seems to violate traditional western notions of the separation of church and solid state , it has its quiet place in japan . this is hardly a country of unyielding religious conviction most japanese observe both shinto and buddhist rites and marry like christians ( kimonos are out these days , white wedding gowns are everywhere ) . and more than a touch of japanese religious belief works its way into the seemingly soulless capitalism of this country 's factories and laboratories . rarely does a company dare to install a new computer in japan without calling in a shinto priest to purify it before anyone loads the software . in the control room of japan steel corporation 's giant plant across tokyo_bay workers have built a miniature shinto shrine that sits atop the blinking control panels . " we think the computers and the software work quite well , " an employee said . " but this is just in case . " in hiroshima , alongside the assembly_line where the mazda motor company is producing the the sportiest and most acclaimed car to emerge from japan in years , the convertible , two seater miata , workers have built another shrine , complete with a peaceful replica of a japanese garden . robots politely skirt it when they deliver parts to the line . beyond the shrines themselves , there is a rarely articulated sense among many japanese that their religious practices , if not their beliefs , play a significant role in the economic_miracle , keeping walkmans walking , video cameras whirring and computers spewing out results . in tradition of swordsmiths every few months , articles show up in the japanese press and academic journals suggesting that " the traditional japanese mind " steeped from youth in buddhist and shinto inspired habits of cleanliness and extraordinary discipline is responsible for japan 's ability to maintain the cleanest clean rooms , and thus the most defect free computer chips . it starts with the japanese tradition of leaving your shoes at the door , one such article explained recently , and finishes with the nightly ritual of the ofuro , the deep bath that weary workers sink into at the end of the day . " in ancient japan , it was a rule for swordsmiths to purify themselves , body and soul , by bathing before entering their shops , " shigeo oyama wrote last year in the japan quarterly , published by one of japan 's largest newspapers , the asahi_shimbun . " it appears that physically removing impurities as a step toward achieving ultrafine processing has , by accident , revived a centuries old japanese spiritual practice . " if america had a tradition of such practices , the articles often go on to suggest , maybe it would be making fax machines and laptop computers . there are many technology experts not only americans , but also japanese who dismiss such arguments as nonsense , another way in which the japanese convince themselves that they are a unique people , uniquely suited to produce goods that no one else in the world makes . 'no direct connection' even mr . masuda has his doubts . " there is no direct connection between japanese products and buddhism , or the supernatural , " he said the other day . " but the japanese life style , a mix of buddhism and shintoism and humanism , certainly helps . " there is little question of that in the mind of shogen kobayashi , chomeiji temple 's 32d chief priest . after 50 quality_control engineers crowded into the temple , mr . kobayashi entered in his deep purple robes , bowed deeply and began chanting the sutra . before him , at the feet of a giant cross_legged buddha , was a graceful japanese lacquer tray overflowing with chips , their spindly aluminum legs making them look like spiders trying to right themselves . after an initial hesitance , the engineers raised their throaty voices in a rhythmic chant , perhaps the first time that nec , olympus , hitachi , fuji xerox and the other brandnames of modern japan turned their skills at industrial cooperation to the task of exporting used parts to the heavens . then the engineers gathered in the temple courtyard and one by one tossed photographs of their favorite components into a billowing fire . after much debate , it was decided not to burn the actual parts for fear their plastic coatings would further pollute a corner of tokyo that is already perpetually encased in fumes . a monument is planned in a few years , in addition to annual ceremonies , the engineers hope to put up a monument to loyal , departed parts . no one is quite sure , but it may be patterned after the monument to string instruments , or after tokyo 's most famous meeting place , a statue of a dog named hachiko outside shibuya station . according to dubious legend , hachiko waited loyally at shibuya station every night for his owner , who died at work one day and never returned . | has a location of japan |
for a product that is wildly expensive , technically confusing and apparently incompatible with a lot of machines with which it ought to be expected to work , the panasonic dmr e10 dvd video recorder is actually pretty cool . it has the distinction of being the first consumer dvd video recorder to reach these shores from japan , and therefore it or one of its competitors heading this way later in the year will be pounced upon eagerly by rich gadget freaks . but let 's get real . this champagne colored dvd recorder costs 4 , 000 , blank dvd ram cartridges capable of recording 120 minutes of digital_video cost more than 25 apiece , the recorded discs may not work in older dvd players , and the likelihood is high for an ugly betamax versus vhs death match with rival dvd recording formats . the panasonic recorder comes with a 140 page manual that is only slightly less scary than a stephen king novella . in short , this product is actually more expensive and more complicated to use than a personal computer , which is a remarkable achievement . a truly determined gadget hound could probably rationalize getting a dvd video recorders for dubbing old home videos onto a dvd disc or for recording a favorite show that is being transmitted in high quality to a digital_tv via satellite . the picture quality is excellent , and the old videotape i copied looked even better on dvd than it did originally . and i could pop the recorded disc into my computer 's dvd drive and view the video on screen . the panasonic dmr e10 is not a one trick pony . it is superb at playing back prerecorded dvd movies and audio cd 's . and while 25 is a lot to spend on a blank disc , the disc can be recorded on , erased and rerecorded hundreds of times . at the highest quality , the 4 . 7 gigabyte dvd ram disc will hold one hour of video , and at standard quality , two hours . at the lowest level , which is still better than the best videocassette_recorder , it stores four hours . but if the goal is merely to record programs off television , a humble vcr does that job passably well at a fraction of the cost . as for archiving old videotapes onto a dvd disc , until the technical standards are resolved , no one knows whether a dvd ram disc will still be viewable a decade from now , or whether a rival format , like dvd rw or dvd rw , will prevail . handicappers , grab your pencils . panasonic , toshiba , samsung and hitachi are backing the dvd ram format . sony , yamaha , ricoh , hewlett_packard , philips , rca and mitsubishi are backing dvd rw , which they say is more compatible with existing dvd players than panasonic 's dvd ram format . pioneer and sharp are backing dvd rw . i 'm backing away from the whole mess , at least until a dominant dvd video recording format emerges . remember the sony betamax ? meanwhile , forget about making bootleg copies of prerecorded dvd movies . this new deck and its soon to arrive cousins will not allow it . besides , blank discs cost 25 and store bought dvd movies cost 20 a value proposition for piracy that might appeal to a new economy dot com investor , but not to any pirate with both oars in the water . but do not ignore the new dvd video recorders . eventually , they will get better , cheaper , easier , more versatile and more reliable . and when that happens , the trusty videocassette will begin its slow ride into the analog sunset , where it will join its sidekick the audiocassette . in terms of rapid adoption by consumers , dvd players are the most successful consumer_electronics devices of all time , getting into millions of homes in a much shorter time than it took vcr 's or audio cd_players . but the arrival of dvd recorders has been delayed , for reasons both technical and political . the hollywood film_industry , which a generation ago waged a bitter fight to stop vcr 's , has been urging the consumer_electronics companies to hold off on introducing dvd recorders until there is reliable copyright protection to thwart video pirates . the panasonic dmr e10 includes a copyright protection system called content protection for recordable media , which allows movie studios or music companies to embed signals in a digital file that determine whether it can be copied once , many times or not at all . and that inspires us to take a lateral arabesque into public_policy . those of you who find such topics boring may be excused now . flashback in junior high_school , the lockers all had combination locks , but before long we figured out that by lifting the locker door handle and applying just the right amount of pressure to a specific point on the door bam ! the locker popped open . we also discovered , much to our delight , that the technique worked on any locker . the vice principal was not pleased that we had found a way to circumvent the locker security system , and he forbid us to use it . thus were sown the seeds of anarchy . it was the school 's fault , we reasoned , for having chosen cheap locks in the first place . and instead of trying to suppress what was already by then a widely known technique for hacking the lockers , the school simply needed to install better locks . fast forward to 1999 . jon johansen , a norwegian who was then 15 years old , wanted to watch dvd movies on his linux based computer . but he could n't because of a copy protection scheme called content scramble system . the system was developed by the motion_picture industry and encoded into every dvd disc so the discs could be played only on dvd players and computers that contained the special key needed to unscramble the files . mr . johansen and a couple of friends discovered that the security codes were almost as flimsy as my old school lockers . they wrote a windows program called decss , which allowed them to descramble and view the movies and copy them to hard disks . mr . johansen posted the program on his personal web_site , and it propagated quickly . instead of putting on their dunce caps and writing ''we goofed on the encryption scheme'' 100 times on the blackboard , and developing a new business_model , the movie studios decided in effect to sue the internet . and in doing so , they compounded their mistakes into something that was not only wrong , but dangerous . a group of motion_picture studios sued eric corley , whose 2600 . com web_site had posted a copy of decss . under the digital millennium copyright act of 1998 , passed by congress with generous input from hollywood , it is a crime to possess any technology that is designed to violate a copyright . mr . corley removed decss from the 2600 . com site , but he left hyperlinks that pointed visitors to other web_sites where the program was still available for downloading . last week , a federal_judge ordered mr . corley to take down the links . the judge said it was illegal not just to use the decss program to circumvent dvd copy protection , and not just to make the program available on a web_site , but it was also illegal to provide a hyperlink to a site where the program was being offered . ''this is the court 's decision after trial , and the decision may be summarized in a nutshell , '' district judge lewis a . kaplan wrote in his decision . with all due respect to judge kaplan , he chose a highly appropriate container . if upheld on appeal , this ruling means that someone can be found liable merely for pointing to objectionable information or programs that someone else has posted on the internet . it does not require a hollywood style imagination to envision where this ruling could take us . now , do n't get me wrong . hollywood has a right to restrict the viewing of its dvd movies to the personal use of people who have paid a royalty . they just chose the wrong way to accomplish that , and now the entire internet could suffer . state of the art | has a location of japan |
karyn bye , a forward on the united_states women 's gold_medal winning hockey team at the olympics , has been learning to be a celebrity in new york this week , doing the talk_shows and signing_autographs . ''i come into the hotel and people are stopping and asking me what it was like in japan . 'do you have your medal on you ? can i see your medal ? ' '' she said . ''if i did n't have the olympic jacket on , i do n't think they 'd recognize me . but i still glow every time i look at the medal . i did n't take it off for three or four days straight . '' public lives | has a location of japan |
joe bryant resigned yesterday as an assistant coach at la salle university to follow the career of his son , kobe , who hopes to jump from high_school to the n.b.a . kobe_bryant , a 6 foot 6 inch forward honored as the national scholastic player of the year by several organizations , announced on april 29 that he would skip college to enter the draft . in selecting the pros , kobe_bryant , who went to lower merion high school , decided against playing for la_salle . ( ap ) sports people basketball | has a location of japan |
lead like many 18 year olds in japan , mayumi yamamoto has long been immersed in serious training for her college entrance_examinations . but she went into high gear in early february , two weeks before the first in a series of exams . like many 18 year olds in japan , mayumi yamamoto has long been immersed in serious training for her college entrance_examinations . but she went into high gear in early february , two weeks before the first in a series of exams . most of her six targeted schools were in tokyo , so she flew there from her home in kanazawa , on the sea of japan , and moved in with a family friend . her life became a relentless grind of study , followed by mock exams , followed by more study . this dragged on , as it already had for months , from 8 a.m . to 10 30 p.m. , seven days a week . late winter in japan is known as a period of ''examination hell . '' for hundreds of thousands of japanese students like miss yamamoto , it is make or break time . admission to the right school , like tokyo_university , means they can accept on faith that they will find jobs with top ranked corporations and government ministries . this january , a record 377 , 400 students took the first round of tests another occurred last month . but despite hard study and equally hard prayer at popular shinto shrines , two thirds of them were doomed to fail . while the winners got to breathe easy for the next four years japanese colleges are not noted for taxing their students many of the losers will try again next year . not that they could n't get into a school at all this year . most were accepted somewhere . but they did not land in their schools of preference , and so they decided to become ronin . in japan 's feudal past , ronin were masterless samurai who wandered the countryside . today 's ronin attend full time cram_schools , looking for an edge that may bring success the next time . some will subject themselves to this for two or three years . ''examination hell'' is a well known , much condemned phenomenon . critics charge that the system emphasizes rote memorization and stifles creative thinking . japanese children , they say , emerge as worker bees with stunted personalities . every year some students crack under the strain . in february , a 23 year old man who had tried six times to get into kyoto 's ritsumeikan university hanged himself after having looked at the wrong list and concluded that he had failed again . his body was found just after the telegram arrived informing him that he had passed . former prime_minister yasuhiro_nakasone encouraged reform before he left office last november . indeed , revisions will go into effect next year , giving universities more leeway in weighing test results . but this is mainly change at the edges , not enough to satisfy critics such as ikuo amano , an education professor at tokyo_university . ''just as the japanese adults are supposed to be workaholics , '' he said , ''the kids have become testaholics . '' if anything , professor amano added , the situation is growing worse . pressure to get into the ''right'' colleges is so intense that an increasing number of parents enroll their children in private preparatory schools that ride a steady track to the top . so many of the brighter youngsters are in private schools now that public_school students find themselves virtually locked out of the more prestigious colleges . but instead of easing anxieties for many youngsters , the tough competition for prep schools has simply advanced the process by six years . this disheartens professor amano . for about a century after the meiji restoration of 1868 , the exam system acted as a quality_control system , he says , ''allowing japan to establish a broadly effective educational system and to develop a top flight elite at the same time . '' but today , he said , ''it is stifling student aspirations . they know that despite their efforts they can only go so far , and they are losing the will to study hard . '' | has a location of japan |
an earthquake under the sea followed by 17 foot tidal_waves levelled several stretches of japan 's northern coast late monday_night , leaving 36 people known dead and several villages a jumble of shattered homes and overturned cars . police officials said they had confirmed 36 deaths , as the toll rose this morning and relief workers searched the rubble of devastated villages . officially , there were an additional 25 people missing , but television and news service reports said that more than 100 people were misssing and presumed dead , some of them in remote areas where normal communications had been cut . the earthquake , which hit at 10 17 p.m. , was centered about 50 miles off the southwest coast of japan 's northernmost island of hokkaido , deep under the sea of japan . it measured 7.8 on the richter_scale , the worst earthquake to hit japan in 15 years . the jolt could not be felt in tokyo , more than 500 miles to the south , but it affected hundreds of miles of northern coast . the tsunami , or tidal_waves , caused by the tremblors were reportedly as high as 17 feet in places and swept ashore on okushiri , an island of 4 , 600 residents 11 miles off the coast of hokkaido . stretches of the coast of hokkaido and the northern tip of honshu , the main island in the japanese archipelago , were also hit by the waves . the tidal_waves were also reported to have spread to the east , where they hit the coast of south_korea about 400 miles away , destroying fishing boats . there were no reports of injuries or deaths in korea . reduced to ruins news shows this morning showed several villages reduced to ruins . homes were smoldering piles of ash or splinters . large fishing boats had been washed ashore and lay astride what was left of houses , cars and roads . a lighthouse had been knocked from its foundations . fires burned brightly , many of them started by broken gas lines , officials said . some 28 , 000 homes on hokkaido lost power , and landslides cut off a number of roads , police officials said . okushiri was reported to have suffered the worst , with 18 dead and another 82 missing and feared dead . fires and tidal_waves reportedly destroyed more than 300 homes . a hotel there collapsed and burned , with five confirmed dead and at least 20 missing . this morning the island was still without electricity or running water , and its small airport was closed because of damage . another earthquake measuring 7.8 on the richter_scale hit hokkaido on january 18 , but it left only two dead . monday_night 's quake caused the worst damage since an earthquake that also hit hokkaido on may 16 , 1978 , which measured 7.9 . | has a location of japan |
a powerful earthquake shook northern japan early this morning , causing power failures , setting fire to an oil_refinery and derailing a train . at least 164 people were injured , most of them by falling objects in their homes , according to the nhk news network . no deaths were reported . japan 's national meteorological agency warned residents away from coastal areas , for fear that aftershocks would bring ocean waves , known as tsunamis . there were no immediate reports of widespread damage . the quake , with a magnitude of 8 . 0 , struck at 4 50 a.m . in the pacific_ocean about 50 miles off the southeastern coast of hokkaido , japan 's northern island , about 600 miles north of tokyo , according to the agency . aftershocks , including a powerful one at 6 07 a.m. , followed . nhk showed images of shelves shaking furiously inside an office , a fresh crack running up an asphalt road and a fire burning at a refinery in southern hokkaido . train service was suspended on hokkaido after an express train derailed , injuring one of the 39 passengers , according to kyodo_news . in a fishing town called samani , two small fishing boats capsized off the coast in another town , erimo , whose 2 , 200 residents were told to evacuate at 5 a.m. , waves swept empty cars into the sea . in kushiro , a southeastern city hit by high waves , 24 , 300 houses were left without power , according to kyodo . hiroaki tanaka , a fire official in kushiro , on hokkaido 's east_coast , said in an interview with reuters that 47 people were being treated at hospitals in the city . ''the situation seems to be settling down , '' he said . ''aftershocks seem to be lessening . injuries could rise though , if people head to hospitals in their own cars . we felt it shake for a very long time . '' television pictures showed a fire and smoke billowing near an oil storage depot of the idemitsu kosan company at a refinery in tomakomai , a coastal city in southern hokkaido . the company said it had closed the plant for safety reasons . other pictures showed cracks in buildings and fallen tiles , and items spilled from supermarket shelves . japan , which sits atop four tectonic plates , is one of the world 's most seismically active countries , and tremors are regularly felt here . last saturday afternoon , a quake measuring 5.5 on the richter_scale , originating in the pacific off tokyo , jolted the capital . hokkaido , with a population of about five million , is sparsely inhabited compared to the rest of the country . japan 's last major earthquake occurred in kobe in 1995 . that tremor , which measured 7 . 2 , killed more than 6 , 000 people . correction_october 18 , 2003 , saturday a map on sept . 26 with an article about an earthquake in northern japan mislabeled the ownership of the kurile islands . although russian administered , they have been regarded internationally as disputed territory since they were occupied at the end of world_war_ii . | has a location of japan |
bottles of shampoo and liquid soap lay jumbled on the shelves and strewn across the floor at masaru shiraishi 's drug store here , leaving almost no room for customers to walk . the place looked like it had been hit by an earthquake , which , of course , it had . but on a street in which many of the homes and small shops lay in ruins and those still standing were boarded up , mr . shiraishi 's drug store became the first establishment to reopen for business . and the disorder did not discourage customers , who picked their way past the fallen bottles to buy cough medicine , toilet_paper , disposable diapers and the other necessities of routine life that have been neglected during these non routine times . while the overwhelming majority of businesses here remain closed , a drive through this port city showed food and drug stores and gasoline stations slowly opening for business . a survey by the ministry of international_trade and industry found more than 200 gasoline stations out of 630 in the region open today , up from about 60 on thursday . the death toll from the earthquake continued to rise . by 9 45 a.m . saturday ( 7 45 p.m . friday , new york time ) the number of fatalities had reached 4 , 609 with 630 people were still missing , according to the national_police_agency . the police said that 23 , 764 had been injured , but many of those injuries were fairly minor . food and water shortages that had plagued the area in the first three days after the quake were partly alleviated as more supplies arrived , and officials said they hoped that electricity would soon be available to almost all of the region . while there are still sporadic fires , the big problem of uncontrolled blazes has ended . but water and gas service are still cut off for most people and the authorities were still concerned about sanitary conditions in hospitals and public shelters and about the possible spread of influenza . adding to the concern , weather forecasts called for rain late saturday or sunday , which would worsen the plight of the people who are still sleeping outside or in their cars and possibly lead to mudslides . the scope of damage here is so vast that it is likely to take months for all the buckled and caved in streets to be repaired and for the rubble from more than 46 , 000 collapsed or damaged buildings to be removed . some train lines and elevated highways that had collapsed will take years to rebuild . the kobe authorities said the number of people in this city alone taking refuge in schools and other public buildings that have been converted into shelters had jumped to nearly 204 , 000 , up more than 30 , 000 from thursday . the sharp increase could partly reflect the fact that the counting has become more accurate , officials said . but it could also mean that people who had been living in their damaged homes or in their cars had come to the shelters in search of food or because they felt safer from the many aftershocks . prime_minister tomiichi_murayama conceded in the opening session of parliament today that the government 's response to the disaster had been slow . " it was my first experience and it took place early in the morning , so there was some confusion , " mr . murayama told the parliament , promising that disaster relief policies would be reviewed and revised . the prime_minister and other government officials have said a special supplement to the national budget will be needed to pay for the earthquake response , but they have so far not mentioned specific figures . the government is also going to provide low interest loans to help in the reconstruction . thousands of soldiers and firefighters continued to search the rubble of collapsed buildings looking for survivors . rescuers managed to find at least seven people alive on friday , many of them elderly women . and a pregnant woman who had been pulled out of the rubble on tuesday gave birth to a healthy girl today . one of the happy endings belonged to chieko inohara , 75 , who was freed this morning after lying more than 75 hours in the wreckage of her two story home , surviving on four rice crackers she happened to have near her bed . mrs . inohara had been using a thin electric blanket , which went off when the power was cut , leaving her exposed to temperatures that reached freezing . " it 's unbelievable , " hideaki inohara , one of her sons , said tonight as he and other relatives gathered at the hospital with mrs . inohara . " it 's really a miracle . " mrs . inohara 's three children had tried since tuesday to find her in shelters and to enlist the police to search her ruined home . " yesterday , we even went to the morgue at city hall , but we could n't find her , " mr . inohara said . mrs . inohara suffered only minor cuts and chest_pains and was dehydrated , but otherwise seemed all right , her relatives said . she was able to talk but relatives said she was too tired to be interviewed . mrs . inohara was taken to nomura hospital , where she was placed on a futon on the floor of a big room , along with about 30 other mainly elderly patients . " we have no more beds , " a nurse explained , apologetically . indeed , conditions at hospitals around the city continued to be deplorable , especially because of the lack of running water . at kobe seaside hospital downtown , the lack of water has prevented any operations from being performed . " i do n't think the hospital is working yet , " said dr . shigeru makino , the director . " all we are doing is supplying food twice a day . " walls in the hospital were cracked and lab equipment was broken by the earthquake and only a third of the staff has showed up for work . after the earthquake occurred , dr . makino said , the hallways and lobby of the hospital were overflowing with patients . the hospital could serve each patient only one rice ball a day , which the hospital staff cooked itself outside on an open fire . now , he said , lunch boxes and fresh drinking_water are being supplied by the city . patients who needed minor treatment were helped and released . those needing more treatment were transferred to other hospitals . in nishinomiya , a badly_damaged city near kobe , residents came to city hall to get information on how to begin rebuilding their lives . one counter offered information on 1 , 000 units of temporary housing the city is expected to construct by next month . another counter offered counseling about funerals , something many survivors have not gotten around to arranging for their dead relatives yet . for those reopening earthquake damaged businesses , motives varied . mr . shiraishi , who insisted that his drug store had actually looked worse before he tidied it up , said he felt an obligation to provide people with things like powdered milk for babies . on a sidewalk in kobe , junji kawamori , 23 , was hawking rice crackers , cookies , canned drinks and other snacks from cardboard_boxes . the items were salvaged from his family 's store , which was about 100 feet away , collapsed and lying in the middle of the road . asked why the family had set up shop on a street corner , mr . kawamori replied , " we need the money . " quake in japan the overview | has a location of japan |
an article in world business on friday about the rising number of patent lawsuits brought by japanese companies misstated the timing of a suit filed by fujitsu against samsung sdi of south_korea . it was filed in april , not last year . | has a location of japan |
the ohara farm seems pretty much like any other family owned farm here , small in scale , neat as a pin and dreamily bucolic , surrounded by the magnificent mountains of central japan . but its most distinguishing feature is less obvious . the farm is selling its feisty , free range chickens online . the ohara farm 's web_site is the most frequently visited ' 'shop'' at rakuten , an online bazaar that features dozens of such sites and scores 95 million hits a month . the farm 's site has generated a cult following for the chicks that rei kimura , 29 year old son of the farm 's owner , profiles in a ''chick diary . '' a few months back , for instance , mr . kimura introduced sakura chan and momiji chan , two newly hatched chicks from gifu prefecture . ( sakura and momiji are japanese chicken breeds . ) ''they are cheeping for their mother , '' he reported . the internet is quietly transforming japan , making celebrities of small farmers like the kimuras , empowering women , changing the way people apply for jobs and schools and generally chipping away at traditional patterns of behavior . japan is set to become the world 's largest user of the internet next year , according to infocom , a japanese research company that specializes in data about the internet and telecommunications . that is thanks to the country 's voracious appetite for cruising cyberspace using mobile terminals , and many say the impact of that love affair will be huge . ''the use of the internet here has started more as a social thing that in the end is going to have enormous implications , '' said jiro kokuryo , a professor at keio_university 's business school , who specializes in e_commerce and information systems . ''it is changing people 's point of view and empowering them to challenge traditional ways of doing things . '' groups that have traditionally had little influence here are finding their voices and taking action on the internet . farmers like the kimuras escape the huge , bureaucratic distribution system that has been sucking up their profits . working mothers are banding together to form business ventures . small companies are using the internet to expand business and decrease reliance on a primary corporate customer . these are all revolutionary developments by japanese standards , and not limited to marginal players . the nec corporation , a confirmed member of japan inc . , is soliciting applications internally for jobs in its expanding internet related businesses via e mail , encouraging employees to seek new opportunities without necessarily asking permission of their bosses . in the past , that would have been insubordination of the first order and a sure fire way of wrecking one 's career . although loath to own up to subverting the traditional ways , nec concedes that requirements that new employees and old managers seeking promotions take a test proving a specified degree of english_language skills are largely a result of the internet . ''if this company wants to be in the business of the internet , '' said aston bridgman , an nec spokesman , ''its employees are going to have to be able to speak english . '' the language mr . kimura , the egg farmer , has chosen is seduction . not only does his diary provide updates on the chicks , showing pictures of their first feathers and first eggs , shoppers can also listen to chicks cheeping , watch them hop ( albeit rather jerkily ) and see how they live . this month , his mother is featured doing a little dance for joy as part of a mother 's day sales pitch . mr . kimura 's father has been more reticent about his son 's online sales venture , but he has allowed his picture to be on the web_site . it is the soft sell at its best , and it is working . sales were up 20 percent last year , mr . kimura said . he is expecting 20 to 30 percent more growth this year with all the profit from internet sales going into the farm 's coffers . the kimuras' endeavor represents at least a small challenge to one of the world 's most cumbersome distribution systems . for decades , the government maintained a tight grip on farmers through production quotas , distribution regulations and stringent standards that rendered a portion of japan 's produce substandard and thus unprofitable . the government system has been waning for some years . before they put the farm online , the kimuras had already begun shipping to the less restrictive co op system , which yields better profit_margins but still involves middle men . but the internet has provided the small farm with direct contact with its customers , and the kimuras are finding the relationship delightful . ''it 's as if we 've been doing business from behind a curtain all this time , and suddenly we are face to face with our customers , '' mr . kimura said . women are also banding together on the internet . some 25 . 6 percent of the 14 million japanese using the internet at the end of 1998 were women , according to the ministry of posts and telecommunications , up from 17 . 8 percent in the same period a year earlier . ''if we can solve the problems of the time and location of work with the internet , it will become a means of solving some of the child_care problems that women who want to work face in this country and , in the future , the problems relating to care of the elderly , '' said naoko utsonomiya , who has joined an online work place called y 's staff . she says the changes brought by the internet will help crack the bamboo ceiling . ''the business practice of face to face negotiation and drinking sake together into the night has made it difficult for women to advance in the business world , '' she said . women like mrs . utsonomiya , in particular , are finding new opportunities in cyberspace . yuri tazawa is the founder of y 's staff , a virtual company that attempts to put to use the skills of women who want to work at home . with child_care facilities limited and pressure strong on mothers to stay home , most japanese women leave their jobs after marriage or after having children . mrs . tazawa abandoned a job in computer planning at sharp electronics when she married seven years ago . pregnant , she looked for work and found an editor who gave her a job writing for a magazine aimed at new computer users . she had two more daughters , and the family moved about japan , setting up home in four different cities around the country before settling in hokkaido three years ago . at that time , articles about ' 'small office , home_office , '' or ' 'soho'' workers abounded in the media . soho workers were typically women with children working from home using the internet , doing relatively thankless tasks like data entry . the media hailed the phenomenon as a huge opportunity for former career women , but mrs . tazawa was hearing differently . ''i heard from women who were doing data entry all day long and earning only 1 , 000 yen , '' or about 9 at current exchange_rates , mrs . tazawa said . ''it seemed that in many cases , these women were just cheap labor , and if the internet was indeed going to overcome all the barriers to women working , that would have to change . '' y 's staff now has about 40 members whose skills range from web page design and writing to fortune telling . mrs . tazawa drums up projects and posts the parameters and specifications on the y 's staff web_site , and recruits from among the members to build project teams . between 30 and 50 women apply to join y 's staff each month , and 1 or 2 are accepted . ''we have to determine who wants to work for pocket money when the baby is asleep and who really wants to distinguish themselves in society , '' she said . y 's staff are , essentially , an online office . they have done consulting for e_commerce and internet related ventures , created contents for home pages , planned and edited online magazines and written books about the internet and personal computing . members' earnings range from 280 to 2 , 800 a month , depending on how active they are . ''if there was no internet , '' mrs . tazawa said , ''after quitting the company and getting married and having kids and moving every one or two years , the only job i would have had would be standing behind a cash_register at a local supermarket . '' small business people , too , are out to use the internet . consider niizuma , a prototype maker in kamata , a district in tokyo that is home to hundreds of tiny parts suppliers , machine_tool makers and the like . it went online last november , promoting its three dimensional computer assisted design abilities and soliciting new customers . ''small companies usually depend on getting orders from one or two companies , '' said kiyokazu niizuma , the company 's founder . ''if orders keep coming , you 're fine , but if they stop , you have almost no work . '' he has long used a sales force to make sure niizuma did not rely too heavily on any one company . but that is costly and time consuming , since it takes roughly six months of wining , dining and meetings to secure an order . in comparison , orders coming in over the internet take two or three weeks , said shiro katagiri , the head of niizuma 's sales department . about 20 companies that niizuma has never done business with have expressed interest in placing orders , and four have actually done so . ''before we did this , i was thinking at times that i should increase the number of sales people , '' mr . niizuma said . ''but now i 'm starting to worry about whether we can do all the work coming in over the internet . '' mr . niizuma , who is old enough to remember having to flee tokyo during the american air raids in world_war_ii , thinks the impact of the internet will reach far beyond his thriving company . the traditional emphasis on personal relationships , which have been critical to business here , is fast breaking down . new distribution systems are putting businesses and customers into much closer contact , to the benefit of both . ''even major companies are placing orders in an arm 's length process now to cut costs , '' he said . ''sony is selling some things online for 1 , 000 yen less than in stores , which is a big step toward removing intermediaries and connecting to the consumer . '' do these changes alarm him ? ''i do n't have any worries about the future , '' he said . ''to me , the changes the internet is bringing about represent new chances . '' | has a location of japan |
parappa the rapper is what happens when pop_culture plays the telephone game . released as a sony playstation title in japan , parappa is selling at a steady clip on main_street , u.s.a. , despite the fact that it has no explosions , acrobatic combat or anything in the way of cinematic violence . it is a video_game about hip_hop starring a cartoon puppy dog , the eponymous hero . parappa wears baggy jeans and a stocking cap . he raps in english . his world is spangled with elements of hip hop culture . but somewhere over the pacific , everything was warped in translation . and rap , which left our shores as a glorification of the gangsta high life , has returned as something distinctly japanese something shiny and round and saturated with color . an animated playground filled with whimsical cartoon characters . a game of simon says . as parappa moves from level to level , he faces off against a series of ' 'master rappers'' who reveal the mysteries of hip_hop . it 's call and response , with a horizontal bar on top of the screen indicating which buttons to hit on which beats . follow the bouncing ball . on the first level , for instance , the player imitates an onion headed kung fu master 's karate moves . later , parappa takes driving lessons from a moose and cooking lessons from a chicken . the goal is to keep up , follow the moves and get it right . it is hard to say why , but that turns out to be tremendous fun , even though receiving instruction about rap from a teacher is completely alien to the american mind . masaya matsuura , parappa 's producer , begs to differ . ''parappa is not a game simply to play with the teacher , '' he said . ''user must use improvisation ! if improvisation makes a good score by computer intelligence , user can get cool mode . so on cool mode , user does not need to play with teacher . he can improvise whole song . '' toto , i do n't think we 're in brooklyn anymore . everything in this hip_hop cartoon universe has been rendered in technicolor . and everything has been flattened . the sets are in 3 d , but the characters are all two dimensional . literally . when they turn , you can see that they are cutouts . parappa , in fact , means ''flat'' or ''paper thin'' in japanese . so the whole game looks like a trippy pop up book brought to life . this cartoon candyland , with its tree lined streets and postcard skies , is a kind of universal suburbia that japanese children recognize from countless american sitcoms . in fact , parappa 's visual director , rodney alan greenblat , grew up in daly city , a 1950 's suburb outside san_francisco where all the houses look the same . parappa 's home , rodneytown , is hyperbole for picket_fence americana , what mr . greenblat calls ' 'my hamburger culture vision , with all these high_school kids and cars and bright colors and my typical kinds of geometry , my bumpy buildings and squat little tepee looking things . '' it ends up looking exactly like what americans expect from japanese imports like hello kitty and astro boy . ''i think there 's a lot of interest in japanese pop_culture right now , '' mr . greenblat said . ''i do n't know why , except that it 's a weird reflection of our culture american culture twisted around in a japanese way . '' witness the popularity of japanimation cartoons . so far , parappa 's shiny , happy vision seems to have struck a chord stateside . partly , that is because this is a fantastic , albeit quirky , little game . but it is also a well timed game because americans seem to be in a bright , optimistic moment when the spice girls and hanson can become major musical stars . even calvin_klein models are smiling . it is o.k . to be happy . if you are estee_lauder , it is even o.k . to spend millions of dollars promoting a fragrance called happy . and all of these good vibrations mesh well with japanese pop_culture , which we have always mined for kitsch . in a culture saturated with irony , japanese earnestness has a certain appeal . look at the hero of this game . he is not that smart , but he is really enthusiastic . and he manages to be hip by not being cool , a contrast to the sneering action heroes who have become parodies of themselves . tough guys , from schwarzenegger to the wu tang clan , are so exaggerated that people laugh at them . now it is cooler to be funny . look at jackie chan . or will smith . for years , will smith was the goofy artist formerly known as fresh prince . but now it works and he can become a movie star . parappa is the will smith of video_game characters . he is goofy . and that is why the game is so much fun , on any continent . of course , some things do not translate particularly well . japanese humor has a strong scatological streak , and designers had to tone it down for a crosscultural audience . ''there was this character in the beginning , mr . poo poo , and they thought that would be cute , '' said ryu watabe , who wrote parappa 's lyrics . ''in japan , that 's very acceptable . but i said 'look , if it 's domestic , fine . but if you 're going to make this into an international thing , we 're not going to use mr . poo poo . ' i had to draw the line somewhere . '' clearly , no one involved with parappa imagined that the fabulously subversive cable_tv show ''south park'' would have an episode , now engraved in the minds of millions of viewers , featuring mr . hankey , the christmas poo . not to worry . a parappa sequel is in the works . game theory e mail address herz nytimes . com | has a location of japan |