Japan

PHILADELPHIA -- We all know the famous phrase of philosopher George Santayana, who warned: "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." But those who raise false historical analogies may harm their cause as much as the memory-challenged. Such is the case with President Bush, who last week compared Iraq to Japan, South Korea - and Vietnam. We are engaged in a national debate of huge importance over how to rescue our Iraq policy from pending disaster. Republican stalwarts, whose support may be fraying, are mostly willing to back Mr. Bush's call to "stay the course," while the Democratic base believes we must leave Iraq as soon as possible.

In the Cal Ripken 12-and-under World Series' five years in Aberdeen, the one constant has been Mexico playing in the International championship game. Mexico, which has won the previous four International titles here, advanced again yesterday, surviving a scare from Japan (2-3) for a hard-earned 3-1 victory at Cal Sr.'s Yard. Mexico (5-0) will face the Dominican Republic (4-1) in the International final today at 3 p.m. Southeast Lexington, Ky. (4-1) will play Tampa, Fla. (4-1) in the U.S. title game today at 5:30 p.m. The International and U.S. winners will meet tomorrow at 5 p.m. for the championship.

MOMOFUKU ANDO, 96 Inventor of instant noodles Momofuku Ando, the Japanese inventor of instant noodles - a dish that has sustained American college students for decades - died of a heart attack Friday. Born in Taiwan, he founded Nissin Food Products Co. in 1948 from a humble family operation. Faced with food shortages in post-World War II Japan, he thought a quality, convenient noodle product would help feed the masses. In 1958, his Chicken Ramen - the first instant noodle - was introduced after many trials.

Japanese voters repudiated Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Sunday - and in no uncertain terms - over economic mismanagement. But if it slows down his desire to remilitarize Japan, that can only be a good consequence. The ruling Liberal Democratic Party lost control of the upper house of parliament, and the opposition Democratic Party of Japan is foursquare against Mr. Abe's nationalist tendencies. An immediate result may be the withdrawal of Japanese ships from the Indian Ocean once their authorization expires in November.

The U.S. economy weathered the "Asian contagion." Then it sidestepped the Russian-ruble meltdown. Even a deep and prolonged recession in Japan -- the world's second-largest economy -- hasn't dented the U.S. economic armor. Now it must deal with the Brazil brownout.In an era when most experts say the marketplace has become inextricably global, the U.S. economy has so far proved remarkably impervious."There is no sign at all of a recession," said Richard Marston, professor of finance at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business.

BEIJING -- Chinese Prime Minister Zhu Rongji and Japanese Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi met here yesterday and announced that they had reached a trade agreement that effectively won Japan's endorsement for China to join the World Trade Organization.The deal, limited in substance to a handful of minor trade issues, carried weighty implications. China is eager to join the group that makes the rules of global commerce, and has courted support from many of its 134 member countries. At the same time, its chess game of negotiations with Washington -- essentially the arbiter of China's efforts to join the WTO -- remains at an impasse.

IT WASN'T long ago that investors turned their backs on Japan.Who could blame them? The world's second-largest economy was mired in recession, its banking system foundered with billions in bad loans, and the Japanese government seemed apathetic to taking steps to pull the country from its morass.Many of the problems still exist, but investors, who have held fast to mutual funds that invest in the country, are suddenly finding themselves far richer.The reason? Japan as an investment has suddenly gotten hot. Funds that invest in Japan are up 104.72 percent as of Nov. 26, according to Lipper Inc., a New York-based firm that tracks the performance of mutual funds.

TOKYO -- In a case seen as a social milestone for male-dominated Japan, the governor of Osaka resigned and was simultaneously indicted on sexual assault charges yesterday for allegedly groping a 21-year-old female campaign worker.Isamu "Knock" Yokoyama, 67, who earned his nickname during his earlier days as a comedian, tendered his resignation without comment from the hospital where he has been treated for undisclosed health problems since Monday. He has called the young woman's accusations "a lie."

TOKYO -- When environmentalists in southern Japan started worrying that the chemical runoff from a proposed golf course would pollute an unspoiled island, they asked local officials for a copy of the environmental impact report on the envisioned development -- and were told that it was none of their business."

WASHINGTON -- The head of the Bank of Japan strongly hinted yesterday that he was prepared to reverse course and act to halt a three-month-long rise in the value of the Japanese yen, before it chokes off Japan's fragile economic recovery and triggers further clashes with the United States.In early trading in Australia and Asia, the vaguely worded announcement from Masaru Hayami, governor of the Bank of Japan, and a communique issued Saturday night by the finance ministers of the Group of Seven (G-7)

Everybody knows that once a bank note has passed through a few hands, it's not the cleanest thing in the world. What you might not know is that, in addition to germs, grime and other visitors, the bills in your wallet probably contain cocaine. Although such traces have been reported in the past, a scientists' group said Monday that cocaine is present in up to 90 percent of the paper money in the United States, particularly in large cities such as Baltimore, Boston and Detroit. The 90 percent figure represents a significant jump from a similar study conducted two years ago. In the earlier survey, 67 percent of U.S. paper money was found to contain traces of cocaine.

America's national pastime took a major hit last night. On home turf, no less. Daisuke Matsuzaka remained undefeated in the World Baseball Classic and defending champion Japan beat the United States, 9-4, in a semifinal at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Japan advanced to tonight's title game against South Korea, a 10-2 winner over Venezuela in a semifinal late Saturday night. Cleveland Indians outfielder Choo Shin-Soo hit a three-run homer to cap a five-run first inning for South Korea in that game.

The slogan for lacrosse in Japan, since its inception in the mid-1980s, has been "Lacrosse Makes Friends." The Keio High boys lacrosse team is getting a chance to do just that in Baltimore. While some Japanese college teams frequently compete abroad in the United States, Keio, located in Fujisawa, is savoring the opportunity to experience lacrosse and a different culture in the United States. After spending three days in New York City, the team arrived Wednesday night in Baltimore and will play against the junior varsity teams from three of the area's top high school programs - Gilman, St. Paul's and Boys' Latin.

As camera shutters clicked in unison, Koji Uehara signed his major league contract, buttoned his new uniform jersey and started what he described as the second stage of his professional baseball career. For the Orioles, it was a day of firsts as they introduced Uehara as the newest member of their pitching staff and as the organization's first Japanese-born player. "This is a historic occasion for the Baltimore Orioles franchise," club president Andy MacPhail said before signing Uehara's incentive-laden, two-year, $10 million contract.

Listening to Koji Uehara make quips through a Japanese interpreter and watching Orioles club president Andy MacPhail beam as he passed a No. 19 Orioles jersey to the team's newest starter during Uehara's introductory news conference at Camden Yards yesterday, one thought was prevalent. Finally. Finally, the Orioles have signed a Japanese player of note - or, really, any Asian player at all. Finally, they weren't a day late and a yen short. Finally, the Japanese will know the Orioles for something other than Cal Ripken Jr. As Uehara said, "That's about it," when asked the extent of his country's knowledge of his new team.

Koji Uehara might not be the same pitcher he was several years ago, but he can still be an effective member of a major league rotation, according to Japan's most famous American baseball personality. It's tough to gauge whether a Japanese player can make the transition to the major leagues until it happens, said Bobby Valentine, the former big league skipper and player who manages the Chiba Lotte Marines of Japan's Pacific League. But Valentine believes Uehara, who is expected to take a physical early next week in Baltimore before his two-year, $10 million contract with the Orioles is announced, is a smart investment for a club that desperately needs starting pitching.

ARTS 'Mason and Dixon' What's the difference between the North and the South? The Mason-Dixon Line, of course. The story of how it became one of the most famous boundaries in America is told in Mason and Dixon and the Defining of America, an exhibit that runs through Feb. 28 at the Maryland Historical Society, 201 W. Monument St. The name comes from two British experts, astronomer Charles Mason and surveyor Jeremiah Dixon, who were brought in to settle...

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke once famously promised - half-seriously - to drop cash from helicopters if the economy got too bad. With yesterday's decision to cut the short-term cost of borrowed money to nearly zero, one would think he has almost accomplished this. One would be wrong. You can lead a banker to cheap money, but you can't make him ink a loan. Banks aren't lending in enough volume to pull the economy out of its slump. Until they do, the price of short-term credit is largely irrelevant.

When the Orioles made a scouting push to the Far East for the first time in their history this year, it was unclear whether they had committed to being serious investors the next time a high-profile Japanese free agent became available. In the Orioles' first offseason since naming John Stockstill international scouting director, the question remains unanswered. That's primarily because the 2008 class of Japanese players entering the U.S. so far is widely considered underwhelming. There is no major league-ready impact player such as Daisuke Matsuzaka or Ichiro Suzuki.

BEIJING - Afterward, as his players sat grim-faced and stricken, their silver medal a shiny symbol of rare failure, U.S. softball coach Mike Candrea would tell them he was proud of them. And he would tell them something else. "As athletes, it's awfully tough to handle disappointment, but that's athletics," he said. "As I told the girls tonight, 'There are going to be other things in life that are more tragic than tonight.' " Candrea knows tragedy. He lost his wife, Sue, to a brain aneurysm just weeks before the Athens Olympics four years ago. But he was not issuing ominous warnings as much as trying to put the U.S. team's 3-1 loss to Japan in last night's gold-medal game into some sort of perspective.