Kikuchi notes that already this year foreign buyers have been JPY 2 trillion net buyers of Japanese equities.

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They say Naoko Kikuchi, a 40-year-old ex-member of the Aum Shinrikyo doomsday cult, was picked up in Sagamihara, west of Tokyo, on Sunday.

BBC: Japan 'doomsday cult member' held

The festival gave Asumi Kikuchi, a 13-year-old middle-school student, an opportunity to get together with three of her best friends, who are now scattered all over Fukushima prefecture.

WSJ: Displaced Japanese Town Tries to Stay Intact

Mr Kikuchi believes that, if Japanese manufacturers are to compete against nimbler low-cost rivals in China, the development of future products will involve a mix of different technologies and services.

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One common scenario, mentioned by Masatoshi Kikuchi, a Japan strategist for Merrill Lynch, calls for one to two years of contraction accompanied by steady economic restructuring and followed by a recovery in late 2003.

FORBES: The Panic Spreads

And for best supporting actress: Jennifer Hudson (Dreamgirls), Cate Blanchett (Notes on a Scandal), Adriana Barraza (Babel), Rinko Kikuchi (Babel) and Abigail Breslin (Little Miss Sunshine), whose lovable turn must have Dakota Fanning seething with jealousy.

BBC: NEWS | Entertainment | Oscars panel: Scott Williams

For instance, who is Rinko Kikuchi?

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One common scenario, mentioned by Merrill Lynch (nyse: MER - news - people ) Japan strategist Masatoshi Kikuchi , calls for one or two years of contraction accompanied by steady economic restructuring and a recovery in late 2003.

FORBES: The Panic Spreads

With Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett as a couple that gets in trouble in Morocco, Adriana Barraza as their housekeeper and nanny back home with the kids in San Diego, and Rinko Kikuchi as a teen-age girl in Tokyo desperate for the embrace of a man.

NEWYORKER: Babel