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JAPAN
May 15, 2001

Current account surplus dropped 4.5% in 2000

The nation's current account surplus in fiscal 2000 decreased 4.5 percent from the previous term to 12.72 trillion yen, marking the second year of decline after a 16.7 percent fall was registered in fiscal 1999, according to preliminary figures released Monday by the Finance Ministry.
EDITORIALS
May 15, 2001

Plans for NTT overhaul fall short

Two revision bills now before the Diet, designed to update the laws governing telecommunications business, do not go far enough to meet the demands of a competitive market. In December last year, the Telecommunications Council, a government advisory panel, called for a review of the NTT group's holding-company...
BUSINESS
May 15, 2001

Tokai Bank to liquidate Jakarta unit

Tokai Bank announced Monday that it will liquidate its leasing subsidiary in Indonesia as part of efforts to integrate and consolidate its overseas holdings.
BUSINESS
May 15, 2001

Bullish time for investors in upbeat market

Tokyo stock prices have bottomed out and started to rise, thanks to the Bank of Japan's quantitative easing of monetary conditions.
COMMENTARY / World
May 15, 2001

No quick changes in Korea

After the North-South summit last June, South Korea became too euphoric. The South Korean media and public gave blind support to the dictator in the North, as if overnight they had forgotten the acrimony and hatred that had lasted for 50 years between the two countries. In Seoul, goods bearing the likeness...
JAPAN
May 15, 2001

Mutilated puppies found in Osaka park

OSAKA -- Four puppies were found in a park earlier this month in Takatsuki, Osaka Prefecture, with their ears and part of their forepaws cut off, an animal-protection group said Monday.
JAPAN
May 15, 2001

U.S. foreign policy under fire from council

AWAJI ISLAND, Hyogo Pref. -- Concerns over China, the East Asian region and U.S. attempts to act unilaterally were the focus of talks here Monday at the 19th plenary session of the the InterAction Council.
BUSINESS
May 15, 2001

Amazon, Signature Financial denied business model patents

The Patent Office under the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry has notified two U.S. companies that their applications for business model patents will be declined, government sources said Monday.
JAPAN
May 15, 2001

Surname rigidity frustrates

Kyodo News Before Akiko Orita got married in the fall of 1998, she planned to have an equal partnership with her husband, rather than, in her words, "an absorbed merger."
BUSINESS
May 15, 2001

Daihatsu Motor profits up 28.7%

Daihatsu Motor Co. said Monday its consolidated net profits for the 2000 business year grew 28.7 percent from the previous year to 15.65 billion yen, thanks to a sales boost resulting from the introduction of new models.
BASEBALL / MLB
May 15, 2001

Ichiro show rolls on in Canada

TORONTO -- The Ichiro Show has played to rave reviews in the U.S. for the first six weeks of the baseball season. This past weekend, it was a smash hit in its Canadian debut.
BUSINESS
May 15, 2001

Nonresident investors slow their buying

Nonresident investors remained net buyers of Japanese stocks in fiscal 2000, but the net purchase amount was the smallest since fiscal 1990, when Japan's stock market bubble collapsed, the Finance Ministry said Monday in a report compiled on a settlement basis.
SOCCER / THE BALD TRUTH
May 15, 2001

Who will stand up to captain Japan?

My friend Dave's grandfather once did a nude scene with Brad Pitt in the movie "Johnny Suede." This was doubtless extremely nerve-wracking and almost certainly a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
JAPAN
May 15, 2001

Tanaka reverses stance on history texts

Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka, in a reversal of her earlier remarks, told the Diet Monday that further revision of controversial history textbooks that have already been approved by education authorities will be difficult.
JAPAN
May 15, 2001

Safe-sex knowledge seen eluding Japan

Despite a high rate of condom use, the Japanese population lacks knowledge and awareness on the use of contraceptives in the prevention of sexually transmitted infections, according to the head of an expert international advisory panel on sexual and reproductive health.
JAPAN
May 15, 2001

Former Australian prime minister hits U.S. over missile shield

AWAJI ISLAND, Hyogo Pref. -- A former Australian prime minister has slammed the decision of U.S. President George W. Bush to deploy an as-yet undeveloped missile defense system in Asia, saying it poses a "significant" threat to stability in the region.
MORE SPORTS / THE DUKE OF HAZARDS
May 15, 2001

Could Daly be the man to challenge Tiger?

Despite his many problems over the years, John Daly is still one of world's favorite golfers.
BUSINESS
May 15, 2001

Bridge authority may get 800 billion yen lifeline

The Transport Ministry is sounding out local governments invested in the Honshu-Shikoku Bridge Authority about investing for 10 more years, which would use 800 billion yen more in local taxpayer money to keep the loss-making facility afloat, ministry officials said Monday.
Events
May 15, 2001

Itami's no-smoking goal draws fire

ITAMI, Hyogo Pref. -- The Itami Municipal Government's decision to target total elimination of adult smoking in its 10-year health plan has caused an uproar among tobacco lobbyists.
BASEBALL / MLB
May 15, 2001

'Wave takes over PL lead

Nobuyuki Ebisu (2-2) gave up five hits and struck out seven in six innings and Yoshitomo Tani blasted a two-run homer as the Orix BlueWave won their sixth straight game and took the Pacific League lead by defeating the Kintetsu Buffaloes 5-1 on Monday night at Green Stadium Kobe.
LIFE / Travel / NATURE TRAVEL
May 15, 2001

History and old home comforts in Zambia

Every mud hut in Songwe Village Lodge is named after a chief. Our hut, for example, is called Shichichele.
JAPAN
May 15, 2001

Raising child costs 63 million yen: study

The cost of raising a child in Tokyo from birth to college graduation now ranges from 28.59 million yen to 63.01 million yen, AIU Insurance Co. said Monday.
BUSINESS
May 15, 2001

Sanyo, IBM develop Net-connectable chip

OSAKA -- Sanyo Electric Co. and IBM have developed a new semiconductor for home appliances that can be connected to the Internet, Sanyo officials said Monday.
EDITORIALS
May 14, 2001

Looking history in the face

For the United States, the Vietnam War is a war that will never go away. This has again been made clear by the public confession of former U.S. Sen. Bob Kerrey and the continuing commentaries on the matter, some expressing outrage and anguish and others trying to explain what seems almost impossible...
JAPAN
May 14, 2001

New frameworks slated for disputed isles: Mori

Former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori revealed Sunday that Japan and Russia agreed during working-level talks in early April to set up two frameworks regarding the return of Russian-held islands at the center of a decades-old bilateral dispute.
JAPAN
May 14, 2001

Mori criticizes Tanaka's judgment

Former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori on Sunday criticized Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka for trying to remove Vice Foreign Minister Yutaka Kawashima, the ministry's top bureaucrat and canceling talks with key overseas figures.
JAPAN
May 14, 2001

InterAction Council opens summit in Awaji

AWAJI ISLAND, Hyogo Pref. -- The InterAction Council, a group of former heads of state and government, opened its 19th plenary session Sunday at the Awaji Yumebutai International Conference Center by criticizing the United States for turning its back on a number of global issues.
BUSINESS
May 14, 2001

Koizumi's chance to change privileged corporate entities

Now that Mr. Junichiro Koizumi has been elected Prime Minister on his campaign to "Change Japan," one issue that should not be overlooked is how Japan approaches its government-run special corporate entities, or "SPEs."

Longform

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What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji