search

 
 
JAPAN
Jun 28, 2001

Circuit glitch suspected in accidental strafing

An Air Self-Defense Force chief inspector said Wednesday his team found a glitch in an electric circuit that might have inadvertently caused an ASDF F-4 fighter jet's 20mm cannon to fire into a civilian area in Hokkaido during an air-to-ground firing drill Monday. During testing, the jet's 20mm cannon...
JAPAN
Jun 28, 2001

FTC raids seven engineering firms

The Fair Trade Commission on Wednesday raided seven engineering firms affiliated with major oil distributors and refiners on suspicion of rigging bids for maintenance contracts on national oil storage bases, according to sources familiar with the case.
BUSINESS
Jun 28, 2001

Panel reveals debt-waiver guidelines

A panel of deputies from the government, the Japanese Bankers Association and the Japan Federation of Economic Organizations (Keidanren) has drafted guidelines to be observed when a bank forgives a corporate borrower's debts, panel sources said.
BUSINESS
Jun 28, 2001

Firms must pick and choose when pursuing western ways

As Japanese firms seek to adopt more elements of western-style business management practices and ideas, pressure appears to be mounting on corporate executives to increase shareholder value.
BUSINESS
Jun 28, 2001

NTT to rate pay by performance

Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. plans to link bonus and retirement payments more closely with employee performance, company officials said Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Jun 28, 2001

Kokusai to punish execs over breach

Kokusai Securities Co. said Wednesday it will cut the salaries of six of its executives in light of the brokerage's violation of the Securities and Exchange Law.
BUSINESS
Jun 28, 2001

Yen awaits reform showtime

A series of imminent events seem likely to presage future developments on the currency market.
BUSINESS
Jun 28, 2001

Businesses expect upturn next quarter

Major businesses are expecting business conditions to improve in the July-September quarter, according to a government survey released Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Jun 28, 2001

Taiyo-Daido team wins insurer bid

The court-appointed trustee for the defunct Tokyo Mutual Life Insurance Co. has selected the alliance of Taiyo Mutual Life Insurance Co. and Daido Life Insurance Co. as the potential buyer for Tokyo Mutual.
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
Jun 28, 2001

Tuffy enjoying a hair-raising season

It's Opening Day 1994 at venerable Wrigley Field in Chicago. You're playing for the hometown Cubs and facing Dwight Gooden of the New York Mets, one of the premier power pitchers in Major League Baseball. By the end of the day, you'll have have homered in your first three at-bats of the season and added...
BUSINESS
Jun 28, 2001

Gasoline prices to rise by at least 1 yen

Nippon Mitsubishi Oil Corp., the nation's largest oil refiner and distributor, said Wednesday it will raise wholesale prices of gasoline and other petroleum products in July by more than 1 yen per liter from the preceding month.
BUSINESS
Jun 28, 2001

Credit-bought shares drop for first time in seven weeks

The balance of shares bought on credit last week turned lower for the first time in seven weeks.
JAPAN
Jun 28, 2001

Female 'rakugo' narrator packs bags to spread mirth on Korean Peninsula

"Rakugo" comic storyteller Kikuchiyo Kokontei hopes to spend this summer breaking down cultural barriers on both sides of the Korean Peninsula.
BUSINESS
Jun 28, 2001

Brave new e-world needs to review basics

David Grigsby, a professor at Clemson University in South Carolina, recalls how just a few years ago newspapers blared: "Forget what you know about business. This is a new world, an e-world. You have to relearn everything."
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Jun 28, 2001

George W. stepping on toes to dance with special interests

U.S. President George W. Bush is not the beau of the ball among scientists these days. "On both missile defense and the greenhouse effect," Dr. Hugh Gusterson of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology tells the New York Times, there is "substantial [scientific] consensus against the White House."...
BASEBALL / MLB
Jun 28, 2001

'Wave ride Yarnall to 10-2 triumph over downward-spiraling Hawks

Southpaw Ed Yarnall tossed three-hit ball over seven innings as the Orix BlueWave demolished Daiei 10-2 Wednesday at Fukuoka's Kitakyushu Municipal Stadium.
BUSINESS
Jun 28, 2001

Report sees 33 public firms needing trillions

The state will need to inject 11.26 trillion yen into 33 government affiliates over the next 80 years to keep them in operation, an advisory panel to the finance minister estimated Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Jun 28, 2001

Koizumi urged to speak frankly with Bush

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi should "frankly" explain Japan's current economic situation to U.S. President George W. Bush during their first summit scheduled for Saturday in Camp David, Md., Finance Minister Masajuro Shiokawa said Wednesday. "It is important that (the two leaders) nurture mutual...
COMMENTARY
Jun 28, 2001

The right to collective defense

WASHINGTON -- Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi is scheduled to meet U.S. President George W. Bush June 30 at the presidential retreat at Camp David, Maryland. Most likely Koizumi will receive an enthusiastic welcome amid expectations that Japan will change.
BUSINESS
Jun 28, 2001

Report says Osaka firms need stronger green policies

OSAKA -- Osaka firms are making progress in introducing environmentally friendly policies but need to do more, especially in helping smaller firms meet international standards, according to a white paper on the Osaka economy released Wednesday.
JAPAN
Jun 28, 2001

KSD cash was no bribe, ex-LDP lawmaker says

Takao Koyama, a former LDP Upper House lawmaker, admitted Wednesday in his first trial hearing that he received money from the mutual aid provider KSD but denied any of it amounted to bribes for specific favors.
EDITORIALS
Jun 28, 2001

Pakistan's reluctant president

Pakistan's military leader, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, gave himself a promotion last week. He had himself sworn in as president, a mere five hours after the previous office holder had been forced to step down. Mr. Musharraf claims that he took the post reluctantly, declaring that the decision was "one of...
SOCCER / J. League
Jun 28, 2001

'Pixy' plans to lead Yugoslavia in Kirin Cup

Dragan "Pixy" Stojkovic will make an appearance in front of his Japanese fans when the Nagoya Grampus Eight star suits up for Yugoslavia on Thursday night against Paraguay in the opening match of the Kirin Cup at Tokyo's National Stadium.
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Jun 28, 2001

Unraveling the nature of the beast

Nurture got a poke in the eye from nature last week, with the publication of a wide-ranging study of identical and fraternal twins that showed differences in certain attitudes are partly due to genetic factors.
BUSINESS
Jun 28, 2001

Foreign firms have hard time finding help

Foreign companies operating in Japan face greater difficulties recruiting people, procuring funds and resolving civil disputes outside court than in the United States and three European countries, according to a report released Wednesday by the Japan External Trade Organization.
JAPAN
Jun 28, 2001

Nurses receive Nightingale medals

Two retired nurses were awarded the International Committee of the Red Cross' Florence Nightingale Medal on Wednesday in a ceremony in Tokyo to honor their contributions to the profession, officials of the Japanese Red Cross Society said.

Longform

Figure skater Akiko Suzuki was once told her ideal weight should be 47 kilograms, a number she now admits she “naively believed.” This led to her have a relationship with food that resulted in her suffering from anorexia.
The silent battle Japanese athletes fight with weight