search

 
 
BUSINESS
Feb 14, 2001

BOJ cuts discount rate to 0.35%

The Bank of Japan on Tuesday cut its official discount rate by 0.15 percentage point to a record low of 0.35 percent in line with a decision made at its Policy Board meeting Friday.
JAPAN
Feb 14, 2001

Girls triumph in English speech event

A Tokyo junior high school girl and an Okayama elementary school girl won a prestigious English-language speech contest Monday for students in Japan, beating some 44,000 fellow competitors from around the country.
COMMENTARY
Feb 14, 2001

The 'freeter' phenomenon

LONDON -- An article in the Jan. 31 issue of the Nihon Keizai Shimbun began with these words (my translation): "It was afternoon when he woke up. There was nothing he had to do. To avoid meeting his parents he got up without making any noise and went out of the house. It was the same thing for him every...
BUSINESS
Feb 14, 2001

Seiyu announces new president

Major supermarket chain Seiyu Ltd. announced Tuesday following a board meeting that Vice President Masao Kiuchi had taken over the presidency the same day from Noriyuki Watanabe, who became the chairman.
JAPAN
Feb 14, 2001

Cheap China textile imports a hot potato

Shopping for casual clothes at a nearby Uniqlo store has almost become a routine for Miwako Matsuo. But what the 30-year-old didn't realize was that nearly 80 percent of the winter clothing she bought was made in China.
JAPAN
Feb 14, 2001

Opposition finds grist as Mori golfs amid tragedy

The opposition camp made full use of its latest ammunition against Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori -- his decision to keep playing golf Saturday despite learning about a collision between a Japanese vessel and a U.S. submarine -- during Tuesday's House of Representatives Budget Committee deliberations.
JAPAN
Feb 14, 2001

Opposition finds grist as Mori golfs amid tragedy

The opposition camp made full use of its latest ammunition against Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori -- his decision to keep playing golf Saturday despite learning about a collision between a Japanese vessel and a U.S. submarine -- during Tuesday's House of Representatives Budget Committee deliberations.
JAPAN
Feb 14, 2001

Japan readies fresh ODA for Myanmar

Japan is considering the first large-scale official development assistance in four years for Myanmar to help relieve the impoverished Southeast Asian country's acute power-supply shortages, government sources said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Feb 14, 2001

Japan readies fresh ODA for Myanmar

Japan is considering the first large-scale official development assistance in four years for Myanmar to help relieve the impoverished Southeast Asian country's acute power-supply shortages, government sources said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Feb 14, 2001

China agrees to sea-use framework

Japan and China agreed Tuesday to give two months' notification for marine research activities in each other's economic waters, setting up a framework to guard against incidents similar to one last year in which the entry of Chinese vessels into Japanese waters caused turmoil in bilateral relations....
JAPAN
Feb 14, 2001

China agrees to sea-use framework

Japan and China agreed Tuesday to give two months' notification for marine research activities in each other's economic waters, setting up a framework to guard against incidents similar to one last year in which the entry of Chinese vessels into Japanese waters caused turmoil in bilateral relations....
JAPAN
Feb 14, 2001

Mori, Putin plan March treaty talks

Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori and Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet in the Russian city of Irkutsk on March 25 for peace treaty talks, the two leaders agreed during a phone conversation Tuesday.
JAPAN
Feb 14, 2001

Mori, Putin plan March treaty talks

Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori and Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet in the Russian city of Irkutsk on March 25 for peace treaty talks, the two leaders agreed during a phone conversation Tuesday.
ENVIRONMENT
Feb 14, 2001

Sakhalin oil sparks hopes and fears

YUZHNO-SAKHALINSK, Russia -- Sakhalin Island is a remote former penal colony where the sea freezes for up to six months a year and villagers have been known to sleep in tents pitched in their bedrooms when the central heating fails.
BUSINESS
Feb 14, 2001

LDP panel approves bill on pensions

A panel of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party gave the go-ahead Tuesday to a government bill designed to drastically reform Japan's corporate pension system with an eye to protecting employees' rights to receive pension benefits.
JAPAN
Feb 14, 2001

Surviving students arrive at Kansai airport

Nine Uwajima Fisheries High School students who survived a collision Friday between their training ship and a surfacing U.S. submarine off Hawaii arrived Tuesday afternoon at Kansai International Airport in Osaka aboard a Japan Airlines flight.
LIFE / Travel
Feb 14, 2001

The Chinese are coming!

BEIJING -- For centuries, Chinese living away from home loyally trekked back to their ancestral villages every Spring Festival. Last month, a record 45 million people hit road, rail and airlines during the seven-day public holiday. The most auspicious date in the lunar calendar is a time for family reunions....
LIFE / Travel
Feb 14, 2001

Okinawa: A little bit of everything but still something else

NAHA, Okinawa Pref. -- The beaches are Hawaiian, the suburbs look American, the marketplaces resemble Asian bazaars, and the omiyage-ya are definitely Japanese. But Okinawa, as any resident is keen to tell you, has a personality all its own.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji