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BUSINESS
May 22, 2004

Net external assets down a second year

Japan's net external assets stood at 172.82 trillion yen as of the end of 2003, down 1.4 percent from a year earlier, according to a government report released Friday.
JAPAN
May 22, 2004

Japan to seek info on 10 other kidnap victims

Aside from the five abductees repatriated in 2002, Japan has identified 10 other Japanese nationals as having been kidnapped by North Korea.
SUMO
May 22, 2004

Hokutoriki retains grip on lead

Hokutoriki easily overpowered Iwakiyama on Friday to remain in the sole lead at the Summer Grand Sumo Tournament.
BUSINESS
May 22, 2004

Government delivers upbeat verdict for May

The government remained upbeat in its overall economic assessment for May, with recent economic growth data showing the economy is picking up faster than many analysts had expected following a decade-long period of stagnation.
JAPAN
May 22, 2004

Freed abductees hope Koizumi brings their kin

The five Japanese repatriated in 2002 after being abducted by North Korea in 1978 expressed strong expectations Friday that Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi would return from his trip to Pyongyang with their eight family members.
COMMENTARY
May 22, 2004

China forfeits high ground

HONG KONG -- From 1842 to 1997, with two exceptions, British governors of Hong Kong avoided democratic reform. In the 20th century they did so believing that China would react badly if they enacted it.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
May 22, 2004

Queen of Orlane turns 70 (but who'd know it)

In 1960, Reiko B. Lyster answered a "help wanted" classified ad placed in this paper by Max Factor. She had no particular interest in working for a cosmetics company, but (having helped Marlon Brando on a film set just the year previously) the job as a translator appealed.
JAPAN
May 22, 2004

Police raid retired teacher who raised flag, anthem ruckus

Police on Friday raided the house of a former Tokyo high school teacher who distributed copies of a magazine story at a school commencement ceremony dealing with the controversy over the Hinomaru flag and "Kimigayo" anthem.
JAPAN
May 22, 2004

Crown Prince to meet agency chief

Crown Prince Naruhito will meet with the Imperial Household Agency chief when he returns from Europe to discuss his unusually candid remarks about the condition of his wife, Crown Princess Masako, a senior agency official said Friday.
COMMENTARY / World
May 22, 2004

AIDS: China's titanic threat

NEW YORK -- The recent warning by the Chinese government that HIV/AIDS is spreading rapidly in the country and that new and urgent measures are needed to combat the infection marks an important step in the fight against HIV/AIDS. This is particularly remarkable because, at the beginning of the epidemic,...
BUSINESS
May 22, 2004

Nonlife insurers record profit rise in fiscal 2003

The nation's seven major nonlife insurers on Friday reported an increase in net profit in fiscal 2003, with rising Japanese stock prices offsetting profit falls in their mainstay automobile insurance services.
JAPAN
May 22, 2004

Fiscal 2003 a brutal year for MMC

Struggling Japanese automaker Mitsubishi Motors Corp. said Friday it fell deep into the red in fiscal 2003, blaming the slide in part on increased competition and auto loan-related losses in the core U.S. market.
JAPAN
May 22, 2004

Embattled MMC unveils 'last chance' survival plan

Japan's crisis-hit Mitsubishi Motors Corp. unveiled a survival plan Friday featuring a 450 billion yen cash injection, relocation of its head office from Tokyo to Kyoto and major cuts in its global workforce and Australian output.
COMMENTARY / World
May 22, 2004

Koizumi diplomacy takes a bold step

BANGKOK -- Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi is to be commended for his pluck in venturing to North Korea at a time like this. Indeed, given the political maelstrom he is stepping into, his bold move has every chance of failure. There is predictable opposition from Japan's aging legions of anticommunists,...
BUSINESS
May 22, 2004

Sumitomo, UFJ trust units to merge

Sumitomo Trust & Banking Co. and UFJ Trust Bank said Friday they have agreed to integrate operations to create the biggest trust bank in Japan, eclipsing Mitsubishi Trust & Banking Corp.
SOCCER / World cup
May 21, 2004

Injured Nakata out of Japan squad

Japan captain Hidetoshi Nakata will miss the national team's upcoming away friendlies against England and Iceland due to a groin strain, Japan coach Zico said Thursday.
EDITORIALS
May 21, 2004

Mr. Roh goes back to work

The South Korean Constitutional Court's decision to overturn the Parliament's vote to impeach President Roh Moo Hyun ended two months of political limbo in that country. With the president able to resume his duties, Seoul can make important progress on matters ranging from foreign policy to much-needed...
JAPAN
May 21, 2004

Dental group bribery probe widens

Tokyo prosecutors have questioned two senior health ministry officials in connection with a bribery probe involving the Japan Dental Association, sources said Thursday.
JAPAN
May 21, 2004

Harassment of Korean residents may come up in Koizumi-Kim talks

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi might express concern over the harassment of Korean residents in Japan that followed North Korea's admission in 2002 that it had abducted Japanese nationals in the 1970s and 1980s, government sources said Thursday.
JAPAN
May 21, 2004

Youth guidance body to monitor online dating services

The National Association of Juvenile Guidance Counselors said Thursday it will monitor the contents of online dating services in order to prevent minors from falling victim to crime, particularly juvenile prostitution.
SUMO
May 21, 2004

Hokutoriki retains lead at 11-1

Hokutoriki easily overpowered Kotomitsuki on Thursday to remain the sole leader at the Summer Grand Sumo Tournament.
JAPAN
May 21, 2004

Harassment of Korean residents may come up in Koizumi-Kim talks

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi might express concern over the harassment of Korean residents in Japan that followed North Korea's admission in 2002 that it had abducted Japanese nationals in the 1970s and 1980s, government sources said Thursday.
JAPAN
May 21, 2004

Editor of paper in Paraguay to be LDP candidate

The election panel of the Liberal Democratic Party decided Thursday to field the publisher of a Japanese-language newspaper in Paraguay as a candidate for the July Upper House election, party lawmakers said.
BUSINESS
May 21, 2004

State in June to unload Japan Tobacco shares

The Finance Ministry said Thursday it will sell 289,334 shares in the government's holdings of Japan Tobacco Inc. in early June.
JAPAN
May 21, 2004

Sashimi kept oldest man going till 109

Japan's oldest man, 109-year-old Kameni Nakamura, died early Thursday of natural causes in his hometown in Okinawa, officials 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