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JAPAN
Sep 17, 2003

Thai handicrafts tempt couch potatoes

The Thai government has turned to a home-shopping channel to sell traditional handicrafts to TV viewers in Japan, industry officials said.
JAPAN
Sep 17, 2003

10% of public school students eligible for welfare

The prolonged economic slump has extended into the nation's classrooms, with around 1.15 million public elementary and junior high school students qualifying for financial aid in fiscal 2002.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 17, 2003

New Mazda chief sets sights on U.S., China

Mazda Motor Corp. is gearing up to gain ground on rivals, especially in the United States and China, according to President Hisakazu Imaki.
COMMENTARY
Sep 17, 2003

Add eco-terrorism to list of threats faced by Americans

WASHINGTON -- In August, radical environmentalists apparently burned down an apartment complex under construction in San Diego, California.
JAPAN
Sep 17, 2003

Nonaka to help disabled following Diet retirement

Hiromu Nonaka, a Liberal Democratic Party heavyweight who has announced he is retiring from politics, said Tuesday in Tokyo he will devote his free time to helping the disadvantaged.
EDITORIALS
Sep 17, 2003

High hopes for Ms. Ogata and JICA

Japan has updated its policy guidelines for official development assistance -- concessionary aid to developing countries -- for the first time in 11 years. ODA has long been considered a key instrument of Japanese diplomacy, but its effectiveness as such has been admittedly less than satisfactory. The...
BUSINESS
Sep 17, 2003

Toshiba forecasts heavier losses

Toshiba Corp. warned Tuesday that its group net loss for the first half is likely to widen to 25 billion yen due to weak personal computer sales.
CULTURE / Art / CERAMIC SCENE
Sep 17, 2003

Hand-made objects have a soul of their own

I've often been asked about my beginnings with Japanese pottery and how I got so deeply interested in the subject. Mostly, it was a philosophical and intuitive introduction that just struck a chord within me, as well as topics associated with Zen and the present. As with most inspiring art, words often...
COMMENTARY
Sep 17, 2003

Moscow must walk a fine line as Tokyo and Beijing compete for Russian oil

HONG KONG -- Russia is in the enviable position of being wooed simultaneously by Asia's two main powers, China and Japan. At the same time, it has to walk a fine line because it is unlikely to be able to please both countries.
JAPAN
Sep 17, 2003

Ueno Zoo benefits from food firms' byproduct recycling

Animals at Tokyo's Ueno Zoo are now getting much of their daily bread, literally, along with tofu sediment and several kinds of fish, courtesy of food producers looking for a cheap disposal route for unwanted goods.
BUSINESS
Sep 17, 2003

J-Phone recalls defective handsets

J-Phone Co. on Tuesday issued a recall on about 380,000 of its mobile phone handsets that have defective software. Subject to the recall is the J-SH53 model, manufactured by Sharp Corp. and launched in May. The defective handsets will be repaired free of charge.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 17, 2003

With health a concern, Shiokawa set to depart

Citing health concerns, Finance Minister Masajuro Shiokawa said Tuesday he would not try to retain his ministerial post even if Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi wins the LDP presidential election on Saturday.
JAPAN
Sep 17, 2003

Japan warns Pyongyang over nuclear testing

The government plans to impose sanctions against North Korea, including suspending personal remittances, if it tests a nuclear bomb, a senior Foreign Ministry official said Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Sep 17, 2003

New condo supply in Tokyo up 16%

A total 5,493 new condominiums went on sale in the Tokyo metropolitan area in August, up 16.5 percent from a year earlier and a record for that month, Real Estate Economic Institute Co. said Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Sep 17, 2003

False data force recomputations

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said Tuesday it will partially correct monthly figures for Japan's industrial production index announced since April because false data were used.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 17, 2003

Soga talks of family she left behind

MANO, Niigata Pref. -- Hitomi Soga, who returned to Japan last year for the first time since being abducted to North Korea in 1978, said Tuesday she is filled with the pain of being separated from her husband and children.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Sep 17, 2003

Son pays tribute to a kabuki master

The Kabukiza Theater in Ginza is presenting two attractive selections of kabuki plays and dance numbers this month in memory of Nakamura Kichiemon I, who died on Sept. 5, 1954, at age 68. Naturally, Kichiemon's 59-year-old grandson, who in 1966 adopted the stage name of Nakamura Kichiemon II, is taking...
BUSINESS
Sep 17, 2003

BOJ upgrades economic assessment

The Bank of Japan raised its assessment of the economy Tuesday, citing improved prospects for exports on the back of growth in the United States, issuing the latest in a series of uplifting signs for the troubled economy.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / FRONT-RUNNERS
Sep 17, 2003

Small Tokyo-based firm challenges bigger rivals in artificial heart sector

One might think that the list of companies playing a leading role in the development and manufacture of artificial hearts would be limited to major suppliers of medical equipment.
BUSINESS
Sep 17, 2003

Department store sales fall again

Department store sales in Tokyo slipped 3.7 percent in August from a year earlier, reflecting unseasonably low temperatures and weaker corporate demand, the Japan Department Stores Association said Tuesday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 17, 2003

Koizumi hints at October election

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi suggested Tuesday he may dissolve the House of Representatives next month because holding simultaneous Lower and Upper House elections in summer "is not a good idea."
BUSINESS
Sep 17, 2003

Record wage cuts approved for government employees

The Cabinet on Tuesday approved record wage cuts for central government employees for fiscal 2003 to bring their pay in line with sagging private-sector wage levels, government officials said.
JAPAN
Sep 15, 2003

Japan, China at odds over mustard gas compensation

Japan and China are at odds over compensation for a fatal leak of mustard gas in August in Qiqihar, HeilongEjiang Province, Japanese offiEcials said Sunday.

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past