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JAPAN
Jul 25, 2003

Opposition parties try to block SDF bill

The opposition parties launched a last-minute move Thursday to block final Upper House votes on a government-sponsored bill to dispatch Self-Defense Forces to Iraq, by submitting a series of censure motions against Cabinet ministers.
BUSINESS
Jul 25, 2003

Sony net profit nosedives 98% amid sluggish sales

Sony Corp.'s group net profit for the first quarter of this fiscal year nosedived 98 percent to 1.1 billion yen from a year earlier, the company said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Jul 25, 2003

MMC plans Aussie R&D project

Mitsubishi Motors Corp. and its Australian subsidiary, Mitsubishi Motors Australia Ltd., said Thursday they will spend 230 million Australian dollars for a new automotive research and development project.
BUSINESS
Jul 25, 2003

Keidanren chief seeks reform ideas

OYAMA, Shizuoka Pref. -- Business leaders should take the initiative in pushing structural reforms aimed at reinvigorating the stagnant economy, Hiroshi Okuda, chairman of the Japan Business Federation (Nippon Keidanren), said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Jul 25, 2003

Defiant Japan to raise beef tariff to 50%

Japan will raise its tariff on imported refrigerated beef to 50 percent from the current 38.5 percent Aug. 1, despite strong opposition by the United States and Australia, government sources said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Jul 25, 2003

Cash dries up amid pension plan fears

The ratio of people who failed to pay national pension premiums hit a record-high 37.2 percent in fiscal 2002, surpassing the previous record of 29.1 percent in fiscal 2001, the Social Insurance Agency said Thursday.
EDITORIALS
Jul 25, 2003

Iraqis take control

The inauguration of an Iraqi-led government in Baghdad is the first concrete step toward creating a free and democratic Iraq. Installation of the Iraqi Governing Council by the United States is still problematic, but a successful transition from U.S. administration to a stable and functioning civil society...
BUSINESS
Jul 25, 2003

Japan, U.S. may conduct first energy talks since 1996

Japanese and U.S. officials may hold a working-level meeting on energy, the first since 1996, Seiji Murata, vice minister of economy, trade and industry, said Thursday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 25, 2003

DPJ, Liberal Party exec panels approve fall merger proposal

The executive councils of the Democratic Party of Japan and Liberal Party approved on Thursday a proposal to merge the two parties by the end of September.
BUSINESS
Jul 25, 2003

June trade surplus plunges 30.7%

The trade surplus dropped 30.7 percent in June from a year earlier to 846 billion yen, marking its first fall in three months as exports sputtered, the Finance Ministry said Thursday.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jul 25, 2003

L'Ecailler: Why shell out?

One thing should be made clear from the outset: L'Ecailler is not a restaurant for everyone. This has nothing to do with location or exclusivity, though it must be said that tony, well-heeled Shirokanedai does boast a distinctive demographic all its own. Neither is it a question of finances. L'Ecailler...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jul 25, 2003

Rainy season pours cold water on recovery

The rain clouds hovering over most of Japan are not just drenching people -- they are also blighting the earnings outlook for corporate Japan.
JAPAN
Jul 24, 2003

Political donations to get murkier?

The ruling coalition's new proposal on corporate donations to political parties would probably conceal the identities of most donors, according to a recent Kyodo News study.
EDITORIALS
Jul 24, 2003

Danger lurks for unwary young teens

Central Shibuya, one of the trendiest districts in Tokyo, is a magnet for young people. "It's exciting like New York," says an American junior high school student on home stay here. But it is also a dangerous place for naive teenagers, as illustrated by last week's kidnapping of four school girls.
JAPAN
Jul 24, 2003

Tokio Marine is accused of hiding billions in income

The Tokyo Regional Taxation Bureau has accused Tokio Marine & Fire Insurance Co. of hiding about 4.3 billion yen in income through dealings in earthquake reinsurance transactions, sources said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Jul 24, 2003

Mayor of Aomori town lobbies Tepco to construct spent-fuel facilities there

The mayor of Mutsu, Aomori Prefecture, urged Tokyo Electric Power Co. on Wednesday to apply with his city to build "interim" storage facilities for spent nuclear fuel.
JAPAN
Jul 24, 2003

Auditors unhappy with rush on Japan Highway review

Japan's big four auditing firms have expressed concern about auditing Japan Highway Public Corp.'s financial statements by the end of August, sources said Wednesday.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 24, 2003

Howard aims for leading regional role

SYDNEY -- A weeklong diplomatic flourish through East Asia behind him, Australian Prime Minister John Howard has no time to pause for breath before the next push into Australia's newfound activism in regional security, the South Pacific's most chaotic young nation, the Solomon Islands.
JAPAN
Jul 24, 2003

DPJ and Liberal Party agree to merge

In preparation for the upcoming Lower House general election, top leaders of the Democratic Party of Japan and the Liberal Party agreed Wednesday that the two opposition parties will merge by the end of September.
JAPAN
Jul 24, 2003

Diet members tour execution chamber

Nine members of the House of Representatives Judicial Affairs Committee visited the Tokyo Detention House in Katsushika Ward on Wednesday morning for a rare view of its execution chamber.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Jul 24, 2003

Making a BEE line for 'green living' throughout Japan

School's out for summer, and just about everyone seems to be on the road heading for the beach, the mountains or the mall. Chances are, though, many of those drivers will spend most of their time caught up in traffic.
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Jul 24, 2003

Whaling safe with the IWC

In 1635, under pressure from the Church of England for his nonconformity, the Rev. Richard Mather decided it was time to leave England with his wife and sons and start a new life in New England.
JAPAN
Jul 24, 2003

Rail staff taking passenger violence on chin

A drunken man gets up from his train seat and suddenly decks a railway employee, whose only offense was to wake him up at the end of the line.
BUSINESS
Jul 24, 2003

Toyota Avensis set for Japan launch

Toyota Motor Corp. said Wednesday it will release the midsize Avensis on the domestic market in the fall.

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