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BUSINESS
Jan 30, 2003

KDDI eyes mobile standardization

KDDI Corp. said Wednesday it will meet with China Unicom Ltd. and Korea Telecom Freetel Inc. of South Korea to discuss a uniform technological standard for cell phones and the mutual use of video games and other software.
BUSINESS
Jan 30, 2003

Auto exports rose 12.8% in 2002

Japan's 11 carmakers exported 4.7 million cars and commercial vehicles in 2002, up 12.8 percent from the previous year and a first year-on-year increase in two years, the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association said Wednesday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 30, 2003

Resist tariff cuts: farm body

The leader of a farming body urged Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Wednesday to resist anticipated calls from other World Trade Organization members for large agricultural tariff cuts during a ministerial WTO meeting next month in Tokyo.
BUSINESS
Jan 30, 2003

Mizuho turns to business partners in desperate effort to boost capital

Mizuho Holdings Inc. played its final trump card last week in a bid to get rid of nonperforming loans once and for all, turning to some of its largest business partners to raise an unprecedented 1 trillion yen to boost its capital base.
JAPAN
Jan 30, 2003

Weather-tied health tips advise high-tech crowd

Every morning, Akio Tanaka wakes up and reaches for his mobile phone to check on his health.
BUSINESS
Jan 30, 2003

Newly unemployed may get break

The national government will instruct local governments to reduce or eliminate public health premiums of people who have lost their jobs, labor minister Chikara Sakaguchi said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Jan 30, 2003

Escapee from North Korea stirs refugee debate anew

The high-profile case of a Japanese woman who returned to Japan on Wednesday after fleeing North Korea has rekindled debate over the government's lack of adequate support measures for others in similar circumstances, as well as its reluctance to accept refugees.
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Jan 30, 2003

Warriors marching merrily toward mediocrity

NEW YORK -- If you toss aside the triviality that accompanies the Superbowl -- and the Raiders participation in it -- only one thing should be on the minds of Oaktown: What in the name of Jack London is going on with the Warriors? Basketball's bottom feeders for the better part of the past 10 years,...
JAPAN
Jan 30, 2003

Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka brace as pollen blitz looms

As the hay fever season approaches, doctors, weather forecasters and local authorities are predicting that Tokyo and two other metropolitan areas will suffer above-average pollen counts.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Jan 30, 2003

Cold facts and urban myths

First of two parts Depending on where you live in Japan, you may only have experienced a brief flurry of snow this winter. Perhaps if you live in southwestern Honshu or Kyushu, you won't have seen any at all, except on the TV weather maps. Conversely, though, if you live on the Sea of Japan coast, or...
COMMENTARY
Jan 30, 2003

Making waves over foreign policy 'realism'

HONOLULU -- One of the advantages of living in Hawaii is that you get to spend weekends at the beach. I spend mine with the Grizzled Old Vet, a longtime observer of East Asia who has spent a lifetime straddling academia and the minefields that litter the Beltway. Between waves, the Gov (as I will call...
BUSINESS
Jan 30, 2003

Ministry downgrades economic assessment

The Finance Ministry downgraded its economic assessment for the first time in a year, mainly due to slower production and decreasing housing construction, according to a quarterly report released Wednesday.
JAPAN
Jan 30, 2003

Ship conveyed 1974 assassination order

A North Korean ship that makes irregular visits to Japan may have been used to convey orders from Pyongyang for the attempted assassination in 1974 of then South Korean President Park Chung Hee in Seoul, sources close to police investigations said Wednesday.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 30, 2003

Iraqi crisis highlights strains in trans-Atlantic relations

LONDON -- Since the end of World War II, Western Europe has usually sided with the United States in global conflicts. Except for a few national exceptions, such as France's criticism of the Vietnam War, trans-Atlantic solidarity has been the order of the day from the Cuban missile crisis through the...
EDITORIALS
Jan 30, 2003

More of the same in Israel

The Likud Party of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon won a crushing victory in Israel's general election held earlier this week. Although the scale of the win raised some eyebrows, Likud's strong showing was expected: The chief opposition, the left-leaning Labor Party, has been unable to generate much enthusiasm...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT
Jan 30, 2003

Asia's last emperors of its wetland wilds

CHENGDU, China -- Though surprisingly not Japan's national bird, which oddly is the pheasant, the red-crowned crane, also known as the Japanese crane, has long been close to the Japanese heart. In China, too, it occupies a special place, along with the pine and turtle, as a symbol of luck and longevity,...
MORE SPORTS
Jan 30, 2003

Da Costa, Thys to run in Tokyo

Brazil's Ronaldo da Costa and Gert Thys of South Africa will run in next month's Tokyo International Marathon along with top Japanese invitee Shigeru Aburaya, organizers said Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Jan 30, 2003

Bush speech pushes Nikkei near 20-year low

Tokyo stock prices plunged Wednesday, bringing the Nikkei average down 2.28 percent to a near 20-year low, after U.S. President George W. Bush pledged Tuesday to use "full force" if necessary to disarm Iraq. The president's stated resolve cast a shadow over the U.S. and Japanese economies.
JAPAN
Jan 30, 2003

Death penalty sought for major Aum figure

Prosecutors on Wednesday demanded the death sentence for Tomomasa Nakagawa, a former Aum Shinrikyo senior member accused of involvement in numerous crimes, including the 1995 sarin attack on the Tokyo subway system.
Japan Times
SUMO
Jan 30, 2003

Asashoryu gets yokozuna rank

Mongolia's Asashoryu was promoted Wednesday to the highest rank in Japan's ancient sport of sumo, becoming the first from his country and only the third foreign-born wrestler ever to achieve that lofty status.
BUSINESS
Jan 30, 2003

Snow Brand vows to restore image with safety steps

Snow Brand Milk Products Co., which has recently revamped its corporate structure, restated its pledge Wednesday to restore its image by ensuring safety and ethical conduct.
BASEBALL / MLB
Jan 30, 2003

Matsui to leave for U.S. on Monday

Hideki Matsui, who officially signed a three-year, $21 million contract with the New York Yankees two weeks ago, will leave for the United States next Monday ahead of the start of spring training, baseball sources said Wednesday.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / NAME OF THE GAME
Jan 30, 2003

Haven't I seen you somewhere?

Clones -- identical creatures built from the same DNA.
BUSINESS
Jan 30, 2003

Industrial output fell 1.4% in 2002

The nation's industrial production fell 1.4 percent in 2002, after a 7.8 percent decline in 2001, as signs of improvement in the early part of the year faded, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said in a preliminary report Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Jan 30, 2003

Misawa to change group structure

Misawa Homes Co. said Wednesday it will reorganize its group structure under a new holding firm to be launched in August.
BUSINESS
Jan 30, 2003

Niigata Engineering units get new financial backing

Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries Co. said Wednesday it and the governmental Development Bank of Japan will jointly set up two companies to take over failed Niigata Engineering Co.'s mainstay operations.

Longform

Ichiro Suzuki, one of the most iconic players in NPB and MLB history, was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame with 99.7% of the vote.
With Hall of Fame induction, Ichiro makes himself heard loud and clear