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JAPAN
Jan 25, 2003

Trendy teas try to give soda, coffee a run for their money

With a couple of Starbucks and at least one other big-name coffee shop within easy walking distance, not long ago Tomohiro Tsuchiya would have been better off opening his little cafe somewhere else.
JAPAN
Jan 25, 2003

Culture Affairs Agency to extend movie copyrights

An advisory panel to the Cultural Affairs Agency compiled a report Friday that includes a proposal to extend copyright protection for movies to 70 years from their release date, up from the current 50.
BUSINESS
Jan 25, 2003

Subsidies in 2003 budget hit new high

Government subsidies for policy programs in the proposed fiscal 2003 budget come to a record 22.32 trillion yen, up 1.1 percent from the previous year's initial budget, reflecting the nation's growing social welfare costs, the Finance Ministry said Friday.
JAPAN
Jan 25, 2003

Garbage amount hits record level

Households and businesses nationwide produced a record 52.36 million tons of general waste in fiscal 2000, the Environment Ministry said Friday.
BUSINESS
Jan 25, 2003

Cerberus, SMFG vie for controlling stake in Aozora

The number of contenders for a controlling stake in Aozora Bank was effectively trimmed Friday to two -- U.S. private equity fund Cerberus K.K. and the Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group.
BUSINESS
Jan 25, 2003

Supermarket sales declined 2.1% in 2002

Sales at supermarkets slipped 2.1 percent in 2002 on a same-store basis from the previous year for the sixth straight yearly fall, the Japan Chain Stores Association said Friday.
JAPAN
Jan 25, 2003

Third time lucky for Ueno panda?

The Ueno Zoological Gardens in Tokyo unveiled a plan Friday to loan its only giant panda, Ling Ling, to a Mexican zoo in order to carry out a third breeding attempt, following two previous failures.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jan 25, 2003

'Gaijin' do just the strangest things

People often ask me what I find strange about being the only "gaijin" living on a Japanese island. I wonder if people also ask the residents what they think is strange about the gaijin living on their island. Indeed, we gaijin seem to have unlimited ways of causing consternation and raising eyebrows...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Jan 25, 2003

Joy for the standing man: Densha Don's seat secrets

In riding the iron ponies hither and thither across the urban plains of Japan, I'm one railroad cowboy who would just love to experience the singular pain of a real-life horsemen.
JAPAN
Jan 25, 2003

Emperor's cancer hasn't spread to other organs

Doctors in charge of treating Emperor Akihito's prostate cancer have concluded the cancer has not spread to other parts of his body, an Imperial Household Agency official said Friday.
JAPAN
Jan 24, 2003

Seventh mad cow found in Hokkaido

A cow in Hokkaido was confirmed Thursday to have contracted mad cow disease, the seventh since the brain-wasting disease was discovered in Japan in 2001, according to the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 24, 2003

Koizumi shrugs off failures

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi caused a stir in the House of Representatives Budget Committee on Thursday by claiming his breaches of three key policy pledges were "no big deal."
JAPAN
Jan 24, 2003

Shady Suzuki aide hid 90 million yen

Jun Tada, an aide to indicted House of Representatives lawmaker Muneo Suzuki, concealed 90 million yen in income for seven years through 2001, sources said Thursday.
COMMENTARY
Jan 24, 2003

Cracks in the united front against terror

ISLAMABAD -- Despite its cooperation with the United States in the war on terror, Pakistan can hardly be said to have started the new year on a pleasant note. A brief military encounter between American soldiers and a group of Pakistani paramilitary troops close to the Afghan border -- following a shot...
SUMO
Jan 24, 2003

Asashoryu regains sole possession of lead after rival Dejima upset by Takanotsuru

Mongolian Asashoryu regained sole possession of the lead Thursday as rival Dejima was upset by Takanotsuru on the 12th day of the New Year Grand Sumo Tournament.
BUSINESS
Jan 24, 2003

Kyodo News names new manager

Kyodo News on Thursday named Eiji Kadota as general manager overseeing international news, a post that has been vacant since Toyohiko Yamanouchi became president of the agency in December.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Jan 24, 2003

F.A. Cup gives minnows chance on the big stage

LONDON -- It is not so much David versus Goliath as David versus Goliath's big brother.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 24, 2003

Kansai casinos a dicey proposition

OSAKA -- It's way past dinner time in the back streets of Osaka's Shinsaibashi district. But one establishment advertising itself as an all-you-can-eat Italian restaurant is doing a booming business.
BUSINESS
Jan 24, 2003

Tertiary industry activity continues downward slide

Tertiary industry activity fell 0.7 percent in November from October for the third consecutive monthly dip, the government said Thursday.
JAPAN
Jan 24, 2003

Mob ranks swell, especially among nonsyndicated

The ranks of Japan's underworld rose last year for the seventh year in a row, with the organized crime scene marked by a steady increase of nonsyndicated gangsters, the National Police Agency said in a report released Thursday.
BUSINESS
Jan 24, 2003

Resona turns to Asian bank for help in recapitalization

OSAKA -- Resona Holdings Inc., the holding firm for Daiwa Bank and Asahi Bank, has asked the Hong Kong-based Bank of East Asia to help it recapitalize, company officials said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Jan 24, 2003

The colonel hit hard by downturn

Hit by tighter consumer purse strings, Kentucky Fried Chicken Japan Ltd. announced Thursday that its consolidated net profit dropped 15.2 percent to 1.38 billion yen in the business year that ended in November.
JAPAN
Jan 24, 2003

Last SDF land mines to be destroyed

Japan will finish disposing of antipersonnel land mines held by the Self-Defense Forces on Feb. 8, in line with the Ottawa Treaty, Tetsuro Yano, senior vice foreign minister, said Thursday.
JAPAN
Jan 24, 2003

Talks to seek return of U.S. base land

Japan and the United States have reached a basic agreement to start talks on the return of idle land in four U.S. military facilities in Yokohama, according to Japanese government officials.
JAPAN
Jan 24, 2003

Noncapsule stimulant seizures fall, Ecstasy hauls rise: ministry report

Japanese customs last year seized a smaller amount of stimulants and other illegal drugs that were smuggled into Japan but impounded a record amount of banned substances packaged in capsules, the Finance Ministry said in a report Thursday.

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’