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SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
Feb 28, 2002

Japanese teams treat Guam to rugby spectacle

For many Japanese people, the island of Guam conjures up images of duty-free shopping, cheap golf courses and unequaled diving around the reefs that surround this Pacific island.
EDITORIALS
Feb 28, 2002

Reform initiative faces setback

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi faces mounting difficulties as he tries to keep his reform initiative alive. His problem, in a nutshell, is that events are overtaking him. The gap between rhetoric and reality is widening amid growing signs of deflation. His favorite slogan, "structural reforms with...
SOCCER / World cup
Feb 28, 2002

Asia must earn extra spot: Blatter

If Asia wants an extra automatic berth to future World Cups, then it will have to earn it, FIFA president Sepp Blatter told the Japanese media on Wednesday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 28, 2002

Two held over stock price manipulation

The president of a management consultancy in Tokyo and a former brokerage employee were arrested Wednesday for allegedly manipulating the stock price of nonferrous metals manufacturer Shimura Kako Co. through illegal trading.
JAPAN
Feb 28, 2002

Ministry drawing up strict auto emission standards

An Environment Ministry panel has come up with a plan that would force auto makers to reduce the diesel particulate matter their vehicles spew by up to 85 percent and nitrogen oxide emissions by 50 percent.
JAPAN
Feb 28, 2002

Fuji TV ordered to pay over rape report

The Tokyo High Court on Wednesday upheld a lower court ruling ordering Fuji Television Network Inc. to pay 1 million yen in damages to a man named in the broadcaster's coverage of a rape allegation.
BUSINESS
Feb 28, 2002

Nasdaq Japan and Jasdaq hold integration discussions

Operators of the Jasdaq over-the-counter market and the Nasdaq Japan Market on the Osaka Securities Exchange are discussing integration, market sources said Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Feb 28, 2002

Giant steelmaking duo announce broad tieup

Nippon Steel Corp. and Sumitomo Metal Industries Ltd. said Wednesday they will negotiate a broad tieup that might include the integration of their stainless steel operations.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 28, 2002

Kabukicho gets 50 anticrime cameras

The Metropolitan Police Department put 50 surveillance cameras into operation Wednesday in Tokyo's famous Kabukicho district to help fight crime in the seedy area.
BUSINESS
Feb 28, 2002

Seibu to log 80 billion yen special loss

Seibu Department Stores Ltd. plans to post extraordinary losses of some 80 billion yen for its business year to Feb. 28 after liquidating a subsidiary and incurring capital losses, company sources said Wednesday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Feb 28, 2002

State urged to double reform efforts

Private economic experts urged lawmakers during Wednesday's Diet session to double their efforts to make Japan's public finances sound again.
BUSINESS
Feb 28, 2002

Matsushita plans to sell Osaka towers

OSAKA -- Matsushita Investment & Development Inc., a real estate developer in the Matsushita group, plans to securitize its twin towers in Osaka and other properties and sell them to investors for some 60 billion yen, company sources said.
BUSINESS
Feb 28, 2002

Wholesale, retail sales slide again

Combined sales by Japan's wholesalers and retailers dropped 5.4 percent from a year before in January, marking a 12th consecutive monthly decline, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said Wednesday.
ENVIRONMENT / GARDENS FOR ALL
Feb 28, 2002

Ferns: as mysterious as they are ancient

Ferns are very old plants that long predate the dinosaurs and were already abundant during the Carboniferous Period 350 million years ago, when many species grew in treelike form. Nowadays, they are perfect for bringing a natural feeling to gardens, and complementing trees and shrubs.
BUSINESS
Feb 28, 2002

Snow Brand will spin off drugs division in March

Snow Brand Milk Products Co. will spin off its prescription pharmaceutical division into a joint venture to be launched with Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. by the end of March to make nutritional supplements for clinical use.
BUSINESS
Feb 28, 2002

Sansui Electric returns to black

Sansui Electric Co. said Wednesday it posted a consolidated net profit of 3.26 billion yen in the business year to Dec. 31, marking a turnaround from a 1.33 billion yen loss the previous year.
BUSINESS
Feb 28, 2002

Automobile exports rose 5.8% in January

Exports of cars, trucks and buses rose 5.8 percent in January from a year earlier to 328,016 units, marking the first increase in three months, the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association said Wednesday.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Feb 28, 2002

Bush fiddles figures as the globe warms up

Last June, in the Rose Garden of the White House, President George W. Bush declared the Kyoto Protocol "fatally flawed in fundamental ways," and dubyaed it "unrealistic, arbitrary and not based on science."
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM MOSCOW
Feb 28, 2002

Salt Lake City Games spark Gold War

MOSCOW -- Moscow is furious, Russia indignant. President Vladimir Putin frowns, the Russian Parliament wails. The people would be burning American flags in the streets if they could get some. The hotheads are already talking about boycotting McDonald's and "The Lord of the Rings." The nation feels humiliated...
JAPAN
Feb 28, 2002

Myanmar asylum-seeker gratified, vexed by minister's sudden reversal

His three-year court struggle for refugee status was soon to be over when the man from Myanmar received an unexpected letter from the justice minister last week.
BUSINESS
Feb 28, 2002

Daiei to get 520 billion yen from its main creditors

Struggling supermarket operator Daiei Inc. announced Wednesday a fresh three-year restructuring program that features 520 billion yen in financial support from its three main creditor banks, up 100 billion yen from an earlier plan.
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Feb 28, 2002

Tracing the evolutionary flight of the dodo

A strong contender for the title of most misunderstood animal must be the flightless dodo, the bird universally derided as fat, slow and stupid. To top it all, it's dead.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji