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CULTURE / Film
Dec 26, 2001

What stressed directors want

Mortel Transfert Rating: * * * * Japanese title: Aoi Yume no Onna Director: Jean-Jacques Beineix Running time: 122 minutes Language: French Now showing
SUMO
Dec 26, 2001

Tochiazuma begins life at new rank of ozeki

Tochiazuma, runnerup at last month's Kyushu Grand Sumo Tournament, will start a new adventure when he steps into the ring next month as his ozeki status was officially confirmed in the new rankings released Tuesday by the Japan Sumo Association.
BUSINESS
Dec 26, 2001

Regional banks post combined pretax loss

Second-tier regional banks incurred their first combined pretax loss in three years in the April-September first half of fiscal 2001, according to a banking association report.
BUSINESS
Dec 26, 2001

Fishery talks with South Korea fizzle

Japan and South Korea ended two days of fishery talks Tuesday without reaching agreement on specifics such as quotas for saury catches inside each other's 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zones.
JAPAN
Dec 26, 2001

Land-buy aims to halt airport plans

A network of citizens' groups opposing the construction of an airport on Ishigaki Island, Okinawa Prefecture, have acquired a plot of land where the airport is slated to be built, members of the network said Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Dec 26, 2001

Nidec plans parts venture in China

Major precision motor manufacturer Nidec Corp. said Tuesday it will set up a joint venture March 1 with five of its group companies in China to manufacture components for computer systems.
CULTURE / Film
Dec 26, 2001

My heart will go on . . . for 1,000 years

Sennen no Koi Hikaru Genji Monogatari Rating: * * * Director: Tonko Horikawa Running time: 143 minutes Language: Japanese Now showing
JAPAN
Dec 26, 2001

National wealth falls again

Japan's national wealth, or net assets, at the end of 2000 fell 0.6 percent from a year ago to 2.973 quadrillion yen, marking a third consecutive year of decline, the Cabinet Office said Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Dec 26, 2001

Budget plan shows government will slash spending 6 trillion yen

The government cut fiscal outlays for fiscal 2002 by 6 trillion yen, exceeding the targeted 5 trillion yen, the Finance Ministry said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Dec 26, 2001

Cabinet OKs civil-servant merit system

The government agreed Tuesday on a civil service reform framework that includes a merit-based salary system and rules governing the employment of retired civil servants in the private sector.
JAPAN
Dec 26, 2001

More environmental staff on way for 2002

The Environment Ministry will get 58 extra staff for fiscal 2002, but it will still be understaffed, Environment Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi told a news conference on Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Dec 26, 2001

Nine state lenders draw FSA inspections

The government decided Tuesday to allow the Financial Services Agency to conduct inspections of nine governmental financial institutions beginning in fiscal 2003, according to government officials.
BUSINESS
Dec 26, 2001

Green tax on carmakers proposed

A tax policy advisory panel to Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara proposed Tuesday that the metropolitan government introduce a new tax on automakers reflecting the environmental impact of their products.
JAPAN
Dec 26, 2001

Three arrested in bank robbery

OSAKA -- Three men were arrested Tuesday on suspicion of robbing a bank of 25 million yen earlier in the day at a Kinki Osaka Bank branch in Higashi-Osaka, Osaka Prefecture, police said.
CULTURE / Art / NEW ART SEEN
Dec 26, 2001

Best of times, worst of times

The ominous statistics had been news for some time, but, being a slippery freelancer, I never thought Japan's worsening economic situation would affect me directly. The year 2001, however, proved this assumption wrong, as the mean old cutback beast reared up and hit me where it hurt the most -- right...
Japan Times
JAPAN / STAGING A COMEBACK
Dec 26, 2001

Reforms shake higher education's foundations

Scholars at Japan's universities have long been criticized for enjoying "splendid isolation" within their ivory towers.
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Dec 26, 2001

Bireli Lagrene: 'Gipsy Project'

When Bireli Lagrene burst onto the scene at the age of 13, many felt he was the reincarnation of Django Reinhardt, the famed Gypsy jazz guitarist.
BUSINESS
Dec 26, 2001

BOJ briefly entertained plan to buy foreign bonds

The Bank of Japan Policy Board at its mid-November meeting rejected a proposal that the central bank purchase foreign bonds, but some members nevertheless entertained the idea as a way to further ease credit, according to minutes of the meeting released Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Dec 26, 2001

Four MTFG securities houses to merge

Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group Inc. said Tuesday its four group securities companies -- Kokusai Securities Co., Tokyo-Mitsubishi Securities Co., Tokyo-Mitsubishi Personal Securities Co. and Issei Securities Co. -- have agreed to merge on July 1. Kokusai Securities will be the surviving entity.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 26, 2001

Ministers reach accord on Hansen's settlement

Health chief Chikara Sakaguchi said Tuesday he and Justice Minister Mayumi Moriyama have agreed to compensate former Hansen's disease patients who were not forced into sanitariums under the government's now-defunct quarantine policy.
BUSINESS
Dec 26, 2001

Sales at supermarkets fall 4.5%

Sales at Japan's supermarkets fell 4.5 percent on a same-store basis in November from a year earlier to 1.26 trillion yen, the 36th monthly drop in a row, the Japan Chain Stores Association said Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Dec 26, 2001

IHI raises forecast after land sales

Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries Co. said Tuesday it has revised upward its earnings forecast for the current fiscal year as it will book an additional extraordinary profit from the sale of real estate holdings.
JAPAN
Dec 26, 2001

Koizumi wants ship in shootout salvaged

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said Tuesday he thinks the unidentified ship that sank in the East China Sea on Saturday after a shootout with Japan Coast Guard patrol ships should be salvaged for investigation purposes if possible.
MORE SPORTS
Dec 26, 2001

Nepal opens 103 more peaks

Nepal said on Monday that in March it will open 103 more mountain peaks in the Himalayas for international climbing.

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