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BUSINESS
Apr 5, 2002

Tepco ready for market liberalization

Tokyo Electric Power Co. is ready to accept full liberalization of the power market, company president Nobuya Minami said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Apr 5, 2002

Visa-free travel for APEC business people slated for '03

In a long-awaited move, Japan plans to introduce the APEC Business Travel Card program early next year to facilitate visa-free travel for business people from Japan and other APEC member economies, government sources said Thursday.
SOCCER / World cup
Apr 5, 2002

Don't worry, everything will be OK, says English Football Association

For anyone worried about English soccer hooligans blighting this summer's World Cup, Adrian Bevington, the English Football Association's communications manager, has one message: They won't be there.
BUSINESS
Apr 5, 2002

Mizuho delayed by problems during account settlements

Mizuho Bank clients were further inconvenienced Thursday by delays in its cash-transfer services related to account settlements for the 2001 business year, Mizuho officials said.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 5, 2002

Accident at nuclear waste incinerator exposes worker to carbon-14 soot

OSAKA -- The exhaust pipe of a nuclear waste incinerator in Kawachinagano, Osaka Prefecture, ruptured Thursday, exposing a female worker to a small amount of soot, police said.
BUSINESS
Apr 5, 2002

METI plans rebuttal to U.S. trade claims

The Ministry of Economy,Trade and Industry will address Japan's auto and steel market practices when it compiles a rebuttal to the recent U.S. annual report on trade barriers, the ministry's top bureaucrat said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Apr 5, 2002

Komatsu, Volvo announce tieup

Komatsu Ltd. said Thursday it has reached a basic agreement with a Belgium-based construction equipment unit of Sweden's AB Volvo to jointly produce and develop construction equipment components.
BUSINESS
Apr 5, 2002

Myanmar meeting to discuss blueprint for future ASEAN partnership

Japan and the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations will hold their highest-level talks ever in Myanmar next week to discuss Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's recent proposal to forge a "comprehensive economic partnership."
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 5, 2002

Waseda community makes recycling pay

"Super Oyaji," also known as grocer Junichiro Yasui, has been gaining attention for his green streak -- and it has nothing to do with his produce section.
MORE SPORTS
Apr 5, 2002

Japan Grand Prix marks dawn of new era

The opening round of the 2002 Motorcycle World Championship will take place at the Suzuka race circuit in Mie Prefecture on Sunday.
BUSINESS
Apr 5, 2002

Asahi Mutual's new policy contracts see 17% increase

Struggling Asahi Mutual Life Insurance Co. said Thursday the number of new policy contracts in the 2001 business year is estimated to have grown 17 percent due to brisk sales of new products.
JAPAN
Apr 5, 2002

Green coalition seeks changes to soil pollution bill

A coalition comprising 10 nongovernmental groups submitted a list of demands to lawmakers Thursday, seeking amendments to a bill on soil pollution currently under scrutiny in the House of Representatives.
BUSINESS
Apr 5, 2002

NTT faces 2.1 trillion yen in special losses for fiscal 2001

Suffering from huge appraisal losses incurred through failed overseas investments, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. reported special losses Thursday totaling 2.1 trillion yen for the 2001 business year on a consolidated basis.
BUSINESS / ON THE FRONT LINE
Apr 5, 2002

Don't look for a strong yen showing soon

The yen appears likely to remain under downward pressure for some time.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Apr 5, 2002

Oh, to die under a cherry-blossom tree in spring

It's over for Tokyo, that brief period in spring known as hanami no kisetsu (the season to sit under a cherry-blossom tree and eat and drink oneself into oblivion).
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 5, 2002

GSDF wows potential recruits with games

The Ground Self-Defense Force has established its first public relations center, aiming to offer potential young recruits a positive image of the nation's de facto army.
BUSINESS
Apr 5, 2002

Hayami tells government to sort out deflation menace

Bank of Japan Gov. Masaru Hayami urged the government Thursday to initiate concrete structural reforms to stamp out deflation, reflecting the central bank's concern about the slow pace of reforms as Diet proceedings stall amid political scandals.
BUSINESS
Apr 5, 2002

Official hoping for U.S. compensation over steel curbs

A senior trade official voiced hope Thursday that the United States will shortly offer to compensate Japan for damage inflicted upon its steel industry in the wake of Washington's recent decision to impose import tariffs on a range of steel products.
BUSINESS
Apr 5, 2002

Sales of imported autos slumped 1.6% last year

Sales of imported motor vehicles fell 1.6 percent in fiscal 2001 from the previous year to 272,560 units after rising in fiscal 2000 for the first time in four years, the Japan Automobile Importers Association said Thursday.
LIFE / Language
Apr 5, 2002

When the lights go out, who'll be waiting?

Modern monsters seem to have a big image problem. If you've seen the new movie "Monsters, Inc.," you know they're in trouble because, well -- they just aren't frightening!
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Apr 5, 2002

Fruit fly

* Japanese name: Shojobae * Scientific name: Drosophila melanogaster * Description: This is a tiny (3-mm) fly, with red eyes and one pair of wings. It is almost too small to notice, yet the fruit fly is one of the world's most important organisms. Study of the fruit fly led directly to the science...
BUSINESS
Apr 5, 2002

Builder Nissan to repay small claims

Failed Nissan Construction Co. unveiled a plan Thursday committing itself to the repayment of small liabilities of up to 2 million yen.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / MATTER OF COURSE
Apr 5, 2002

No more Saturdays, no more cappuccino

When the new school year begins on April 8, all Japanese public schools will be on a five-day school week for the first time ever. For my kids, that means no more school on Saturdays. For me, it means no more cappuccino.
COMMENTARY
Apr 4, 2002

U.S. provocations leave China guessing

HONG KONG -- Little more than a month after U.S. President George W. Bush's visit to Beijing seemed to have laid the groundwork for a more stable and cooperative relationship between the United States and China, ties between the two countries are again in danger of unraveling as Washington openly moves...
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 4, 2002

Tony Blair struggles to fill Margaret Thatcher's giant shoes

LONDON -- She has been out of power for a dozen years, but former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher has remained a formidable political force while her contemporaries on the world scene have faded from view.
EDITORIALS
Apr 4, 2002

Hope fades in the Middle East

If there is a difference between the situation in the Middle East and all-out war, it is difficult to imagine. Palestinians' suicide bombings have introduced an element of savagery and fear that Israelis have never known before. In response, the Israeli government has attacked the Palestinian Authority...
Japan Times
JAPAN / KANSAI BEAT
Apr 4, 2002

Win for Tigers in 2002 pennant race may spark Kansai recovery: analyst

OSAKA -- As a rabid Hanshin Tigers fan, Daiwa Research Institute President Koichi Kunisada seems pretty sure of the destiny of this year's Central League pennant -- it is bound for Osaka.

Longform

Figure skater Akiko Suzuki was once told her ideal weight should be 47 kilograms, a number she now admits she “naively believed.” This led to her have a relationship with food that resulted in her suffering from anorexia.
The silent battle Japanese athletes fight with weight