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BUSINESS
Jun 8, 2002

Yanagisawa rips regionals over deposit guarantee

Financial Services Minister Hakuo Yanagisawa blasted several regional financial institutions Friday for asking the government to keep the full guarantee on current deposits beyond its planned termination date of April 1, 2003.
BUSINESS
Jun 8, 2002

1.4% GDP spurt fails to lift gloom

Brisk exports saw Japan's gross domestic product grow 1.4 percent in the first quarter, marking a turnaround from three straight quarters of contraction, the government said Friday.
JAPAN
Jun 8, 2002

Condo's height approved by court

The Tokyo High Court on Friday reversed a lower court decision that said a 44-meter-high condominium in Kunitachi, western Tokyo, was in violation of a municipal ordinance by being too tall.
BUSINESS
Jun 8, 2002

Seibu to cut 15% of full-time jobs

Seibu Department Stores Ltd. plans to cut some 800 jobs, or about 15 percent of its full-time workforce of 5,300, by the end of March, company officials said Friday.
BUSINESS
Jun 8, 2002

Foreign-exchange reserves hit record high of 420 billion yen

Japan's dollar-buying operations in May pushed the nation's foreign-exchange reserves to a record $419.65 billion at the end of that month, up $12.95 billion from the previous record of $406.7 billion, logged a month earlier, the Finance Ministry said Friday.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jun 8, 2002

Making the leap from street art to mainstream

Here she is known as Bibi. It's the name she uses to sign her artwork -- lyrically humorous paintings in ink and watercolor that bring animals and children to life in ways that are engaging and respectful. It's who she is to her friends. It's the name students use in her yoga classes at two international...
JAPAN
Jun 8, 2002

Leftover tickets on sale

Sales of leftover tickets for World Cup matches in Japan through June 14 began Friday, according to the Japan World Cup organizing committee.
BUSINESS
Jun 8, 2002

Japan, China to pursue Net research

Japan and China have agreed to carry out joint research and development on next-generation Internet technology to create a global standard.
JAPAN
Jun 8, 2002

Japanese NPO, Chinese college plan grad school

A Japanese nonprofit organization that promotes education in Japan and China will establish a graduate school in Tianjin, China, for Japanese and Chinese students in September in cooperation with a Chinese state university.
BUSINESS
Jun 8, 2002

U.S. auto friction seen as unlikely

The chairman of the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association said Friday that the increasing number of Japanese vehicles in the U.S. auto market is unlikely to rekindle trade friction between Tokyo and Washington.
BUSINESS
Jun 8, 2002

DSL subscribers crack 3 million mark

The number of subscribers to DSL high-speed Internet access services has surpassed 3 million for the first time, the telecommunications ministry said Friday.
BUSINESS
Jun 8, 2002

Government may relax messenger-service deadline

The government may relax a requirement that any messenger service entering the mail-delivery sector deliver express parcels within three hours, posts minister Toranosuke Katayama said Friday.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jun 8, 2002

To World Cup soccer fans: Uerukamu!

In Japan, we have only two languages: Japanese and a dialect of English called Japanese English. JE is Japan's second language. I call it Zen English because you can't translate it directly. A lot of the meaning is left up to the listener. Entire sentences are often expressed in just two words. For example,...
BASEBALL / MLB
Jun 8, 2002

Powell knocks wind out of Nippon Ham

Osaka Kintetsu right-hander Jeremy Powell threw a four-hitter for his second straight shutout to lead the Buffaloes to their sixth straight victory with a 5-0 win over the Nippon Ham Fighters on Friday.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 8, 2002

The world waiting on Musharraf to act

Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf finds himself under increasing international pressure, especially from the United States, to stop the proxy war in Kashmir, a state that both Pakistan and India claim. Pervez is being told, not asked, to stop cross-border infiltration and terrorism in India....
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Jun 8, 2002

Alejandro Zaera-Polo

The Yokohama International Ferry Terminal opened to festive acclaim last Sunday.
JAPAN
Jun 8, 2002

Forgotten immigrants held too long

The Tokyo Immigration Bureau kept two foreign men in custody far beyond the detention term limit of 30 days because their cases were forgotten about, bureau officials said Friday.
BUSINESS
Jun 8, 2002

Life insurance policy value off 4.3%

The value of individual insurance policies signed by 43 Japanese life insurers came to 1.26 quadrillion yen as of March 31, down 4.3 percent from a year earlier, the Life Insurance Association of Japan said Friday.
Japan Times
JAPAN / MUSEUM MUSINGS
Jun 8, 2002

Shibamata serves up postwar nostalgia as vagabond Tora-san comes home

Movie-lovers and people who cherish the memory of the good old early postwar days can indulge in nostalgia at the Tora-san Memorial Hall in Tokyo's Katsushika Ward.
BUSINESS
Jun 8, 2002

Kobe Steel to sell equity to Comalco

Kobe Steel Ltd. said Friday it has signed an agreement to sell its 9.5 percent interest in Australian aluminum refiner Boyne Smelters Ltd. for around $78.5 billion to Comalco Ltd.
JAPAN
Jun 8, 2002

Mad cow investigators to visit Netherlands factory

Japan will send two investigators to the Netherlands over the weekend to investigate allegations that a Dutch-made animal fat product may be the source of mad cow disease in Japan, Farm minister Tsutomu Takebe said Friday.
BUSINESS
Jun 8, 2002

Household spending rose 1.9% in April

Overall household spending hit 320,068 yen in April, up a real 1.9 percent from a year earlier and marking the first increase in two months, the government said Friday.
BUSINESS
Jun 8, 2002

Life insurers remain negative: S&P

Standard & Poor's Corp. said Friday its outlook for Japanese life insurers remains negative, as their earnings reports released earlier this week indicate continued business contraction, a severe environment of ultra-low interest rates and a weak stock market.
JAPAN
Jun 8, 2002

Noguchi to go on Atlantis mission

Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi will be one of seven crew members on the U.S. space shuttle Atlantis to be launched Jan. 16, the National Space Development Agency of Japan announced Friday.
JAPAN / INTERNATIONAL RATIONALE
Jun 7, 2002

Japan toys with transparency in building sector

Open a black box and take a peek at the notoriously opaque Japanese construction industry.

Longform

Once smoky, male-dominated spaces, today's net cafes, like Kaikatsu Club, are working to make their operations more attractive to women customers.
The second life of Japan's net cafes