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BUSINESS
Nov 22, 2002

GDP likely to drop over 7% from slack birthrate

The gross domestic product is expected to decrease between 7.8 percent and 8.6 percent in 2025 from 533.7 trillion yen in 2001 due to a decrease in the labor force caused by the falling birthrate, labor minister Chikara Sakaguchi said Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Nov 21, 2002

One in three Internet users in Japan link via broadband

More than one in three Internet users in Japan use broadband transmission systems such as asymmetrical digital subscriber line services, according to a survey released Wednesday by Nomura Research Institute.
JAPAN
Nov 21, 2002

Fukuda denies that Japan backs halting of KEDO deal

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda dismissed a report Wednesday that Japan is ready to agree to a U.S. proposal to suspend a project aimed at providing North Korea with light-water nuclear reactors.
JAPAN
Nov 21, 2002

Planned Pyongyang security talks at risk

Planned security talks with Pyongyang may not be held this month due to the North's refusal to drop its demand for the return of five Japanese it abducted in 1978 and recently allowed to go home, Katsunari Suzuki, Japan's ambassador in charge of normalization talks with North Korea, said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Nov 21, 2002

Study sees more elderly, more troubles

A recent study by a university research institute forecasts not only a more significant rapid aging of Japanese society than had initially been anticipated, but also an increase in the number of elderly people needing nursing care and assistance.
BUSINESS
Nov 21, 2002

Two-year goal eyed for entity's bad-loan buys

An entity being created to salvage companies unable to repay their bank loans but deemed potentially viable will complete its purchases of nonperforming loans within two years to achieve its purpose as soon as possible, the government said Wednesday.
SOCCER / World cup
Nov 21, 2002

Japan beaten 2-0

For 45 minutes at Saitama Stadium on Wednesday, Japan looked like it had the measure of its more illustrious opponent Argentina and would have been justified in believing that an upset was a distinct possibility.
JAPAN
Nov 21, 2002

Sept. 11 radically shifts policy priorities for U.S.

The Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks have radically altered the policy priorities of the United States, which could have wide-ranging international implications for years to come, according to American experts taking part in a recent seminar in Tokyo.
JAPAN
Nov 21, 2002

Survey highlights lack of interest in disaster maps

Half of the 2,150 adults surveyed by the Cabinet Office in September said they have not seen or heard of disaster-prevention maps, while more than two in five said they don't know if there are disaster-prone areas in their neighborhoods.
BUSINESS
Nov 21, 2002

Mazda Atenza picked as car of year

Mazda Motor Corp.'s Atenza has been chosen by a group of auto researchers and journalists as the car of the year, the group said Wednesday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Nov 21, 2002

Orix drafts Mac Suzuki

The Orix BlueWave obtained the right to negotiate with Mac Suzuki on Wednesday, naming the former Kansas City Royals right-hander in the second round of the baseball draft.
BUSINESS
Nov 21, 2002

Nissan Diesel tumbles into the red

Major truck maker Nissan Diesel Motor Co. said Wednesday that its group net balance fell into the red in the first six months of fiscal 2002 because it had to set aside large provisions for sales credits that may become uncollectible due to the anemic economy.
JAPAN
Nov 21, 2002

Former Pyongyang agent speaks to DPJ

A former North Korean agent on Wednesday urged the government to help Japanese-born ethnic Koreans and their Japanese spouses who have defected from North Korea to this country, saying they are living under severe conditions without jobs or Japanese nationality.
JAPAN
Nov 21, 2002

U.S. ready to use force against obtuse Iraq

Despite Iraq's recent announcement that it will accept the new United Nations Security Council resolution demanding inspectors be granted access to its weapons of mass destruction program, the United States may still opt for military action if the result is anything short of full compliance.
BUSINESS
Nov 21, 2002

Mizuno posts consolidated net loss

Mizuno Corp. said Wednesday it incurred a consolidated net loss of 180 million yen in the first half of the 2002 business year, a reversal from a profit of 478 million yen a year earlier.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 21, 2002

NGO envoy views groups' activities as an effective form of diplomacy

Nongovernmental organizations play an extremely important role abroad, with their activities constituting an effective form of diplomacy, according to a new ambassador tasked with overseeing Japanese NGOs.
JAPAN
Nov 21, 2002

Japan-U.S. ties better, but are they genuinely the best ever?

Since the September 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States and the subsequent war on terrorism, a number of American political leaders and experts have observed that Japan-U.S. relations have "never been better."
BUSINESS
Nov 21, 2002

Starbucks sees interim profit fall 55% in fiscal first half

Starbucks Coffee Japan Ltd. said Wednesday its net profit for the first half dropped 54.9 percent year-on-year to 220 million yen, battered by the declining popularity of its coffee shops.
JAPAN
Nov 21, 2002

North Korea able to produce nukes by 2004, says U.S.

The U.S. government believes North Korea will be capable of producing a nuclear bomb using enriched uranium as early as in 2004, Japanese and U.S. sources have told Kyodo News.
BUSINESS
Nov 21, 2002

Fiscal panel urges restraint, streamlining and discipline

The Fiscal System Council, an advisory panel to the finance minister, proposed Wednesday that a "reform-oriented" budget be compiled for fiscal 2003 that restricts government bond issuance and scrutinizes tax grants for local governments.
JAPAN
Nov 21, 2002

Countries discuss passport security

Australia, Britain, Japan, the United States and two other countries agreed during two days of talks through Wednesday in Tokyo to step up passport issuance controls as a means to effectively counter terrorism and illegal immigrants, a Japanese official said.
COMMENTARY / WASHINGTON UPDATE
Nov 21, 2002

Back to politics as usual as midterm dust settles

WASHINGTON -- The dust has settled from the midterm elections. President George W. Bush, enjoying his newfound political power, is orchestrating pressure on Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. The Senate is making more short-term history with its two independent senators, with no party in the majority and...
JAPAN
Nov 21, 2002

Diet enacts pay-cut law revisions

The Diet enacted revisions to a set of laws Wednesday to cut the salaries of national government employees for the current fiscal year, as recommended by the National Personnel Authority.
COMMENTARY
Nov 21, 2002

Hu inherits but Jiang still leads China

HONG KONG -- As Chinese Communist Party's 16th Party Congress convened on Nov. 8, the delegates stood for two minutes of silence in memory of past leaders. Along with Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai, one of the names read out was that of Liu Shaoqi. It was a pointed reminder of CCP tumult and strife in past...
BUSINESS
Nov 21, 2002

Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi to cut benefits

Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi will cut its employee pension benefits by up to 20 percent in an effort to reduce costs and bolster its financial position, a bank spokesman said Wednesday.

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