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BUSINESS
Mar 2, 2002

Best Denki, Softbank in joint venture

Consumer electronics retailer Best Denki Co. and two Softbank Corp. group firms said Friday they have agreed to set up a joint venture April 1 to sell Softbank group's broadband services.
SOCCER / World cup
Mar 2, 2002

Asia to fight for fifth 2006 World Cup berth

The Asian Football Confederation will continue to work toward gaining a fifth berth for the 2006 World Cup, AFC general secretary Peter Velappan said on Thursday, in reaction to remarks by FIFA president Sepp Blatter the day before.
BUSINESS
Mar 2, 2002

Digital TV joint venture launched

Digital television broadcasts using a new communications satellite got off the ground Friday.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Mar 2, 2002

Metal horse, stun gun: I'm ready to roll

I have always been hesitant to drive a car in Japan. I'm afraid I'll run over pedestrians. I'm from the countryside in Ohio, where we have no pedestrians, just possums and raccoons. You're allowed to run over them. Sure, I had seen pedestrians before, but they were always on signs. They never actually...
EDITORIALS
Mar 1, 2002

Seeds of change

If you have ever visited Britain, or just dropped by one of Tokyo's popular British pubs, you might have tasted fish and chips flavored with salt and maybe a dash of vinegar. This classic takeout has been a favorite of the British working class for as long as anyone can remember. It came as a bit of...
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 1, 2002

Tempest over headscarves ruffles Singapore's multiracial calm

SINGAPORE -- As the controversy over the prohibition of wearing the Muslim headscarf, the tudung, in public schools in Singapore moves on to the next stage, a cardinal doctrine of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations -- noninterference in the domestic affairs of member countries -- looks set to...
COMMENTARY
Mar 1, 2002

Revisiting the 'axis of evil'

HONOLULU -- Those of us who comment on U.S. foreign policy are deeply indebted to U.S. President George W. Bush for his State of the Union reference to North Korea, Iran, and Iraq as an "axis of evil." Never before have three simple (if not simplistic) words spawned so many editorials, fed so many talking...
SOCCER / World cup
Mar 1, 2002

FIFA 'ready' for World Cup

FIFA officials and representatives of the 32 teams competing in this year's World Cup wrapped up a two-day workshop in Tokyo on Thursday by declaring that they are ready to stage the World Cup in May and June.
SOCCER / World cup
Mar 1, 2002

Troussier tries to defuse pressure on team

SHIMIZU, Shizuoka Pref. -- Japan coach Philippe Troussier on Wednesday night attempted to defuse the pressure on himself and his players by saying that his current training schedule for the national squad is like "testing a Formula One car."
BUSINESS
Mar 1, 2002

Market awaits followup to policy package

The much-awaited government package of measures to fight deflation has been unveiled, but the market's reaction has been muted as the content settled well within the range of expectations.
BUSINESS
Mar 1, 2002

Industrial output drops 1%

Japan's industrial production fell a seasonally adjusted 1 percent in January from December in reaction to a pickup in the preceding month, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Mar 1, 2002

Hitachi expects bigger net loss for fiscal 2001

Hitachi Ltd. said Thursday it anticipates a consolidated net loss of 480 billion yen for the 2001 business year, up from 230 billion yen forecast in October.
BUSINESS
Mar 1, 2002

Error leads METI to lower PC figures for last 12 years

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said Thursday that a data error has forced it to revise downward its production data on personal computers for the past 12 years.
BUSINESS
Mar 1, 2002

Minolta capitulates after China strike

OSAKA -- A one-day strike at a Minolta Co. plant in Guangdong, China, caused management to rescind a proposal that would have abolished Chinese New Year's bonuses, a company spokesman said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Mar 1, 2002

U.S. legal firm, citing globalism, hopes to tap into Japan

As companies increasingly engage in cross-border transactions and international operations, legal services are also going global, according to a U.S. law firm hoping to tap into the Japanese market.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / JET STREAM
Mar 1, 2002

A prizewinning talk from the heart

When Jason Hancock took the grand prize at the NHK-televised 42nd International Speech Contest last June, he surprised everyone -- not least of all himself. After a series of impeccable orations by the other finalists (on such topics as the Japanese political system and Japanese linguistics), Hancock...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Mar 1, 2002

Marsh crab

* Japanese name: Sawagani * Scientific name: Geothelphusa dehaani * Description: Crabs are decapods, which means "10 legs." Marsh crabs are usually red-and-cream colored, but may be found in other colors -- perhaps caused by mutations -- in different parts of the country. Crabs have exoskeletons like...
BUSINESS
Mar 1, 2002

Three to launch dual-CPU cell phones

NEC Corp., Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. and Matsushita Communication Industrial Co. said Thursday that they will market new third-generation mobile handsets with jointly developed technology in the second half of this year.
LIFE / Language / FOR KIDS
Mar 1, 2002

The boy who dreamt of dragons

More than a century ago, there was a 7-year-old boy who dreamt of a "green great dragon" and wrote his first short story about it.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / LEARNING BY HEART
Mar 1, 2002

For special kids, his music is the message

Ramsey King Montana's funky fashion sense might be a bit overwhelming for some parents who sign their children up for his family music classes. He wears checkered pantaloons, a fierce studded leather belt, a pierced earring that belonged to his mother (a Blackfoot Indian) and braids in his beard.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 28, 2002

Familiar faces fail to stir French voters

PARIS -- It could happen only in France. The president of the Republic is running for re-election as the opposition candidate while his main challenger is defending the government's record over the past five years.
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...

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past