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JAPAN
Dec 1, 2001

328 at Foreign Ministry penalized for fund misuse

A total of 328 Foreign Ministry officials were punished Friday for illicitly pooling more than 200 million yen in public funds, using about 160 million yen for mostly unofficial purposes over 6 1/2 years, Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka said Friday.
BUSINESS
Dec 1, 2001

Household spending posts 1.6% increase

Wage-earning households spent 1.6 percent more in real terms in October than they did a year earlier, the first rise in seven months, the government said Friday.
BUSINESS
Dec 1, 2001

BOJ keeping more than 14 trillion yen in current accounts

The Bank of Japan on Friday left the balance of its current accounts held by financial institutions at more than 14 trillion yen, the highest level since March 31, 2000, in a bid to hold rates stable, financial industry officials said.
BUSINESS
Dec 1, 2001

Tokyo consumer prices continue to fall

Consumer prices in Tokyo dropped 1.4 percent in November from a year earlier for the 27th consecutive monthly decline, reflecting lower fresh food prices, the government said Friday.
BUSINESS
Dec 1, 2001

Enron's fall would stifle liberalization: Hiranuma

The expected collapse of U.S. energy giant Enron Corp. will hinder Japan's efforts to liberalize its energy market, Takeo Hiranuma, the minister of economy, trade and industry, said Friday.
JAPAN
Dec 1, 2001

Net poses major changes for news media

Does the advent of the Internet society spell the end of the news media as we know it? Will a new breed of reporters, represented by anonymous authors in online chat rooms, oust professional journalists from the public arena?
JAPAN
Dec 1, 2001

Diet OKs deployment of SDF

The Diet on Friday approved a plan to deploy the Self-Defense Forces, allowing Japan to lend logistic support to U.S.-led military operations in Afghanistan.
JAPAN
Dec 1, 2001

University panel approves importing, use of stem cells

KYOTO -- An ethics committee of Kyoto University's Faculty of Medicine has approved an application by a team led by one of its professors to import human embryonic stem cells to use in creating blood vessels.
JAPAN
Dec 1, 2001

Internet exchanges planned for Japan-China anniversary

Japan is planning to promote online exchanges with China in cultural, scientific and other fields next year when the two countries commemorate the 30th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic ties, according to Foreign Ministry officials.
BUSINESS
Dec 1, 2001

Ministry seeks early passage of consolidated tax

Finance Minister Masajuro Shiokawa said Friday that his ministry will try to introduce a consolidated corporate tax system as early as possible in fiscal 2002 and make it retroactive to April 1.
JAPAN
Dec 1, 2001

Afghan aid plan includes offering schools, teachers

The government plans to offer educational support to Afghanistan by constructing schools and dispatching teachers as part of efforts to rebuild the war-torn country.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Dec 1, 2001

Uses for the Japanese Proficiency Test

Tomorrow, foreigners from all over the world, from China to Mars, will be sitting for the Japanese Proficiency Test.
BUSINESS
Dec 1, 2001

Dentsu's TSE debut makes a big splash

Dentsu Inc., the nation's largest advertising agency, registered on Friday the maximum daily allowable gain -- 50,000 yen -- to end the day at 470,000 yen on its first day of trading on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
BUSINESS
Dec 1, 2001

Japan and Mexico seek FTA to solve trade issues

A study group agreed Friday in Tokyo that a free-trade agreement could solve issues hindering trade and investment activity between Japan and Mexico, domestic officials said.
JAPAN
Dec 1, 2001

Motivators instill staff with a new enthusiasm

With the economy in deep freeze, motivational firms that claim they have the power to inject new vim into lifeless workers are attracting the attention of executives yearning to recapture lost corporate brio.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 1, 2001

Africa: building a better future

Next week's ministerial meeting in Tokyo on African development offers a special opportunity for Japan and other development partners of Africa to renew their commitment to building a better future for that region's 300 million children. Their future ought to be a matter of global concern: In this era...
JAPAN
Dec 1, 2001

Asia-Pacific nations back plan to fight corruption

Seventeen countries in the Asia-Pacific region endorsed an action plan to fight corruption at an international conference Friday in Tokyo, with each planning to set specific priorities for implementation.
JAPAN
Dec 1, 2001

45 public firms rack up 306 trillion yen in liabilities

Forty-five public corporations financed by the "zaito" government fiscal investment and loan program held roughly 306 trillion yen in total liabilities as of the end of fiscal 2000, according to a Board of Audit report submitted Friday to Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Dec 1, 2001

Patrick Carroll

From the sea to the sky: When he was living in southeast England, Patrick Carroll joined the Royal Naval Reserve, the "part-time navy." He served on small vessels, such as minesweepers and patrol vessels. When he came to Japan, he volunteered his services to the Royal Naval Association Japan Branch....
EDITORIALS
Nov 30, 2001

Easing rules for police use of guns

Police officers in Japan are subject to strict restrictions in the use of handguns. This is held partly responsible for the increasing deaths of police in the line of duty. Beginning Dec. 1, however, they will be able to fire shots with less constraint when their lives, or those of others in need of...
BUSINESS
Nov 30, 2001

Panel seeks import tax after salt market is freed

A subcommittee of the Fiscal System Council proposed Thursday that tariffs be imposed on salt imports for up to three years when Japan "frees up" its salt market on April 1.
JAPAN
Nov 30, 2001

Plan to scrap highway project has local interests up in arms

Having decided to dismantle and privatize Japan Highway Public Corp., the Cabinet of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi is now focusing on which road construction projects to cancel.
JAPAN
Nov 30, 2001

State seeks 10-year sentence in Matsuo embezzlement trial

Prosecutors demanded a 10-year prison sentence Thursday for fired Foreign Ministry official Katsutoshi Matsuo, who stands accused of embezzling 500 million yen from the Cabinet Secretariat's discretionary funds from 1997 to 1999.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 30, 2001

Cheers for Bhutto in Delhi a reminder of region's shifty politics

Benazir Bhutto, Pakistan's former president, played the rights cards during her seven-year reign, endearing her to India while ensuring that she was not alienated from her own people.
JAPAN
Nov 30, 2001

Panel OKs logistic support for Afghan strikes

The Upper House Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Thursday approved the provision of logistic support to the U.S.-led military strikes in Afghanistan, moving the plan a step closer to final Diet passage.
BUSINESS
Nov 30, 2001

Japanese carriers log sharp fall in passengers

The Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States were to blame for a 21.2 percent year-on-year fall in the number of passengers departing or returning to Japan on Japanese airlines in September, the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry said Thursday.

Longform

Members of the nonprofit group Japan Youth Memorial Association search for the remains of dead soldiers in a cave in Okinawa Prefecture in February.
The long search for Japan’s lost soldiers