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JAPAN
Nov 7, 2002

Press clubs stymie free trade in information: EU

When Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi made his historic visit to North Korea on Sept. 17, the only foreign journalists allowed to accompany him were a select few from the United States and South Korea.
BUSINESS
Nov 7, 2002

Shiseido turns net profit of 9.87 billion yen

Shiseido Co., Japan's biggest cosmetics maker, said Wednesday it swung back into the black in the first half of fiscal 2002 due mainly to cost-cutting efforts and a reduction in inventories in its cosmetic and toiletries business.
BASEBALL / MLB
Nov 7, 2002

Giants keen on Royal

The Yomiuri Giants are moving toward acquiring Kansas City Royals right-hander Cory Bailey, Japanese baseball officials said Wednesday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 7, 2002

Activist expelled by China returns home

OSAKA -- A Japanese NGO official who was detained in China last week returned to Japan on Wednesday after being expelled by Beijing.
JAPAN
Nov 7, 2002

Seoul reluctant to hold antipiracy talks

The South Korean counterpart of Japan's Cultural Affairs Agency is apparently reluctant to hold bilateral discussions over widespread product-piracy concerns in Asia, according to agency officials.
BUSINESS
Nov 7, 2002

Takeda Chemical profits hit interim record high

Takeda Chemical Industries Ltd. said Wednesday its group net profit logged a year-on-year rise of 2.2 percent in the first half, hitting 133.67 billion yen.
JAPAN
Nov 7, 2002

Imperial Couple visit orphanage

Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko visited an orphanage Wednesday in Oiso, Kanagawa Prefecture, that was established in 1948 for children whose mothers were Japanese and fathers were U.S. servicemen.
BUSINESS
Nov 7, 2002

Sumitomo Forestry eyes Dominance

Sumitomo Forestry Co. said Wednesday its two subsidiaries in Australia will acquire Dominance Industries Pty Ltd., a fiberboard manufacturer in Australia.
BUSINESS
Nov 7, 2002

Overseas jobless rates 'intolerable'

Hiroshi Okuda, chairman of the Japan Business Federation (Nippon Keidanren), said Wednesday that Japanese people cannot tolerate unemployment levels as high as those in other nations.
JAPAN
Nov 7, 2002

Prison sought for defense official in bribery trial

Prosecutors on Wednesday demanded a six-year prison term for a former Defense Agency official indicted on charges of breach of trust and bribery in connection with equipment deliveries to the agency's procurement office in the mid-1990s.
BUSINESS
Nov 7, 2002

China tells WTO of Japan steel curbs

China has told the World Trade Organization it will officially implement emergency tariffs to curb steel imports from Japan beginning Nov. 20, Japanese trade officials said Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Nov 7, 2002

Oriental Land reaps bounty from DisneySea

Oriental Land Co., the operator of Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea, said Wednesday its group net profit in the first half through Sept. 30 surged 386.6 percent to 9.19 billion yen from a year earlier, thanks mainly to the popularity of DisneySea.
EDITORIALS
Nov 7, 2002

Report lacks post-reform visions

'N o Reform, No Growth: Part Two" is the title of the government's economic and fiscal report released Tuesday. A sequel to last year's report with the same title, this year's adds up to a reaffirmation of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's structural reform agenda. That is encouraging, yet people are...
COMMENTARY
Nov 7, 2002

How safe is nuclear energy?

Recent scandals regarding Tokyo Electric Power Co. safety inspection procedures have added a new sense of urgency to a long-standing question: "Are nuclear power reactors throughout East Asia being operated safely?"
BUSINESS
Nov 7, 2002

JT's first-half profit expands 46.1%

Japan Tobacco Inc. said Wednesday its fiscal-half group net profit grew 46.1 percent from a year earlier to 52.06 billion yen, thanks to cost cuts and brisk overseas sales of higher-end cigarettes.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT
Nov 7, 2002

Distant decimations

Due to the volcanic eruption at the beginning of July 2000, it's been a fairly long time since I experienced a normal Miyakejima summer. Miyakejima, my island home for many years before that, was beautiful in summer, with lush green forests, numerous birds and the deep, blue ocean all around.
BASEBALL / MLB
Nov 7, 2002

PL to continue Monday nighters

The Pacific League announced Wednesday it will hold games on Mondays in the 2003 season for the third straight year with Opening Day set for March 28, the same day as the Central League season openers.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Nov 7, 2002

A venerable flash in the pan

Among Japan's amazing diversity of plants that can overwhelm a visitor from overseas, there are (thankfully) some familiar forms. Astonishingly, given the literally hundreds of thousands of plant species on Earth, some here will be familiar whether you hail from North or South America, from Europe, Africa,...
JAPAN
Nov 7, 2002

15 firms control Hanshin Expressway bids: police

OSAKA -- Fifteen firms effectively control the repair and maintenance work for Hanshin Expressway Public Corp., even after public bidding was introduced in fiscal 2001 in a bid to end collusion, police sources said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Nov 7, 2002

Iraq factors block Powell visit plans

U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell has canceled a planned visit to Japan next week over developments related to Iraq, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda said Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Nov 7, 2002

Court approves Air Do rehab plan

The Tokyo District Court on Wednesday approved a rehabilitation plan for failed Air Do, now in the process of court-mandated restructuring under the civil rehabilitation law.
BUSINESS
Nov 7, 2002

Nissin to buy into Snow Brand unit

Snow Brand Milk Products Co. said Wednesday it will sell part of its interest in distribution unit Yukijirushi Access Inc. to Nissin Food Products Co.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 7, 2002

Shocking raids open new era in Australia

SYDNEY -- In dawn raids across Australia, gun-toting security police bashed down doors, questioned Indonesian residents, then carted off private papers to check for suspected terrorist activities. Surely this is Hollywood? No, it's "she'll be right, mate" Australia.
BUSINESS
Nov 7, 2002

Monthly household spending sees biggest jump since 1997

Household spending rose 5.4 percent in September from a year earlier, marking the biggest increase since a 5.8 percent gain in March 1997, when consumers were stocking up on goods ahead of a consumption tax hike, the government said Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Nov 7, 2002

FSA team's talks could be disclosed

Financial Services Minister Heizo Takenaka hinted Wednesday that in the future, he may publicize talks by a project team set up within his agency to discuss speeding up the disposal of bad loans.

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