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BASEBALL / MLB
Nov 21, 2003

Nippon Ham inks Shinjo

Former major league outfielder Tsuyoshi Shinjo signed a provisional contract carrying an annual salary of 80 million yen over two years with the Nippon Ham Fighters, officials of the Pacific League club said Thursday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 21, 2003

Tsujimoto admits to defrauding state out of cash for nonexistent secretaries

Former House of Representatives member Kiyomi Tsujimoto pleaded guilty Thursday to defrauding the state out of nearly 19 million yen in government-paid salaries for her policy secretaries.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Nov 21, 2003

Somewhere for everyone

Hop on a Tokyu Denentoshi Line train at Shibuya Station and you'll find the first five stations are all underground. Then, when you emerge from tunnels and pull into Futakotamagawa Station, from the platform you're treated to views of the Tamagawa River separating Tokyo and Kanagawa Prefecture, with...
BUSINESS
Nov 21, 2003

Trade surplus grows 20% to 1.074 trillion yen

Japan's customs-cleared trade surplus in October jumped 20.4 percent from a year earlier to 1.074 trillion yen for the fourth straight month of increase, helped partly by record-high exports to China, the Finance Ministry said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Nov 20, 2003

Panel advises pension benefit cuts for wealthy

An advisory panel to the finance minister is set to call for a cut in pension payouts to the wealthy in a bid to slash ballooning welfare expenses.
BUSINESS
Nov 20, 2003

Fuji TV net profit up 37.4% in half

Fuji Television Network Inc. said Wednesday its group net profit for the six months to Sept. 30 rose 37.4 percent from a year earlier to 14.07 billion yen, buoyed by the popularity of its smash-hit sequel to a police drama film.
BUSINESS
Nov 20, 2003

Snow Brand reports first-half net profit

Snow Brand Milk Products Co. on Wednesday reported a group net profit for the half year to Sept. 30, citing intense restructuring efforts.
JAPAN
Nov 20, 2003

Koizumi wins Diet approval to stay on as prime minister

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi was re-elected Wednesday for a second term following the Nov. 9 House of Representatives general election that returned his coalition to power.
BUSINESS
Nov 20, 2003

Corporate behavior program created

An international organization led by business leaders has developed a program for Japanese companies to promote corporate social responsibility, or CSR, its Japanese branch announced Wednesday in Tokyo.
LIFE / Language / KANJI CLINIC
Nov 20, 2003

What's the point in learning how to write kanji?

Joe Lauer, a long-term American resident of Hiroshima, sent the following feedback on a workshop I conducted to promote the Kanji Proficiency Examination (Kanken), a standardized test that measures both kanji reading and writing ability:
BASEBALL / MLB
Nov 20, 2003

Giants gain rights to Nishimura

The Yomiuri Giants obtained the right to negotiate with Kentaro Nishimura on Wednesday, naming the Koryo High School right-hander in the second round of the annual baseball draft held at a Tokyo hotel.
JAPAN
Nov 20, 2003

Regular six-party talks pursued

Japan and China have agreed that six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear program should be held regularly to speed up the process, a senior Foreign Ministry official said Wednesday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 20, 2003

Tanaka rips Koizumi on reform

Former Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka, after joining a parliamentary group led by the Democratic Party of Japan, lashed out Wednesday at Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's policies as she formally made her comeback to the Diet.
SOCCER / J. League
Nov 20, 2003

Oki to step down as S-Pulse coach

Shimizu S-Pulse coach Takeshi Oki will step down from the helm after the second stage and be temporarily succeeded by assistant coach Koji Gyotoku for the Emperor's Cup, officials of the J. League first division side said Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Nov 20, 2003

JSDA to convert Jasdaq into full-scale exchange

The Japan Securities Dealers Association decided Wednesday to convert its Jasdaq over-the-counter stock market into a full-scale exchange as defined by the Securities and Exchange Law.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 20, 2003

Clinton meets kin of slain exchange student

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton on Wednesday met the parents of a Japanese exchange student who was shot to death in Louisiana, a crime Clinton cited in pushing for stricter gun control while he was in office.
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Nov 20, 2003

Talk of Kobe joining Spurs just hot air

NEW YORK -- Welcome to the NBA where Jazz fans are wondering why John Stockton took so long to retire and turn over the point guard responsibilities to Carlos Arroyo.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Nov 20, 2003

Relicts of the distant past

Time passes; it flows on, sometimes seemingly at breathtaking speed like a mountain torrent, at others crawling like a meandering backwater. Personal time expands and contracts. Geological time is relentless; grinding, shaping, wearing; sufficiently prolonged to isolate islands, to raise landmasses,...
BUSINESS
Nov 20, 2003

Nikkei hits three-month low

Tokyo stocks plunged Wednesday, with the key Nikkei index ending at a fresh three-month low below 9,700. The 225-issue Nikkei stock average slid 282.45 points, or 2.85 percent, to close at 9,614.60, its lowest finish since Aug. 12.
EDITORIALS
Nov 20, 2003

Debate needed on pension reform

Japan's underfunded public pension system -- which was a major issue in the Nov. 9 general election -- is in need of urgent reform. As expected, the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry's plan for 2004, unveiled Monday, calls for drastic changes that would impose a greater burden on both the younger and...
BUSINESS
Nov 20, 2003

Nippon Keidanren eyes new donation plan

The Japan Business Federation (Nippon Keidanren) will encourage its member corporations to make political donations in accordance with the size of their membership fees to the group, Keidanren sources said Wednesday.

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’