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JAPAN
Nov 13, 2003

Kono to be appointed house speaker

Yohei Kono, former president of the Liberal Democratic Party, will be appointed as Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 13, 2003

Refugee status denial puts family in limbo

Khin Maung Latt of Myanmar, his Filipino wife, Maria Hope Jamili, and their two daughters have no place to call home but Japan, and they are on shaky ground.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Nov 13, 2003

Aozora poaches executive from Sumitomo Trust

In a departure from Japanese banking practice, Aozora Bank announced Wednesday its next president is coming from rival Sumitomo Trust & Banking Co.
BUSINESS
Nov 13, 2003

JR Tokai posts record sales, profit

Central Japan Railway Co. (JR Tokai) on Wednesday reported record group sales and pretax profit for the first half.
BUSINESS
Nov 13, 2003

Eco-friendly cars to take big bite out of tax revenue

Revenue prefectures get from car taxes will plunge 18.4 billion yen next fiscal year because of a tax break for low-emission vehicles, the home affairs ministry said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Nov 13, 2003

Bilateral talks must include abductions: Fukuda

Bilateral talks over compensating North Korea for Japan's colonial rule of the peninsula must also include the abduction issue, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda said Wednesday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 13, 2003

Expert seeks tougher attitude on parental murder-suicide

South Koreans and Japanese need a tougher attitude when it comes to parents who take the lives of their children when they commit suicide, a South Korean expert on suicide prevention says.
BUSINESS
Nov 13, 2003

Skynet plans a flight with all-male crew

Skynet Asia Airways Co. will operate a flight Saturday with an all-male flight crew that it says is not just for female passengers.
JAPAN
Nov 13, 2003

LDP makes the most out of votes cast

The Liberal Democratic Party captured only 43.9 percent of the valid votes in Sunday's election for the House of Representatives but emerged with 56 percent of the 300 single-seat district seats, according to an analysis of the results.
BUSINESS
Nov 13, 2003

Special-zone schools to start in April

The nation's first universities run by private stock incorporated companies will probably be established in April, education ministry officials said Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Nov 13, 2003

Brokerage houses prepare for perceived benefits of law revision

Brokerage houses in Japan are gearing up for the scheduled enforcement next spring of the revised Securities and Exchange Law that they hope will bring about a sharp increase in individual customers.
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Nov 13, 2003

A black hole on our doorstep

The Atacama Desert in northern Chile is one of the most inhospitable places on Earth. It's 2,600 meters above sea level and receives almost no rainfall. Visitors, when they are not tending to dry skin and nosebleeds caused by the altitude, often compare the terrain to the barren red rocks that cover...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Nov 13, 2003

Sea slug

* Japanese name: Amakesaamefurashi * Scientific name: Aplysia juliana * Description: Sea slugs are marine mollusks, without gills or a shell -- just like most other mollusks. Often a dark olive-green color, at first glance a sea slug resembles nothing more than a stray piece of seaweed, but with a...
BUSINESS
Nov 13, 2003

Sega first-half profit explodes 64%

Sega Corp. said Wednesday its group operating profit in the first half jumped 64.3 percent to 7.57 billion yen due to cost reductions in its video game software business.
JAPAN
Nov 13, 2003

Government health facilities being used as holiday homes

Government rest facilities built for the sick are instead being used as holiday homes, a public auditors' report released Wednesday shows.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Nov 13, 2003

Poor farmers pay price for subsidies

Beyond the negotiations and protesters that highlight agricultural trade talks lies a simple reality: In the end, each nation must feed its own people.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Nov 13, 2003

The indispensable vagueness of 'domo-domo'

It's when I'm away from Japan and forced to speak in another language (in this case English) that I realize just how vague Japanese can get. At home, it's possible to go through a whole day without uttering one coherent sentence built on spontaneous thought and logic.
BUSINESS
Nov 13, 2003

MMC eyes North American strategy

Mitsubishi Motors Corp. will release a strategic review of its North American operations early next year.
BUSINESS
Nov 13, 2003

Takara's net profit takes a dive

Takara Co.'s group net profit for the fiscal first half of 2003 fell 28.6 percent from a record high a year earlier to 1.58 billion yen.
BUSINESS
Nov 13, 2003

Surplus soared in first half of fiscal 2003

Japan's current account surplus soared 20 percent in the first half of fiscal 2003 from a year earlier to a record 8.35 trillion yen, the Finance Ministry said Wednesday in a preliminary report.
EDITORIALS
Nov 13, 2003

A nonproliferation victory in Iran

The bad news is that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has concluded that Iran operated a secret nuclear program and formally breached its obligations under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT). The good news is that the agency caught the clandestine program and forced Tehran to admit...
BUSINESS
Nov 13, 2003

Marubeni to raise cash via preferred share issue

Struggling trading house Marubeni Corp. said Wednesday it will raise 75.5 billion yen by issuing preferred shares through third-party allotment mainly to financial institutions.
LIFE / Digital / NAME OF THE GAME
Nov 13, 2003

Come to Disney, go to Mars

Mission: Space, a new ride/space flight simulator at Epcot Center, part of the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, takes Disney guests in a whole new direction -- straight up into space.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 13, 2003

East Tokyo welcomes artists in bid to revitalize historic district

When woodblock print master Ando Hiroshige created his famed "One Hundred Views of Edo," the eastern part of the capital was a bustling commercial and cultural hub.
BASEBALL / MLB
Nov 12, 2003

Plot thickens as Tuffy says he doesn't want to change teams

Now the stage is set for another blockbuster off-season deal for the Yomiuri Giants. But Tuffy Rhodes says he is not yet ready to play for another team.
EDITORIALS
Nov 12, 2003

Mr. Koizumi's postelection challenges

Continuity and unity underscored Monday's meeting of the heads of the three ruling coalition parties, which gained a solid majority in Sunday's Lower House election. Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, president of the Liberal Democratic Party, is certain to be re-elected at the outset of a special Diet...
JAPAN
Nov 12, 2003

Convenience shop killer appeals term

A 35-year-old man who killed a convenience store manager last year has appealed his life sentence to the Supreme Court.

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’