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BUSINESS
Dec 28, 2001

Auto output continues downhill ride

Auto production skidded 5.1 percent in November from a year earlier to 820,841 vehicles, falling for the third consecutive month, the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Dec 28, 2001

Tokyo hopes to curry favor with oil-rich countries

The government will support the development of water resources in four oil producing countries in the Middle East, government sources said Thursday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Dec 28, 2001

Ishii changes mind

Yakult Swallows left-hander Kazuhisa Ishii, in a turnaround from his earlier decision to stay in Japanese baseball, said Thursday he would like to try entering the major leagues via the posting system for the 2002 season.
JAPAN
Dec 28, 2001

Momoo Tomobe gets eight years for fraud scheme

The son of former Upper House lawmaker Tatsuo Tomobe was sentenced to eight years in prison Thursday for his role in a fraudulent investment scheme operated by his father.
BUSINESS
Dec 28, 2001

Long margin positions tumble below 1 trillion yen

The balance of long margin positions fell below 1 trillion yen for the first time in nearly three years last week, reflecting a wholesale collapse in investor confidence.
BASEBALL / MLB
Dec 28, 2001

Kiyohara's pay hiked

Kazuhiro Kiyohara, whose five-year contract with the Yomiuri Giants is about to expire, agreed Thursday to a new four-year deal carrying an estimated 450 million yen annual salary in addition to performance incentives.
JAPAN
Dec 28, 2001

Sachiyo Nomura released on bail

Alleged tax evader Sachiyo Nomura, a TV personality and wife of former Hanshin Tigers manager Katsuya Nomura, was released from custody Thursday on 50 million yen bail, according to the Tokyo District Court.
JAPAN
Dec 28, 2001

Antismoking steps seen failing to deter youths

Twenty-six percent of graduating high school males smoke every day, indicating that restrictions placed on vending machines and minors in 1996 are failing to deter youth from smoking, according to a health ministry poll.
BUSINESS / ON THE FRONT LINE
Dec 28, 2001

Yen faces months of downward pressure

Amid concern over the beleaguered Japanese economy, the dollar has reclaimed 131 yen, a level unseen since Oc- tober 1998.
JAPAN
Dec 28, 2001

Most-searched Net news was Sept. 11 terror attack

Yahoo Japan Corp. said the news most frequently searched for this year on its Web portal site was about the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington.
BUSINESS
Dec 28, 2001

Unemployment rate hits 5.5%

The jobless rate rose to a seasonally adjusted 5.5 percent in November, rewriting the record high for a third consecutive month as the economic slump continues to weigh heavily on the labor market, government sources said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Dec 28, 2001

Industrial output declines 1.8%

Industrial output for November declined 1.8 percent from a month before to a 14-year low, according to a preliminary report released Thursday by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.
BUSINESS
Dec 28, 2001

Mitsubishi Electric in U.S. unit move

Mitsubishi Electric Corp. said Thursday it will establish a holding company in Los Angeles on April 1 to manage its seven U.S. subsidiaries.
BUSINESS
Dec 28, 2001

Electric companies to forge alliance

Takaoka Electric Manufacturing Co. and Toko Electric Corp. said Thursday they have agreed to tie up in the field of distribution equipment for electric power.
BUSINESS
Dec 28, 2001

Kirin to use fuel-cell power system

Kirin Brewery Co. said Thursday that it will start using a fuel-cell power supply system in October provided by Marubeni Corp.
BUSINESS
Dec 28, 2001

Mitsui Mutual to get 100 billion yen cash injection

Mitsui Mutual Life Insurance Co. said Thursday that Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. and other firms have agreed to plow a combined 100 billion yen into its foundation funds to improve its financial health.
JAPAN
Dec 28, 2001

Government decides to build airport off Okinawa

The government has selected an environmentally controversial plan to build an airport for civilian and U.S. military use on a reef off the Henoko district of Nago on the main island of Okinawa, government officials said Thursday.
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Dec 28, 2001

Native Horse

* Japanese name: Nihon zairaiba * Scientific name: Equus caballus * Description: Hoofed animal that bears its weight on its central third toe. Its family, called the perissodactyls, also includes tapirs and rhinos. The first horse ancestor was doggish and dog-sized, with four toes on the front foot....
BUSINESS
Dec 28, 2001

Kuraray to spin off real estate unit

Synthetic fiber maker Kuraray Co. said Thursday that it will spin off its real estate operation and hand it over to its wholly owned real estate company in April.
BUSINESS
Dec 28, 2001

WTO panel decides to hear global steel dispute in February

A major steel-trade row that has sharply pitted the United States against Japan, the European Union and nine other steel exporters is entering a new phase amid the global economic slowdown.
JAPAN
Dec 28, 2001

Panel releases guidelines for law schools

An education ministry advisory panel has compiled guidelines for setting up graduate facilities for the study of law, to be introduced in April 2004.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 28, 2001

Takuma enters guilty plea

OSAKA -- The man accused of storming into an elementary school in Ikeda, Osaka Prefecture, and stabbing to death eight children in June pleaded guilty Thursday, saying he wants to atone for the crime with his own life.
JAPAN
Dec 28, 2001

Pair of multiple killers are executed

Two death-row inmates were hanged Thursday morning, the first executions in 13 months, according to information that reached their acquaintances.
LIFE / Lifestyle / MATTER OF COURSE
Dec 28, 2001

Practice perfects New Year's calligraphy

Pencils and computers haven't replaced brushes at schools -- brush work is alive and well.
EDITORIALS
Dec 27, 2001

Reduce the vote-value disparity

One long-standing problem in the nation's Lower House electoral system is that the "representative value" of a vote varies considerably between rural and urban districts. In a move to reduce the disparity, a government advisory council last week submitted a report to Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi...

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