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COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Aug 11, 2001

In South Asian taxis, chaos is the rule

It's summer vacation, when many of you will find yourselves clinging to the inside of taxis in South Asian countries as the drivers try to get you to someplace like your hotel as fast as possible, as if it will get up and move to another location any moment. The result is you get the life scared out...
BUSINESS
Aug 11, 2001

METI moves to repeal JNOC law

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry plans to scrap the law governing debt-ridden state oil developer Japan National Oil Corp. as it moves to disband the state firm, a senior energy agency official said.
JAPAN
Aug 11, 2001

Authorities forced to slash water intake

Record-breaking temperatures and scant rainfall have prompted authorities across the nation to cut water intake, with the government warning that water shortages in the Kanto, Chubu and Shikoku areas could match those during Japan's worst recorded drought eight years ago.
EDITORIALS
Aug 10, 2001

Easing the pain of reform

Japan's unemployment rate stood at 4.9 percent in June, setting the worst post-World War II record for two consecutive months. It is likely to go up higher still, as Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's economic-reform plans received a solid mandate in the July 29 Upper House election. For one thing, bad-debt...
SOCCER / J. League
Aug 10, 2001

Missing faces as J. League resumes action

After a three-week interval, Division One of the J. League kicks off again Saturday with the start of the second stage.
JAPAN
Aug 10, 2001

Internet crimes rise 58.7% as prostitution, fraud mount

Crimes involving the use of the Internet jumped 58.7 percent to 319 cases in the first half of this year compared with the same period last year, reflecting surges in online prostitution and transaction fraud, the National Police Agency said Thursday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Aug 10, 2001

Matsui, Abe pace Giants

Hideki Matsui blasted a game-tying two-run homer and Shinnosuke Abe had a pair of solo roundtrippers, leading the Yomiuri Giants to a 7-2 comeback victory over the Hanshin Tigers on Thursday at the Tokyo Dome.
JAPAN
Aug 10, 2001

Smokers sue as Japan Tobacco denies causal links

Matao Yamamoto, a 67-year-old former Kyoto cab driver, is one of a large number of smokers in Japan who deeply regrets acquiring the hard-to-quit habit.
BUSINESS
Aug 10, 2001

DSL activity continues meteoric rise

The number of digital subscriber lines for high-speed Internet access reached 400,760 at the end of July, the telecommunications ministry said in a report Thursday.
BUSINESS
Aug 10, 2001

Questions arise about strong-dollar policy

The U.S. National Association of Manufacturers has urged President George W. Bush to address the strong dollar, fueling speculation over a shift in the U.S. foreign-exchange policy.
JAPAN
Aug 10, 2001

Yasukuni awaits as minefield for Koizumi

and TOSHI MAEDA Staff writers One might wonder why Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi is so bent on visiting Yasukuni Shrine on Aug. 15, the anniversary of Japan's World War II surrender, amid a steady outcry from Seoul and Beijing and opposition from inside his ruling camp.
COMMENTARY
Aug 10, 2001

Noblesse oblige in short supply

The immediate task for Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi is to wrap up a specific reform package. While his slogans — "Structural reform with no sacred cows" and "No economic recovery without structural reform" — are basically supported here and abroad, stock prices have continued to fall.
JAPAN
Aug 10, 2001

Japan considers retaliating over saury fishing issue

Japan will consider retaliating against Russia's granting of fishing rights to other countries in waters around Russian-held islands claimed by Japan, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Aug 10, 2001

Machinery orders fell 6.6% in June

Core private-sector machinery orders fell a seasonally adjusted 6.6 percent in June from the previous month to 946.5 billion yen, marking the second consecutive month of decline, the Cabinet Office said Thursday.
JAPAN
Aug 10, 2001

Tokyo prepares to introduce 'ad trains'

"Ad trains" may hit Tokyo as early as the fall as the Tokyo Metropolitan Government moves to lift its ban on city trains carrying exterior advertisements, it was learned Thursday.
LIFE / Lifestyle / JET STREAM
Aug 10, 2001

Getting a different perspective

Before coming to Japan, Jennifer Biggers had achieved some success as a musician in her native Texas. The world music enthusiast had composed and produced two tapes and a CD of original music.
JAPAN
Aug 10, 2001

JAL systems snafu snarls services

Japan Airlines said Thursday its host computer for passenger services broke down, stalling almost all international flights in the morning out of Narita airport in Chiba Prefecture.
JAPAN
Aug 10, 2001

No contenders file for LDP presidency

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi will be re-elected as president of the Liberal Democratic Party today, allowing him to stay in office for two more years.
JAPAN
Aug 10, 2001

Suicides abate, but still over 30,000

The number of suicides in Japan in 2000 fell 3.3 percent to 31,957 for the first annual drop in six years but stayed above 30,000 for the third straight year, the National Police Agency said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Aug 10, 2001

ITU chief wants body policy savvy

Yoshio Utsumi is struggling to change the International Telecommunication Union, the world's oldest international organization whose origin dates back to 1865.
BUSINESS
Aug 10, 2001

New banks face rough ride to turn profit: S&P

Japan's banking upstarts are facing big challenges in terms of overcoming high operational risks and securing profitability, Standard & Poor's Corp. said Thursday.
JAPAN
Aug 10, 2001

Guru doesn't appeal sarin redress

A Tokyo District Court ruling ordering Aum Shinrikyo founder Shoko Asahara to pay about 464 million yen to relatives of victims of a sarin gas attack in Nagano Prefecture in 1994 became final Thursday after the appeals deadline passed Wednesday midnight with no challenges.
BUSINESS
Aug 10, 2001

41% of those in their 60s use mobiles

Forty-one percent of people in their 60s living in the Tokyo metropolitan area have mobile phones and many also use mobile e-mail and special ringing melodies, according to a survey released Thursday by NTT DoCoMo Inc.
COMMUNITY / THE PARENT TRIP
Aug 10, 2001

We are family . . .

My seven brothers and sisters testify to the reality that families come in all sizes, shapes and colors. We range in shades from straight coffee to cafe latte to cream.

Longform

After the asset-price bubble crash of the early 1990s, employment at a Japanese company was no longer necessarily for life. As a result, a new generation is less willing to endure a toxic work culture —life’s too short, after all.
How Japan's youth are slowly changing the country's work ethic