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BUSINESS
May 11, 2001

Net profit at Bandai soars 906.7%

Bandai Co., Japan's largest toy maker, said Thursday its group net profit skyrocketed 906.7 percent in fiscal 2000 to 12.9 billion yen on strong sales of its character goods and one-off gains from the sale of some of its shareholdings in affiliates.
COMMENTARY / World
May 11, 2001

Draconian arrests boost Malaysian opposition's message of change

PENANG, Malaysia -- A second-echelon leadership has emerged within Malaysia's prominent opposition party, Keadilan, to pursue its fight for justice after eight top party leaders were detained by police.
SOCCER / J. League
May 11, 2001

Japan side, coach Troussier honored with AFC awards

Japan's national soccer team and its coach Philippe Troussier were honored as the Asian Football Confederation's National Team of the Year and the Coach of the Year, while the Player of the Year award went to Saudi Arabia and Al-Hilal midfielder Nawaf Al Temyat, the Japan Football Association announced...
BUSINESS
May 11, 2001

Ripplewood rescues Nippon Columbia

Nippon Columbia Co., a troubled audiovisual equipment maker and music producer, said it will seek rehabilitation under the wing of U.S. investment firm Ripplewood Holdings LLC and split into separate companies.
JAPAN / History
May 11, 2001

Woman drafter of Constitution calls for action

A woman who was among the group of Americans who drafted Japan's Constitution after World War II has said that she wanted to do everything possible to guarantee the rights of women in the supreme law.
JAPAN
May 11, 2001

NGO calls for Korean nuclear-free zone

A group of people trying to increase the number of "nuclear-free municipalities" in Japan is planning to visit North Korea in August to promote exchanges at a grassroots level and discuss the possibility of establishing a nuclear-free zone on the Korean Peninsula.
BUSINESS
May 11, 2001

Uniden establishes new unit in U.S.

Telecom equipment manufacturer Uniden Corp. said Thursday it has set up a new company in the United States to sell phones for business use.
JAPAN
May 11, 2001

Japan Tobacco fined for tax evasion

Japan Tobacco Inc. has been fined 350 million yen in penalty taxes for failing to declare income totaling 900 million yen over fiscal 1997 and fiscal 1998, industry sources said Thursday.
JAPAN
May 11, 2001

Man arrested over Taito slaying

Tokyo Metropolitan Police arrested a 29-year-old man Thursday on suspicion of fatally stabbing a 19-year-old girl last week in Tokyo's Taito Ward.
BUSINESS
May 11, 2001

Deregulation panel to hold first talks

The first meeting of a deregulation advisory panel to Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi will convene today to advance discussions on regulatory reform with the aim of formulating basic policies by August, officials said Thursday.
JAPAN
May 11, 2001

State to appeal Minamata redress

The state will file with the Supreme Court today an appeal against a ruling by the Osaka High Court ordering it to compensate victims of Minamata disease, according to government sources.
JAPAN
May 11, 2001

Inamine prepares for U.S. visit

Okinawa Gov. Keiichi Inamine will visit the United States from Sunday to May 26 to discuss the burden of hosting U.S. military bases in the prefecture.
JAPAN
May 11, 2001

Four South Korean politicians file for injunction on history textbook

Four South Korean ruling and opposition lawmakers applied to the Tokyo District Court on Thursday for an injunction to halt the sale of a controversial history textbook being published by Fuso Publishing Co.
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
May 11, 2001

Water scorpion

*Japanese name: Kooimushi *Scientific name:Diplonychus japonica *Description: Water scorpions are aquatic insects that look a bit like beetles. They have wings, but they don't have the protective shell that beetles have. Their mouthparts are also unlike beetles: They have a sharp beak that is used...
BUSINESS
May 11, 2001

Sony Bank to go online June 11

Sony Bank, an Internet bank owned 80 percent by Sony Corp., said Thursday it will open for business on June 11 in hopes of luring deposits of 1 trillion yen in five years.
BASEBALL / MLB
May 11, 2001

Cabrera homers twice as Lions roar

Seibu slugger Alex Cabrera drilled two homers and drove home five RBIs as the Lions improved to .500 with an 8-4 victory over the Kintetsu Buffaloes on Thursday in the only Pacific League contest of the day at the Seibu Dome.
SOCCER / J. League / ON THE BALL
May 11, 2001

A Hans-on look at Japan's soccer squad

ALMERIA, Spain -- When Japan played Spain in Cordoba on April 25, one spectator, who had driven up from his home on Spain's Costa del Sol, had a particular interest in the Japanese team.
MORE SPORTS / THE DUKE OF HAZARDS
May 11, 2001

Golf's Webb living up to billing as 'female Tiger'

Annika Sorenstam may be on a roll, but the woman they call the "female Tiger Woods" is still No. 1 -- and still winning.
BUSINESS
May 10, 2001

Stronger euro helps foreign reserves climb to $363 billion

Japan's foreign exchange reserves totaled $362.61 billion as of the end of April, up $1.139 billion from the month before, the Finance Ministry said Wednesday.
JAPAN
May 10, 2001

DoCoMo, Toyota soared in fiscal 2000

Cellular giant NTT DoCoMo Inc. on Wednesday reported handsome profits for fiscal 2000, and Toyota Motor Corp. appeared set to break an earnings record.
BUSINESS
May 10, 2001

Foreigners beat 1 trillion yen

Foreign investors' net purchases of Japanese stocks last month topped 1 trillion yen for the first time in 22 months.
BUSINESS
May 10, 2001

'Green' car panel makes debut

The government on Wednesday established and held the first meeting of a panel to craft recommendations for promoting development and use of environmentally friendly vehicles.
JAPAN
May 10, 2001

Two sickened by nicotine in cabbage

A woman and her daughter were hit by mild food poisoning in western Tokyo in April after eating "komatsuna" -- a kind of Chinese cabbage -- delivered to their home directly from the farm at which it was grown, police said Wednesday.
BUSINESS
May 10, 2001

S&P leaves Ito-Yokado unchanged

Standard & Poor's said Wednesday that Ito-Yokado Co.'s entry into the banking sector through its newly created subsidiary IY Bank will have no immediate impact on the ratings or outlook of the leading retailer.
JAPAN
May 10, 2001

Ex-wife strongly backs Koizumi

Kayoko Miyamoto, former wife of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, said in a magazine interview published this week she wants to be a cheerleader for her ex-husband, explaining, "I have nothing to lose."

Longform

Construction equipment sits idle in a park near Shiba Toshogu shrine in Tokyo's Minato Ward. While Japan has a history of treating its trees with reverence, green coverage is said to be lacking in most of the major cities.
Do Japan's trees no longer occupy the sacred space they used to?