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BUSINESS
Jun 29, 2001

TSE-listed firms enjoyed sales increases

Many major Japanese companies, especially manufacturing firms, saw sales increases and net profits in fiscal 2000, which ended March 31, 2001.
JAPAN
Jun 29, 2001

F-4 jets to stay on alert despite unarmed guns

The Defense Agency has no plan to replace Air Self-Defense Force F-4 fighters on standby against possible airspace violations, even though their 20mm cannons are empty after a jet accidentally strafed a city in Hokkaido earlier this week, agency Vice Minister Ken Sato said Thursday.
JAPAN
Jun 29, 2001

Summit eyed as launchpad for fresh ties

With Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's first summit with U.S. President George W. Bush to be held Saturday outside Washington D.C., Japan hopes to set in motion full-scale efforts to build fresh ties under the new U.S. administration.
BUSINESS
Jun 29, 2001

Bad-loan disposal urged over profits

How many bad loans did banks write off in fiscal 2000? How many years will it take for banks to dispose of all their bad loans?
BUSINESS
Jun 29, 2001

Transferred NTT employees face wage reductions

NTT Corp. plans to introduce a new wage system for the roughly 100,000 staff being transferred from its group companies to regional subsidiaries under which salaries will be cut by 15 percent to 30 percent, company officials said Thursday.
JAPAN
Jun 29, 2001

Court rules serial killer Miyazaki sane

The Tokyo High Court on Thursday upheld the death penalty for Tsutomu Miyazaki, 38, for the abduction and murder of four girls in a 1988-1989 serial killing spree that shocked the nation.
COMMENTARY
Jun 29, 2001

Bush's Korea policy: old wine, new bottle

SEOUL -- "Things have begun moving slowly," South Korea's President Kim Dae Jung recently said in reaction to the Bush administration's announcement it will open negotiations with Pyongyang. No doubt, the government in Seoul is trying hard to sound upbeat. Foreign Minister Han Seung Soo added, "Bush's...
JAPAN
Jun 29, 2001

Cops nab execs for exporting fishing boat to North Korea

Tokyo police on Thursday arrested the president of a Kobe-based trading company and one of its executives on suspicion of illegally exporting to North Korea a secondhand fishing boat that is believed to have subsequently been fitted out for espionage, police said.
JAPAN
Jun 29, 2001

Jury still out on child-killer's mental state

The Tokyo High Court's decision Thursday to uphold Tsutomu Miyazaki's death sentence was not surprising to many experts who have followed the case.
JAPAN
Jun 29, 2001

Masuzoe asked to run on LDP ticket

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi officially asked political scientist Yoichi Masuzoe on Thursday to run for the House of Councilors in July as one of the Liberal Democratic Party's proportional representation candidates.
BUSINESS
Jun 29, 2001

Beijing agrees to participate in import curbs showdown

Tokyo plans to hold director-level talks with Beijing over a bilateral trade row centering on tit-for-tat import curbs, a top Japanese trade official said Thursday.
EDITORIALS
Jun 29, 2001

No winners in this trade dispute

China last week slapped special tariffs on Japanese cars, mobile phones and air conditioners in retaliation for Japan's "safeguard" import restrictions against Chinese farm products. It is the first time that the two nations have openly engaged in a trade row, although in the past there have often been...
BUSINESS
Jun 29, 2001

Accounting-rule changes skew financial statements in 2000

During periods of economic transition, such as the introduction of new accounting standards, companies' financial statements do not necessarily reflect their actual financial soundness. Balance sheets, income statements and other financial reports, therefore, should be analyzed from multiple viewpoints....
BUSINESS
Jun 29, 2001

IBJ disbandment to follow Mizuho bank consolidation

Industrial Bank of Japan, now a unit of the Mizuho Financial Group, will be disbanded when Mizuho consolidates its banking business on April 1, sources close to the group said.
BUSINESS
Jun 29, 2001

Bank of Japan decides against changing monetary policy

The Bank of Japan unanimously decided to keep its monetary policy unchanged Thursday, despite worse-than-expected reports on May's industrial output.
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Jun 29, 2001

Far East tree frog

* Japanese name:Nihon amagaeru * Scientific name:Hyla japonica * Description: These small, green frogs grow up to 5 cm long. They have discs for toes and a brown stripe running down each side of the body starting from the nostrils.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 29, 2001

Musharraf feathers military's power nest

NEW DELHI -- Everybody had expected Pakistan's chief executive, Pervez Musharraf, to appoint himself president. When that happened on June 20, most of the world -- barring the United States, which made a big noise -- accepted Musharraf's new title without batting an eyelid.
JAPAN
Jun 29, 2001

Japan to remove gas shells from Chinese province

The government approved a plan Thursday to begin removal of gas shells abandoned by the Imperial Japanese Army in China's Jilin Province after World War II, government officials said.
COMMUNITY / PARENT TRIP
Jun 29, 2001

They'll thank you for it someday

"I want my child to have the advantages I never had when I was a kid." When it comes to cliches uttered by doting parents, that's one of the all-time classics. I never thought I'd find myself saying it, but as I keep finding out, parenthood is full of such ironic twists. In my case, the "advantage" in...
BASEBALL / MLB
Jun 29, 2001

Nagashima wins 1,000th game

The Yomiuri Giants erupted for four runs in the first inning and Koji Uehara made it stand with a five-hitter as Yomiuri rolled to a 6-0 win over the Chunichi Dragons on Thursday at the Sapporo Dome, giving manager Shigeo Nagashima win No. 1,000 as the Giants skipper.
BUSINESS
Jun 29, 2001

General contractors see profits rise while cutting interest-bearing debts

General contractors recently released their much anticipated fiscal 2000 financial statements. These companies are widely believed to be among the firms most negatively affected by the prolonged economic slowdown, which is marked by falling real estate prices.
JAPAN
Jun 29, 2001

Young need NPO experience, Ghosn says

Nissan Motor Co. President Carlos Ghosn stressed the importance of young people experiencing work at nonprofit organizations, as he greeted participants to this year's NPO scholarship program sponsored by the automaker.
BUSINESS
Jun 29, 2001

Tokyo stocks to face 12,200-13,800 bracket

The Tokyo stock market could remain in a corrective phase for some time.
BUSINESS
Jun 29, 2001

2,100 firms face shareholders

Some 2,100 companies across the country held general shareholders' meetings Thursday following the closing of books in March, making it the peak day for such gatherings for listed and unlisted firms, the National Police Agency said.
JAPAN
Jun 29, 2001

Tanaka's personnel vow stokes bureaucrats' ire

In another clash with bureaucrats, Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka has declared that she will check all personnel transfers at the ministry, including those for low-level officials, after being angered by the appointment of a new ambassador without her knowledge.
BUSINESS
Jun 29, 2001

Industrial output down for third straight month

Industrial output for May fell 1.2 percent from the previous month to mark the third consecutive month of decline, according to a preliminary report released Thursday by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

Longform

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