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BUSINESS
Mar 30, 2001

More mobile phones anticipated

Ownership of mobile phones in Japan is expected to rise to around 66.8 percent of the population in fiscal 2004 from 57.1 percent in fiscal 2001, according to a survey released Thursday.
JAPAN
Mar 30, 2001

Sumitomo women lose wage bias suit

OSAKA -- The Osaka District Court has dismissed a suit filed by three female employees of Sumitomo Chemical Co. seeking a total of 160 million yen in compensation from the company for wage differences between them and their male colleagues covering nearly four decades.
JAPAN
Mar 30, 2001

Norwegian royals off to Nagasaki

The Emperor and the Empress visited the Government Guesthouse in Tokyo to bid farewell Thursday to Norway's King Harald V and Queen Sonja, who will leave Japan Saturday after visiting Nagasaki Prefecture.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 30, 2001

Young Asian forum already has impressive pedigree

The recently concluded Boao Asian Forum on Hainan Island had all the appearance of a simple nongovernmental conference.
JAPAN
Mar 30, 2001

Eye in the sky to help mutual green policies

Japan and China are about embark on an innovative new program using satellite-generated information updated daily to more closely integrate environment policies in Asia, according to the Environment Ministry.
BUSINESS
Mar 30, 2001

Expansion fails to lift industrial activity rate

The Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry downgraded its assessment of the country's industrial activity for the third consecutive month Thursday, despite modest growth observed in February.
JAPAN
Mar 30, 2001

Record-low 40 bureaucrats took 'amakudari' jobs in 2000

A record-low 40 former government officials were hired in 2000 by companies linked to the ministries and agencies they worked for, according to an annual report compiled by the National Personnel Authority.
JAPAN
Mar 30, 2001

Heo gets 71/2 years for breach of trust

OSAKA -- The Osaka District Court on Thursday sentenced former fugitive real estate executive Heo Young Joong to 71/2 years in prison and fined him 500 million yen for aggravated breach of trust and tax evasion.
BUSINESS
Mar 30, 2001

Economists expect growing gloom among makers: poll

Private-sector economists expect Monday's Bank of Japan "tankan" quarterly survey to show a decline in business confidence among major manufacturers for the first time in two years and three months, according to a Kyodo News survey conducted Thursday.
CULTURE / Music / PLAY BUTTON
Mar 30, 2001

Nighttime is the right time for the music of Tomovsky

Tomoyuki Ohki's pseudonym, Tomovsky, may have been inspired by the Russian masters of classical music, but his musical lineage is pure -- albeit twisted -- pop: equal parts John Lennon and Syd Barrett.
EDITORIALS
Mar 30, 2001

Chiba sends a signal to the parties

Vernacular papers report that the governing Liberal Democratic Party will elect its new party president on April 22. The winner of that vote will become prime minister and will then launch his or her Cabinet on the following day. These reports are attributed to multiple -- but all unidentified -- sources...
JAPAN
Mar 30, 2001

Tepco delays MOX debut due to opposition in Fukushima

Tokyo Electric Power Co. will postpone the launch of plutonium-uranium mixed oxide (MOX) fuel at its nuclear plant in Fukushima Prefecture because of opposition from the governor, company sources said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Mar 30, 2001

Matsushita Electric eyes labor shift to IT section

OSAKA -- Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. said Thursday it will transfer 1,000 surplus workers from its marketing division to a new information technology service section that will report directly to its president.
BUSINESS
Mar 30, 2001

NEC to restructure domestic factories

NEC Corp. said Thursday it will turn five domestic plants into independent electronics manufacturing service companies while selling or integrating others in a wide-ranging restructuring plan.
JAPAN
Mar 30, 2001

FSA punishes institutions for abetting KSD scandal

The Financial Services Agency on Thursday imposed administrative penalties on about 400 financial institutions for helping KSD, a scandal-tainted industrial mutual-aid foundation, increase its membership.
EDITORIALS
Mar 29, 2001

Success in Stockholm

European Union leaders held a peaceful two-day summit in Stockholm last weekend. After the bitter row in Nice last year, a show of unity was as important as any concrete results. The EU leaders got that, and a little more. But the bar must be raised if Europe is to play a larger role in global affairs....
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 29, 2001

Reform out of reach for Kim Dae Jung

SEOUL -- Some weeks ago, I attended an academic conference that attempted a critical evaluation of the performance of administration of South Korea President Kim Dae Jung three years after its inception. I sat on a panel with probably the most prominent liberal political scientist in South Korea today,...
COMMENTARY
Mar 29, 2001

Time to act is running out

The captain of a sinking cruise ship was trying to persuade his male passengers to let women and children board the lifeboats first. But he quickly learned he'd have to customize his pitch according to the nationalities on board. The Englishmen were easy; the captain simply appealed to their sense of...
JAPAN
Mar 29, 2001

Mori unrepentant for missing king's reception

Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori came under fire Wednesday for skipping a reception the night before hosted by Norway's visiting King Harald V, only to later dine at a sushi restaurant with his LDP colleagues.
JAPAN
Mar 29, 2001

Flash24 news site set for Web debut

Kyodo News said Wednesday it will launch a news Web site Sunday together with 23 of its member newspapers.
BUSINESS
Mar 29, 2001

Isuzu kicks off bus production in China

Isuzu Motors Ltd. said Wednesday it has started production of large and medium-size buses in China, the first Japanese firm to embark on a venture of this kind.

Longform

A sinkhole in Yashio, which emerged in January, was triggered by a ruptured, aging sewer pipe. Authorities worry that similar sections of infrastructure across the country are also at risk of corrosion.
That sinking feeling: Japan’s aging sewers are an infrastructure time bomb