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BUSINESS
Feb 2, 2001

Small businesses remain pessimistic over economy

The number of small and midsize companies expressing negative sentiment about business conditions exceeded those with optimistic views in the October-December quarter, according to a survey released Thursday.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 2, 2001

Tokyo, New Delhi eager to put synergy back in relations

Last week's massive earthquake in western India has thrown in doubt Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's planned official visit to Japan this month -- the first by a premier of the world's most populous democracy in nearly 13 years.
JAPAN
Feb 2, 2001

Fall in traffic offense arrests linked to police being 'busy'

The number of traffic offenses booked by police declined by more than 11 percent nationwide last year, but National Police Agency officials suggest the decline does not necessarily reflect a more law-abiding mentality among drivers.
BUSINESS
Feb 2, 2001

Crucial oil negotiations drawing near

Japan and Kuwait are expected to open crucial negotiations as early as this spring on extending Arabian Oil Co.'s drilling rights in the Kuwait-controlled portion of the Khafji oil field.
BUSINESS
Feb 2, 2001

S&P expects more defaults, lower bank ratings

The number of defaults in Japan, already at a record high, is bound to increase in 2001, while downgrades of credit ratings are likely to continue outnumbering upgrades, Standard & Poor's Corp. said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Feb 2, 2001

JASDAC will manage OTC stock market

The Japan Securities Dealers Association on Thursday entrusted the comprehensive management of its over-the-counter stock market to Jasdaq Market Services Inc. (JASDAC), making it the first stock company to run a stock exchange in Japan, the JSDA said.
JAPAN
Feb 2, 2001

Green product guidelines approved

Government officials approved basic guidelines Thursday regarding the selection of environmentally friendly products for use in government offices as well as the Diet and courts.
JAPAN
Feb 2, 2001

JAL jets 10 meters from disaster

The two Japan Airlines jetliners that narrowly avoided a midair collision over Shizuoka Prefecture on Wednesday were just 10 meters away from each other at one point, the captain of one of the aircraft said Thursday.
JAPAN
Feb 2, 2001

JAL jets 10 meters from disaster

The two Japan Airlines jetliners that narrowly avoided a midair collision over Shizuoka Prefecture on Wednesday were just 10 meters away from each other at one point, the captain of one of the aircraft said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Feb 2, 2001

Drug firm Kyorin to start U.S. firm

Kyorin Pharmaceutical Co. said Thursday it will launch a wholly owned U.S. unit in New Jersey in April to sell Kyorin products in the United States and import U.S. medicines to Japan.
JAPAN
Feb 2, 2001

MMC defect coverup handed to prosecutors

Prosecutors on Thursday received papers on Mitsubishi Motors Corp. and nine current and former MMC executives suspected of systematically concealing customer complaints and vehicle defects in 1999.
CULTURE / Film
Feb 2, 2001

Japan Academy names nominees

"Battle Royale," a controversial film set in the near future that depicts violent anarchy at a Japanese high school, and "Whiteout," a big-budget Hollywood-like action movie, are among the Japan Academy Prize nominees for Best Picture of the Year.
JAPAN
Feb 2, 2001

MMC defect coverup handed to prosecutors

Prosecutors on Thursday received papers on Mitsubishi Motors Corp. and nine current and former MMC executives suspected of systematically concealing customer complaints and vehicle defects in 1999.
JAPAN
Feb 2, 2001

Demands for safer railway platforms rise

The public clamor for safer train platforms is growing louder following the Jan. 26 deaths of three men at JR Shin-Okubo Station on Tokyo's Yamanote Line.
JAPAN
Feb 2, 2001

Demands for safer railway platforms rise

The public clamor for safer train platforms is growing louder following the Jan. 26 deaths of three men at JR Shin-Okubo Station on Tokyo's Yamanote Line.
JAPAN
Feb 2, 2001

Keio president set to lead new education panel

An advisory panel to Education Minister Nobutaka Machimura selected Keio University President Yasuhiko Torii as its leader Thursday at its first meeting since the central government was realigned in January.
JAPAN
Feb 2, 2001

Keio president set to lead new education panel

An advisory panel to Education Minister Nobutaka Machimura selected Keio University President Yasuhiko Torii as its leader Thursday at its first meeting since the central government was realigned in January.
MORE SPORTS
Feb 2, 2001

Local girls make good at Toray tennis

It was a good day for the home fans at the $1.18 million Toray Pan Pacific Open tennis tournament Thursday as Japanese players Shinobu Asagoe and Ai Sugiyama won through to the quarterfinals at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium.
CULTURE / Books
Feb 2, 2001

Casting a literary eye on Japan's aging society

The sociologist and feminist Ueno Chizuko has released a collection of past essays that examine Japanese literature as primary source material reflecting the society and era in which it was written.
BUSINESS
Feb 2, 2001

Moody's lowers Sega's debt rating

Moody's Investors Service Inc. said Thursday that it has lowered Sega Corp.'s debt rating to B3 from B2, reflecting the computer game company's weaker-than-expected performance and eroding financial flexibility.
JAPAN
Feb 2, 2001

Officials to verify U.S. StarLink tests

The government said Thursday that it will send two inspectors to the United States to observe U.S. tests for StarLink genetically modified corn, which is banned in Japan, following its discovery in shipments from the U.S.
BUSINESS
Feb 2, 2001

Moody's lowers Sega's debt rating

Moody's Investors Service Inc. said Thursday that it has lowered Sega Corp.'s debt rating to B3 from B2, reflecting the computer game company's weaker-than-expected performance and eroding financial flexibility.
BUSINESS
Feb 2, 2001

Stanley Electric sets up British unit

Stanley Electric Co. said Thursday it has established a wholly owned subsidiary in Britain to strengthen its sales network of electric devises and automobile lighting equipment in Europe.
JAPAN
Feb 2, 2001

Officials to verify U.S. StarLink tests

The government said Thursday that it will send two inspectors to the United States to observe U.S. tests for StarLink genetically modified corn, which is banned in Japan, following its discovery in shipments from the U.S.
JAPAN
Feb 2, 2001

Treaty to outlaw child labor to go to Diet to fend off critics

In a move aimed at warding off possible international criticism, especially from human rights groups, the government is considering submitting a key treaty banning the worst forms of child labor to the current ordinary Diet session for ratification, government sources said Thursday.
JAPAN
Feb 2, 2001

8.5 million yen given to sex slave fund

The Foreign Ministry on Thursday assigned 8.47 million yen it raised to a foundation charged with compensating Asian women forced into wartime sexual slavery by the Imperial Japanese Army, ministry officials said.

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