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JAPAN
Jan 31, 2001

Industrial waste output fell in '99

Industrial waste produced by 28 industrial sectors overseen by the Japan Federation of Economic Organizations (Keidanren), dropped to around 24 million tons in 1999 putting the group on track to meet its goal of reducing waste by 75 percent of 1990 levels by 2010, Keidanren officials said on Tuesday....
JAPAN
Jan 31, 2001

Popular Chinese chef suspected of tax evasion

A Yokohama restaurant chain owned by popular Chinese cuisine chef Zhou Fuhui, known in Japan as Tomiteru Shu, allegedly evaded around 50 million yen in taxes in the three years through June 1999.
JAPAN
Jan 31, 2001

Scandals tipped to rock coming Diet proceedings

Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori opens the 150-day regular Diet session today amid a series of scandals involving members of his Liberal Democratic Party and a Foreign Ministry bureaucrat.
JAPAN
Jan 31, 2001

Japan set for 574 tons of whale meat

An entity representing Japanese whale hunters has said it will sell 574 tons of whale meat derived from whales caught by hunters since July.
JAPAN
Jan 31, 2001

Ministry's plans for future ports include floating cities by 2050

The Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry has come up with ambitious designs for future seaports, including plans featuring floating cities and "weatherproof ports," ministry officials said.
JAPAN
Jan 31, 2001

Jobless rate unchanged at 4.8% for December

The nation's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate stood at 4.8 percent in December, unchanged from November and keeping the monthly average jobless rate for 2000 at the annual record high of 4.7 percent logged in 1999, the Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications Ministry said Tuesday....
JAPAN
Jan 31, 2001

U.S. slammed for unresponsiveness

U.S. health authorities have failed to act on repeated Japanese requests to report on defects in U.S.-made heart tissue patches that have caused problems in at least 68 patients in Japan, Health Ministry officials said Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Jan 31, 2001

Keio Plaza to wire rooms to Web

The Keio Plaza Hotel in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward will begin offering broadband Internet access in each of its 1,485 rooms in April, hotel officials said Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Jan 31, 2001

Household spending continues to fall

The nation's monthly household spending in 2000 dropped 0.6 percent from the previous year to an average of 340,977 yen, marking the third consecutive annual downswing, the government said Tuesday.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 31, 2001

What will sanctions do to Afghanistan?

ISLAMABAD -- A news release from the U.S. State Department explaining the possible consequences of this month's U.N. Security Council sanctions against Afghanistan was mainly concerned to set the record straight.
EDITORIALS
Jan 31, 2001

Gujarat digs out of the rubble

The death toll from the earthquake that hit the western Indian state of Gujarat last Friday continues to mount. Officially, 6,287 people have been confirmed dead as a result of the tremor that registered 7.9 on the Richter scale, and 15,481 were injured. About a half-million people have been left homeless....
BUSINESS
Jan 31, 2001

Matsushita Electric unit announces share buyback

OSAKA -- Matsushita Electric Works Ltd. announced Tuesday that it will buy back 50 million of its shares for cancellation over the next three years.
BASEBALL / MLB
Jan 31, 2001

CL announces schedule for 2001

The Central League on Monday announced its complete schedule for the 2001 season with the defending CL champion Yomiuri Giants scheduled to play all of their games under floodlights for the first time, CL officials said.
JAPAN
Jan 31, 2001

More mobile phones being left behind in Tokyo

The number of mobile phones lost by their owners in Tokyo jumped 15.1 percent from over a year ago to 83,907 in 2000, or about 230 per day, the Metropolitan Police Department reported Tuesday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Jan 31, 2001

Furuta signs 200 million yen deal

Yakult Swallows catcher Atsuya Furuta on Monday signed a new deal worth an estimated 200 million yen -- the same amount he received in 2000 -- plus performance-hinged bonuses for next season, officials of the Central League club said.
JAPAN
Jan 31, 2001

Nukaga promises to clear his name

Fukushiro Nukaga, who stepped down from his post last week as minister of economic and fiscal policy, announced Tuesday his intention to explain his involvement with the scandal-tainted mutual aid organization KSD at a political ethics council.
SUMO
Jan 31, 2001

Akebono rewarded with 100 million yen

The Japan Sumo Association on Monday rewarded former yokozuna Akebono with 100 million yen for his distinguished contribution to the sport, JSA officials said.
BUSINESS
Jan 31, 2001

Investors' confidence up as stocks stabilize

Following the lead of the New York Stock Exchange, the Tokyo stock market has regained some stability, which has helped to improve investor sentiment.
LIFE / Digital / CYBERIA
Jan 31, 2001

Castles in the sky

Here's a folk tale for the digital era.
JAPAN
Jan 31, 2001

Appeal rejection seals killer's fate

The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected a death-row inmate's appeal against lower court rulings that found him guilty of murdering a couple during a robbery in 1991, effectively finalizing his death sentence.
COMMUNITY
Jan 31, 2001

Kinder makes learning kanji fun

Slippery snow is turning to slush. It is midwinter in Kanto, time for bundling up in fleecy sweaters and heavy coats. But at the two Hikari Yochien schools in Kawasaki, boys and girls are playing outdoors wearing nothing more than gym shorts.
MORE SPORTS
Jan 31, 2001

Sugiyama tops Inoue at Toray tourney

It was a bittersweet day for Japanese tennis fans on Tuesday. On the one hand, Ai Sugiyama won her first-round match at the Toray Pan Pacific tournament. On the other, Haruka Inoue was on the losing end.
BUSINESS
Jan 31, 2001

Nissan aiming to turn profit in Europe in 2001

Nissan Motor Co. aims to bring its European operations back to profitability in fiscal 2001, provided foreign exchange rates remain stable, Nissan President Carlos Ghosn said Tuesday.
LIFE / Travel
Jan 31, 2001

A chaotic Southeast Asian haven

CEBU, Philippines -- Denis is a purple-nosed ex-con with yellow teeth, asterisk eyes receded deep in their sockets and tattoos covering his arms and knuckles.

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