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BUSINESS
Feb 3, 2001

Banks incur 2.3 trillion yen loan-loss charge

Japan's 136 commercial banks incurred a combined loan-loss charge of 2.28 trillion yen in the first half of fiscal 2000, the Financial Services Agency has said.
BUSINESS
Feb 3, 2001

State wants fast L-mode introduction

Telecommunications chief Toranosuke Katayama on Friday urged the two regional carriers of Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. to revise their plans to introduce a limited Internet service for fixed-line phones.
JAPAN
Feb 3, 2001

Birds found to have flown from Northern Alaska

At least two migratory shorebirds tagged while breeding in Northern Alaska during the summers of 1999 and 2000 have been spotted in Chiba and Kanagawa prefectures, the Environment Ministry said Friday.
SOCCER / J. League
Feb 3, 2001

Choi off to Austria

South Korean midfielder Choi Sung Yong, who played for Vissel Kobe the past two seasons, has been signed by Austrian Division One side Lask Linz FC, Vissel announced Friday.
BUSINESS
Feb 3, 2001

Sega to cut price of Dreamcast

Sega Corp. said Friday it will cut the price of its Dreamcast game console, production of which will be halted in March, in the United States and Japan to reduce inventory.
COMMENTARY
Feb 3, 2001

Bush can win over African Americans

WASHINGTON -- America's 2000 election was essentially a tie. President George W. Bush won among whites, but received only about 10 percent of black votes. What he should do to reach out to minorities has generated a torrent of political commentary.
SOCCER / J. League
Feb 3, 2001

New Verdy

J. League first-division side Verdy Kawasaki started its new life as Tokyo Verdy 1969 ahead of the upcoming season on Thursday, officially announcing a change of name at a party in Tokyo.
SOCCER / J. League
Feb 3, 2001

Miyamoto deal off

Gamba Osaka defender Tsuneyasu Miyamoto failed to reach an agreement with English Premier League side West Ham and has signed a one-year contract extension with Gamba, the J. League team announced Friday.
JAPAN
Feb 3, 2001

Blame pinned on air traffic controllers

Confusion apparently led an air traffic controller to guide one Japan Airlines jetliner into the path of another, but it was only the first of several miscommunications that led to a near disaster earlier in the week, transport ministry officials admitted Friday.
BUSINESS
Feb 3, 2001

State to make last oil industry reform bid

A bill to scrap the 39-year-old Petroleum Industry Law, expected to be presented to the current Diet session as early as next week, will be the government's final proposal in its 14-year-long effort to liberalize the nation's oil industry, according to a senior ministry official.
JAPAN
Feb 3, 2001

Cabinet hears first vice minister

Senior Vice Minister Tetsuo Kutsukake of the Environment Ministry on Friday became the first vice minister to attend and speak in a Cabinet meeting.
BUSINESS
Feb 3, 2001

State to make last oil industry reform bid

A bill to scrap the 39-year-old Petroleum Industry Law, expected to be presented to the current Diet session as early as next week, will be the government's final proposal in its 14-year-long effort to liberalize the nation's oil industry, according to a senior ministry official.
JAPAN
Feb 3, 2001

Cabinet hears first vice minister

Senior Vice Minister Tetsuo Kutsukake of the Environment Ministry on Friday became the first vice minister to attend and speak in a Cabinet meeting.
SOCCER / World cup
Feb 3, 2001

JAWOC refuses to budge in World Cup name war

Executives of Japan's organizing committee for the 2002 World Cup (JAWOC) on Friday rejected a proposal to eliminate the names of (South) Korea and Japan from the title of next year's premier event.
BUSINESS
Feb 3, 2001

Daisy-chain ODA project needs better connections

Japan and Brazil have plowed the field but may have forgotten to sow the seed.
JAPAN
Feb 3, 2001

LDP plans to aid seaweed farmers

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Friday decided to provide interest-free loans to people hit hard by an unprecedentedly bad seaweed crop in the Ariake Sea in Kyushu, party officials said.
JAPAN
Feb 3, 2001

Pricey Rinku trash system to be dumped

OSAKA -- An advanced underground waste disposal and collection system developed for Rinku Town, the coastal business center adjacent to the offshore Kansai International Airport, is facing closure less than five years after it first came into operation, it was learned Friday.
JAPAN
Feb 3, 2001

LDP plans to aid seaweed farmers

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Friday decided to provide interest-free loans to people hit hard by an unprecedentedly bad seaweed crop in the Ariake Sea in Kyushu, party officials said.
MORE SPORTS
Feb 3, 2001

Hingis cruises past Sugiyama at Toray Pan Pacific

Ai Sugiyama had royalty in her corner at the Toray Pan Pacific Open on Friday. Prince Akishino and Princess Kiko showed up at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium just before the start of her quarterfinal match. Only one problem: The queen of women's tennis awaited Sugiyama on the other side of the net.
CULTURE / Stage
Feb 3, 2001

Suzuki's view of the stars

Of the many categories of dance in Japan, from traditional ballet to so-called neo-butoh and beyond into the unmapped territories of performance installation, Minoru Suzuki is the only ballet choreographer with the potential to be a contender internationally. To celebrate 35 years in the business, Star...
JAPAN
Feb 3, 2001

Osaka plans promotion of Korea, Japan goodwill

OSAKA -- An event that organizers hope will bring together 30,000 Korean residents of Japan and local Japanese will be held at Osaka Dome next month in an effort to deepen exchanges between the two groups, organizers said.
CULTURE / Art
Feb 3, 2001

A passionate embrace of Nihon

Shinsui Ito (1898-1972) was a central figure during Japan's artistic identity crisis in the 20th century. As wave after wave of artistic movements from overseas broke upon these shores, native artists felt compelled to either abandon their own artistic traditions or embrace them even more strongly.
JAPAN
Feb 3, 2001

Osaka plans promotion of Korea, Japan goodwill

OSAKA -- An event that organizers hope will bring together 30,000 Korean residents of Japan and local Japanese will be held at Osaka Dome next month in an effort to deepen exchanges between the two groups, organizers said.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji