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JAPAN
Jan 10, 2001

Train passengers up 7% over New Year

Passengers traveling by express trains operated by the six Japan Railway group firms during the New Year holiday season surged 7 percent to 11.1 million for the first year-on-year increase in four years, the group reported Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Jan 10, 2001

November spending fell by 1.3%

Average household spending in Japan fell a real 1.3 percent in November to 296,439 yen, marking the second straight year-on-year decrease, the Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications Ministry said Tuesday in a preliminary report.
BUSINESS
Jan 10, 2001

Farm minister to discuss rice with WTO chief

Yoshio Yatsu, head of the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry, will go to Europe next week to discuss a plan to slow growth in mandated rice imports into Japan with the World Trade Organization chief, ministry officials said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Jan 10, 2001

Cop impostor just wanted respect

A 25-year-old man was arrested close to the Diet building with a fake lapel pin resembling those worn by members of a special police unit assigned to protect key figures as well as a false bar association membership card, it was learned Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Jan 10, 2001

Data supply firm issues new shares

U's Communications Corp., a telecom unit of cable broadcaster usen Corp., said Tuesday it has issued new shares worth 700 million yen via third-party allocation.
JAPAN
Jan 10, 2001

Miyake kids resume school in Tokyo

A new trimester began Tuesday for 176 children evacuated from Miyake Island who are living apart from their families at a Tokyo school some 200 km north of home.
JAPAN
Jan 10, 2001

Women tackle stalking menace head-on

Exercise combining aerobics and self-defense skills is the latest craze among young women in Tokyo, where the number of reported stalking cases is also on the rise.
BUSINESS
Jan 10, 2001

Kobe Steel, U.S. Steel agree on joint R&D work

Kobe Steel Ltd. on Tuesday said it has reached an agreement with U.S. Steel Group to jointly research and develop high-tensile steel sheets used for automobiles.
BUSINESS
Jan 10, 2001

Oji Paper to plant trees in China

Oji Paper Co. will begin planting trees in an area of the lower Yangtze river in March as part of a joint afforestation project in China between Japan's Federation of Economic Organizations (Keidanren) and the Chinese government, officials of Japan's biggest paper mill said Tuesday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Jan 10, 2001

Seibu Lions add Del Toro to staff

The Seibu Lions on Tuesday announced the acquisition of Mexican pitcher Miguel Del Toro, who played for the San Francisco Giants last season.
MORE SPORTS
Jan 10, 2001

Isuzu nets national hoops title

Center Lucius Davis scored a game-high 29 points Monday to lead the Isuzu GigaCats to a 79-61 victory over the Toshiba Red Thunders in the final of the men's national basketball championship.
LIFE / Digital / CYBERIA
Jan 10, 2001

What's it all about, IT?

2001 may well be the year of the IT revolution, but as far as I'm concerned, we're talking about utilITy. From here on, usefulness is going to be the benchmark for information technologies.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 10, 2001

Reflections on an imbroglio in Vientiane

CHIANG MAI, Thailand -- On the eve of the recent important meeting between the European Union and ASEAN in Vientiane, Laos, a great uneasiness and disappointment prevailed in ASEAN capitals because of the perceived lack of interest in ASEAN on Europe's part.
LIFE / Digital
Jan 10, 2001

Three decades of Mario and friends

In the beginning (about 30 years ago), geeky college students in the United States stole into engineering buildings at night and turned huge and expensive mainframes into playgrounds.
BUSINESS
Jan 10, 2001

IBJ to leave lending rate at 2.1%

The Industrial Bank of Japan, Shinsei Bank and Aozora Bank said Tuesday that they will leave the long-term prime lending rate at 2.1 percent, as fluctuations in the coupon rate on five-year debentures remain in a narrow range.
COMMENTARY
Jan 10, 2001

Tests loom for U.S.-China ties

How will the election of George W. Bush affect U.S.-China relations? The conventional wisdom was that a Gore administration would have been more favorable to China -- a questionable assumption based in part on the belief that Al Gore would be more inclined to continue President Bill Clinton's policies...
JAPAN
Jan 10, 2001

Civil servants upbeat on reorganized bureaucracy

Bureaucrats in their 20s and 30s were apprehensive but upbeat Tuesday when work started in earnest following the biggest administrative shakeup since the end of World War II.

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