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BUSINESS
Feb 7, 2004

Mitsubishi, wholesalers turn up heat on food firms

Mitsubishi Corp. said Friday it and five food wholesalers will establish a joint venture this month to strengthen their bargaining power in dealing with food makers.
JAPAN
Feb 7, 2004

Officials flee embassy amid terror fears

Officials at the Japanese Embassy in Baghdad have been evacuated from the compound to a separate site in the city amid fears of a terrorist attack, government sources said Friday.
JAPAN
Feb 6, 2004

Iraq safety apparently a foregone conclusion

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda entered the fray Thursday over an alleged draft of a report concluding the security situation in Iraq was safe even before an advance team had handed in its findings.
BUSINESS
Feb 6, 2004

Yahoo to launch online insurance

Leading Internet portal operator Yahoo Japan Corp. said Thursday it will launch an online insurance business in Japan through an alliance with major U.S. insurance broker Aon Corp.
LIFE / Travel / THEN AND NOW
Feb 6, 2004

Spanning eras at Edo's vibrant hub

First of three parts Nihonbashi -- "Bridge of Japan" -- is the most famous and important bridge of Edo Period Japan. Designated by Shogun Ieyasu in 1603 as the hub of the country's highway network, with all distances measured from there, the small wooden structure with a 50-meter span was where journeys...
JAPAN
Feb 4, 2004

Online conflict-prevention symposium ends on positive note

The fourth online symposium on conflict prevention closed last week with a review session that provided an overview of the nine-day Internet-based event.
EDITORIALS
Feb 3, 2004

Dispatch debate fails muster

The government's inconsistent statements last week on the security situation in the southern Iraq city of Samawah, the destination of Japanese ground troops, has raised new doubts about a survey report that describes the situation as "relatively stable." This suggests, regrettably, that the government...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 3, 2004

U.S. will assist SDF in Iraq, Armitage pledges to Ishiba

The United States will do its utmost to assist the Self-Defense Forces in Iraq, including providing information to Japan concerning possible terrorist attacks, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage told Defense Agency chief Shigeru Ishiba on Monday.
JAPAN
Feb 2, 2004

Iraq commander noted for cool-headed decisions

Col. Koichiro Bansho, who is to command the Ground Self-Defense Force in its reconstruction aid activities in the southern Iraqi city of Samawah, is credited with a cool head and quick thinking in combat drills.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 2, 2004

Thailand paying the price for flu coverup

BANGKOK -- Thai politicians belatedly ceded center stage to the public health experts as a strategy was mapped out to curb and contain the rapidly spreading avian flu. Until Jan. 23, the Thai government emphatically and continuously denied, in the face of mounting evidence and allegations of a coverup,...
JAPAN
Jan 31, 2004

Lower House panel OKs Iraq dispatch

The special Lower House committee on Iraq issues on Friday approved the contentious dispatch of Self-Defense Forces units to Iraq, despite last-ditch resistance from opposition parties.
JAPAN
Jan 30, 2004

Fukuda refuses to budge on WMD

The Japanese government believes "there is a high possibility" that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction, despite congressional testimony to the contrary given by a former top U.S. arms inspector.
JAPAN
Jan 30, 2004

Takefuji sorry for suing reporters over wiretaps

Leading consumer lender Takefuji Corp. has apologized for suing freelance journalists and magazine publishers over their reports on the company's use of wiretaps to gather information.
JAPAN
Jan 30, 2004

Patent lawsuit costs Hitachi 163 million yen

The Tokyo High Court on Thursday ordered Hitachi Ltd. to pay 163 million yen to a former employee for the transfer of patent rights related to optical discs, quadrupling the award set by a lower court.
JAPAN
Jan 29, 2004

Failed U.S. firm agrees to provide satellite, redress

A bankrupt U.S. company commissioned to build a Japanese multipurpose satellite has agreed to supply the device to Japan by the end of March, according to government officials.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language
Jan 29, 2004

Japan is learning to love (and loving to learn) Chinese

Every day, it seems, more and more Japanese want to communicate -- in Chinese. One million Japanese, says Web magazine ChinaGate, are learning Mandarin and other Chinese dialects. At Japanese universities and schools, Mandarin has overtaken French and German to become the most popular language after...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 29, 2004

Koizumi slip delays Diet debate on Iraq

A session of a special House of Representatives committee on the dispatch of ground troops to Iraq was canceled Wednesday following a slipup by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi regarding the security situation in southern Iraq.
BUSINESS
Jan 28, 2004

DoCoMo open on AT&T Wireless

NTT DoCoMo Inc. said Tuesday it has kept open its option to take over AT&T Wireless Services Inc., the third-largest mobile phone service provider in the United States.
JAPAN
Jan 27, 2004

File taxes, apply for passports over the Net

A public service will begin Thursday allowing people to file tax returns and apply for passports over the Internet.
BUSINESS
Jan 27, 2004

Store sales slide for seventh straight year

Sales at supermarkets dropped 3.2 percent in 2003 from the previous year, and sales at department stores fell 2.8 percent, according to industry figures released Monday.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Jan 27, 2004

Saving on bills and lookingfor work

Saving energy K.K. writes: "I seem to recall Jean Pearce saying she put plastic sheets on her windows to keep rooms warm, but once they're there I guess you can't open the windows easily. Do you know anything about this subject? Also, where could I buy such sheets?"
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jan 27, 2004

Rural life's slow death

Matsunoyama town has almost everything its residents could want: spellbinding scenery, gorgeous terraced rice paddies cloaking the hillsides, splendid new roads and magnificent public facilities.
JAPAN
Jan 26, 2004

No change to government fertility rules for now

The health ministry has decided not to take a stab at revising guidelines for fertility treatment, according to ministry sources.
BUSINESS
Jan 24, 2004

NEC sets sights on IC tag market

NEC Corp. plans to enter the fast-growing market for integrated circuit tags, company sources said Friday.
BUSINESS
Jan 24, 2004

Japan Post to launch easier mail delivery abroad Feb. 2

Japan Post will begin offering an improved international express mail service next month featuring enhanced user-friendliness and lower stamp costs, the public corporation said Friday.

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