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JAPAN
Dec 15, 2001

Financial entities' overhaul may be shelved, Fukuda says

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda hinted Friday that the government could establish a panel to decide on reforms of state-backed financial entities, a decision that would effectively postpone a conclusion on the contentious issue.
EDITORIALS
Dec 14, 2001

Caught in a worsening recession

Japan's economy is in serious condition. Despite years of recovery efforts, its vital signs continue to worsen. Gross domestic product in July through September contracted at an annual rate of 2.2 percent, posting two straight quarters of negative growth -- a condition that is technically defined as...
JAPAN
Dec 14, 2001

Death penalty upheld for former cultist

The Tokyo High Court on Thursday upheld the death penalty for one-time senior Aum Shinrikyo figure Kazuaki Okazaki, 41, for his role in the 1989 murders of a Yokohama lawyer, the lawyer's family and a cultist who tried to defect.
BUSINESS
Dec 14, 2001

Japan to get Xbox console Feb. 22

The chief operating officer of Microsoft Corp. said Thursday that the Xbox game console will be launched in Japan on Feb. 22 as scheduled.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 13, 2001

Asylum seekers' fates hang in balance

Refugees in danger of persecution, or migrants seeking work and wealth?
BUSINESS
Dec 13, 2001

Seiko unit to produce in Thailand

Seiko Corp. said Wednesday its wholly owned subsidiary Seiko Precision Inc. will shift domestic production of camera devices to Thailand to enhance its competitiveness.
BUSINESS
Dec 13, 2001

Panel threatens NTT with splitup

An advisory panel to the telecommunications minister said that Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. should be reorganized or split up if steps to promote competition in the telecom market fail.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 13, 2001

'Tankan' reveals sentiment falling but not as steeply

Business sentiment is continuing to fall at Japanese companies as they struggle against declining exports and prices amid the global economic slump, according to the Bank of Japan's latest "tankan" quarterly survey.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 13, 2001

Target Iraq: easier perhaps, but riskier

With Osama bin Laden's Arab legions being hunted down in the mountains of Afghanistan, the endgame is approaching in the first stage of America's war on terrorism. Should Iraq be next?
LIFE / Digital / TANGLED WEBS
Dec 13, 2001

Multiple eyebrows raised over Microsoft settlement

Since Microsoft Corp. and the U.S. Justice Department submitted their proposed settlement agreement, legal experts have been scratching their heads over how incredibly favorable it is toward Microsoft.
JAPAN
Dec 12, 2001

Agency to translate FEMA terrorism response manual

The Fire and Disaster Management Agency will translate and publish an antiterrorism textbook used by the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency, according to agency officials.
JAPAN
Dec 11, 2001

Ministry denies role in pro-MBM report

The farm ministry on Monday defended itself against allegations by a weekly magazine that it encouraged farmers to feed cattle with meat-and-bone meal in the mid-1990s.
ENVIRONMENT
Dec 9, 2001

The climes they are a-changin'

Smokers probably have something to teach us about why it's so hard to believe in global warming.
LIFE / Food & Drink / NIHONSHU
Dec 9, 2001

It used be the case for all kinds of sake

You don't hear much about the tanks used for brewing or storing sake. In many other beverages, the type, age and source of the wood used for the tanks often contributes a major component to the flavor. Although sake is now independent of these factors, this was not always the case.
ENVIRONMENT
Dec 9, 2001

Sustainability begins at home

OSAKA -- As an official of the Yasu Town Government in Shiga Prefecture, Yoshitaka Endo knew it would be easy to draw up a plan of action for improving the local environment. But from experience, he also knew such a plan would not work unless the townspeople viewed it as their own. So he called on local...
JAPAN
Dec 8, 2001

Women in business eye support base

KYOTO -- Business leaders from 11 countries agreed Friday to create a network to help women entrepreneurs around the world.
COMMUNITY
Dec 8, 2001

East meeting with West carves history into wood

Reiko Yamanouchi remembers clearly how wood engraving entered her life. "Soon after joining my husband in Cambridge in 1968 -- he was a research student at the university -- I was given a book to help me get a feeling for the city, a memoir by Gwen Raverat, the granddaughter of Charles Darwin.
BUSINESS
Dec 7, 2001

Surplus expected to plunge 39.5%

The customs-cleared trade surplus for fiscal 2001 is expected to plunge 39.5 percent from the previous year to 5.809 trillion yen, according to a trading industry association.
BUSINESS
Dec 6, 2001

Cabinet approves budget plan modified to please coalition

The Cabinet has endorsed guidelines for the fiscal 2002 budget, in which a 30 trillion yen cap on new government bonds for that year forms the centerpiece of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's structural reforms.
CULTURE / Film
Dec 5, 2001

Face to face with Imperial evil

Japanese Devils Rating: * * * * 1/2 Director: Minoru Matsui Running time:160 minutes Language: Japanese Now showing
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 5, 2001

CAL chief weighs realities

The airline industry was perhaps the sector hit hardest by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States, and China Airlines has not been immune to the impact.
BUSINESS / ON THE FRONT LINE
Dec 5, 2001

Stock rally may be corporate red herring

A stream of disappointing corporate profit reports has thus far failed to spur extensive selloffs on the Tokyo stock market.
JAPAN
Dec 4, 2001

Online history archive opens with LDP spin

History buffs can learn more about Asian issues of yesteryear via a newly launched online archive based on a proposal by the Cabinet of former Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama, but references to Japanese wartime military activities in Asia were cut due to pressure from Liberal Democratic Party members....
JAPAN
Dec 4, 2001

Firms slow to calculate gas emissions

A little more than 50 percent of 389 of the nation's leading companies have calculated their greenhouse gas emissions, according to a survey released on Monday.
BUSINESS / TAKING STOCK
Dec 4, 2001

Bouncy market searches for clues

With stocks locked in a crosscurrent between optimism and fears over events in store for the rest of the year, activity on the Tokyo stock market has been subdued.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 4, 2001

Mexico sets its sights on tourists from overseas

Mexico has taken various measures to tighten security at airports and improve public safety following the Sept. 11 terror attacks in the United States, Mexico's tourism minister said as she appealed for increased visitors from Japan.
BUSINESS
Dec 4, 2001

Compact fluorine generator unveiled

Air Liquide Japan Ltd. said Monday it has developed a compact fluorine gas generator for use in manufacturing semiconductor chips and liquid crystals.
SOCCER / World cup
Dec 3, 2001

Japan sees chance to advance after World Cup soccer draw

PUSAN, South Korea -- Japan got a break in the draw for next year's World Cup finals on Saturday after being drawn to face Belgium, Russia and Tunisia in the first round.

Longform

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What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji