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BUSINESS
Apr 22, 2004

Australia works to keep MMC unit open

SYDNEY (Kyodo) Prime Minister John Howard and Industry Minister Ian MacFarlane are in talks with Mitsubishi Motors Corp. to save its South Australian manufacturing plant from closure, a spokeswoman for MacFarlane said Wednesday.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Apr 22, 2004

Lives of Beckham, Keane provide tabloids endless fodder

LONDON -- An apology. Those of you hoping for a column that does not mention David Beckham or Roy Keane will be disappointed.
JAPAN
Apr 21, 2004

SDF troops staying in Iraq, vows Tokyo

Japan on Tuesday downplayed plans by Spain and Honduras to withdraw their troops from Iraq in the coming months, insisting that its own Self-Defense Forces units will remain in the Mideast country.
BUSINESS
Apr 21, 2004

Foreign-exchange policies unlikely to be focus of G7 finance meeting

An upcoming financial meeting of the Group of Seven major economies in Washington will probably not focus on foreign-exchange policy amid the current stability in major currencies, Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki said Tuesday.
COMMENTARY
Apr 21, 2004

U.S., North Korea await change from a reinvigorated Roh

HONOLULU -- South Korea's political landscape has changed dramatically, and one must assume irreversibly, as a result of the April 15 National Assembly elections. It is clear that the torch has indeed been passed to a new generation. What is less clear is what this means, both in the near and long term,...
JAPAN
Apr 20, 2004

Average value of assets held by Lower House members falls

The average value of assets held by 478 House of Representatives lawmakers elected last November stands at 51.6 million yen, excluding stocks, according to a Kyodo News survey released Monday.
BUSINESS
Apr 20, 2004

Postal privatization team named

The government unveiled a lineup Monday of key members of a preparatory office in charge of privatizing Japan's postal services, naming Financial Services Agency Commissioner Shokichi Takagi as one of two deputy heads.
BUSINESS
Apr 20, 2004

Kanebo to probe alleged illegalities

Kanebo Ltd. said Monday it has formed an investigative panel -- led by legal experts -- to probe alleged illegalities in the company's past accounting practices and business transactions.
COMMENTARY
Apr 19, 2004

South Korea's youth now in driver's seat

NEW YORK -- Veteran Asia-hand Nicholas Platt isn't quite ready to canonize Roh Moo Hyun as a great contemporary Asian leader -- notwithstanding last week's stunning endorsement of the populist president of South Korea in elections that catapulted the progressive, pro-Roh party to the top of the heap...
COMMENTARY
Apr 19, 2004

Push Japan's good intentions

The lesson from the abduction and subsequent release of five Japanese civilians in Iraq is that the government should send a strong message to the Arab world that it is actively pushing humanitarian assistance and reconstruction in the war-torn country.
EDITORIALS
Apr 18, 2004

A political quake in South Korea

Parliamentary elections last week have transformed politics in South Korea. The Uri Party -- which did not exist a year ago -- has won an absolute majority in the National Assembly, giving President Roh Moo Hyun control of the legislature for the first time since he was elected a year and a half ago...
JAPAN
Apr 18, 2004

Most in poll back Tokyo Iraq efforts

About 68 percent of respondents to a Kyodo News survey released Saturday approved of how the government handled the hostage crisis involving Japanese civilians in Iraq, and more than 60 percent feel Tokyo was right to not cave in to the kidnappers' demand that Japan withdraw its troops from the country....
BUSINESS
Apr 17, 2004

Daiei exceeded earnings target for 2003

Struggling retailer Daiei Inc. said Friday it beat its earnings target for the year that ended Feb. 29, helped by sales campaigns cashing in on its professional baseball team's national championship.
EDITORIALS
Apr 17, 2004

Hostage release no peace gesture

The three Japanese taken hostage in Iraq have been set free. The joy felt at their release has been tempered by news that two other Japanese have been seized, the savage murder of an Italian security guard by his kidnappers and the knowledge that nearly 20 other foreigners are still being held in Iraq....
BUSINESS
Apr 17, 2004

Nancy Baker steps into beef-testing fray

WASHINGTON (Kyodo)Former U.S. Sen. Nancy Kassebaum Baker, the wife of Ambassador to Japan Howard Baker, has sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Agriculture asking it to reconsider its refusal to allow meatpackers to test all slaughtered cattle for mad cow disease, a copy of the letter obtained Thursday...
JAPAN
Apr 17, 2004

Hostage drama highlights SDF's tough role in Iraq

The hostage crisis involving three Japanese civilians highlighted the worsening security situation in Iraq.
BUSINESS
Apr 16, 2004

Uniqlo operator sees first-half profit grow 50%

Fast Retailing Co. said Thursday its net profit jumped 50 percent for the six months that ended Feb. 29 thanks to a recovery in store sales and better inventory control.
JAPAN
Apr 15, 2004

No need for U.S. restraint, Koizumi says

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said Wednesday that Japan need not ask the United States to show restraint in dealing with the Sunni Muslim insurgents to help win the release of three Japanese hostages in Iraq.
JAPAN
Apr 15, 2004

Links between Italian, Japanese crises probed

The government is looking into a possible connection between kidnappings of Japanese and Italian civilians in Iraq, government sources said Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Apr 15, 2004

Gaga unit buys into film magazine

Publishing house Kinema Junposha Co., a unit of film distributor Gaga Communications Inc., has acquired the management rights of the only English-language movie magazine in Japan, Gaga said Wednesday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 15, 2004

Tsutsumi quits Seibu helm over payoffs

Seibu Railway Co. Chairman Yoshiaki Tsutsumi said Wednesday he will resign over a racketeer payoff scandal involving three company executives.
JAPAN
Apr 15, 2004

Koizumi swipe at 'terrorists' downplayed

Government officials tried to play down allegations Wednesday that Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has prolonged the crisis over three Japanese being held hostage in Iraq by calling their captors "terrorists."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Apr 14, 2004

Lessons still unlearned

Timely or what! Just as Japan's autocratic leaders appear to have junked war-renouncing Article 9 of the Constitution -- with news last week of SDF aircraft even having transported armed U.S. soldiers into Iraq -- along comes "Taiko Tataite Fue Fuite (Playing Drum and Flute)," which vividly portrays...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 14, 2004

Shooting at the top

Another reason to love Sofia Coppola: She had the good sense (and stubbornness) to refuse to do any more interviews while in Japan. Judging by her news-conference comments, she is better at making her films than talking about them -- no crime, that -- so it was a smart move to delegate the explaining...
BUSINESS
Apr 14, 2004

Japan Post sees international business as cornerstone

Japan Post aims to beef up its international business to survive intensifying global competition ahead of its planned privatization beginning in 2007, according to Masaharu Ikuta, president of the government-owned entity.

Longform

Japan's growing ranks of centenarians are redefining what it means to live in a super-aging society.
What comes after 100?