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BUSINESS
May 22, 2004

Government delivers upbeat verdict for May

The government remained upbeat in its overall economic assessment for May, with recent economic growth data showing the economy is picking up faster than many analysts had expected following a decade-long period of stagnation.
COMMENTARY
May 22, 2004

China forfeits high ground

HONG KONG -- From 1842 to 1997, with two exceptions, British governors of Hong Kong avoided democratic reform. In the 20th century they did so believing that China would react badly if they enacted it.
JAPAN
May 22, 2004

Police raid retired teacher who raised flag, anthem ruckus

Police on Friday raided the house of a former Tokyo high school teacher who distributed copies of a magazine story at a school commencement ceremony dealing with the controversy over the Hinomaru flag and "Kimigayo" anthem.
SUMO
May 21, 2004

Hokutoriki retains lead at 11-1

Hokutoriki easily overpowered Kotomitsuki on Thursday to remain the sole leader at the Summer Grand Sumo Tournament.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 21, 2004

Toyota freshens image, goes after younger drivers

With video games, baby strollers and manicure kits to welcome visitors, dealers at a Toyota showroom in suburban Tokyo are working to convince buyers that today's models have nothing to do with their parents' boring old cars.
BUSINESS
May 21, 2004

MMC considers moving head office

Mitsubishi Motors Corp. will reveal a major bailout program Friday that might include the relocation of its head office.
BUSINESS
May 21, 2004

Revolving door fatality dooms bonus

Sanwa Shutter Corp. said Thursday it will not pay bonuses to any of its 10 board members for fiscal 2003 due to a fatal accident involving one of the firm's revolving doors at Tokyo's Roppongi Hills complex.
JAPAN
May 20, 2004

Hosoda admits omission of donations from fund-report

Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda admitted Wednesday that he failed to declare in political funding reports some 31 million yen that a scandal-tainted company shouldered as part of the salary for his chauffeur between 1996 and 2003.
BUSINESS
May 19, 2004

Japan Post could pay 533 billion yen in taxes when privatized

Japan Post will need to pay 533 billion yen a year in national and local taxes when it is privatized, according to an internal estimate obtained by Kyodo News.
JAPAN
May 19, 2004

Group to promote East Asian bloc

A new group was launched Tuesday in Tokyo tasked with facilitating the creation of an East Asian community, a regional economic bloc encompassing southeast and northeast Asian nations.
SUMO
May 16, 2004

Hokutoriki takes sole lead at 7-0

Grand champion Asashoryu was back in business on Saturday with a convincing win over Takamisakari, while Hokutoriki moved into sole possession of the lead at the Summer Grand Sumo Tournament.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
May 16, 2004

TBS's "Sekai Fushigi Hakken" and more

Uniqlo, the no-frills clothing store that took the retail trade by storm in the late '90s, saw its fortunes take a nose dive after the turn of the century. The company has attempted to remedy the problem of poor sales with an expanded product line. However, the chairman has decided that what the company...
BUSINESS
May 15, 2004

MMC considers 10% workforce cut, shutting down two domestic plants

Struggling automaker Mitsubishi Motors Corp. is considering a bolder restructuring plan, including a 10 percent cut to its workforce and closure of two domestic plants, sources said Friday.
COMMENTARY / World
May 15, 2004

New jailers, same prison?

The stage-managed toppling of ex-Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's statue will not, after all, be the image defining the Iraq war. Like the famous photo of the young girl on fire running naked to escape the horror of napalm in the Vietnam War, the photographs emerging from Abu Ghraib prison will be the...
COMMENTARY
May 13, 2004

Chinese nuclear deal buoys Islamabad

ISLAMABAD -- China's agreement to supply a second 300-megawatt nuclear power reactor to Pakistan encourages Islamabad's ruling establishment, which is eager to develop the country's nuclear energy potential in a significant way. The deal for the new reactor, to be located at Chashma in central Punjab...
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
May 13, 2004

Lovable children of Edo -- where have you gone?

Being a Tokyoite doesn't have the same glamorous connotations as being a Parisian or New Yorker, but inside Japan, we've managed to rack up some notoriety. A Tokyo local, or Edokko (Child of Edo, as Tokyo was called before the 1868 Meiji Restoration) as many in the older generations still like to identify...
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 12, 2004

DPJ struggles to find successor to disgraced Kan

Nobody appeared ready to take up the presidency of the Democratic Party of Japan on Tuesday as the main opposition force moved to find a replacement for departing leader Naoto Kan.
BUSINESS
May 12, 2004

349 Nippon Oil, subsidiary workers to quit

Nippon Oil Corp. said Tuesday that 349 workers, including some at its oil refining subsidiary Nippon Petroleum Refining Co., will voluntarily retire on July 1 under the two companies' early retirement program.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 12, 2004

DPJ struggles to find successor to disgraced Kan

Nobody appeared ready to take up the presidency of the Democratic Party of Japan on Tuesday as the main opposition force moved to find a replacement for departing leader Naoto Kan.
COMMENTARY / World
May 12, 2004

What's next as ASEAN+3 integrates?

MANILA -- As we watch with interest the expansion of the European Union, the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations plus Three (China, South Korea and Japan) continues to make its own progress toward regional economic integration. Needless to say, there is a long way to go. But the question...
JAPAN
May 12, 2004

War criminals' poems uncovered

The themes found in a newly uncovered collection of traditional Japanese verse would be familiar to any reader here: the melancholy passing of the seasons, fleeting beauty, the inevitability of death.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 12, 2004

Where everybody can be a jury member

Who are film festivals for, really? The biggest of all, Cannes, is strictly for industry professionals (or rather, anyone with enough connections to wangle accreditation). But many other festivals have turned in a more populist direction, as indicated by the ubiquity of audience awards, which make anyone...
COMMUNITY / Issues
May 11, 2004

Kidnap crisis poses a new risk

When five Japanese were taken hostage in Iraq last month, huge public concern for their safe return quickly gave way to hostility and a campaign of vilification. A disastrous public appeal by the families of three of the hostages for the withdrawal of SDF troops from Iraq encouraged the government to...

Longform

Ichiro Suzuki, one of the most iconic players in NPB and MLB history, was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame with 99.7% of the vote.
With Hall of Fame induction, Ichiro makes himself heard loud and clear