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COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM MOSCOW
Sep 28, 2003

Welcome to 'Mother Sofa'

MOSCOW -- Moscow seems to have the biggest concentration of furniture stores per square kilometer in the world. Downtown is a cramped place, with barely enough space for designer clothing and jewelry boutiques. Yet, in the peripheral neighborhoods, furniture stores thrive.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 27, 2003

Powerful quakes strike Hokkaido

SAPPORO -- Two powerful earthquakes, one with a preliminary magnitude of 8, struck Hokkaido early Friday, sparking a refinery fire and generating several tsunami.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 27, 2003

Nakagawa's farm trade background brings mixed bag to METI portfolio

The appointment earlier this week of Shoichi Nakagawa as minister of economy, trade and industry is a mixed blessing for the nation's trade policy.
EDITORIALS
Sep 27, 2003

DPJ's uphill road to power

The birth of the new Democratic Party of Japan -- the largest opposition party to debut since 1994 -- promises to create more constructive tension in Japanese politics. The DPJ, which has absorbed the smaller Liberal Party, is looking to the coming general election as an opportunity to snatch power from...
EDITORIALS
Sep 26, 2003

Problems with Mr. Grasso's pay

In business, as in politics, there is a simple rule for evaluating decisions: How will it look when it is in the headlines? By that standard, the uproar surrounding revelations that Mr. Richard Grasso, the former chairman of the New York Stock Exchange, was awarded compensation of $139.5 million tells...
BUSINESS
Sep 26, 2003

SK Telecom, Tokyo firm in tieup

Mobile phone operator SK Telecom Co. of South Korea and Tokyo-based Mobile Broadcasting Corp. signed a deal Thursday for co-ownership of a broadcast satellite that will beam digital voice signals and graphics to cell phones and other mobile devices.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 26, 2003

Dollar peg undermines China's economy

As Beijing is pressured to halt currency intervention, arguments are generally proposed in terms of the possible benefits to other countries. Such an argument is less compelling than one that points out how China might benefit from an end to its peg against the U.S. dollar. In any event, China's fixed...
JAPAN
Sep 25, 2003

Test tube baby born using eggs frozen in 1995

A Hokkaido woman gave birth to a boy last year using fertilized eggs frozen in 1995, which may be the longest time in Japan that such eggs have been used after being in storage, according to her doctors.
EDITORIALS
Sep 25, 2003

A veiled but strong G7 message

China maintains a de facto fixed exchange rate for the yuan. Japan has continued to intervene aggressively to prevent a sharp rise in the yen. In a veiled criticism of both countries' currency policies, a communique issued last weekend by Group of Seven finance ministers and central bankers called for...
BUSINESS
Sep 25, 2003

Bridgestone cuts earnings outlook after fire

Tire manufacturer Bridgestone Corp. released a revised earnings outlook Wednesday that includes the impact of a fire at its Tochigi factory earlier this month, lowering net and pretax profit forecasts for the year ending Dec. 31.
JAPAN
Sep 23, 2003

More police, immigration officers sought

Seven prefectures in the Kanto and Kansai regions jointly filed a request Monday with the central government to increase the number of police and immigration officers assigned to major prefectures.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 23, 2003

Key ministers keep jobs as Koizumi plays it safe

Having surprised everyone by naming young Shinzo Abe as the new secretary general of the LDP on Sunday, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi opted for a more staid formula in announcing his new Cabinet on Monday.
BUSINESS
Sep 23, 2003

Big business groups expect Cabinet to produce

Leaders of the nation's three major business groups on Monday welcomed the new Cabinet of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, expressing their hope for accelerating structural reforms.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Sep 23, 2003

Confessions of a foreign correspondent

These are not happy times for people who make a living writing about Japan. With the country apparently having become, as one magazine put it, the "Switzerland of Asia," i.e., rich but boring, foreign newspapers are shuttering their Tokyo bureaus as fast as they can move their correspondents to cover...
COMMENTARY
Sep 23, 2003

LDP factions losing clout

The Liberal Democratic Party is an assemblage of factions. Since it has held the reins of government almost continuously, the LDP has derived much of its vitality from factional power struggles for the party presidency and the prime ministership.
JAPAN
Sep 23, 2003

12 Tepco staff to work for nuclear safety entity

Starting next month, 12 Tokyo Electric Power Co. employees will begin working for an independent administrative entity that will take on some government nuclear plant inspection duties, according to officials.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 22, 2003

Koizumi shakes up LDP leadership

In a bold and surprising bid to ward off a party rebellion, Prime Minister Junichio Koizumi on Sunday appointed Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe as the No. 2 man in his Liberal Democratic Party.
JAPAN
Sep 21, 2003

Lower House set to be dissolved in October for election, Koizumi hints

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi gave a strong hint Saturday that he will dissolve the House of Representatives in October, saying he will make a decision on the timing after taking into consideration Lower House by-elections scheduled for late October.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Sep 21, 2003

An endless supply of meat for loan sharks

Half the job of solving social problems is getting the word out. This is especially true when it comes to criminal activities like fraud. Victims of fraud are by definition people who don't know enough about fraud to realize when they're being ripped off.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 21, 2003

Koizumi wins new mandate to lead LDP

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi was re-elected head of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Saturday, a sweeping victory in a vote by LDP politicians and the party's local chapters over his three challengers.
EDITORIALS
Sep 20, 2003

The crash in Cancun

The gap between rich and poor nations proved too wide to bridge, and negotiations broke off amid finger-pointing and concern that the failure to reach agreement could unravel the global trade order. In place of one system, it is feared that governments will embrace bilateral and regional deals.
COMMENTARY
Sep 20, 2003

Liberal ideals gain ground in the Asia-Pacific region

MANILA -- In past decades, liberal democracy and economic freedom have made great advances in all parts of the world. This general trend also applies to Asia, as is documented in the annual "Freedom in the World" surveys published by the Washington-based Heritage Foundation and the "Economic Freedom...
JAPAN
Sep 20, 2003

Iranian visa violators can stay

The Tokyo District Court on Friday granted an Iranian family of four in Gunma Prefecture who have overstayed their visas for more than 13 years permission to stay in Japan, citing humanitarian reasons.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Sep 20, 2003

Summer insect tourism slows to a crawl

Good morning, thanks for joining "Good Morning Insects!" for today's top news. My name is Goki Buri.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Sep 20, 2003

Tattoos ain't what they used to be

My older son now has what I do not.

Longform

Dangami House is a 180-year-old former samurai residence of the Kato clan, who ruled over Ozu, Ehime Prefecture, until the Meiji Restoration.
A house, a legacy and the quiet work of restoration in rural Japan