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BUSINESS
Jul 26, 2003

Keidanren to draft donation outline by end of September

OYAMA, Shizuoka Pref. -- The Japan Business Federation (Nippon Keidanren) will draw up an outline by the end of September detailing how to proceed with its new system for promoting political donations, Chairman Hiroshi Okuda said Friday.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jul 26, 2003

Thinking to build a house? Think Foothill Homes

A house is just a building. A home is filled with the warmth and individuality of its inhabitants. Which is where Robert Neil Hugo comes into the picture.
JAPAN
Jul 26, 2003

Civil-servant reform bill delayed

State reform minister Nobuteru Ishihara said Friday he will give up trying to present a bill to reform civil servant employment practices to the current session of the Diet, which ends Monday.
BUSINESS
Jul 26, 2003

Mitsui Mining, Dia Kensetsu mull seeking IRCJ assistance

Natural resources firm Mitsui Mining Co. and condominium builder Dia Kensetsu Co. are considering seeking a bailout from the Industrial Revitalization Corp. of Japan, sources said Friday.
JAPAN
Jul 26, 2003

Japan Highway to dismiss, sue whistle-blower

Japan Highway Public Corp. will dismiss a senior branch official for his recent allegation in a monthly magazine that Japan Highway President Haruho Fujii hid a financial report showing the corporation had a negative net worth, sources said Friday.
JAPAN
Jul 25, 2003

Eel quality control falters in wake of antibiotic find

An association of eel importers suspended its quality-guarantee system about a month after it was launched in March because a banned antibiotic was detected in frozen eel products from China, the association said Thursday.
JAPAN
Jul 25, 2003

Government plans exhaustive program to research protein

The government will launch a five-year national research program to analyze the interaction of human proteins as a new scientific goal following the completion of the human genome map in April, science ministry officials said Thursday.
JAPAN
Jul 25, 2003

Opposition parties try to block SDF bill

The opposition parties launched a last-minute move Thursday to block final Upper House votes on a government-sponsored bill to dispatch Self-Defense Forces to Iraq, by submitting a series of censure motions against Cabinet ministers.
BUSINESS
Jul 25, 2003

Sony net profit nosedives 98% amid sluggish sales

Sony Corp.'s group net profit for the first quarter of this fiscal year nosedived 98 percent to 1.1 billion yen from a year earlier, the company said Thursday.
JAPAN
Jul 24, 2003

Political donations to get murkier?

The ruling coalition's new proposal on corporate donations to political parties would probably conceal the identities of most donors, according to a recent Kyodo News study.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 24, 2003

Howard aims for leading regional role

SYDNEY -- A weeklong diplomatic flourish through East Asia behind him, Australian Prime Minister John Howard has no time to pause for breath before the next push into Australia's newfound activism in regional security, the South Pacific's most chaotic young nation, the Solomon Islands.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Jul 24, 2003

Making a BEE line for 'green living' throughout Japan

School's out for summer, and just about everyone seems to be on the road heading for the beach, the mountains or the mall. Chances are, though, many of those drivers will spend most of their time caught up in traffic.
JAPAN
Jul 24, 2003

DPJ targets watchdog official over insurance merger role

The Democratic Party of Japan filed a criminal accusation Wednesday against Financial Services Agency Commissioner Shokichi Takagi, blaming him for trying to pressure Tokio Marine & Fire Insurance Co. to consolidate with an ailing life insurance firm last year.
BUSINESS
Jul 24, 2003

BOJ vows to take risks until prices start rising

Bank of Japan Gov. Toshihiko Fukui underscored on Wednesday his determination to fight deflation, stating the central bank will take "unlimited risks" until prices rise.
JAPAN
Jul 23, 2003

Lawmakers to take rare look at prison gallows

Lawmakers won approval Tuesday to inspect one of the country's execution chambers in an extremely rare glimpse into a secretive system long criticized by international human rights groups.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Jul 23, 2003

Dodgers fan scores in 'Hideki Matsui Sweepstakes'

Former Tokyo attorney Russ Roten has won the Baseball Bullet-In "Hideki Matsui Sweepstakes" by coming the closest to guessing Matsui's home run, runs batted in and batting average statistics at the Major League All-Star break on July 14.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 23, 2003

Top lobby set to restart party donations

The Japan Business Federation (Nippon Keidanren) hopes to restore its political influence by encouraging member firms to pay donations to parties and by evaluating how the parties measure up.
JAPAN
Jul 23, 2003

Don't build it unless they'll come

More than three-quarters of respondents to a recent survey believe the government should stop building expressways if the projects are not expected to turn a profit.
COMMUNITY
Jul 20, 2003

Being nasally challenged is nothing to be sniffed at

To be honest, I never gave much thought to noses, ne'er even my own, until my sense of smell departed.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 19, 2003

Japan Highway on the road to ruin; 617.477 billion yen in debt: document

A set of secret documents allegedly compiled by Japan Highway Public Corp. suggest that the semigovernmental corporation is in a state of capital deficit.
MORE SPORTS
Jul 19, 2003

Kawaguchi hopes to make 49ers roster

Former Japan linebacker Masafumi Kawaguchi confidently vowed to make the San Francisco 49ers final roster and become the first Japanese player in the NFL as the 30-year-old Ritsumeikan University alumni heads to the Niners' training camp.
BUSINESS
Jul 19, 2003

Insurance policyholders warned to wise up, do their homework

In a bid to prevent frailty in the life insurance sector from potentially exploding into the political and banking scenes, the House of Councilors on Friday enacted legislation allowing troubled life insurers to lower their promised payouts to policyholders.
BASEBALL / MLB
Jul 19, 2003

Tigers prey on Carp

Shinjiro Hiyama led off the eighth inning with a solo roundtripper for the go-ahead run as the red-hot Hanshin Tigers comfortably picked up from where they left off before the All-Star break, beating the Hiroshima Carp 4-3 at Koshien Stadium on Friday.
BUSINESS
Jul 19, 2003

'Competitive' NTT fees promised

Telecommunications minister Toranosuke Katayama said Friday his ministry will maintain a policy of ensuring that the interconnection fees Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. charges other carriers for access to its lines will remain competitive.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jul 18, 2003

Foreign banks excel in lending with measure of risk, realism

Reiko Kinoshita, senior vice president of Tokyo Star Bank's principal finance division, doesn't mince words. Neither she nor her clients have the time.
JAPAN
Jul 17, 2003

JCP forced to admit to more public drinking rules

Top executives of the Japanese Communist Party were embarrassed again Wednesday following a newspaper report revealing an internal party document that strictly outlines the behavior of party members when they drink outside their homes.
JAPAN
Jul 16, 2003

Quality, not quantity, hampers ODA: professor

The main problem with Japan's official development assistance lies not in its quantity but in its lack of expertise, a specialist in development economics said Tuesday.

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