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JAPAN
Jun 5, 2003

People made ill by water in wells to get state help

The Environment Ministry will pay the medical bills of residents of Kamisu, Ibaraki Prefecture, who fell ill after drinking water from wells contaminated by arsenic. The measures were announced Wednesday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 5, 2003

People made ill by water in wells to get state help

The Environment Ministry will pay the medical bills of residents of Kamisu, Ibaraki Prefecture, who fell ill after drinking water from wells contaminated by arsenic. The measures were announced Wednesday.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / MATTER OF COURSE
Jun 5, 2003

National hygiene begins in the classroom

I always like to hear from readers, but it's especially nice when they provide ideas for my column. Several wrote in recently about severe acute respiratory syndrome.
BUSINESS
Jun 5, 2003

Japan 'positive' about FTA talks

Japan is positive about starting official negotiations on bilateral free-trade agreements with the Philippines, Thailand and Malaysia, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda said Wednesday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 5, 2003

Former Duskin chief held on fund misuse

Tokyo prosecutors on Wednesday arrested the former chairman of Duskin Co. on suspicion of misusing some 180 million yen of the company's money to help an ailing firm run by a friend.
JAPAN
Jun 4, 2003

Professor embezzled research grants

The University of Tokyo decided Tuesday that Osamu Tsutsumi, a gynecology professor who serves as Crown Princess Masako's chief doctor, should be suspended from duty for a month for embezzling state research grants.
JAPAN
Jun 4, 2003

Professor embezzled research grants

The University of Tokyo decided Tuesday that Osamu Tsutsumi, a gynecology professor who serves as Crown Princess Masako's chief doctor, should be suspended from duty for a month for embezzling state research grants.
JAPAN
Jun 4, 2003

Niigata to get a nuclear apology

Industry minister Takeo Hiranuma said Tuesday he will visit Niigata Prefecture to apologize to residents there for the ministry's lax handling of Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s attempts to cover up defects at its nuclear reactors there.
JAPAN
Jun 4, 2003

Suu Kyi dialogue urged by Japan

The Myanmar junta should hold a dialogue with democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, whom it detained last week, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda said Tuesday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jun 4, 2003

'Chicago': After the movie, we had it coming

Bathed in bright lights, but almost shrouded by the haze of jazz, booze and dancing, lies a story of adultery, murder and greed. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to "Chicago."
JAPAN
Jun 3, 2003

74 colleges plan to open law schools

Seventy-four public and private universities plan to open law schools next April as part of Japan's judicial system reform, with many private schools considering charging annual tuition of 1.5 million yen to 2 million yen, according to a recent Kyodo News survey.
COMMENTARY
Jun 2, 2003

U.S.-Japan global alliance

Last week's summit between Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and U.S. President George W. Bush ushered in a new era for the Japan-U.S. security alliance: The bilateral system is beginning to change into a global alliance.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 1, 2003

Big Issue Kansai magazine to help homeless help themselves

OSAKA -- Hoping to imitate the success of its British namesake, a company was recently set up here to publish a magazine called Big Issue Kansai, which will help homeless people earn money by selling the paper on the street.
JAPAN
Jun 1, 2003

Ministry protests refugee newspaper story

The Justice Ministry has protested against an article run by the Yomiuri Shimbun on Thursday that said the Tokyo Regional Immigration Bureau is recommending that a former North Korean agent be granted refugee status, according to ministry officials.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jun 1, 2003

Black Ships of 'shock and awe'

Whatever Washington would have the world think, many people will only ever believe that the recent U.S. invasion of Iraq was for oil. However, U.S. power diplomacy of the Bush administration's "neoconservative" type is neither a new phenomenon, nor one confined to the Muslim Middle East.
BUSINESS
May 31, 2003

Shiokawa seeking 3% cut in public works spending

Finance Minister Masajuro Shiokawa said Friday he hopes to cut public works spending by about 3 percent in the fiscal 2004 budget as part of efforts to reduce the size of the overall budget.
BUSINESS
May 31, 2003

Shiokawa claims yen overvalued

Finance Minister Masajuro Shiokawa on Friday tried to talk down the value of the yen, saying he believes it is slightly overvalued.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 31, 2003

Resona applies for 1.96 trillion yen

Resona Holdings Inc. formally applied Friday for an injection of 1.96 trillion yen in public funds and presented a restructuring program to the government that featured cuts in personnel and expenses as a condition for the bailout.
BUSINESS
May 31, 2003

Rokkasho blunder leads to failures

Oye Kogyo Co., a manufacturer of nuclear power equipment, and its subsidiary Oye Engineering Co. have filed for protection from creditors under the corporate rehabilitation law.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
May 31, 2003

Improve your English via e-mail correspondence

Studying French from age 11, it was exciting when my school in England teamed up with another in France for correspondence exchange. Francoise and I wrote to one another for five years before fading from one another's lives. But I have never forgotten her, or her impact on my life: opening up the world...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 30, 2003

Is Resona the tip of the iceberg?

The whistle-blowing erupted a few days before May 17, the day Resona, the nation's fifth-largest banking group, announced its capital had tumbled below regulation levels.
COMMENTARY / WASHINGTON UPDATE
May 29, 2003

Bush tax package passes but will it buoy the economy?

WASHINGTON -- You cannot say he did not work for it. U.S. President George W. Bush saw his beloved tax package pass Congress last Friday, with Vice President Dick Cheney casting the deciding vote in the Senate. The president had been working coast to coast the last few weeks to drum up support for his...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 29, 2003

Bitfone offers remote program to fix software

Bitfone Corp. of the United States is negotiating with several major Japanese phone makers to sell them its wireless software-repair program, Bitfone Chairman Gene Wang said in a recent interview with Kyodo News.
COMMENTARY / World
May 28, 2003

Slander poses a greater danger than SARS itself

EDMONTON, Canada -- Outside of Asia, Toronto has been the city hardest hit by severe acute respiratory syndrome. Canadian Chinese living there, as well as Canadians of Japanese and Korean ethnic origin, have felt the chill of blame.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 27, 2003

Banks remain in the red for second straight year

Japan's seven major banking groups stayed mired squarely in the red for the second year in a row, spending more than 5 trillion yen to dispose of bad loans and shouldering over 3 trillion yen in stock-related losses for the 12 months ended March, business results confirmed Monday.
EDITORIALS
May 25, 2003

Auguries in a coffee cup

Eight years ago, there was no such thing as a Starbucks coffee shop in Japan. Now they are part of the landscape; in the big cities, you can often find two or three of the ubiquitous stores with the round green logo within a couple of blocks of each other. That might sound like the ultimate definition...
BUSINESS
May 24, 2003

Legislation to cut yields paid by insurers submitted to Diet

The government submitted an amended bill Friday to the Diet to allow life insurance companies to cut the guaranteed yields they promised to policyholders, government officials said.
BUSINESS
May 23, 2003

Disinflation to accelerate in major economies: Fukui

The world's major economies are on the verge of accelerated disinflation as deflationary pressure grows on a global scale, Bank of Japan Gov. Toshihiko Fukui said Thursday.
BUSINESS
May 23, 2003

Nintendo's record profit run ends

Nintendo Co. said Thursday its consolidated net profit fell 36.8 percent to 67.27 billion yen in fiscal 2002, largely due to lower-than-expected sales of game consoles.

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