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Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 25, 2003

Olympus utilizes camera prowess to corner endoscope market

First in a series of occasional articles about Japanese firms that retain a global competitive edge
JAPAN
Mar 24, 2003

Water forum closes amid clash over privatization

KYOTO -- For eight days, and at a considerable cost to local taxpayers, the World Water Forum brought together international corporations in the water supply business, World Bank officials and a large number of Japanese construction and design firms, as well as senior government officials and thousands...
COMMENTARY
Mar 24, 2003

Smashing the payoff triangle

The history of the Liberal Democratic Party includes a long list of money scandals. The recent arrest of Lower House lawmaker Takanori Sakai, charged with violating the Political Funds Control Law, is the latest reminder.
COMMUNITY
Mar 23, 2003

From ancient to modern

As quintessentially contemporary as manga may seem, the oldest extant manga-style drawings actually date from the eighth-century zare-ga (play pictures), scrawled graffiti-like in the attic of the Horyuji Temple in Nara.
COMMUNITY
Mar 23, 2003

By the people, for the people

Pop into any bookstore and you'll find shelves overflowing with comic books about samurai, yakuza, war, business, baseball, soccer, golf, examination hell, high-school romance, office affairs -- in every genre from sci-fi to porn. And that's just the tip of Japan's manga iceberg.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / BEST BAR NONE
Mar 23, 2003

The secret life of Marc Romance

Marc Romance is my favorite alias for the master of Pousse Cafe, a stylish wine bar hidden away in Jiyugaoka. He has used many names, including Mac, Kota and the unlikely Alien J. Perkins -- most adopted for the convenience of his foreign friends but some, like the latter, as a nom de plume for writing...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Mar 22, 2003

Funny money clothed in cute cartoons

Before I came to Japan, I hadn't used money in years. It's not that I didn't have money -- I just never dreamed of taking it out of the bank and using it. That's because on my planet, the United States, money is a thin piece of plastic called a debit card, inside of which are mathematical molecules swirling...
BUSINESS
Mar 21, 2003

Carmakers predict slim sales growth

Some 5.85 million new vehicles are expected to be sold in Japan in the 2003 business year, up 0.4 percent from the forecast for 2002, the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association said Thursday.
JAPAN
Mar 21, 2003

Gap unit collared for 16.8 billion yen in tax evasion

Gap International BV, a subsidiary of U.S. casual wear maker Gap Inc., failed to report around 16.8 billion yen in income from Gap's Japan subsidiary, sources said Thursday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 20, 2003

Rash of theme park failures blamed on lack of vision, poor management

As large theme parks go bust across Japan, Tokyo Disneyland and its affiliate, Tokyo DisneySea, are exceptions, attracting more than 20 million visitors every year with the help of their innovative business strategy.
BUSINESS
Mar 20, 2003

Boost sought for loan-firm checks

The Financial Services Agency has asked prefectural governments to screen applications from prospective loan business operators more stringently to stave off illegal lending.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / THEN AND NOW
Mar 20, 2003

Walking on waters that were

Tsukiji, now famous as home to the world's biggest fish market, was reclaimed from the sea in the 17th century. Its transformation from seabed to seashore came after the magnificent first city of Edo, designed by Shogun Ieyasu in 1603 and completed around 1650, was destroyed by a fire in 1657. Then,...
BUSINESS
Mar 20, 2003

Toys 'R' Us-Japan logs 1.2% decline in profit

Toys "R" Us-Japan Ltd. said Wednesday its net profit for the year through Jan. 31 dropped 1.2 percent to 4.09 billion yen on weak same-store sales.
BUSINESS
Mar 18, 2003

Japan Post customers to have greater choice of ATM access

Customers of Japan Post will be able to do their banking at convenience stores under a tieup between the public postal corporation and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. and IY Bank, sources said Monday.
JAPAN
Mar 18, 2003

Strong support seen in DPJ for tougher donations rules

A poll carried out on 142 lawmakers and other members of the Democratic Party of Japan found overwhelming support for regulating political donations from businesses that land public works contracts.
JAPAN
Mar 18, 2003

Four 'human shields' from Japan to remain in Iraq even after attack

Four Japanese people intend to remain in Iraq to act as "human shields" even after a military strike is launched, Foreign Ministry officials said Monday.
BUSINESS
Mar 18, 2003

Ghosn, Koeda to share new Nissan board position

Nissan Motor Co. said Monday it will create a new post in June, that of cochairman of the board.
EDITORIALS
Mar 18, 2003

Declaration of war against Belgrade

The assassination of Serbia's prime minister is a declaration of war against the forces of law, order and democracy in Yugoslavia. Police have blamed organized crime for the killing and begun a crackdown, but the entire picture is a bit murkier. The slaying is a reminder of the unfinished business in...
JAPAN
Mar 18, 2003

Decisions not to appeal end Recruit-scandal trial

Both prosecutors and defense lawyers for Hiromasa Ezoe, founder and former chairman of Recruit Co., said Monday they will not appeal a recent ruling that handed Ezoe a suspended jail term over the so-called Recruit scandal.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Mar 18, 2003

Tokyo's immigration bureau gets makeover at new location

"Are you sure this is the place?" our driver inquired.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVE
Mar 17, 2003

Next BOJ team must sell the public a fiscal policy it can believe in

A lot has been said about the nomination of Bank of Japan Gov. Toshihiko Fukui, the events that led to the formation of his team, and the political dynamics behind that decision. Now, with his formal appointment due on Thursday, I would like to point out several tasks the central bank will need to tackle...
BUSINESS
Mar 15, 2003

DoCoMo mulls lower call charges

NTT DoCoMo Inc. is considering lowering charges for calls made from fixed-line telephones to its mobile phones, the company's president said Friday.
BUSINESS
Mar 15, 2003

U.S. poised to tackle Japan loan crisis

The U.S. appears to be showing its cards in the runup to bilateral economic talks in Washington next month, stacking four financial industry executives on its eight-member private sector panel.
BUSINESS
Mar 15, 2003

Japan Inc. plotting its own war survival strategy

Japan Inc. is on high alert.
BUSINESS / INTERNATIONAL RATIONALE
Mar 15, 2003

Multilateral alliance good for ANA, but JAL isn't convinced

All Nippon Airways Co. President Yoji Ohashi could hardly contain his joy last month when he witnessed the entry of Asiana Airlines Inc., South Korea's No. 2 carrier, into Star Alliance, the world's largest airline coalition.

Longform

Figure skater Akiko Suzuki was once told her ideal weight should be 47 kilograms, a number she now admits she “naively believed.” This led to her have a relationship with food that resulted in her suffering from anorexia.
The silent battle Japanese athletes fight with weight