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BUSINESS
May 17, 2002

Nissin logs 21.5% fall in net profits

Nissin Food Products Co. said Thursday it posted a group net profit of 11.94 billion yen in fiscal 2001, down 21.5 percent from a year earlier due to appraisal losses on its securities holdings and growing sales costs.
BUSINESS
May 17, 2002

JR Tokai says revenues up 2.5%

Central Japan Railway Co. (JR Tokai) said Thursday its consolidated operating revenues grew 2.5 percent to 1.37 trillion yen in fiscal 2001, due to increased traffic on its Tokaido Shinkansen Line bullet train services.
BUSINESS / ON THE FRONT LINE
May 17, 2002

Skepticism abounds over market direction

Despite signs of economic recovery, doubts remain over the Tokyo stock market's prospects.
BUSINESS
May 17, 2002

Minebea to liquidate overseas units

Minebea Co., a maker of miniature ball bearings, at the end of September will liquidate two subsidiaries in the United States and Singapore as part of operational restructuring.
BUSINESS / ON THE FRONT LINE
May 16, 2002

U.S. pickup fuels hope for Japan recovery

There is little dispute that a solid pickup in U.S. consumer spending has bolstered evidence that the economic recovery is gaining momentum.
BUSINESS
May 16, 2002

Yamaha Motor posts record profits for '01

Yamaha Motor Co. said Wednesday it posted record group pretax profits of 32.7 billion yen in fiscal 2001, up 30.3 percent from a year earlier.
BUSINESS
May 16, 2002

Trading house Mitsubishi logs 34.6% profit drop

Trading house Mitsubishi Corp. said Wednesday its group net profits in fiscal 2001 plunged 34.6 percent, primarily due to a 51.5 billion yen fall in securities sales.
BUSINESS
May 16, 2002

Nikon, six others tie up on chip-making gear

Nikon Corp. and six other firms in the semiconductor sector plan to collaborate on the development of next-generation steppers, Nikon officials said Wednesday.
JAPAN
May 16, 2002

Narita passengers lose no-fuss check-in service

Passport-control services at Tokyo City Air Terminal will soon be discontinued for passengers departing from Narita airport because of reduced traffic and more stringent security measures in the wake of Sept. 11, immigration officials have warned.
LIFE / Digital / NAME OF THE GAME
May 16, 2002

Put your Spidey skills to the test

This summer, Spider-Man is the luckiest superhero alive. Not only does he have a hit movie that has left critics and audiences impressed, he's also in a very good new game for GameCube, PlayStation 2, and especially Xbox.
COMMUNITY / How-tos
May 16, 2002

Lifelines

Hello there! My name's Ken Joseph Jr.
BUSINESS
May 15, 2002

'Pain' of NTT workers acknowledged

Telecommunications minister Toranosuke Katayama on Tuesday described the transfer of 100,000 Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. employees to 100 new subsidiaries as "(necessary) pain in a transitional period."
Japan Times
JAPAN / THE OKINAWA FACTOR
May 15, 2002

Nuclear pact ensured smooth Okinawa reversion

On Nov. 21, 1969, President Richard Nixon met with Prime Minister Eisaku Sato in Washington to discuss an extremely delicate issue.
BUSINESS
May 15, 2002

Nippon Life, T&D to be UFJ agents

The UFJ financial group is expected to appoint Nippon Life Insurance Co. and T&D Financial Life Insurance Co. as agents tasked with carrying out paperwork and other administrative duties related to UFJ's sales of life insurance policies, industry officials said Tuesday.
BUSINESS
May 15, 2002

Workers' confidence up for sixth month

Economic confidence among employees with jobs close to the consumer improved in April for the sixth month in a row, but pessimists still outnumber optimists, according to a government survey released Tuesday.
BUSINESS
May 14, 2002

Mitsubishi Pharma profits up 229%

Mitsubishi Pharma Corp. said Monday that its group net profit soared 229.4 percent to 8.99 billion yen in fiscal 2001 due to cost-cutting and the U.S. government's authorization of a resumption of shipments from a U.S. plant.
COMMENTARY / World
May 14, 2002

Time for U.S. to scrap Cuba embargo

FREDERICKSBURG, Virginia -- In his travels around Cuba this week former U.S. President Jimmy Carter will meet a friendly, resilient people who have bravely withstood the stupidity and cruelty that have emanated from both sides of the Straits of Florida.
BUSINESS
May 14, 2002

Toray's group net profit plunges

Toray Industries Inc., a manufacturer of synthetic fibers, said Monday its group net profit plunged 77.6 percent to 3.8 billion yen in the fiscal year ended March 31 as overall demand weakened amid the severe business environment.
BUSINESS
May 14, 2002

IY Bank admits double-billing 4,000 accounts for bank fees

IY Bank, the banking unit of retailer Ito-Yokado Co., said Monday that 4,000 accounts were erroneously double-billed for monthly fees.
BUSINESS
May 13, 2002

British design firm consolidates in high-tech Japan

As finance companies and huge multinationals reconsider their positions in Japan, a ground-breaking British design firm is seizing the opportunity to consolidate in a market that is "very, very important" to its strategy.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / BEST BAR NONE
May 12, 2002

The song remains the same

Finding Endorphin for the first time was like unraveling a mystery. Word of mouth is an excellent source of leads, but sometimes the modern-myth syndrome kicks in as the word is passed along. The stories I accumulated for what I thought was one little rock bar in Jiyugaoka turned out to be for two bars...
COMMENTARY / World
May 11, 2002

Indian state frenzy borders on genocide

NEW DELHI -- The continuing communal violence in the western Indian state of Gujarat has not only left hundreds dead, but has also led to embarrassing condemnation by world leaders. New Delhi finds itself in an utterly shameful spot, a situation brought on by its own inept handling of the Hindu-Muslim...
BUSINESS
May 11, 2002

JAL suffers 36.7 billion yen in losses for fiscal 2001

Japan Airlines Co. on Friday said it slipped 36.7 billion yen into the red in fiscal 2001, it's first net loss in four years.
COMMENTARY / World
May 11, 2002

Reflecting on the future of Myanmar

CHIANG MAI -- The hopeful news from Myanmar calls for a pause and reflection: What really triggered these happy developments? Which is the most appropriate course for the international community to follow on the strenuous road to a full blossoming of democracy in Myanmar?
JAPAN
May 11, 2002

New food safety authority weighed

The government may create an independent food safety agency tasked with issuing recommendations to the farm and health ministries to counter growing public distrust of the ministries' handling of mad cow disease, according to a draft government plan.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 10, 2002

Condom makers jazz up contraception

The country's 60 billion yen condom industry has taken the offensive lately in a withering market, promoting a batch of new products designed to woo youths who are increasingly sexually active but reluctant to use protection.
BUSINESS
May 10, 2002

Secom reports 73% dive in profit

Security-service provider Secom Co. said Thursday it posted a group net profit of 9.58 billion yen in the year to March 31, down 73 percent from the year before.
BUSINESS
May 10, 2002

Coincident index tops 50% for first time in 15 months

The key gauge of the current state of the economy topped the boom-or-bust line of 50 percent in March for the first time since December 2000, the government said Thursday in a preliminary report.
BUSINESS
May 10, 2002

School vacation in fall seen as economic salve

The government's Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy is drawing up an economic revitalization package featuring the introduction of a fall vacation for schools and a three-year plan to promote outsourcing of public-sector services, according to an interim draft report.

Longform

Japan's growing ranks of centenarians are redefining what it means to live in a super-aging society.
What comes after 100?