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JAPAN
Jul 25, 2002

Theme parks fail to buoy domestic leisure market

Japan's leisure market shrank 2.3 percent in 2001 to 83.07 trillion yen, the third consecutive year of contraction, a semipublic institute said Wednesday in an annual report.
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jul 25, 2002

Debunking strange myths about Asia, Part I

In 1980, I traveled through the United States just after the TV miniseries "Shogun" ended its run. Any time I mentioned to someone that I was living in Japan, he or she would invariably ask me one of two questions related to the program. One was, "Is it true that back then a samurai could chop off somebody's...
EDITORIALS
Jul 24, 2002

It's now or never

The Foreign Ministry, its public image badly tarnished by a string of corruption scandals and policy blunders, is set to work out an action plan to clean up its act. The plan will be based more or less on the recommendations submitted on Monday to Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi by her advisory panel....
COMMENTARY
Jul 24, 2002

Chinese media's coverage of U.S. proves balanced

HONG KONG -- A study of the Chinese media, commissioned by a bipartisan American congressional panel -- the U.S. China Security Review Commission -- has found that the controlled Chinese press, in its reporting on the United States, appears to be relatively balanced overall.
JAPAN
Jul 24, 2002

Kawaguchi faces uphill battle over reform effort

Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi is set to map out her plan on ministry reform in August, but she faces a tough job satisfying a weary public and proposals from diverse circles on how to put the scandal-tainted ministry on track.
BUSINESS
Jul 24, 2002

Nippon Sheet Glass in French tieup

Nippon Sheet Glass Co. said Tuesday it will establish a joint company with Saint-Gobain Vetrotex International S.A. of France in September.
JAPAN
Jul 23, 2002

Nature restoration NPOs also work to create jobs

A few nonprofit organizations are attempting to restore nature around the nation's lakes and mountains.
COMMENTARY
Jul 23, 2002

Musharraf challenged on several fronts

ISLAMABAD -- In its eagerness to intensify its fight against domestic terrorism, the government of Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf has scored important gains recently.
BUSINESS
Jul 23, 2002

Economy steadying but vulnerable, Hayami says

Bank of Japan Gov. Masaru Hayami said Monday the economy has stopped deteriorating but remains vulnerable to a weakening dollar and overseas market slides.
BUSINESS
Jul 23, 2002

Report to call for FTA negotiations with Mexico

Japan and Mexico should begin formal negotiations as soon as possible on concluding a comprehensive pact aimed at shoring up a bilateral economic partnership, including a free-trade agreement.
JAPAN
Jul 23, 2002

Panel suggests 20% of ambassadors be nonministry staff

An advisory panel on Foreign Ministry reform on Monday called for appointing 20 percent of ambassadors from outside the ministry within three years to increase competition for overseas postings.
COMMENTARY
Jul 22, 2002

Tokyo, Seoul narrowing gap

The Japanese people's sense of Japan-South Korea friendship has heightened following the World Cup soccer tournament cohosted last month by the two countries. After South Korea advanced to the semifinals, many Japanese cheered the team on to an extent that puzzled some South Koreans.
COMMENTARY / JAPAN IN THE GLOBAL ERA
Jul 22, 2002

'Domesticists' rule amid idea drought

LAUSANNE, Switzerland -- I do not live in Japan, although I first set foot (a rather small foot at 4 years old) on Japanese soil in 1949 and knew the country throughout the 1960s, '70s, '80s and '90s, when I either lived there temporarily or commuted frequently. My visits this century have been far fewer...
JAPAN
Jul 21, 2002

NPO pushes law on green education

Flanked by Diet members and educators, members of an environmental nonprofit group unveiled the outline of a law to systematically promote environmental education during a symposium in Tokyo on Saturday.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Jul 21, 2002

The men of the house

The TV show that has most successfully exploited the current housing "reform" boom is Asahi's "Daikozo! Gekiteki Before/After (Big Construction! Dramatic Before and After)" (Sundays, 7:56 p.m.), which was the only program during the recent World Cup that managed to pull in double-digit ratings opposite...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 20, 2002

Ex-governor pleads guilty to taking bribes

Former Tokushima Gov. Toshio Endo pleaded guilty Friday to charges of receiving 8 million yen in bribes from a business consultant in 1997 and 2000 in return for helping a local construction firm win public works projects in the prefecture.
BUSINESS
Jul 20, 2002

Diet enacts bills to liquidate JNOC, scale back state's hand in oil business

The Diet enacted legislation Friday to dissolve the debt-ridden Japan National Oil Corp. in 2005 and reshuffle the nation's oil-exploration and petroleum-stockpiling policies.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Jul 20, 2002

Tadashi Shinozuka

Dr. Tadashi Shinozuka says that his interdisciplinary speciality is concerned with the prevention and management of health problems associated with travel.
BUSINESS
Jul 20, 2002

Merrill Lynch to close retail branches

Merrill Lynch Japan Securities Co. said Friday it will close five of its eight retail branches in Japan in late August as part of moves to streamline operations.
JAPAN
Jul 19, 2002

New agency should handle ODA, panel says

An advisory panel to Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi may urge the government to weigh the possibility of creating a new agency to oversee Japan's official development assistance in line with moves to reform the nation's diplomatic operations, it was learned Thursday.
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
Jul 19, 2002

Japanese bars reap rewards of World Cup

With the World Cup a safe distance behind them and calm restored to the land, it is time to for those involved in soccer's showpiece event to count their pennies. While Brazil may have won on the field, the business of the World Cup certainly won off it.
BUSINESS
Jul 19, 2002

Fujitsu to reduce print board workforce by around 1,000

Fujitsu Ltd. will reduce the workforce at its print board operations in Japan by around 1,000, in line with a plan to transfer production to Vietnam, company officials said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Jul 19, 2002

Asset-backed securities enjoying surge of popularity in Japan

Since British rock star David Bowie surprised Wall Street in 1997 by selling his old song royalties in bulk by issuing bonds, asset securitization has attracted greater public attention in Japan.
BUSINESS
Jul 19, 2002

Saison to expand range of policies

Saison Automobile & Fire Insurance Co., a casualty insurer in the Sompo Japan Insurance Inc. group, plans to expand its range of products beyond its core auto policies, company officials said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Jul 19, 2002

Regional banks pressure FSA on deposit protection

A group of second-tier regional banks on Thursday joined the chorus urging the government to consider extending its blanket guarantee on demand deposits.
EDITORIALS
Jul 18, 2002

Icons with feet of clay

Icons have been having a hard time of it in America lately. There hasn't been so much toppling since the Berlin Wall came down. Just think of the scope: Catholic priests accused of pedophilic abuses and coverups; public accountants charged with complicity in all manner of corporate funny business; doctors...
BUSINESS
Jul 18, 2002

Central bank sticks with rosy outlook

The BOJ on Wednesday said the economy has almost stabilized, thanks to rising exports and production, but overseas share price falls and a weakening dollar threaten the economic outlook.
JAPAN
Jul 18, 2002

Brother of Teikyo president fined

The younger brother of Teikyo University President Shoichi Okinaga was fined 150 million yen by tax authorities for failing to declare 300 million yen in taxable income in 1995, sources said Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Jul 18, 2002

Red-ink firms could face big 'pro forma' tax bills

The implementation of a proposed "pro forma standard tax" would oblige red-ink companies that have been exempt from tax to pay an average of 1.79 million yen every year, four industry bodies said Wednesday.

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