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COMMENTARY / World
Apr 24, 2002

Le Pen's shocking win shakes France to the core

PARIS -- France's presidential election system is meant to ensure both a maximum of democracy and the emergence of a strong national leadership at the end of the two rounds of voting. That was the model set by Gen. Charles de Gaulle when he established the Fifth Republic four decades ago.
BUSINESS
Apr 24, 2002

Yanagisawa seeks reports from 'chogin'

Financial Services Minister Hakuo Yanagisawa said Tuesday he is seeking reports from four pro-Pyongyang credit unions to be created to take over six failed ones, on their relations with the pro-Pyongyang General Association of Korean Residents in Japan (Chongryon).
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 24, 2002

Nationwide HIV support network set up

A nationwide network to support people infected with HIV and people with full-blown AIDS has been established by Hiroshi Hasegawa, who is HIV-positive.
JAPAN
Apr 23, 2002

Japan Prize laureates hope technologies will be used for good

Three scientists who won the 2002 Japan Prize expressed hopes Monday that their achievements will be utilized to enhance the welfare of people the world over.
BUSINESS
Apr 23, 2002

Four firms to forge major Net alliance

NEC Corp., KDDI Corp., Japan Telecom Co. and Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. said Monday they will jointly develop broadband Internet content and services.
SOCCER / World cup
Apr 23, 2002

Inamoto, Kawaguchi to play in Kirin Cup

Yokohama F. Marinos midfielder Daisuke Oku and two of the four Europe-based players -- Portsmouth goalkeeper Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi and Arsenal midfielder Junichi Inamoto -- have been added to Japan's Kirin Cup squad, national team coach Philippe Troussier announced Monday in Tokyo.
BUSINESS
Apr 22, 2002

Over 30% of firms to reduce recruitment due to IT slump

More than 30 percent of 150 major companies are planning to cut new recruitment next spring, mainly due to the slump in the information technology industry, a Kyodo News survey showed Sunday.
SOCCER / J. League
Apr 21, 2002

Marinos put on a show against Jubilo

IWATA, Shizuoka Pref. -- The Yokohama F. Marinos put on a convincing show to beat Jubilo Iwata 3-1 on Saturday at Iwata Soccer Stadium, overtaking the two-time J. League champion to take the Division One first-stage lead.
JAPAN
Apr 19, 2002

Travel agencies found in JET air-ticket scam

Major travel agency Kinki Nippon Tourist Co. was involved in a scheme last year in which it issued cut-rate airline tickets to JET teachers, billed local governments for regular fares and pocketed the difference, it was learned Thursday.
MORE SPORTS
Apr 18, 2002

JRFU to start new national tourney

Japan Rugby Football Union went a long way to improving rugby in Japan both on the domestic and international front with the news last week that it was abandoning the traditional company championship for a new nationwide 12-team tournament starting in September 2004.
JAPAN
Apr 18, 2002

Japan set to train Afghans to be teachers this summer

Japan will be ready to provide educational training to female Afghan teachers at women's universities in Japan starting this summer, education ministry officials said Wednesday.
BUSINESS / ON THE FRONT LINE
Apr 18, 2002

Yen-dollar rate at impasse

The yen-dollar rate may stay locked in a relatively narrow range between 129 yen and 133 yen in the near term.
JAPAN
Apr 18, 2002

Young adults' withdrawal from society vexes parents

Parents whose offspring are in a state of "hikikomori," or social withdrawal, face a lack of public support, social stigma and financial difficulties, according to a survey compiled by a renowned education critic.
COMMENTARY
Apr 18, 2002

Turkey's Mideast peace role

LONDON/ISTANBUL -- The only possible way of exerting outside influence on the ever-worsening conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians is through a visibly balanced approach.
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Apr 18, 2002

The invasion and colonization of Europe

Cooperation is the key to the evolution of life, even though natural selection favors genetic selfishness. Since all complex life, whether it's a tree or a whale, reproduces through sex, genes have only a 50 percent chance of getting into an egg or a sperm. This means that even genes have to cooperate,...
JAPAN
Apr 17, 2002

Nagasaki governor gives OK to open Isahaya Bay gates

Nagasaki Gov. Genjiro Kaneko has agreed to allow the floodgates on Isahaya Bay in Kyushu to be opened for a survey to see how a controversial land reclamation project is affecting the local ecosystem.
BUSINESS
Apr 17, 2002

Mitsui Asset to target pension business, up consultants' pay

Mitsui Asset Trust & Banking Co. will beef up its pension trust operations while trying to raise the salaries of its pension consultants and other experts to levels seen at foreign banks, its president, Kazuo Tanabe, told Kyodo News.
BUSINESS / ON THE FRONT LINE
Apr 17, 2002

Investors waiting warily to make moves

The Tokyo stock market has been in a wait-and-see mode since the beginning of the fiscal year.
BUSINESS
Apr 17, 2002

Japan faces tough sell at G7

Japan is expected to re-emphasize its resolve to achieve structural reforms aimed at revitalizing its economy when finance ministers and central bank governors from the Group of Seven major economic powers gather this week in Washington.
BUSINESS
Apr 17, 2002

Japan will fight U.S. curbs with EU: Hiranuma

Trade minister Takeo Hiranuma has reconfirmed that he will make joint efforts with the European Union to fight U.S. import curbs on steel products, a ministry official said Tuesday.
SOCCER / THE BALD TRUTH
Apr 16, 2002

Careful with that tree, Eugene!

After months of teetering on the brink of full-blown silliness, World Cup organizers finally appear to have plunged into a vortex occupied by Teletubbies, giant talking tadpoles and Benny Hill lookalikes.
BUSINESS
Apr 16, 2002

Australia seeking to boost economic ties with Japan

Australian Trade Minister Mark Vaile on Monday said he is seeking an expanded economic relationship that would activate economic interactions between Japan and Australia, a Foreign Ministry official in Tokyo said.
BUSINESS
Apr 16, 2002

Hiranuma set to restate gripes on steel import curbs

Trade minister Takeo Hiranuma will reiterate Japan's calls for the United States to scrap hefty tariffs on steel imports when he meets U.S. Commerce Secretary Don Evans later this week, a top ministry official said Monday.
BUSINESS
Apr 16, 2002

Banks not short of capital: Hayami

Bank of Japan Gov. Masaru Hayami on Monday said he does not think Japan's major banks are short of capital, but cautioned they need to make further efforts to increase profitability.
SOCCER / World cup / EXCERPTS FROM PHILIPPE TROUSSIER'S BOOK
Apr 14, 2002

We mustn't forget our humanity

"Passion" is the story of Japan soccer team coach Philippe Troussier, his struggle to make it as a player and manager and his travels around France, Africa and Japan. In the book, Troussier also details his philosophy and thinking as he prepares for the World Cup in June.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Apr 14, 2002

Desperate times call for innovative measures

No quick recovery is on the horizon for the slumping Japanese book business. That is the consensus of commentator Kazuhiro Kobayashi, writing in Shuppan News (January), and of three experts discussing the matter in Tsukuru (March) -- Yasuo Ueda, Yoshiaki Kiyota and Hiroyuki Shinoda. Unit sales, revenues...
JAPAN
Apr 13, 2002

'Secret' funds went to lawmakers in '91-'92: JCP

The early 1990s administration of Kiichi Miyazawa used 143.86 million yen in so-called discretionary funds to distribute to ruling and opposition party lawmakers and to cover personal expenses at the Prime Minister's Official Residence, the Japanese Communist Party revealed Friday.

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