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COMMENTARY / World
Jun 11, 2002

Let them breathe water: U.S. blocks sustainable development talks

BALI -- Already from the beginning there was an air of defeatism at the preparatory meeting in Bali for the World Summit on Sustainable Development. It was certainly not the ambience: The resort-style lodging for the 6,000 delegates could hardly have been a reason for complaint. But after two weeks of...
JAPAN
Jun 11, 2002

Nonnuclear principles to stay: Fukuda

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda, who provoked an uproar by suggesting that Japan's ban on nuclear weapons could be reviewed, told a Diet panel Monday the government has no intention of abandoning the "three principles" of not possessing, manufacturing or allowing nuclear arms on its soil.
COMMENTARY
Jun 10, 2002

Britons fete their status quo

LONDON -- If anyone had doubts about the public mood in Britain, a few days last week would have dispelled them beyond all argument.
SOCCER / World cup
Jun 9, 2002

Japan controls its destiny

YOKOHAMA -- Japan will stick to its own brand of soccer in seeking a win against Russia in Sunday's crucial Group H game in Yokohama, Japan coach Philippe Troussier said Saturday.
SOCCER / World cup
Jun 8, 2002

Japan's fate in World Cup on line

KOBE -- After earning its first ever point in the World Cup with a 2-2 draw against Belgium on Tuesday, Japan faces a significant challenge when it meets Russia on Sunday night at International Stadium Yokohama.
JAPAN
Jun 8, 2002

Government to fly Japanese out of troubled India

The government will charter a flight out of India on Monday for Japanese nationals amid the country's escalating tension with Pakistan over the disputed Kashmir region, Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi said Friday.
BUSINESS
Jun 8, 2002

Kobe Steel to sell equity to Comalco

Kobe Steel Ltd. said Friday it has signed an agreement to sell its 9.5 percent interest in Australian aluminum refiner Boyne Smelters Ltd. for around $78.5 billion to Comalco Ltd.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 7, 2002

Sometimes 'open' schools are more secure

OSAKA — The main gate of Hakata Elementary School in the city of Fukuoka is kept wide open.
BUSINESS
Jun 6, 2002

Suntory has good news for frugal drinkers

OSAKA -- Suntory Ltd. will price its new "happoshu," which goes on sale June 25, at 130 yen per 350 ml can -- 5 yen lower than that of all other happoshu brands marketed by three other major brewers.
LIFE / Digital / NAME OF THE GAME
Jun 6, 2002

Lessons learned from E3 gathering

Few people could have been happier to see the end to this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) than Douglas Lowenstein, president of the Interactive Digital Software Association (IDSA).
JAPAN
Jun 5, 2002

Beijing, Seoul given explanation about nuclear-arms remark

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda said Tuesday he has provided China and South Korea with an explanation of what he meant by his controversial remarks on Japan's nuclear weapons policy.
JAPAN
Jun 5, 2002

Kawaguchi eyes peace talks in India

Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi said Tuesday that she might visit India later this week, while en route to the Middle East, to urge the country's leaders not to escalate tensions with Pakistan over Kashmir.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / NEW ART SEEN
Jun 5, 2002

A Japan-Korea joint show that's wide of goal . . .

By this time, even the most blinkered of Tokyo's art enthusiasts will be aware that the planet's premier sporting event, the World Cup, is taking place in Korea and Japan. There is just no ignoring the newspaper and magazine coverage, the live television broadcasts and the hordes of dumbfounded soccer...
BUSINESS
Jun 5, 2002

Political wrangling continuing over steel import curbs

Delaying a decision on whether to retaliate against U.S. steel import curbs will be possible if the United States offers further compromises over product exclusions, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Takeo Hiranuma said Tuesday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / J-POPSICLE
Jun 5, 2002

With Shina, the songs don't have to remain the same

All too often, albums of cover songs are just stopgap efforts put out by artists whose creative juices have run dry. So when I heard that Ringo Shina was making her comeback in the form of a covers album after taking a year's maternity leave, I was skeptical. But my expectations were raised as the names...
JAPAN
Jun 4, 2002

Reform-oriented budget sought

An advisory panel to the finance minister called Monday for a reform-oriented fiscal 2003 budget that will keep spending for policy measures at current levels to maintain fiscal discipline.
JAPAN
Jun 4, 2002

Opposition seeks Fukuda's head

Four major opposition parties agreed Monday to demand the resignation of Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda over his suggestion last week that Japan could abandon its three nonnuclear principles.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / VINELAND
Jun 2, 2002

Snobbery will not be permitted

Once upon a time, wine in Japan was a hushed affair, conducted with starched linens and stiff-backed chairs. Elusive first-growth Bordeaux and top Burgundy accompanied the tense, dutiful rituals of business negotiations. The mood was earnest; the cost high. It sometimes seemed as if the highly codified...
JAPAN
Jun 2, 2002

Duskin to shelve openings of new Mister Donut shops

OSAKA — Duskin Co. has pledged to refrain from opening new Mister Donut shops until March following public outcry over the company's handling of a banned antioxidant found in its meat dumplings.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Jun 2, 2002

Looking behind life-or-death situations

This week marks the one-year anniversary of the murder of eight young children at the Ikeda Elementary School in Osaka. Shortly after that, a young man killed a child in a Kyoto schoolyard before killing himself when faced with arrest, thus reinforcing the fear among the general public that Japan's schools...
COMMUNITY
Jun 2, 2002

See you at Almond

Earlier this year, the Dentsu Research Institute predicted that Japan's co-hosting of the World Cup would benefit the economy to the tune of 3.182 trillion yen. While Tokyo isn't hosting any of the games, its glitzy Roppongi district will likely play host to thousands of soccer fans from around the world...
JAPAN
Jun 1, 2002

Upper House OKs laws in support of Kyoto pact

The House of Councilors on Friday approved statutes designed to put Japan on the path to meet its legally binding international obligations under the Kyoto Protocol, also given the legislative stamp of approval the same day.
JAPAN
Jun 1, 2002

'Spy' ship salvage back on table

The government said Friday it will attempt before the typhoon season to salvage a suspected North Korean spy ship that sank in China's exclusive economic zone in December after a shootout with Japan Coast Guard vessels.
BUSINESS
May 31, 2002

Lower House takes up postal bills

The House of Representatives Committee on Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications opened debate Thursday over a set of four postal services deregulation bills.
LIFE / Language / THE PARENT TRIP
May 31, 2002

Footloose in 'Holland'

Sue stared intently from across the sandbox and asked, "Have you ever heard of Asperger's Syndrome?"
JAPAN
May 31, 2002

Ministry to reprimand top prosecutor over underling's gangland dealings

The Justice Ministry decided Thursday to reprimand the public prosecutor general over a bribery and fraud scandal involving a former senior official of the Osaka High Public Prosecutor's Office, Justice Minister Mayumi Moriyama said.
BUSINESS
May 31, 2002

Cyclical upswing no time to relax reforms: Hayami

BOJ Gov. Masaru Hayami said Thursday that Japan should not relax its efforts to promote structural reforms and dispose of banks' nonperforming loans despite the recent economic uptick.
EDITORIALS
May 30, 2002

The only way to clear debt burden

Stock prices for Japan's top banks have been rising lately despite the huge deficits they have suffered in the business year that ended March 31. Increases in loan losses are good news in the sense that they reflect progress in bad-debt write-offs. In the same year, the nation's seven banking groups...

Longform

Once smoky, male-dominated spaces, today's net cafes, like Kaikatsu Club, are working to make their operations more attractive to women customers.
The second life of Japan's net cafes