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BUSINESS
Apr 26, 2001

FTC urges care in import curb use

A senior official of the Fair Trade Commission on Wednesday called for prudence in adopting emergency import curbs.
JAPAN
Apr 26, 2001

Koizumi's choices break from norm

Junichiro Koizumi, newly elected president of the dominant LDP, broke with tradition Wednesday and awarded the top three party spots to lawmakers outside of the largest faction.
BUSINESS
Apr 26, 2001

Three nonlife insurers to merge in fiscal '02

Yasuda Fire & Marine Insurance Co. and two other nonlife insurers due to merge April 1, 2002, inked a deal Wednesday to merge into a single entity on April 1, 2002.
JAPAN
Apr 25, 2001

Foreign Ministry panel urges discretionary funds be reduced, monitored

A Foreign Ministry panel of outside experts on Tuesday urged the ministry to reduce the amount of secret diplomatic funds and strengthen its inspection system in order to regain public trust in the wake of a fraud scandal involving a former ministry official.
JAPAN
Apr 25, 2001

Koizumi promises to base appointments on ability

New LDP President Junichiro Koizumi on Tuesday pledged to fill his Cabinet and party posts according to ability rather than factional concerns.
JAPAN
Apr 25, 2001

Bush defers decision on selling Aegis ships to Taipei

WASHINGTON -- In a decision closely watched by China, President George W. Bush deferred deciding on Taiwan's request to buy U.S. destroyers equipped with high-tech Aegis combat radar equipment, leaving open the possibility of future sales if Beijing's military threats against the island persist, officials...
BUSINESS
Apr 24, 2001

Reorganization of Kyoei Life now complete

The Tokyo District Court on Monday ended reorganization proceedings for failed mid-tier life insurer Kyoei Life Insurance Co., renamed Gibraltar Life Insurance Co. at the beginning of this month.
JAPAN
Apr 23, 2001

Unaffiliated voters reject bloc members: survey

Unaffiliated voters do not want the ruling Liberal Democratic Party or its coalition partner, New Komeito, to gain seats in July's House of Councilors election, according to a recent Kyodo News poll.
BUSINESS
Apr 23, 2001

Dollar likely to stay firm against yen

The U.S. dollar is likely to be firm against the yen in Tokyo next week as uncertainty over Japan's politics and economy continues to restrain the currency, dealers said.
EDITORIALS
Apr 22, 2001

Poetry and the people

When the poet Chaucer saw that it was April, one year in the late 1300s, he wrote cheerily about its sweet showers piercing the drought of March to the root. When T.S. Eliot saw that it was April, some five and a half centuries later, he wrote bleakly about it being the cruelest month, "breeding lilacs...
COMMUNITY
Apr 22, 2001

Fashion cuts above and shapes to come

The offerings by over 40 designers at the recent Tokyo collections mapped out the direction for next autumn/winter: bias or asymmetrical cuts, draping and wrapping, patchwork, fringing and quilting, and lots of stripes (both vertical and horizontal).
BUSINESS
Apr 22, 2001

49% of leading firms plan increased recruiting in spring '02

About half of Japan's 150 leading companies plan to hire more new graduates in spring 2002 than they did this spring, according to a Kyodo News poll.
CULTURE / Music
Apr 22, 2001

Anmitsu dishes up some hot licks

In junior high school, going to shamisen lessons was something Yuka Annaka and Kumi Kindaichi hid, even from their friends. "There was this image that it was something our grandparents did," says Kindaichi. "Other kids reacted like it was strange. I didn't talk to anybody about it all through junior...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Apr 22, 2001

All together now: Let's all shill for Universal!

Before Universal Studios Japan opened on March 31, media commentators were asking why the new Hollywood theme park wasn't called Universal Studios Osaka. After all, Tokyo Disneyland isn't called Japan Disneyland. Here's the punch line: If they called it Universal Studios Osaka, the acronym would be USO,...
JAPAN
Apr 22, 2001

Tokyo-Beijing relations expected to decline despite visa conditions

Although the government cited "humanitarian reasons" in deciding to issue an entry visa to former Taiwanese President Lee Teng-hui, the Foreign Ministry recognizes the decision will have political implications and will certainly serve Tokyo-Beijing ties yet another blow.
JAPAN
Apr 21, 2001

Compensation deal reached with incinerator firm

The government has agreed to pay an industrial waste disposal company near the U.S. Atsugi Naval Air Facility in Kanagawa Prefecture some 5.2 billion yen in compensation for halting the operations of its incinerators, which have been linked to high levels of dioxin, officials said Friday.
BUSINESS
Apr 21, 2001

Chiyoda Life returns as AIG unit

Failed insurer Chiyoda Mutual Life Insurance Co. started anew Friday as AIG Star Life Insurance Co., with regaining customer confidence as the first order of business.
BUSINESS
Apr 20, 2001

Mitsubishi Motors changing gears under new three-year turnaround plan

Mitsubishi Motors Corp. is banking on a three-year restructuring effort to change its traditional corporate culture and become a more market-oriented company.
BUSINESS
Apr 20, 2001

Arianespace eyes H-IIA as 'partner'

Japan's H-IIA rocket should be a "partner" rather than a competitor, to increase flexibility in meeting customer needs, such as a shift in the launching date, Jean-Marie Luton, visiting chairman and chief executive officer of Arianespace said during a news conference Thursday in Tokyo.
JAPAN
Apr 19, 2001

Mori to quit in bid to boost faith in LDP

Finally announcing his resignation to the public, Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori said Wednesday he is leaving office so his Liberal Democratic Party can win back the public's trust after a string of embarrassing scandals and his own gaffes.
JAPAN
Apr 19, 2001

LDP hopefuls stick to the game plan

In what is believed to be their last joint news conference before next week's LDP presidential election, the four candidates on Wednesday debated topics ranging from economic policy to social welfare at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo.
JAPAN / INTERNATIONAL RATIONALE
Apr 19, 2001

Top foreign fashion brands take direct approach

As consumer spending woes continue to weigh on Japan's sluggish economy, foreign apparel makers have expanded their business by taking a more direct approach.
JAPAN
Apr 18, 2001

Ohta touts Osaka as movie capital

OSAKA -- Osaka Gov. Fusae Ohta voiced her support on Tuesday for plans to encourage moviemakers to shoot their films in the western Japan prefecture.
BUSINESS
Apr 18, 2001

Stock market incentives won't be considered until May

The Tax Commission, an advisory panel to the prime minister, agreed Tuesday to establish a subcommittee in mid-May to discuss proposed tax revisions that would encourage individuals to invest in the stock market, panel chairman Hiromitsu Ishi said.
JAPAN
Apr 18, 2001

Muraoka irked by son's election loss

Liberal Democratic Party bigwig Kanezo Muraoka said Tuesday he offered to resign over his son's defeat in Sunday's gubernatorial race in Akita but was prevented from doing so by party elders. Muraoka heads the LDP's decision-making Executive Council.
JAPAN
Apr 18, 2001

Train accident victims win workers' compensation bid

Labor standards inspection offices in Tokyo will allow workers' insurance to cover the deaths of a South Korean student and a Japanese photographer who were killed by a train Jan. 26 while trying to rescue a drunken man who fell onto the tracks at JR Shin-Okubo Station, the Labor Ministry said Tuesday....

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