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JAPAN
Jan 10, 2004

Picture for July election gets clearer

At least 199 people are preparing to run in the House of Councilors election slated for July, around 40 fewer than at the corresponding stage ahead of the 2001 Upper House poll, according to a Kyodo News survey.
BASEBALL / MLB
Jan 10, 2004

Ogi inducted into Hall

Akira Ogi, who led both the Kintetsu Buffaloes and the Orix BlueWave to the Pacific League pennant, was inducted into the Japanese Hall of Fame on Friday along with the late former Taiyo Whales (now Yokohama BayStars) pitcher Noboru Akiyama.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 9, 2004

Firms fear Seoul's easier rules on Japan's culture

South Korea's gradual lifting of its decades-old ban on the import of Japanese popular culture entered its fourth phase this month, paving the way for the legal circulation of Japanese CDs, game software and all nonanimated films.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 8, 2004

Dollar now expected to hit 100 yen

The dollar fell to its lowest point against the yen in more than three years this week, prompting fast, sustained and solitary dollar-buying intervention by the Finance Ministry.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 7, 2004

Raising retirement age eases, adds strains

Isomi Suzuki believes he is one of the lucky few to be able to continue his career even after reaching age 60, the common retirement age in Japan.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 7, 2004

Workplace nurseries finding fledgling footing

Decor fit for a trendy beauty salon. A breathtaking view of autumn leaves in a sprawling city park.
BUSINESS
Jan 7, 2004

Tanigaki promises to fight 'speculative' ascent of yen

Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki on Tuesday called the surge of the yen against the dollar "speculative" and vowed to fight excessive fluctuations in the currency market.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 6, 2004

Mobile phone giants strive for pre-eminence in 3G market

Anticipating that third-generation services will dominate the mobile phone market within a few years, NTT DoCoMo Inc., KDDI Corp., and Vodafone K.K. are rolling out new handsets with a range of advanced 3G functions.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 4, 2004

Is 'burying' carbon dioxide the cure for global warming?

As the world's largest emitters of carbon dioxide -- including Japan -- struggle to find quick and effective ways of cutting emissions to curb global warming, projects to store the gas underground are attracting public attention.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jan 4, 2004

From mourning to 'magic'

It may be only mildly surprising that Japanese translations of the first four "Harry Potter" titles have racked up 16.5 million sales to date. It is, though, quite astonishing that the publisher is not an industry giant, but a small Tokyo firm with no previous best seller to its name.
JAPAN
Jan 1, 2004

Funds unaccounted for in shady high-yield investment trust

Several hundred million yen deposited by investors in financial products sold by the head of the now-defunct Minami Securities in the late 1990s are unaccounted for, and police suspect fraud, investigation sources said Wednesday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 1, 2004

Salaryman blues? Don't worry, be happy on less

Few people may think economist Takuro Morinaga and investment guru Robert Kiyosaki have anything in common.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 31, 2003

Visaless foreigners easy scapegoats

One night in December, Justice Minister Daizo Nozawa and Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara got together to "inspect" the Kabukicho entertainment district in Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo, as dozens of government officials, reporters and spectators dogged their steps.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 31, 2003

Affluence of retirees makes them targets

After losing his wife six years ago, the retired realtor decided to spend the rest of his life in pursuit of his passions.
JAPAN
Dec 31, 2003

Despite raft of clues, prints, family slaying still unsolved

The grisly slaying of a family of four in Tokyo's Setagaya Ward on Dec. 30, 2000, remains unsolved after a continuing probe involving thousands of investigators.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 30, 2003

Mobile commerce market taking off

Taking the 15-minute walk from her home to her office in Shibuya Ward, Tokyo, every morning, Noriko Kato, 29, looks at the tiny screen on her DoCoMo 505i mobile phone to check her e-mail and sometimes access her favorite shopping site, run by Netprice Ltd.
EDITORIALS
Dec 29, 2003

The year politics turned a corner

Looking back on Japanese politics in 2003, two events stand out from all others: One is November's general election, which brought the two-party system a step closer to reality. The other is the government's decision earlier this month to send Self-Defense Force troops to Iraq on a humanitarian mission....
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 28, 2003

U.N. voice for 'civil society'

In his opening address in Beijing to the U.N. conference on the question of Palestine on Dec. 16, China's Deputy Foreign Minister Dai Bingguo paid particular at- tention to the role of civil society -- academic and business communities, nongovernmental organizations and others -- in appealing for peace...
BUSINESS
Dec 27, 2003

Consumer prices declined for a fifth year in 2003

Japan's consumer prices fell for the fifth straight year in 2003, led by declines in prices for housing, laptop computers and durable home appliances, the government said Friday.
BUSINESS
Dec 27, 2003

Output rises third month in succession

Japan's industrial production expanded in November for the third straight month, with the index registering its highest level since February 2001, the government said Friday.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 27, 2003

A chance for Europe to stand on its own

LONDON -- Disneyland, the Kennedy Space Center and Florida Gov. Jeb Bush were all on the agenda during the NATO Parliamentary Assembly's visit to Orlando, Florida, this month. Missing were members of the U.S. Congress. They weren't in Istanbul 12 months ago -- apparently because of problems with their...

Longform

After pandemic-era border regulations eased, Indian migrants began returning to Japan. Their population now stands at more than 50,000 across the country.
How remote work is rewriting the migrant experience in Japan