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BUSINESS
Dec 26, 2001

BOJ briefly entertained plan to buy foreign bonds

The Bank of Japan Policy Board at its mid-November meeting rejected a proposal that the central bank purchase foreign bonds, but some members nevertheless entertained the idea as a way to further ease credit, according to minutes of the meeting released Tuesday.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 20, 2001

War 'back home' divides Jordan's Chechen community

ZARQA, Jordan -- When the wounded Chechen fighters arrived in Jordan in 1994, everything changed for Younis Ashab.
EDITORIALS
Dec 19, 2001

EU readying for new challenge

Leaders of the European Union, meeting in Brussels last weekend, agreed to set up a broadly represented advisory body next March to draft recommendations for EU reform. The agreement marks another milestone on the road to an enlarged EU. Half a century following the creation of a common European market,...
COMMENTARY / World / GUEST FORUM
Dec 15, 2001

Image of reconciliation for Myanmar

With the confidence-building period between Myanmar's military regime and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi (Daw Suu) now past the one-year mark, most dissidents have grown more suspicious of the military regime as the country's economy deteriorates and the cost of living rises.
JAPAN
Dec 15, 2001

Financial entities' overhaul may be shelved, Fukuda says

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda hinted Friday that the government could establish a panel to decide on reforms of state-backed financial entities, a decision that would effectively postpone a conclusion on the contentious issue.
COMMENTARY
Nov 26, 2001

Japan set to jump the gun with SDF

Since the Diet enacted antiterrorism legislation enabling the Self-Defense Forces to provide logistic support to the U.S.-led war efforts in Afghanistan, there have been mounting calls in Japan for expansion of the SDF's activities abroad. These moves defy Japan's war-renouncing Constitution.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Nov 22, 2001

Singing the praises of glorious mud flats

How's this for a writer with a bee in his shorts?: "Upon ratifying the Ramsar Convention, Japan agreed to 'promote the conservation of wetlands and waterfowl by establishing nature reserves in wetlands . . . and providing adequately for their wardening' [Article 4]. So far, Japan has made no effort to...
Japan Times
Events
Nov 13, 2001

Purse-snatching capital not image Osaka seeks

OSAKA -- Yoko Sumino (not her real name) was scared and angry. One evening last winter, the 34-year-old journalist was walking back to her apartment in the city's Joto Ward when the unexpected happened.
JAPAN
Oct 26, 2001

Products using beef extract not exempt in mad cow scare

OSAKA -- Despite the government's repeated assurances, it is not clear how soon domestic beef consumption will recover to levels before the nation was hit by the mad cow scare in September. But consumer advocates have warned that the threat of the disease does not come from beef alone.
BUSINESS
Oct 25, 2001

Fuel cells, IT on stage at motor show

MAKUHARI, Chiba Pref. -- The 35th Tokyo Motor Show opened to the media Wednesday, showcasing concept cars, motorbikes and the latest auto parts at the Makuhari Messe international event hall.
LIFE / Food & Drink / VINELAND
Oct 21, 2001

A gem of a wine shop in the rough of Nerima

A good, little neighborhood wineshop is a rare treasure in Tokyo. Imagine a friendly place around the corner, where the owner is a passionate wine aficionado. A few times a week, you stop by after work and ask him or her for some tips on an affordable, delicious bottle to go with your home-cooked dinner....
BUSINESS
Oct 3, 2001

Future competitive gains to be limited to high-tech sectors: DBJ

Any competitive gains Japan is likely to make in the next five to 10 years will only occur in the information technology and high-tech chemical products sectors, the quasi-governmental Development Bank of Japan said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Oct 2, 2001

Koizumi, Hatoyama differ on scope of logistic support

Japan will provide logistic support for the United States and the multinational force it is mustering "within the framework of the Constitution," Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said Monday in the Diet.
JAPAN
Sep 27, 2001

Passenger's hijack hoax scares officials

OSAKA -- Airline security officials were given a scare Wednesday after a woman called to say she had received e-mail from a friend indicating his Japan Airlines flight had been hijacked -- a message that later turned out to be a prank.
JAPAN
Sep 11, 2001

Memorial erected for downed B-29 crew

INA, Ibaraki Pref. -- Before dawn on March 10, 1945, a U.S. B-29 bomber crashed into the woods outside a rural village some 45 km northeast of Tokyo.
JAPAN
Sep 11, 2001

Mad cow disease suspected to have hit Chiba dairy farm

CHIBA -- A dairy cow in Chiba Prefecture is suspected to have contracted mad cow disease, government officials said Monday.
Events
Sep 4, 2001

Osaka's Koreans slam invasion of privacy

KYOTO -- Recent allegations that files on hundreds of Korean residents in the Kansai region were handed to the Public Security Investigation Agency by local city offices has cast a pall of fear over the community, according to leaders of two major ethnic organizations.
JAPAN
Sep 1, 2001

Nikkei hits postbubble closing low

An overnight tumble on Wall Street and investors' disappointment in what they see as lukewarm government action on structural reform kept Tokyo stocks weak Friday and again sent the key price index to a new postbubble closing low.
BUSINESS
Sep 1, 2001

IMF can't review Japan banks: FSA

The government cannot accept a request from the International Monetary Fund to conduct an assessment of Japan's financial system, Financial Services Agency chief Hakuo Yanagisawa said Friday.
EDITORIALS
Aug 29, 2001

An alternative to Yasukuni

The government is considering building a national cemetery for the nation's war dead. The immediate reason for this is the political and diplomatic backlash caused by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's Aug. 13 visit to Yasukuni Shrine. The visit has provoked angry protests from China and South Korea....
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Aug 26, 2001

Intimidation, deception -- and that's just the cops

Earlier this summer, when an American serviceman was accused of raping a Japanese woman on Okinawa, the U.S. military authorities were put in a difficult position.
JAPAN
Aug 26, 2001

METI to launch 'smart house' pilot project

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry plans to launch a project in the next fiscal year linking about 50 households to a high-speed data network that will improve their security systems and monitor their occupants' health, ministry officials said Saturday.
BUSINESS
Aug 24, 2001

Reform panel eyes shake up of state-run oil, road firms

An advisory panel on administrative reform called for merging several oil developers affiliated with the state-run Japan National Oil Corp. into one entity after JNOC is scrapped.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 18, 2001

U.S. mortgaging wealth before recession

NEW DELHI -- It's becoming increasingly clear that the U.S. economy, despite a sharp slowdown, is holding the world against a global recession. Americans are borrowing globally and using the money to consume the goods of the world. Alas! This can continue only as long as U.S. assets exceed liabilities....
JAPAN
Aug 15, 2001

Teachers lash out at new text selection procedures

The selection period for textbooks to be used starting in April in elementary and junior high schools across Japan draws to a close today, but the past months saw the selection procedure draw fire along with some of the texts on view.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 14, 2001

Koizumi visits Yasukuni Shrine

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi visited Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo on Monday afternoon, two days before the anniversary of Japan's World War II surrender, amid strong domestic and international criticism.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji