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JAPAN
Jan 25, 2003

Japan, U.S. together on Pyongyang

Japan and the U.S. agreed Friday that they and South Korea should consult closely with each other in dealing with the standoff over North Korea's development of nuclear weapons if and when the United Nations Security Council takes it up.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 25, 2003

Alien tick plague threatening nation's beetle population

When Koichi Goka heard rumors about the mysterious deaths three years ago, he started snooping around. What he found has put government officials on alert against a new plague, one that causes the limbs of its victims to rot and fall off.
JAPAN
Jan 25, 2003

Ministry Web site to provide info on screening of new drugs

The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry will release reports on the screening of new drugs on its Web site immediately upon their approval -- a result of the drug-related deaths of more than 100 Japanese last year, ministry officials said.
JAPAN
Jan 25, 2003

Japan 'can seek pre-emptive strike'

Japan's war-renouncing Constitution does not prohibit it from requesting a pre-emptive attack against North Korea's ballistic missile bases if weapons are targeted at Japan and there is no other way for the country to defend itself, government ministers told a key Diet panel session on Friday.
BUSINESS
Jan 25, 2003

Supermarket sales declined 2.1% in 2002

Sales at supermarkets slipped 2.1 percent in 2002 on a same-store basis from the previous year for the sixth straight yearly fall, the Japan Chain Stores Association said Friday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 24, 2003

Koizumi shrugs off failures

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi caused a stir in the House of Representatives Budget Committee on Thursday by claiming his breaches of three key policy pledges were "no big deal."
BUSINESS
Jan 24, 2003

Kodansha and Random House tie up

Kodansha Ltd. and U.S.-based Random House Inc. announced Thursday they have agreed to forge a joint venture aimed at publishing books in Japanese.
BUSINESS
Jan 24, 2003

Environmentally Friendly Vehicle confab kicks off

The first International Meeting on Environmentally Friendly Vehicles opened Thursday in Tokyo as part of global efforts to develop greener vehicles and fight air pollution and global warming.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jan 24, 2003

Shilingol: From the Mongol steppes to Sugamo

A chill gale of change is gusting through the sumo world, all the way from Central Asia. The demise of the Takanohana era does not, of course, mean we will stop eating chanko nabe. However, in honor of the incipient arrival of the Asashoryu dynasty, we felt impelled to set off in search of Shilingol,...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 23, 2003

Suzuki names new president, launches hybrid

Suzuki Motor Corp. made a number of announcements Wednesday, naming its new president, unveiling fiscal 2003 sales projections and launching what it says is the world's first commercially available hybrid minivehicle.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Jan 23, 2003

Casting light on the aurora

"The sight filled the northern sky; the immensity of it was scarcely conceivable. As if from Heaven itself, great curtains of delicate light hung and trembled. Pale green and rose-pink, and as transparent as the most fragile fabric, and at the bottom edge a profound and fiery crimson like the fires of...
JAPAN
Jan 22, 2003

Former Siberia prisoners slam Koizumi's lack of support

Two support groups for soldiers held prisoner in Siberia after World War II have lodged a protest over Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's failure to bring up their calls for redress and an apology from Moscow during his visit to Russia earlier this month.
BUSINESS
Jan 22, 2003

Japan abandons plan to file complaint over China curbs

Japan will not file a complaint with the World Trade Organization over China's recent emergency curbs on steel imports now that Beijing has agreed to exempt some Japanese products, the trade minister said Tuesday.
SUMO
Jan 22, 2003

Asashoryu gets back to winning ways

Ozeki Asashoryu got his yokozuna challenge back on track at the New Year Grand Sumo Tournament on Tuesday after tripping up rank-and-filer Kotonowaka to stay in a tie for the lead.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 22, 2003

On a personal journey with the koto

While visiting Tokyo recently, saxophonist and composer John Zorn praised Michiyo Yagi, saying, "She's an example of a new kind of musician that can play all different styles of music in her own personal way."
BUSINESS
Jan 22, 2003

Mizuho group plots huge fundraising effort as losses jump to 1.9 trillion yen

The Mizuho Financial Group said Tuesday its fiscal 2002 losses will hit 1.9 trillion yen, a nine-fold jump from estimates issued in November, after its two banks swallow more than 2 trillion yen in loan-loss provisions.
JAPAN
Jan 21, 2003

Footage, photos of actress's 1949 visit to U.S. discovered

Reels of 1949 films and photo negatives of Kinuyo Tanaka, one of Japan's most famous actresses, have been found among the belongings of a late relative, the relative's assistant said Monday.
SUMO
Jan 21, 2003

Kaiho hands Asashoryu first loss of basho

High-flying sumo star Asashoryu failed to impress the sumo world on a day when yokozuna Takanohana retired, falling to his first loss at the New Year Grand Sumo Tournament at the hands of rank-and-filer Kaiho on Monday.
BUSINESS
Jan 21, 2003

Recovery projection pushed back

Driven by deep recession at home and a cloudy economic outlook abroad, a key government panel said Monday it will postpone the target year of an expected economic recovery by about two years.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Jan 21, 2003

Leaving Japan, getting organized and cash refunds

Being thankful Hello from Tokyo. For all of our complaints, isn't it wonderful to be in Japan? With war, hunger and strife rampant in the world, Japan, with all its problems, is an oasis. It's a good time to be thankful, as we enter the new year, for the simple blessings of peace, trains that run on...
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Jan 20, 2003

Hike in consumption tax center of lobby's vision

The Japan Business Federation (Nippon Keidanren) on Jan. 1 released a grand vision aimed at reviving Japan into a vigor- ous and attractive nation.
EDITORIALS
Jan 20, 2003

Shenzhen's promise for China

Twenty-two years ago, the sleepy southern Chinese city of Shenzhen became the test case for China's future. It was designated a "special economic zone," a laboratory for economic reforms that would transform the nation. Today, Shenzhen is again in the forefront of change in China. This time, the city...
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 20, 2003

Establishing confidence in Northeast Asia

Recent developments on the Korean Peninsula clearly indicate the need for establishing a political mechanism to maintain regional security.

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