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JAPAN
Jun 19, 2003

Tokyo firms pay 2.2 billion yen to reimburse unpaid overtime

Sixty-six companies based in Tokyo paid their employees 2.27 billion yen in unpaid overtime between October and March after the Tokyo Labor Bureau instructed them to stop withholding the pay, officials said Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Jun 19, 2003

Pet stores doing well despite fears of disease, odors

A growing trend among Japanese to keep dogs, cats and other animals as companions has turned the pet industry into a 1 trillion yen behemoth.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 19, 2003

Arab 'democrats' vie against nationalists in wake of Iraq war

BEIRUT -- Ever since the Anglo-American armies went to war against Iraq, the Arabs have been wondering whether the conquest of one of their major states will lead to success or the most catastrophic of failures. Can the Americans really make Iraq into a platform for a strategic, economic and cultural...
Japan Times
JAPAN / IN WITH THE NEW
Jun 19, 2003

DPJ security advocate bridges internal, LDP gaps

When the Democratic Party of Japan suffered a serious rift earlier this year over contentious war-contingency bills, the fate of the nation's largest opposition force hinged on Seiji Maehara, the DPJ's security policy chief.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / INDUSTRY TRENDS
Jun 19, 2003

Ice cream companies turning to high-end treats

Facing a steady decline in sales of traditional ice cream, domestic frozen treat makers are turning their eyes to the upscale market -- a growing sector so far dominated by Haagen-Dazs.
CULTURE / Books / THE BOOK REPORT
Jun 19, 2003

Top-selling authors go abroad

Once again, the Japanese tax office has issued its annual list of top taxpayers for the previous year. Not surprisingly, it reflects the continuing economic slump, with a contraction in the amounts paid. What's more, six of the top 100 taxpayers are Wall Street bankers -- and five of them are foreigners....
Japan Times
JAPAN / IN WITH THE NEW
Jun 19, 2003

DPJ security advocate bridges internal, LDP gaps

When the Democratic Party of Japan suffered a serious rift earlier this year over contentious war-contingency bills, the fate of the nation's largest opposition force hinged on Seiji Maehara, the DPJ's security policy chief.
Japan Times
JAPAN / IN WITH THE NEW
Jun 19, 2003

DPJ security advocate bridges internal, LDP gaps

When the Democratic Party of Japan suffered a serious rift earlier this year over contentious war-contingency bills, the fate of the nation's largest opposition force hinged on Seiji Maehara, the DPJ's security policy chief.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jun 19, 2003

A sensitivity course in the frigid effects of hiesho

"Hey, what's with all the clothing during the hottest months of the year?" That's my friend Alan's observation of the working women populace in Japan. Nagasode (long sleeves), uwagi (outer jacket) and suttokingu (nylons) are the norm for so many of them, despite the unbearable heat and humidity of a...
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 19, 2003

History will credit Shinseki

WASHINGTON -- As he stepped down from office this week as the U.S. Army chief of staff, Gen. Eric Shinseki probably breathed a big sigh of relief. He had been put through the meat grinder in his job, particularly during Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's tenure.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / THEN AND NOW
Jun 19, 2003

Strolling in a dream

This 1830s woodblock print by Edo artist Hasegawa Settan shows the vast precincts of Tokai-ji, a Zen temple in Shinagawa. Built by Shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu (1604-51) and donated in 1638 to Abbot Takuan Soho (1573-1645), Tokai-ji prospered as the third-largest temple in Edo, second only to Kan'ei-ji in...
EDITORIALS
Jun 19, 2003

A good month for the EU

It has been a good month for the European Union. Both Poles and Czechs voted to join the EU last weekend. Despite fears that apathy would invalidate the results, a comfortable majority in both countries cast ballots in favor of EU membership. The votes signal a break with the Cold War past and herald...
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Jun 19, 2003

Men stripped to their Ys

Edward Lambert, born in the 1700s in England, was to all appearances a normal boy until he entered puberty, whereupon his skin turned black and thickened, hardening into scales, solid like the shafts of feathers.
JAPAN
Jun 18, 2003

For new hires, recession means all work, no play

Almost 80 percent of new hires put work before romance, reflecting the grim situation young people are facing amid the tough job market, according to a survey by the Japan Productivity Center for Socio-Economic Development released Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Jun 18, 2003

Red tape hinders Singapore Airlines campaign

Attempts by the SARS-battered Singapore Airlines to offer travelers bargain deals have been stalled here by domestic regulations, despite high hopes for mutual promotion of tourism under a bilateral free trade agreement signed recently.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 18, 2003

Entrepreneur coaches coeds

Being confident and able to gauge one's potential are key for a successful entrepreneur, traits Musashino University lecturer Atsuko Mayumi seems able to bring out in her female students as she coaches them on how to go into business for themselves.
JAPAN
Jun 18, 2003

Entrepreneur coaches coeds

Being confident and able to gauge one's potential are key for a successful entrepreneur, traits Musashino University lecturer Atsuko Mayumi seems able to bring out in her female students as she coaches them on how to go into business for themselves.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 18, 2003

Blair may be down but he's far from out

LONDON -- Since the European community of nations began to take shape 52 years ago, Britain has taken an ambivalent view of the Continent's moves toward greater unity. It did not join the coal and steel community that began the process in 1951, and, six years later, did not sign the Treaty of Rome that...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 18, 2003

Entrepreneur coaches coeds

Being confident and able to gauge one's potential are key for a successful entrepreneur, traits Musashino University lecturer Atsuko Mayumi seems able to bring out in her female students as she coaches them on how to go into business for themselves.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jun 18, 2003

Just two ordinary, everyday heroes

Amid the violent upheavals of the Warring States Period in Japan from the mid-1500s till the early 17th century, there emerged some chivalrous spirits eager to fight on behalf of unprotected, ordinary people. Such men, who were known as kyokaku or otokodate -- "ones who seek to right wrongs" -- generally...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Jun 18, 2003

MC Honky: "I Am the Messiah"

Over the course of five albums with The Eels, singer-songwriter Mark Oliver Everett, known professionally by the initial E, has done as much as J.D. Salinger to make mental illness a fit subject for entertainment. If E's tongue-in-cheek songs about manic-depression are "edgy" (his description), it's...

Longform

An illustration features the Japanese signs for "ganbare" (good luck) and the Deaflympics, which will be held between Nov. 15 and 26.
A century of Deaf sport finds its moment in Tokyo