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COMMENTARY
Mar 26, 2003

Unrolling the map of a rejiggered EU

LONDON -- One early and significant casualty of the war with Iraq is the unity of Europe. The European continent is split clean down the middle. On one side sit France, Germany and Belgium. On the other side sit almost all the other nations of Europe, east and west.
BUSINESS
Mar 26, 2003

Seibu rehabilitation plans win shareholders' go-ahead

Seibu Department Stores Ltd. won approval Tuesday from shareholders on a new share issuance and a debt-for-equity swap, paving the way for its management rehabilitation program.
JAPAN
Mar 26, 2003

Road firms eye 20% cut to future building plans

Four road-related public corporations will revise future highway construction plans to shave some 20 percent, or about 4.5 trillion yen, from original budgets, the land ministry said Tuesday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / NEW ART SEEN
Mar 26, 2003

Life: the home movie, Japan: the video game

Two very different female video artists have brought pleasantly complementary exhibitions of their recent work to the Tokyo Opera City Gallery. Elija-Liisa Ahtila, 43, from Finland, and Japanese artist Tabaimo, 27, both opened with impressive solo efforts at the spacious Shinjuku gallery Friday.
JAPAN
Mar 26, 2003

Man held over embassy bomb threats

A 37-year-old man was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of threatening to bomb the Iraqi Embassy in Tokyo, the Metropolitan Police Department said.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 25, 2003

Songs of oppressed now serve to inspire

War and oppression leave not only legacies of death and suffering, but throughout the ages the sorrow they have also inspired songs.
JAPAN
Mar 25, 2003

Kan lauds missile defense plan

DPJ President Naoto Kan suggested Monday that Japan should consider introducing a missile defense program to counter North Korea's nuclear and missile programs.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 25, 2003

Olympus utilizes camera prowess to corner endoscope market

First in a series of occasional articles about Japanese firms that retain a global competitive edge
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 25, 2003

Hayao Miyazaki mum on Oscar, citing war

Hayao Miyazaki, director of "Spirited Away," which won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film, indicated Monday that he finds it hard to celebrate the prize because of what is going on in the world, apparently referring to the war in Iraq.
BUSINESS
Mar 25, 2003

Fukui weighs up asset risk options

BOJ Gov. Toshihiko Fukui indicated Monday that he is willing to consider measures such as buying riskier assets from banks to help money flow into the economy, although he added that the central bank must tread lightly.
BUSINESS
Mar 25, 2003

Business chief advocates splitting war costs

The chairman of the Japan Business Federation (Nippon Keidanren) said Monday that the private sector should cooperate with the government in the event that Japan shoulders part of the cost of the Iraq war and subsequent reconstruction efforts.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 25, 2003

Abuses with mini-cameras tough to curb

Beware the ubiquitous cell phone, because some of those equipped with cameras are in the hands of perverts bent on invading your privacy.
BUSINESS / ON MANAGEMENT
Mar 25, 2003

The Rules of Clout: the whens and hows of granting favors safely

The story has passed its first blush now, and has faded in public memory into just another head-shaker about the apparently out-of-control lifestyles of CEOs. But the saga of how a star stock analyst, Jack Grubman, allegedly upgraded a stock as a favor for Sandy Weill of Citigroup, who in turn pressured...
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Mar 25, 2003

A reading matter, helping the needy and driving schools

More used books Bill in Yokohama is wondering if there is any individual or organization in Japan to which he might donate used English titles. "The books are not textbooks, but rather works of fiction and nonfiction in good condition."
EDITORIALS
Mar 25, 2003

The war of words

Every war breeds its own vocabulary, and the second Persian Gulf conflict has proved no exception. One thing does seem new, though. As this invasion (aka liberation) plays out 24 hours a day, seven days a week, in the world's living rooms, its singular lingo has circled the globe with unprecedented speed....
COMMENTARY
Mar 25, 2003

Weak tobacco pact reflects Japan's lukewarm attitude

The member-nations of the World Health Organization have recently approved a draft Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), putting an end to four years of negotiations. The draft is expected to be adopted at the general meeting of the WHO in May, and will take effect after 40 countries have ratified...
JAPAN
Mar 25, 2003

Secret radios eyed for North Korea

Activists are planning to smuggle up to 20 million radios tuned to the Voice of America into North Korea as part of efforts to destabilize the communist regime.
JAPAN
Mar 24, 2003

Water forum closes amid clash over privatization

KYOTO -- For eight days, and at a considerable cost to local taxpayers, the World Water Forum brought together international corporations in the water supply business, World Bank officials and a large number of Japanese construction and design firms, as well as senior government officials and thousands...
COMMENTARY
Mar 24, 2003

Smashing the payoff triangle

The history of the Liberal Democratic Party includes a long list of money scandals. The recent arrest of Lower House lawmaker Takanori Sakai, charged with violating the Political Funds Control Law, is the latest reminder.
JAPAN
Mar 24, 2003

40 Japanese in Iraq include NGO, activists, journalists

The number of Japanese nationals in Iraq rose to 40 as of Sunday morning, after three Japanese entered the country from Jordan, the Foreign Ministry said.
JAPAN
Mar 24, 2003

Japan to provide $104.2 million to Jordan, Palestine

Japan will provide a total of $104.2 million, or about 12.7 billion yen, to two of Iraq's neighbors who may be affected by the U.S.-led war, the government announced Sunday.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 24, 2003

Don't write off U.N. just yet

EDMONTON, Alberta-- The hawks in the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush finally got what they wanted -- in New York, as well as in the Middle East. The U.N. Security Council is deeply divided, the U.N. system itself seems paralyzed and a preemptive war is about to win "regime change" in...
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Mar 24, 2003

Will new BOJ governor be able to navigate tricky global waters?

Fukui Toshihiko was officially sworn in as new governor of the Bank of Japan on Thursday, with former Vice Finance Minister Toshiro Muto and Kazumasa Iwata, a senior Cabinet official, appointed as vice governors. Under the revised BOJ Law of 1998, all members of the BOJ Policy Board are to serve a five-year...
JAPAN
Mar 24, 2003

No SDF dispatch without new UNSC resolution: lawmakers

A dispatch of Self-Defense Forces troops to take part in the postwar reconstruction of Iraq would first require a fresh United Nations Security Council resolution, top officials of the ruling coalition parties said Sunday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Mar 23, 2003

Furuta out for Swallows opener

Yakult Swallows catcher Atsuya Furuta will miss the season opener after breaking his right ring finger, officials of the Central League club said Saturday.
EDITORIALS
Mar 23, 2003

Invading ancient Mesopotamia

As war again comes to Iraq, the international community is rightly concerned about the human toll, civilian as well as military, long-term as well as immediate. Governments and humanitarian organizations already have relief plans in place to help the expected flood of refugees. Others worry about the...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 23, 2003

Environmental expert predicts global water crisis

A future in which water is scarce will be translated into a future in which food is scarce, intensifying global competition for grain and pushing up food prices, according to Lester Brown, president and founder of the Earth Policy Institute in Washington.

Longform

Members of the nonprofit group Japan Youth Memorial Association search for the remains of dead soldiers in a cave in Okinawa Prefecture in February.
The long search for Japan’s lost soldiers