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EDITORIALS
Jun 21, 2002

Mr. Chirac gets a second chance

The resurgence of the French right is complete. Conservatives won a landslide victory in parliamentary elections held last weekend; coming on the heels of President Jacques Chirac's re-election in early May, the right now has a chance to rule unconstrained. The victory is tainted, however, by massive...
JAPAN
Jun 21, 2002

Yamarin escaped illegal logging penalties

Yamarin, the Hokkaido logging firm that allegedly bribed arrested lawmaker Muneo Suzuki in 1998, escaped punishment for unauthorized logging in national forests in 1997 and paid some 6 million yen in political donations to him that same year, sources said Thursday.
JAPAN
Jun 21, 2002

Accidents involving electric wheelchairs on the rise

The number of traffic accidents involving users of electric wheelchairs more than doubled to 207 in 2001 from 89 in 1996, the year in which the National Police Agency started collecting such data, the NPA said Thursday.
SOCCER / World cup
Jun 21, 2002

Japanese players looking to the future

MORI, Shizuoka Pref. -- When Japan was knocked out of the World Cup in a 1-0 loss to Turkey on Tuesday, Japan coach Philippe Troussier said his team didn't have enough international experience. What were his players' opinions on their performance in the tournament?
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 21, 2002

Big companies demanding better English

Takuya Suzuki has been taking the Test of English for International Communication exams twice a year since he joined electronic parts maker Sumida Corp. two years ago.
BUSINESS / ON THE FRONT LINE
Jun 21, 2002

Natural yen fall against frail dollar unlikely

The dollar may remain under downward pressure against all other major currencies for some time.
JAPAN
Jun 21, 2002

Most national universities find reform plan confusing

Administrators at 81 out of 90 public universities in Japan are confused by a government plan to turn national universities into independent administrative entities in fiscal 2004, according to a recent survey by the Japan Association of National Universities.
JAPAN
Jun 21, 2002

Improved PR urged for Foreign Ministry

The Foreign Ministry could improve its handling of public relations matters by reinforcing the role of senior officials in charge of dealing with the media, an advisory panel said Thursday.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / JET STREAM
Jun 21, 2002

Bringing the classrooms to the children

Several hundred Japanese children sit enchanted as Justin Somi mimics a fluttering butterfly. Somi, a celebrated mime artist and musician, belongs to the Zia tribe that live along the Waria River Valley in Papua New Guinea. For two weeks this spring, he and five other Zia tribesmen visited schools in...
BUSINESS
Jun 21, 2002

Forecasters upgrade projections for 2002 GDP

Japan's gross domestic product for the current fiscal year has been revised upward by several economic forecasters due to growing signs of an export-led recovery, according to reports released as of Thursday.
BUSINESS
Jun 21, 2002

Change at banks starts in personnel departments

Bankers once rode high as the elite of Japan. Along with top-notch bureaucrats in the Finance Ministry, they represented the best the Japanese education system had to offer.
JAPAN
Jun 21, 2002

Man arrested in bomb threats against Lotte

A 52-year-old construction company owner in Osaka has been arrested for threatening bomb attacks against confectioner Lotte Co. in a bid to extort 50 million yen, police said Thursday.
EDITORIALS
Jun 20, 2002

Mr. Suzuki's arrest

Lower House member Muneo Suzuki was arrested Wednesday on charges of receiving 5 million yen in cash from a Hokkaido lumber company in August 1998 when he was the deputy chief Cabinet secretary. According to investigators, Mr. Suzuki is charged with accepting a bribe in return for working on Forestry...
SOCCER / World cup
Jun 20, 2002

South Korea scores huge upset

TAEJON, South Korea -- A sudden-death goal by Ahn Jung Hwan propelled South Korea into the quarterfinals of the World Cup here Tuesday night, a well-earned 2-1 victory over Italy setting off incredible scenes of celebration.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 20, 2002

'Cleaner' seen by ATM blast site

OSAKA — A man in a work uniform appeared to be cleaning near automated teller machines in an office building Tuesday evening about five minutes before an explosion there left one man in critical condition and three others injured, police said Wednesday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 20, 2002

Maestro Yamamoto dies of heart failure at age 69

Composer and conductor Naozumi Yamamoto, who helped popularize Western classical music in Japan, died Tuesday of heart failure at a Tokyo hospital, his family said. He was 69.
JAPAN
Jun 20, 2002

Koizumi to attend memorial service in Okinawa

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi will attend a war memorial service this weekend in Okinawa, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Jun 20, 2002

Abtronic aside, couch potatoes make TV shopping 110 billion yen juggernaut

The growing legion of TV shoppers in Japan has turned the relatively new market into a 110 billion yen colossus.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 20, 2002

Prosecutors nab Suzuki

Public prosecutors on Wednesday arrested lawmaker Muneo Suzuki on suspicion of bribery after his colleagues in the House of Representatives gave them the green light in a plenary session earlier in the day.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 20, 2002

Japanese tourists snub Mickey Mouse

As Japanese tourists put the events of Sept. 11 behind them and once again hit the package tour trail, one destination remains suspiciously absent from their itineraries: the United States.
COMMENTARY
Jun 20, 2002

Asian caveat on U.S. moves

HONOLULU -- The United States continues to make the war against terrorism its top priority. To keep the world focused on the battle, it is focusing on Southeast Asia, opening what some call "a second front" in the region. This agenda makes sense in Washington, but its single-minded focus could undermine...
BUSINESS
Jun 20, 2002

Mizuho ordered to improve its operations

The Financial Services Agency on Wednesday ordered Mizuho Holdings Inc. to improve its operations in the wake of a massive computer system failure that left its operations in chaos.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / THEN AND NOW
Jun 20, 2002

Where 'Green Peach' blossomed

The woodcut print shown here depicts a rural idyll northwest of Edo. A meandering river nourishes an expanse of rice paddies on the left-hand side. Two men are crossing a bridge, and more people are walking by the riverside. On the rising ground behind them, a cluster of thatched houses identified as...
COMMUNITY
Jun 20, 2002

Pedal pushers cop a load on Yasukuni Dori

I hail from Sapporo, and since I travel a lot around Japan on business, one of my pastimes is borrowing a bicycle from local friends and seeing the sights.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 20, 2002

'Sufficient' steel exemptions on way: U.S. business chief

The steel dispute between Japan and the United States will calm down shortly because Washington is expected to exempt more products from its import safeguard tariffs, including those from Japan, the head of the largest business lobby in the United States said Wednesday.

Longform

Ichiro Suzuki, one of the most iconic players in NPB and MLB history, was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame with 99.7% of the vote.
With Hall of Fame induction, Ichiro makes himself heard loud and clear