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BUSINESS
Jul 10, 2002

Dollar's rapid fall must be checked: Shiokawa

Finance Minister Masajuro Shiokawa said Tuesday that the rapid decline of the dollar must be checked before it reaches the 115 yen level.
BUSINESS
Jul 10, 2002

EU trade chief seeks overhaul of U.S. steel industry

European Union Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy called Tuesday for a bold restructuring of the U.S. steel industry to resolve the global trade row prompted by Washington's imposition of emergency steel import tariffs.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / NEW ART SEEN
Jul 10, 2002

The Sept. 11 Care Bear Bunch

Cleveland-born, New York-based Dan Asher lives and works in an East Village apartment/studio. Although the 54-year-old artist didn't actually see the hijacked jetliners crash into the Twin Towers on Sept. 11 last year, he has followed -- with not a little consternation -- the many changes that struck...
JAPAN
Jul 10, 2002

Assemblies say no to 'Big Brother'

Written opinions calling for the government to postpone the Aug. 5 introduction of a nationwide resident registry network have been endorsed by 59 local assemblies nationwide, a group of lawmakers said Tuesday, quoting home affairs ministry officials.
JAPAN
Jul 10, 2002

Top court OKs officials' attendance of Shinto rite

The Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld two lower court rulings that Oita Gov. Morihiko Hiramatsu and two other officials did not violate the Constitution by using public funds to attend a Shinto rite related to the 1990 enthronement of Emperor Akihito.
BUSINESS
Jul 10, 2002

Air conditioner shipments to fall 10%

Domestic shipments of home-use air conditioners in the year through September are expected to fall about 10 percent from a year earlier to less than 7 million units for the first time in three years, industry officials said Tuesday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 10, 2002

Asian trainees keep Kawaguchi's furnaces blasting

After a hard day's work at a blast furnace in Kawaguchi, Saitama Prefecture, Vietnamese trainees cheered as they watched a recent World Cup soccer match on TV.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / J-POPSICLE
Jul 10, 2002

A card-carrying regular guy

One interesting aspect of Japanese meishi (name-card) etiquette is that entertainers never give them out. It took me a while to figure out that one. Several interviews with musicians I thought had begun inauspiciously when I handed the artist my meishi only to receive nothing in return.
JAPAN
Jul 10, 2002

Koizumi backs India's self-restraint

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi expressed support Tuesday for India's policy of self-restraint in its dispute over Kashmir with Pakistan, underlining Tokyo's concern about the tension between the two nuclear powers.
JAPAN
Jul 9, 2002

Japan, EU focus talks on North Korea

Japan and the European Union agreed Monday to step up their cooperation in dealing with North Korea, the Middle East peace process and other international issues at their annual summit in Tokyo.
EDITORIALS
Jul 9, 2002

A maverick among conservatives

In the hotly contested Nagano gubernatorial election held in October 2000, uncommitted voters gave a smashing victory to Mr. Yasuo Tanaka, a popular writer who is vehemently opposed to dam construction. On Friday, in a politically and emotionally charged climax to the running dispute between the governor...
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 9, 2002

Howard's hesitation on ICC draws fire

SYDNEY -- A split in the Howard Cabinet ranks over whether to join the United States in refusing to support an International Criminal Court is the most serious threat yet to the dream run so far enjoyed by the Canberra government.
BUSINESS
Jul 9, 2002

BIS calls for honesty in banking policy

The Bank for International Settlements on Monday issued a dire warning to Japan over the shaky position of its banking system, urging the government to explain to taxpayers that their money could again be needed to clean up the problem-loan situation.
BUSINESS
Jul 9, 2002

Include farm goods in FTAs: Takebe

Farm minister Tsutomu Takebe said Monday the country should not exclude the farm and fisheries sector when it negotiates free-trade agreements, ministry officials said.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 9, 2002

Japan's close encounter with the West

'By reading, hearing, and by observation in foreign lands, our people have acquired a general knowledge of constitutions, habits and manners as they exist in most foreign countries. . . . Japan cannot claim originality as yet, but it will aim to exercise practical wisdom by adopting the advantages, and...
JAPAN / INTERNATIONAL RATIONALE
Jul 9, 2002

Dell turns to consumer market in quest to be No. 3

As the nation's personal computer market shrinks, competition is intensifying, and the Japanese unit of U.S.-based Dell Computer Corp. is becoming a rising force with its low-cost business model.
BUSINESS / ON MANAGEMENT
Jul 9, 2002

Burning your bridges

There was a well-known shogun who at one point was considered one of the most powerful men in the country. He built his empire swiftly and, he would be the first to admit, ruthlessly, and in the process ran over a lot of people and burned a lot of bridges. Like many feudal warlords, he rarely left the...
JAPAN
Jul 9, 2002

Firms' IT investment to drop 0.3% in '02

Japanese firms plan to cut their information technology-related investment by 0.3 percent in fiscal 2002, according to the Japanese unit of U.S. high-tech consulting firm Gartner Group Inc.
JAPAN
Jul 9, 2002

Local tax ruling may have wide effect: METI

A recent decision by the Fukushima Prefectural Assembly to hike a local tax on nuclear power operators may inspire other prefectures to follow suit, a high-ranking ministry official warned Monday.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / NATURE TRAVEL
Jul 9, 2002

Chengdu, Sichuan's city of contrasts

Tonight, our guide Desmond assures us, there is going to be "a very exciting party." The Tibetans are planning a neck-wrestling competition. And you, Desmond adds, as the first foreigners to visit the newly opened hall of Tibetan games and dance, are going to be invited to participate.
BUSINESS
Jul 9, 2002

Sluggish summer may yield to scoring drive

Japanese athletes have proved they can compete on a global level, as seen in the monthlong World Cup soccer finals cohosted by Japan and South Korea that ran until the end of June.
LIFE / Travel / NATURE TRAVEL
Jul 9, 2002

Chengdu, Sichuan's city of contrasts

Tonight, our guide Desmond assures us, there is going to be "a very exciting party." The Tibetans are planning a neck-wrestling competition. And you, Desmond adds, as the first foreigners to visit the newly opened hall of Tibetan games and dance, are going to be invited to participate.
BUSINESS
Jul 9, 2002

Extend March 31 deposit guarantee deadline: Noda

A key ruling coalition figure said Monday that legislation should be enacted to extend the government's full-refund guarantee on demand deposits at failed banks beyond March 31, the scheduled termination date.
EDITORIALS
Jul 8, 2002

A trans-Pacific economic crisis

The economies of the United States and Japan are treading the recovery path; there is no need to worry, as there once was, about a free fall. This sanguine outlook for the world's two largest economies is now clouded increasingly by falling U.S. stock prices. What's worrying is an apparent shift in investor...
COMMENTARY / WASHINGTON UPDATE
Jul 8, 2002

Economic agenda languishes

WASHINGTON -- Still basking in high marks for prosecuting the war on terrorism, U.S. President George W. Bush is being dogged by economic difficulties.
COMMENTARY
Jul 8, 2002

Erosion of respect for sweat

Few doubt that the scholastic abilities of young Japanese, from grade school children to university students, have declined markedly. Some critics blame the problem on the system of "yutori kyoiku" ("relaxed education") introduced in Japanese public schools; others blame the nation's declining birthrate....

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