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BUSINESS
Apr 26, 2002

Nichido Fire rapped for car policies

The Financial Services Agency ordered Nichido Fire & Marine Insurance Co. on Thursday to suspend some of its operations after it was found to have sold an unauthorized type of automobile insurance.
EDITORIALS
Apr 25, 2002

Dangers of nuclear-energy use

Safety is a perennial problem for nuclear power plants. The latest government report on nuclear safety, released earlier this month, focuses on assuring safety in the use of plutonium, particularly in the so-called pluthermal program, which uses plutonium as fuel in light-water reactors.
SUMO
Apr 25, 2002

Asashoryu looking for promotion to ozeki

Feisty Mongolian Asashoryu gets a chance to line himself up for a move up to sumo's second highest rank after earning the top sekiwake position for the upcoming Summer Grand Sumo Tournament.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 25, 2002

Time to engage, not bully, North Korea

CAMBRIDGE, England -- Since January 2001, relations between Pyongyang and Seoul have been tense. The various confidence-building measures agreed to at the summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Il and South Korean President Kim Dae Jung in June 2000 came to a halt after newly elected U.S. President...
JAPAN
Apr 25, 2002

FTC orders Marubeni chicken plant to shut down

The Fair Trade Commission said Wednesday it has ordered Marubeni Chikusan Corp. to cease production over its intentional mislabeling of some 1,700 tons of chicken during an almost three-year period beginning in 1999.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 25, 2002

Details of another suspected abductee released

OSAKA -- The identity of another man suspected of having been abducted by North Korea in 1980 has been made public, and his photograph were released Wednesday by a group working to secure the release of abductees.
Japan Times
JAPAN / KANSAI BEAT
Apr 25, 2002

Marist Brothers school hits 50 years in Kobe, regains its prequake stride

KOBE -- Marist Brothers International School in Suma Ward here celebrates its 50th anniversary this month.
BUSINESS
Apr 25, 2002

Sharp, Sanyo to hike LCD panel production

OSAKA -- Sharp Corp. and Sanyo Electric Co. Ltd. said separately Wednesday they will boost production of liquid crystal displays to meet a fresh surge in demand.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 25, 2002

IWC factions set for annual showdown

Government delegates and experts from prowhaling and antiwhaling nations have gathered in the traditional whaling town of Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture, for the Thursday start of the International Whaling Commission's 54th annual conference.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 25, 2002

Former Soviet dissident: U.S. overconfidence poses danger

MOSCOW -- Roi Medvedev, a Russian historian, was born in 1925 in Tbilisi, Georgia. After graduating from Leningrad University, he joined the Soviet Communist Party in 1956 and became a researcher at the Education Academy. In 1969 he was purged from the party following the publication of his book "Let...
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 25, 2002

Australia moves closer to approving research using human embryo cells

SYDNEY -- Like a newborn baby, it's a miracle. At least, that's what cynics are calling Australia's political approval of state-supervised destruction of human embryos for stem-cell research.
BUSINESS / ON THE FRONT LINE
Apr 25, 2002

Bank computer woes may undermine yen

Japanese institutional investors other than public pension funds have kept a low profile on foreign bond and equity markets since the beginning of the new fiscal year.
BUSINESS
Apr 25, 2002

J-Phone delays launch of 3G for second time

In a move that may cast fresh doubt over the next-generation mobile phone business, J-Phone Co. said Wednesday it will postpone its launch of third-generation cellular phone service again from June to December.
JAPAN
Apr 25, 2002

Osaka-Pusan ferry service begins

OSAKA -- A new ferry service connecting Osaka with Pusan, South Korea, went into service Wednesday.
LIFE / Digital
Apr 25, 2002

Broadband security: put a lock on the back door

It's late one evening last July, and a green activity light is blinking on the front of the DSL modem next to my desk.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Apr 25, 2002

Japan: A land gone to the dogs?

Alex Kerr loves Japan as much as anyone, but he knows much more about it than most. With the publication April 25 of "Inu to Oni" (Kodansha) -- a translation of his book "Dogs and Demons" (Hill and Wang, 2001) -- Japanese, too, will be able to share his insight. As it says on the cover of "Dogs and Demons,"...
LIFE / Digital
Apr 25, 2002

Lie detection infiltrating everyday life

When Bill Clinton first said, "I never had sexual relations with that woman . . ." back in 1998, a report flushed that a new Israeli lie detector figured he was being truthful.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 25, 2002

Expo seeks to ferment interest in wine

Contrary to popular belief, wine consumption in Japan is relatively unaffected by the economic climate.
EDITORIALS
Apr 24, 2002

The earthquake in France

Take nothing for granted. That is the message French voters sent in the first round of presidential elections held Sunday. In a stunning rebuke to the established order, Mr. Jean-Marie Le Pen, a rightwing extremist, came in second, edging out Prime Minister Lionel Jospin to win the right to challenge...
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 24, 2002

Le Pen's shocking win shakes France to the core

PARIS -- France's presidential election system is meant to ensure both a maximum of democracy and the emergence of a strong national leadership at the end of the two rounds of voting. That was the model set by Gen. Charles de Gaulle when he established the Fifth Republic four decades ago.
JAPAN
Apr 24, 2002

Itoman defendants' sentences upheld

OSAKA -- The Osaka High Court on Tuesday upheld prison sentences of up to 10 years for two executives of the now-defunct trading house Itoman Corp. for aggravated breach of trust and other charges.
JAPAN
Apr 24, 2002

Travel warnings to be descriptive

The Foreign Ministry will scrap its numerical travel warning system beginning Friday and instead try to describe the level of risk Japanese travelers face when going overseas.
BUSINESS
Apr 24, 2002

Shareholders to get chance to vote online

About 100 companies in Japan this year will allow or consider allowing shareholders to use the Internet to vote in place of mailing in ballots or attending meetings, according to surveys conducted by trust banks.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 24, 2002

Jet of future powered by water?

The last days of noisy, gas-guzzling airplanes polluting the skies could be on the horizon as Japanese scientists have successfully -- if briefly -- flown an aircraft powered by water.
BUSINESS
Apr 24, 2002

U.S. imports one step closer to retaliatory tariffs

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick responded coolly Tuesday to Japanese demands for compensation over U.S. steel import tariffs, meaning Japan may be closer to imposing unilateral retaliatory tariffs on U.S. imports.
BUSINESS
Apr 24, 2002

Mizuho faults known: Tokyo Gas

Tokyo Gas Co. said Tuesday that the Mizuho financial group knew it was having problems integrating the computer systems of its three component banks before the April 1 merger.
CULTURE / Music / J-POPSICLE
Apr 24, 2002

Two men and a poor baby

I have a thang, as Isaac Hayes would say, for Yuki Koyanagi. Maybe it's her sultry pout. Maybe it's her bleached-blonde hair. Or it could be her gloriously trashy fashion sense.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Apr 24, 2002

Elf Power: 'Creatures'

After almost a decade on the lo-fi indie scene and numerous personnel shuffles, the Atlanta-Denver axis known as the Elephant 6 Collective has engendered a love-hate reaction from those of us who appreciate what it stands for but not always what it produces. The Olivia Tremor Control releases nearly...

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’