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JAPAN
Feb 23, 2002

Tokyo mulls donation to WTO trust fund

Japan may contribute 1.5 million Swiss francs -- about 117 million yen -- to a new trust fund established within the World Trade Organization to increase trade-related technical assistance for developing countries, government sources said Friday.
BUSINESS
Feb 23, 2002

Foreigners snap up stocks

Foreign investors turned net buyers of Japanese stocks for the first time in five weeks last week.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 23, 2002

Siege of Arafat set to weaken Sharon, defeat peace hopes

BEIRUT -- It has been three months since Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon laid siege to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in his Ramallah headquarters. Physically, his position remains dire. An Israeli tank is stationed a mere 70 meters away.
COMMUNITY
Feb 23, 2002

Beauty and brains behind company clear as glass

Company President Narumi Tanaka is alone Monday morning, holding the fort in her office in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward. Her staff -- three full-timers, one part-timer and her husband -- are out and about on what she calls "the client site." A good thing, we agree, because it means TRANSe Project is at full...
EDITORIALS
Feb 22, 2002

His own worst enemy

There are many reasons to object to U.S. President George W. Bush's "axis of evil" comment in his State of the Union address last month. Including Iran in this unholy triumvirate may be the most troubling, since it could undermine elements in that country that have been trying to move Tehran toward some...
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 22, 2002

Southeast Asia scores its outside players

CHIANG MAI, Thailand -- Three outside players influence, to various degrees, the destiny of Southeast Asia: the United States, Japan and China. Their influences may intensify or wane over a specific period, depending on the prevailing over- all geopolitical and economic framework. How then can we evaluate...
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 22, 2002

New strains of anti-Semitism

LONDON -- Sixty years after the Holocaust, is anti-Semitism spreading in Europe? The question is being asked increasingly in a number of countries, notably Britain, which fought the Nazis through World War II, and France, which lived for four years under a collaborationist regime that persecuted Jews...
JAPAN
Feb 22, 2002

Diplomats impress at Japanese speech contest

What most touched the hearts of the audience may not have been their fluency in Japanese and experiences of culture shock, but their insights into daily life summarized in a five-minute speech.
JAPAN
Feb 22, 2002

Libyan trade insurance about to be reinstated

In a move that will please domestic businesses struggling amid a deep recession but could rub the United States the wrong way, Japan is working behind the scenes to take a significant policy step toward closer economic ties with Libya.
BUSINESS
Feb 22, 2002

Sakakibara calls Koizumi a chicken

Former financial diplomat Eisuke Sakakibara said Thursday the government of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has "failed miserably" to resolve the bad-loan problem, making it impossible to push ahead with any real reforms.
BUSINESS
Feb 22, 2002

Matsushita looking at losses of 438 billion yen

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. said Thursday it expects to log consolidated net losses of 438 billion yen in fiscal 2001.
BUSINESS
Feb 22, 2002

Auto industry head ready to talk to U.S.

A Japanese auto industry leader said Thursday he is ready to talk with his counterparts among the U.S. Big Three automakers, who have asked U.S. President George W. Bush to pressure Japan to refrain from talking down the yen.
JAPAN
Feb 22, 2002

'Mafia' group in Taiwan responsible for counterfeit bills, suspect claims

OSAKA -- A man from Taiwan suspected of being involved in a major counterfeiting scam told police that fake 10,000 yen notes were delivered to him in Tokyo via courier by a "mafia" group in Taiwan, police said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Feb 22, 2002

Haseko calls on major banks for 150 billion yen in support

Struggling condominium developer Haseko Corp. unveiled a sweeping restructuring plan Thursday, calling for 150 billion yen in financial support from major creditor banks and a 10 percent cut in personnel expenses in three years.
BUSINESS
Feb 22, 2002

Asian officials to study counterterrorism export controls

Senior officials from 14 Asian countries and territories will attend a seminar in Tokyo next week to learn more about enhancing export controls in an effort to counter terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, according to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.
BUSINESS
Feb 22, 2002

Rosy rhetoric can't hide crisis

At the latest Group of Seven meeting in Ottawa, Finance Minister Masajuro Shiokawa sounded rather optimistic about economic prospects.
JAPAN
Feb 22, 2002

Former Kato aide brokered 50 million yen golf deal

A former aide to senior Liberal Democratic Party member Koichi Kato received some 50 million yen in cash in 1999 as a commission for brokering a golf course development project in Chiba Prefecture, informed sources said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Feb 22, 2002

No hurry over Iran oil deal

Nearly two months after the target date passed quietly for concluding negotiations with Iran on a key oil project, Japanese government officials do not seem to be feeling pressed.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / MATTER OF COURSE
Feb 22, 2002

The serious business of clubbing together

My 10-year-old is in the school basketball club but is thinking about switching to another club. He's been agonizing over this decision, which tells you something about the importance of school clubs in Japan.
LIFE / Language / FOR KIDS
Feb 22, 2002

Don't let big economic words daunt you

It's never too early to get your facts straight about the economy. Many people, even the leaders of powerful countries, still get them mixed up. Using the wrong terms, like U.S. President George W. Bush did this week, can create a lot of confusion for everyone.
EDITORIALS
Feb 21, 2002

Mr. Milosevic in the dock

The war crimes trial of former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, which began this month in The Hague, is the most important such case in history. For the first time since those crimes were codified in international law, a former leader is being tried for atrocities committed while he was in power....
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 21, 2002

A gesture can go a long way

Will history repeat itself today?
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 21, 2002

At last, Washington trashes junk science

WASHINGTON -- Back in December 2000, U.S. President Bill Clinton and Vice President Gore were busy fellows -- what with dishes to pack, furniture to ship and an election to contest. So busy were they that they neglected to read some of the fine print in a cascade of administration-ending paperwork. One...
JAPAN
Feb 21, 2002

Lifetime employee laments end to her dream of promotion

Setsuko Tanao, an employee at Nomura Securities Co., has fought for gender equality in the workplace since joining the firm's Osaka branch as a high school graduate in 1961.
JAPAN
Feb 21, 2002

Find something worth saying, then build skills: translator

Natsuko Toda, a leading writer of Japanese subtitles for English-language movies, said Wednesday that Japanese people should learn how to be more expressive in their own language before worrying about learning English.
JAPAN
Feb 21, 2002

Minister proposes 1.3% discount for doctor visits

Chikara Sakaguchi, minister of health, labor and welfare, on Wednesday formally proposed that doctor consultation fees and the cost of prescription drugs should be reduced by an average of 1.3 percent.
BUSINESS
Feb 21, 2002

Asahi Breweries rides 'happoshu' wave into the black

Leading Japanese brewer Asahi Breweries Ltd. said Wednesday it posted a net profit of 13.62 billion yen in its business year to Dec. 31, helped partly by its entry into the "happoshu" market last February.

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’