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JAPAN
Dec 1, 2001

328 at Foreign Ministry penalized for fund misuse

A total of 328 Foreign Ministry officials were punished Friday for illicitly pooling more than 200 million yen in public funds, using about 160 million yen for mostly unofficial purposes over 6 1/2 years, Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka said Friday.
BUSINESS
Dec 1, 2001

Household spending posts 1.6% increase

Wage-earning households spent 1.6 percent more in real terms in October than they did a year earlier, the first rise in seven months, the government said Friday.
BUSINESS
Dec 1, 2001

BOJ keeping more than 14 trillion yen in current accounts

The Bank of Japan on Friday left the balance of its current accounts held by financial institutions at more than 14 trillion yen, the highest level since March 31, 2000, in a bid to hold rates stable, financial industry officials said.
JAPAN
Dec 1, 2001

Net poses major changes for news media

Does the advent of the Internet society spell the end of the news media as we know it? Will a new breed of reporters, represented by anonymous authors in online chat rooms, oust professional journalists from the public arena?
JAPAN
Dec 1, 2001

Diet OKs deployment of SDF

The Diet on Friday approved a plan to deploy the Self-Defense Forces, allowing Japan to lend logistic support to U.S.-led military operations in Afghanistan.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Dec 1, 2001

Uses for the Japanese Proficiency Test

Tomorrow, foreigners from all over the world, from China to Mars, will be sitting for the Japanese Proficiency Test.
BUSINESS
Dec 1, 2001

Dentsu's TSE debut makes a big splash

Dentsu Inc., the nation's largest advertising agency, registered on Friday the maximum daily allowable gain -- 50,000 yen -- to end the day at 470,000 yen on its first day of trading on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
BUSINESS
Dec 1, 2001

Japan and Mexico seek FTA to solve trade issues

A study group agreed Friday in Tokyo that a free-trade agreement could solve issues hindering trade and investment activity between Japan and Mexico, domestic officials said.
JAPAN
Dec 1, 2001

Motivators instill staff with a new enthusiasm

With the economy in deep freeze, motivational firms that claim they have the power to inject new vim into lifeless workers are attracting the attention of executives yearning to recapture lost corporate brio.
JAPAN
Dec 1, 2001

Asia-Pacific nations back plan to fight corruption

Seventeen countries in the Asia-Pacific region endorsed an action plan to fight corruption at an international conference Friday in Tokyo, with each planning to set specific priorities for implementation.
EDITORIALS
Nov 30, 2001

Easing rules for police use of guns

Police officers in Japan are subject to strict restrictions in the use of handguns. This is held partly responsible for the increasing deaths of police in the line of duty. Beginning Dec. 1, however, they will be able to fire shots with less constraint when their lives, or those of others in need of...
JAPAN
Nov 30, 2001

Plan to scrap highway project has local interests up in arms

Having decided to dismantle and privatize Japan Highway Public Corp., the Cabinet of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi is now focusing on which road construction projects to cancel.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 30, 2001

Cheers for Bhutto in Delhi a reminder of region's shifty politics

Benazir Bhutto, Pakistan's former president, played the rights cards during her seven-year reign, endearing her to India while ensuring that she was not alienated from her own people.
JAPAN
Nov 30, 2001

Ohta angered by calls for Kansai airport delay

OSAKA -- Kansai officials were angered Wednesday upon hearing that the central government wants to delay completion of the second phase of Kansai International Airport, which was initially scheduled to be built in 2007.
JAPAN
Nov 30, 2001

Chongryun HQ searched after embezzlement arrests

The Metropolitan Police Department on Thursday searched the headquarters of the pro-Pyongyang General Association of Korean Residents in Japan (Chongryun) for evidence in an embezzlement scandal that has ensnared a senior official of the group.
JAPAN
Nov 30, 2001

Justice Ministry reveals deportee's bank deposits

The Justice Ministry has revealed that about 100 million yen was deposited into a bank account of one of nine Afghan men who were denied refugee status in Japan on grounds that they lack credibility as refugees.
JAPAN
Nov 30, 2001

First effort in 'war on terror' sees airlift of winter woolies

The Defense Agency on Thursday started airlifting supplies for U.S.-led forces fighting in Afghanistan, according to agency Vice Minister Ken Sato.
BUSINESS
Nov 30, 2001

Capital spending may drop in '01 despite planned rise

Actual fiscal 2001 capital outlays by Japanese firms are expected to shrink due to the effects of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States despite corporate plans that would have resulted in a second year of increase, Industrial Bank of Japan said.
JAPAN
Nov 30, 2001

Plan to scrap highway project has local interests up in arms

Having decided to dismantle and privatize Japan Highway Public Corp., the Cabinet of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi is now focusing on which road construction projects to cancel.
LIFE / Lifestyle / MATTER OF COURSE
Nov 30, 2001

Kids get down to classroom clean-ups

A few weeks before my son started first grade, I asked my friend Nagako to help me read the list of school supplies I needed to buy.
JAPAN
Nov 29, 2001

Ministry wants Kansai-runway delay

OSAKA -- The land ministry plans to postpone the opening of a second runway at Kansai International Airport by about three years from the original target of 2007, ministry sources said Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Nov 29, 2001

Life insurers' profits plunge

Business profits dipped at the nation's major life insurers, as falling share prices crippled securities portfolios and policyholders continued to flee, according to midterm earnings reports released by the companies Wednesday.
JAPAN
Nov 29, 2001

Diplomats who skimmed face ax

The Foreign Ministry will dismiss two noncareer diplomats on disciplinary grounds for diverting public funds for personal use, ministry sources said Wednesday.
EDITORIALS
Nov 29, 2001

Banks come to grips with bad debts

After years of timid attempts to clear mountains of nonperforming loans, Japanese banks appear to be finally coming to grips with the bad-debt crisis. In the half-year business term to September, most of the 14 top lenders took larger-than-expected charges against their dud loans, even dipping into their...

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