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EDITORIALS
Nov 9, 2001

ASEAN dares to dream

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations has once again demonstrated its willingness to dream. This year's summit meeting, held this week in Brunei, ended with a call to conclude a free-trade area with China. It is a seductive vision, but it is hard to envision the project's success: ASEAN is already...
JAPAN
Nov 9, 2001

Tobacco tax increase eyed

The ruling coalition is considering raising the tobacco tax 1 yen to 2 yen per cigarette in fiscal 2002 to help compensate for an expected shortfall in government revenues amid the prolonged economic slump, coalition officials said.
BUSINESS
Nov 9, 2001

Takefuji logs first-half leap in net profits

Takefuji Corp. said Thursday its consolidated net profits in the first half of the 2001 business year rose 9.9 percent from a year earlier to 66.19 billion yen.
JAPAN / STAGING A COMEBACK
Nov 9, 2001

Successful firms have learned importance of patents

It was a big challenge for Canon Inc., one of Japan's top camera makers, to embark on the copy machine business in the late 1960s, as the market was dominated by the U.S. giant Xerox Corp.
BUSINESS
Nov 9, 2001

Marubeni's '01 outlook sours

In a dramatic reversal of fortune, Marubeni Corp. expects to post consolidated net losses of 105 billion yen for the 2001 business year after earlier projecting a 15 billion yen profit, company officials said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Nov 9, 2001

Asahi says markets don't understand as shares plunge

Asahi Bank President Yukio Yanase said the sharp plunge in Asahi shares Thursday was caused by the market's poor understanding of its strategy, though he failed to offer new information that would ease concerns about the major bank.
JAPAN
Nov 9, 2001

Alternative energy empowering consumers

With increasing demand for cost-efficient and environment-friendly energy, a growing number of hotels, hospitals and major industrial facilities are adopting cogeneration -- a system that makes more efficient use of heat and electricity generated from the same source.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / LEARNING BY HEART
Nov 9, 2001

Music, dance help young minds and bodies grow

For American Amy Nanavati, the mother of 1-year-old Elizabeth, moving to Tokyo from New York earlier this year felt overwhelming. And then she discovered Kindermusik.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Nov 9, 2001

Aphid

* Japanese name: Aburamushi * Scientific name: Aphididae * Description: Aphids are small, green insects that grow 1-6 mm long. They have soft, oval-shaped bodies, sometimes with wings and sometimes without. They have long, tubular mouths, like drinking straws. There are more than 600 species of aphid...
BUSINESS
Nov 8, 2001

Japan, China trade row remains at stalemate

Japan and China failed to break an impasse over a trade dispute stemming from curbs on three farm imports mainly from China as they resumed public and private-sector talks Wednesday, Japanese officials said.
JAPAN
Nov 8, 2001

Japanese merit peace prize: scholar

A U.S. scholar engaged in spreading the spirit of the Japanese Constitution's war-renouncing Article 9 will propose Thursday in New York that the article and the Japanese people be awarded a special Nobel Peace Prize, his supporters in Japan said.
EDITORIALS
Nov 8, 2001

Better, cheaper welfare goods needed

About 18 months have passed since the introduction of long-term care insurance based on the principle of the "socialization of care." From October, elderly people aged 65 and over have been paying the full insurance premium. This is an important period for solidifying the system. The Ministry of Health,...
BUSINESS
Nov 8, 2001

Nikkeiren asks for another extra budget

The chairman of the Japan Federation of Employer's Associations (Nikkeiren) urged the government on Wednesday to draw up a second supplementary budget.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 8, 2001

For many Arab regimes, the 'war on terror' begins at home

BEIRUT -- The United States has long divided Arab regimes into two broad categories: the friendly, pro-Western "moderate" ones and the less friendly, "radical" ones. Since Sept. 11, two key "moderates' -- Egypt and Saudi Arabia -- have undergone a drastic change of status in American eyes. Only arch-villain...
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 8, 2001

Taxing currency speculators

LONDON -- The decision by European economy and finance ministers in Liege on Sept. 23 to commission a study of the effect of "Tobin-style" taxes on currency transactions indicates a new and surprising high-water mark of support for taxation on speculative capital flows.
SOCCER / World cup
Nov 8, 2001

Japan, Italy battle to draw

In a game of two contrasting halves, Japan and Italy played to a 1-1 draw in an international soccer friendly in front of 61,833 spectators at the Saitama Stadium 2002 on Wednesday night.
COMMENTARY / WASHINGTON UPDATE
Nov 8, 2001

Partisan politics heat up

WASHINGTON -- You can feel the change. It is not back to politics as usual -- pre-Sept. 11 variety -- but the partisan blood is flowing again in the body politic. In the spirit of accommodation that has marked the post-attack period, Congress has been passing major measures of great consequence on a...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 8, 2001

Consumers given mushrooming choices

Autumn is the season for mushrooms in Japan. Every year at this time, supermarket shelves are stocked with a variety of fresh mushrooms, which are used for such seasonal dishes as "nabe" hot-pot meals. They are also popular skewered on yakitori sticks or served in miso soup.
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Nov 8, 2001

All the leaves are brown -- anyone know why?

In Japan, the beauty of leaves in autumn is revered with almost religious fervor. Part of the autumn weather forecast is devoted to showing the "leaf front" as the color change in trees moves across the country. Millions of tourists travel to marvel at the display.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 8, 2001

Memorial held for Mike Mansfield, longest-serving U.S. envoy to Japan

A memorial service for former U.S. Ambassador to Japan Mike Mansfield, who died Oct. 5 in Washington at the age of 98, was held Wednesday at a hotel in Tokyo.
BUSINESS
Nov 8, 2001

Japan, China trade row remains at stalemate

Japan and China failed to break an impasse over a trade dispute stemming from curbs on three farm imports mainly from China as they resumed public and private-sector talks Wednesday, Japanese officials said.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Nov 8, 2001

Creation of wants and the damage done

Who's consuming whom? Are we consuming advertising and living a better life because it educates us about a wide range of choices? Or is advertising consuming us, urging us to want, need and buy whatever the market has to offer?
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
Nov 8, 2001

Baseball hits cricket for a home run

"Baseball is better than cricket."
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 8, 2001

Ex-Sogo chief denies hiding assets

Hiroo Mizushima, former chairman of failed department store chain Sogo Co., pleaded not guilty Wednesday before the Tokyo District Court to charges of concealing assets to avoid their seizure by creditors.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Nov 8, 2001

Natural-born killers rich in grace and guile

When all that separates you from the night is a thin layer of canvas, and when that night consists of a darkness that is thick and soft like a blanket, sounds seem very close.

Longform

In 2020, 38% of all households were single-person. That figure is projected to rise to 44.3% by 2050.
The rise of AI companionship in a lonely Japan