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EDITORIALS
Aug 18, 2001

Grim forecast for the Mideast

The low-grade war between Israel and the Palestinians continues. The number of victims increases every day, but the greatest casualty may be the hopes for any resolution of the violence. Real peace will require some measure of trust and goodwill between the two parties. Both these qualities are practically...
BUSINESS
Aug 18, 2001

Foreign carmakers going small to increase presence in Japan

By offering smaller, more affordable cars and increasing their visibility in the marketplace, foreign automakers are gradually increasing their presence in Japan.
BUSINESS
Aug 18, 2001

Crucial days of negotiations lie ahead for 'oil diplomacy'

Quietly, but nevertheless significantly, Japan's oil diplomacy is entering one of its most crucial stages ever. Success or failure could determine the future of the nation's energy security -- and even that of its economy as a whole.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 18, 2001

U.S. mortgaging wealth before recession

NEW DELHI -- It's becoming increasingly clear that the U.S. economy, despite a sharp slowdown, is holding the world against a global recession. Americans are borrowing globally and using the money to consume the goods of the world. Alas! This can continue only as long as U.S. assets exceed liabilities....
BUSINESS
Aug 18, 2001

Suntory profits decline 24% in first half of year

OSAKA -- Beverage company Suntory Ltd. said Friday its group net profit in the first half of 2001 fell 24.1 percent from a year earlier to 5.65 billion yen.
JAPAN
Aug 18, 2001

Yokota Air Base to host Tokyo drill

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government said Friday that it will use the U.S. Air Force's Yokota Air Base in western Tokyo as a transportation hub for emergency vehicles when it conducts a disaster simulation drill Sept. 1.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Aug 18, 2001

Iron your troubles away and keep taking herbs

My local Japanese doctor was blunt: Bad knees? It's osteoarthritis, and can only get worse. Forget cycling, yoga -- all forms of exercise.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Aug 18, 2001

Visitors' deep-seated terror: Asian toilets

It's hard to say which culture is more enamored with the Western-style toilet -- the Japanese or the Americans. While in Japan, the Asian-style squat toilet still rules, the Western-style sit-down toilet is making inroads. In fact, most new homes are equipped with the Western "porcelain god."
COMMENTARY
Aug 18, 2001

Many twists in the road to democracy

ISLAMABAD -- The road map for returning Pakistan to democracy, delivered this month by President Pervez Musharraf has ended a long wait for a number of countries, including the United States, which had repeatedly urged the former general to state exactly when democracy would be restored.
JAPAN
Aug 18, 2001

'Beetlemania' taking Japan by storm

The Japanese children's pastime of catching stag beetles during the sultry summer months appears to be turning into outright "beetlemania," given the reported surge in overseas poaching of the six-legged black diamonds for sale in Japan.
BUSINESS
Aug 18, 2001

Fire policy sales on hot streak

Major nonlife insurance firms enjoyed sizable increases in sales of fire insurance policies and resultant rises in premium revenues in the April-July period.
JAPAN
Aug 18, 2001

Seoul bars Japanese accused of atrocities during colonial rule

Compiled from wire reports SEOUL -- The South Korean government imposed a permanent entry ban Friday on 25 Japanese accused of civilian massacres and abuses during Japan's 1910-1945 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Aug 18, 2001

Joe Grace

"To all those who remember me in Tokyo, be certain that there is life after retirement. You've just got to find your niche," Joe Grace said.
BUSINESS
Aug 18, 2001

DoCoMo fixes glitch in handset

NTT DoCoMo Inc. said Friday it has solved a technical problem at base stations that prevented its P503i Hyper mobile phones from receiving incoming calls and e-mails in some areas.
JAPAN
Aug 18, 2001

Seoul politicians slam Yasukuni visit

Five visiting members of South Korea's National Assembly on Friday criticized Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's visit to Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine as "anachronistic."
JAPAN
Aug 18, 2001

Robber drops proceeds of heist

A man stormed into a post office in Tokyo's Koto Ward before it opened Friday morning, threatening to set fire to the building before making off with about 1.6 million yen, nearly all of which was recovered after he dropped it nearby, police said.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 17, 2001

Co-opting new elites divides Communists

"The 'Three Represents' is completely elitist," Cabestan said, referring to Jiang's well-publicized formulation for making the party represent the "most advanced production technology, the most advanced culture, and the broadest interests of the people."
BUSINESS
Aug 17, 2001

Minister to slash housing loans by 10% next year

The infrastructure minister plans to reduce the number of houses that are covered by loans from Government Housing Loan Corp. by 10 percent in fiscal 2002 from the current fiscal year to around 500,000 units, ministry sources said Thursday.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 17, 2001

India's hardliners wait as pressures wear out premier

When the Agra summit between India and Pakistan failed last month, it was widely feared that its biggest victim would be the Indian prime minister: Atal Bihari Vajpayee might have to go.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 17, 2001

Macedonian crossfire threat

LONDON -- Ever since the Federation of Yugoslavia broke up a decade ago, the fate of the territories over which Marshal Tito ruled for most of the postwar period has provided not just an internal cycle of war and separation, but also a series of major challenges for the international community, in particular...
JAPAN
Aug 17, 2001

Robbers tie 10 up in bar, kill manager

A group of men stormed a hostess club in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward on Thursday morning, fatally stabbing the manager and tying up the other 10 people in the establishment during a robbery, police said. Investigators believe the culprits may be Chinese.
BUSINESS
Aug 17, 2001

Free up assets by renting warehouses: ProLogis

The conventional practice of maintaining warehouses as corporate assets may be a thing of the past as asset prices fall and companies face fierce competition, according to Stuart Gibson, vice president of ProLogis Japan.
JAPAN
Aug 17, 2001

Revision of GDP shows gain of 0.1%

The government on Thursday revised economic growth upward for the January-March quarter to a real 0.1 percent growth over the previous quarter, following its preliminary prediction of a 0.2 percent contraction.
JAPAN
Aug 17, 2001

Population decline not all bad news

Japan's population is charting a downward trajectory.

Longform

Bear attacks have dominated Japanese news headlines in recent months, with 13 people so far having been killed by the animals.
Japan’s bears have been on their killing spree for more than 100 years