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JAPAN
Aug 11, 2001

Ex-UNEP official pushes business solutions to environment problems

Despite a sign of global economic recession, the private sector can help solve environmental issues by creating new business and stimulating the economy, according to Noel Brown, former director of the North American regional office of the United Nations Environmental Program.
JAPAN
Aug 11, 2001

Authorities forced to slash water intake

Record-breaking temperatures and scant rainfall have prompted authorities across the nation to cut water intake, with the government warning that water shortages in the Kanto, Chubu and Shikoku areas could match those during Japan's worst recorded drought eight years ago.
EDITORIALS
Aug 10, 2001

Easing the pain of reform

Japan's unemployment rate stood at 4.9 percent in June, setting the worst post-World War II record for two consecutive months. It is likely to go up higher still, as Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's economic-reform plans received a solid mandate in the July 29 Upper House election. For one thing, bad-debt...
BUSINESS
Aug 10, 2001

New banks face rough ride to turn profit: S&P

Japan's banking upstarts are facing big challenges in terms of overcoming high operational risks and securing profitability, Standard & Poor's Corp. said Thursday.
JAPAN
Aug 9, 2001

Shinkansen tax break eyed for JR Tokai

The transport ministry may give tax relief to Central Japan Railway Co. (JR Tokai) in an attempt to reduce the financial burden stemming from the carrier's repairs to the Tokaido Shinkansen Line, ministry officials said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Aug 9, 2001

War criminal kin's widow on peace quest

Shizue Sugano, 60, a relative by marriage to Class-A war criminal Koki Hirota, embarked on her antiwar pilgrimage in 1994.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Aug 9, 2001

Injunction process hopeless; fate of Bullfrog Pond sealed

The fate of Bullfrog Pond now rests in the hands of a Tokyo District Court judge, but the wheels of justice turn slowly in Japan. The court has yet to grant a crucial injunction, and hearings have dragged into their third month. Meantime, the pond in Tokyo's Minato Ward, known as Gama-ike, is being destroyed....
JAPAN
Aug 8, 2001

Tokyo schools for disabled to get contentious history text

The Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Education voted Tuesday to use a controversial history textbook at three public schools for disabled children.
BUSINESS
Aug 8, 2001

YGK to launch originally designed sports car model

YGK Co. will launch an originally designed sports car in Japan and overseas in November 2002, the Yamagata-based company said Tuesday.
EDITORIALS
Aug 8, 2001

Posturing from Moscow

North Korean leader Kim Jong Il's high-profile visit to Moscow last weekend produced no big surprise. A joint declaration signed by Mr. Kim and Russian President Vladimir Putin is largely a reiteration of the two nations' declared security concerns. The two leaders reaffirmed their position on the U.S....
BUSINESS
Aug 8, 2001

J-Phone to launch i-mode watcher

Japan Telecom Co. said Tuesday it will establish a new Web directory service Aug. 15 to allow J-Phone users to check sites prepared for NTT DoCoMo's i-mode service for a monthly charge of 100 yen.
CULTURE / Art
Aug 8, 2001

Aida dishes up tough stuff to chew on

After spending the better part of the last year living and working in New York City, Niigata-born Makoto Aida is back in Japan with a show at Nadiff, a compact and cool art gallery/bookstore/cafe tucked down a side street just off Tokyo's fashionable Omotesando boulevard.
JAPAN
Aug 8, 2001

Chinese writer heads drive to build schools in Asia, Africa

After graduating from Shanghai's Fudan University, studying Japanese at Tokyo's Takushoku University and history at the University of Tokyo, Chinese writer Ye Qing is now leading a drive to construct elementary schools in Asia and Africa.
JAPAN
Aug 7, 2001

Japanese prosthesis maker finds her calling in Rwanda

As Rwandan swimmer Cesar Rwagasana strode into the Sydney stadium during the opening ceremony of last year's Paralympic Games, he was closely followed by Mami Yoshida, the woman who helped him walk again.
COMMENTARY
Aug 7, 2001

Loner behavior vexes allies

LONDON -- For Europe and for Japan the maintenance of good relations with the United States is vital. The U.S. commitments to NATO and to the defense of Japan are so important that Europe and Japan may often have to make concessions to U.S. views with which they have good reasons to disagree. The U.S....
EDITORIALS
Aug 7, 2001

Legacies of the Gulf War

Eleven years ago, Iraq invaded Kuwait and set in motion a series of events that would culminate in the Persian Gulf War. The U.N. coalition drove the invader from Kuwait and humiliated the once-vaunted Iraqi war machine. But in the decade since that defeat, Iraqi President Saddam Hussein has retaken...
Events
Aug 7, 2001

Kansai hoping to revitalize with return to cultural roots

KYOTO -- The Kansai region is about to host a unique performing arts festival that organizers hope will spark a regional renaissance at a time when the nation is facing a bleak future.
BUSINESS
Aug 7, 2001

Minicar presence gains on automaker innovation

Minicars were once regarded by Japanese consumers as second-class, cheap vehicles.
JAPAN
Aug 6, 2001

Yasukuni visit 'will certainly be made,' says Yamasaki

Taku Yamasaki, secretary general of the governing Liberal Democratic Party, said Sunday that Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi will definitely pay a visit to Yasukuni Shrine, where Class A war criminals are honored, despite strong opposition from neighboring Asian countries.
JAPAN
Aug 6, 2001

Outdoor accidents claim nine lives

Nine people died, two went missing and five others were injured Sunday in accidents on rivers, mountains and seas across Japan, according to a Kyodo News survey.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Aug 5, 2001

The big day

When 645 guests descended on Tokyo's New Takanawa Hotel last month to celebrate the marriage of 46-year-old former pop idol Hideki Saijo to Miki Makihara, a 28-year-old "office lady" he'd been dating since the fall, the starstruck media gushed at length over the "super gorgeous" event.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Aug 5, 2001

Terrors, real and imagined

August means hot weather and ghost stories to add a little chill to the muggy air. Tonight, on TV Tokyo's "Sunday Big Special" (7 p.m.), host Tsurutaro Kataoka will explore various occultish phenomena for either your terrified delectation or your nonbelieving derision.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Aug 5, 2001

If at first you don't succeed . . .

FUKUOKA -- Divorce and remarriage have been possible in Japan since feudal times, though until recently shame and social stigma ensured that few unhappy couples formalized their differences -- let alone took the plunge again.
JAPAN
Aug 4, 2001

People of all ages are turning to a variety of volunteer work

Japanese men and women of all ages are increasingly spending their spare time engaging in a variety of volunteer work, ranging from restoring traditional "minka" wooden houses in the countryside to recycling secondhand computers.
BUSINESS
Aug 4, 2001

Nikkeiren urges jobless safety net

FUJIYOSHIDA, Yamanashi Pref. -- Hiroshi Okuda, chairman of the Japan Federation of Employers' Associations (Nikkeiren), said creating a safety net for the unemployed should be a priority for Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, who is promoting structural reforms.
JAPAN
Aug 4, 2001

Kato named U.S. ambassador

Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka formally gave in to Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's ministry personnel requests Friday, agreeing to appoint Deputy Foreign Minister Ryozo Kato as the next ambassador to the United States, replacing Shunji Yanai.

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