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JAPAN
Jan 3, 2002

Tokyo handed rights to explore Mexico oil fields

Japan National Oil Corp. has acquired exclusive exploration rights to major Mexican oil fields, paving the way for Japan to lessen its dependency on Middle Eastern oil, according to government sources.
JAPAN
Jan 1, 2002

Koizumi-Kim TV gambit starts big exchange year

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and South Korean President Kim Dae Jung will broadcast televised messages to each other's nations today, kick-starting a yearlong series of events aimed at boosting bilateral ties.
BUSINESS
Jan 1, 2002

Innovative banking upstarts struggle to establish foothold

New, innovative entrants into the domestic banking sector have struggled to establish themselves amid the turbulent business climate.
JAPAN
Dec 31, 2001

Top 10 news stories of 2001

Japan Times editors picked the following domestic news stories as the most important of 2001:
JAPAN
Dec 31, 2001

Sunken mystery ship's sister vessel docks in North Korea

A vessel suspected of being in a fleet that included an unidentified ship that sank Dec. 22 in the East China Sea after exchanging fire with Japanese patrol boats has returned to North Korean shores, according to well-placed sources.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Dec 30, 2001

Tokugawa diplomacy: Foundering in the waters of distrust

PRISONERS FROM NAMBU: Reality and Make-Believe in 17th-Century Japanese Diplomacy, by Reinier H. Hesselink. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2001, 215 pp., $47.00 (cloth), $24.95 (paper) The Dutch presence in Japan during the Edo Period is one of the most intriguing episodes of Europe's global...
LIFE / Food & Drink / THE WAY OF WASHOKU
Dec 30, 2001

This will be the last slurp of the rest of your year

Even if preparing other Japanese New Year's dishes seems beyond your ability, you can't go wrong with toshikoshi ("year-crossing") soba, the noodles eaten just before midnight on o-misoka, New Year's Eve.
JAPAN / Media / CHANNEL SURF
Dec 30, 2001

A holiday basking in the blue glow

Depending on how you feel about the New Year's holidays and Japanese TV programming in general, the first week of the year is either the best week for TV or the worst. Most New Year's specials mimic what the average Japanese family is doing at home. Celebrities sit around in their finest holiday duds...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 29, 2001

Koizumi plays public relations game like a pro

This was the year of the Koizumi craze.
JAPAN
Dec 29, 2001

Tokyo, Seoul strike deal in fishing talks

Japan and South Korea reached a basic fisheries agreement Friday, with Tokyo offering Seoul the same quota of saury next year as this year in waters off northeastern Japan, the Fisheries Agency said.
JAPAN
Dec 28, 2001

Tokyo rejects Pyongyang's 'brutal piracy' accusations

Japan rejects North Korea's accusation that the sinking of an unidentified ship after a shootout with Japanese patrol boats was "an act of piracy," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda said Thursday.
JAPAN
Dec 28, 2001

Foreign inmates could serve sentences at home

Japan may ratify an international treaty next year under which foreign inmates would be repatriated to serve out their prison terms at home, government officials said Thursday.
ENVIRONMENT / GARDENS FOR ALL
Dec 27, 2001

Berries to bring cheer at the turn of the year

The festive season is in full swing, and though it's cold outside in the parks and gardens there are still plants that bring joy to our hearts -- few more so than the nanten (Nandinia domestica) with their profusion of attractive bright-red berries at this time of year.
BUSINESS
Dec 27, 2001

Rush imports up but leeks, shiitake down

Imports of rush, or tatami straw, continued to surge in the week to Dec. 21 over a year before, but those of stone leeks and shiitake fell, according to government data released Wednesday. The drop was attributed to voluntary efforts by Chinese exporters.
BUSINESS
Dec 26, 2001

Fishery talks with South Korea fizzle

Japan and South Korea ended two days of fishery talks Tuesday without reaching agreement on specifics such as quotas for saury catches inside each other's 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zones.
JAPAN
Dec 26, 2001

Koizumi wants ship in shootout salvaged

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said Tuesday he thinks the unidentified ship that sank in the East China Sea on Saturday after a shootout with Japan Coast Guard patrol ships should be salvaged for investigation purposes if possible.
CULTURE / Art
Dec 26, 2001

Still F.A.B. after all these years

Almost four decades after taking off on the TV screen, "Thunderbirds are go" once more.
CULTURE / Music / J-POPSICLE
Dec 26, 2001

Tower's pop fire flickers?

A lot of people in the music biz -- not to mention regular music fans -- were shocked by reports that surfaced last week to the effect that all or part of Tower Records' Japanese operations will be sold.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 25, 2001

Koizumi orders review of 'spy ship' response

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said Monday he has ordered a review of the response Saturday to a possible spy ship in Japan's exclusive economic zone with a view to enhancing the country's ability to deal with similar cases in the future.
COMMENTARY
Dec 24, 2001

No rush to ease rules against layoffs

A government advisory group recommends that Japan consider legislation to establish standards and rules for layoffs. A report to Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi by the Council for Regulatory Reform covers a wide range of subjects, including medical care, welfare and education. However, resolving the...
JAPAN
Dec 24, 2001

Koizumi justifies shots fired at mystery ship

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said Sunday the Japan Coast Guard fired on an unidentified ship believed to be from North Korea in "legitimate self-defense."
JAPAN
Dec 24, 2001

Coast guard ships retrieve bodies of two suspected spies

The Japan Coast Guard on Sunday recovered two bodies believed to be crew members of a suspected North Korean ship that sank off Kyushu after exchanging fire with Japanese patrol boats Saturday night, coast guard officials said.
JAPAN
Dec 23, 2001

New Year travel by train likely to peak Dec. 29-30

The peak period for outbound passengers on Japan Railway trains over the New Year period will fall on Dec. 29-30, while Tokyo-bound trains will peak Jan. 3, according to bookings made for Dec. 28 through Jan. 6, according to the JR group.
JAPAN
Dec 23, 2001

Women's rights activist Kato dies at 104

Shizue Kato, one of the first Japanese women to become a Diet member and a pioneer of women's rights in Japan -- particularly known for her advocacy of birth control -- died Saturday from respiratory failure at a relative's house in Tokyo's Bunkyo Ward, her family said. She was 104.
BUSINESS
Dec 22, 2001

Governments wait to see how far yen will fall

Although the yen remains under downward pressure, Washington, Beijing and other countries across Asia have adopted a wait-and-see policy.
SOCCER / World cup
Dec 22, 2001

Huge financial windfall predicted from World Cup

Next year's World Cup soccer finals, to be cohosted by South Korea and Japan, could generate economic benefits of up to 3.6 trillion yen if Japan wins the tournament, two private research institutes said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Dec 21, 2001

Domestic car sales expected to fall for second year in row

Domestic sales of automobiles, including minivehicles, are likely to shrink by 0.7 percent in 2002 to 5.88 million vehicles for the second straight year of decline, an industry group said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Dec 20, 2001

China puts forth new proposal regarding trade rift

Japan and China failed to reach a breakthrough at vice-ministerial talks Wednesday on the trade row stemming from Japanese import curbs on three farm products, but agreed to resume talks.

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