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JAPAN
Feb 12, 2003

Nepal man balks at murder rap pinned on brother

The Tokyo High Court in 2000 convicted Govinda Prasad Mainali for the 1997 robbery and murder of a Tokyo woman, but his brother believes he is innocent and is pushing to have him acquitted -- again.
EDITORIALS
Feb 11, 2003

Bond sales to individual investors

The government is set to sell long-term bonds exclusively to individual investors beginning in March -- the first time it will have issued such debt in Japan. On Feb. 3, it started accepting subscriptions at private financial institutions and post offices. Subscriptions for the first week reportedly...
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / MATTER OF COURSE
Feb 11, 2003

Finally, anti-tobacco lessons come to schools

Every time our family sits down in a restaurant in Japan, my 11-year-old sniffs the air with disgust. He waves a hand through the cigarette haze and glares at the smokers all around us. "What's the matter with these people?" he growled when we went out for a meal the other day. "Didn't anyone ever teach...
BUSINESS
Feb 8, 2003

Foreign reserves soar to $478 billion

Japan's foreign reserves hit a new record for the second straight month at the end of January, rising by $8.87 billion to reach $478.59 billion, the Finance Ministry said Friday.
JAPAN
Feb 7, 2003

Koizumi provides tacit support for U.S. attack

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi hinted Thursday that Japan would support a U.S.-led military offensive against Iraq "as an ally of the United States."
BUSINESS
Feb 7, 2003

METI to allow JNOC units to join operations

The government plans to let three Japan National Oil Corp. affiliates integrate operations as part of reforms to dissolve the money-losing state oil developer in two years, industry ministry officials said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Feb 6, 2003

Matsushita missed boat on camera phones: exec

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. missed its goal of capturing 25 percent of Japan's cellular phone market because of its late introduction of camera phones, the head of the company's mobile communications unit said. Panasonic brand cell phones finished 2002 with less than 20 percent of the domestic...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Feb 5, 2003

Interesting mix of foreign players, coaches and manager for 2003

Foreign players for 2003: Who's who?
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 5, 2003

Afghan teachers start training course

Twenty female teachers from Afghanistan began a one-month training course Tuesday at five women's universities as part of Japan's contribution to rebuilding the war-ravaged country.
COMMENTARY
Feb 4, 2003

Girding for a snap election

Events of the past month suggest that 2003 will be a turbulent year at home and abroad. In Japan, rumors of a snap general election are already making the rounds, while the ailing economy appears to be slipping back into recession.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 4, 2003

Girding for a snap election

Events of the past month suggest that 2003 will be a turbulent year at home and abroad. In Japan, rumors of a snap general election are already making the rounds, while the ailing economy appears to be slipping back into recession.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Feb 4, 2003

Service firms in Darwinian struggle to get to top of food chain

Global food service giants are making inroads into the nation's office and hospital cafeterias, triggering mergers and acquisitions in the world's second-largest institutional meal market.
EDITORIALS
Feb 4, 2003

Rhetoric still trumps reality

After nearly two years in office, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi is increasingly beleaguered in his bid to retool Japan's dysfunctional economic system. He is sticking to his banner slogans -- "Structural reform without sacred cows" and "No reform, no growth" -- but the gap between words and deeds...
EDITORIALS
Feb 3, 2003

Slogans without sanctuary

After nearly two years in office, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi is increasingly beleaguered in his bid to retool Japan's dysfunctional economic systems. He is sticking to his banner slogans -- "Structural reform without sanctuaries" and "No reform, no growth," but the gap between words and deeds continues...
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Feb 3, 2003

Beware of the risks of inflation targeting

America borrows to keep growing. China grows to keep standing still. And Japan stands still to keep from falling apart.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Feb 2, 2003

Can 007 fire up the Japanese on N. Korea?

As North Korea's threatening bluster continues to make international headlines, it seems almost bizarre that Japan, which would be in direct physical peril if a conflict erupted on the Korean Peninsula, has its mind on something else, namely Japanese citizens abducted by North Korean agents. Though important,...
JAPAN
Feb 2, 2003

No law to aid North Korea escapees: Abe

The government is not likely to enact a law to provide support for Japanese women who flee North Korea, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe said Saturday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 31, 2003

Shinsei experience: lattes in the lobby, free ATM transactions

A typical Japanese bank looks a bit like the dowdy, paper-shuffling office of a shoddily run company. There are plenty of bowing clerks. But don't count on conveniences like 24-hour ATMs.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 30, 2003

China hands over Japanese refugee

A Japanese woman who had been in Chinese custody for two weeks after fleeing North Korea in November arrived in Japan shortly before noon Wednesday, her first time home in 44 years.
JAPAN
Jan 30, 2003

Ship conveyed 1974 assassination order

A North Korean ship that makes irregular visits to Japan may have been used to convey orders from Pyongyang for the attempted assassination in 1974 of then South Korean President Park Chung Hee in Seoul, sources close to police investigations said Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Jan 29, 2003

Oshima says EU farm stance 'deserves discussion'

A European Union proposal on farm trade liberalization talks "deserves discussion," farm minister Tadamori Oshima said Tuesday, suggesting Japan's willingness to work in concert with the EU.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / NEW ART SEEN
Jan 29, 2003

A true master of the art of making photographs

I remember once playing a little mind game with Tokyo-based photographer Torin Boyd. We were sitting in a Kabukicho bar, looking through his portfolio. Every time I said something about "taking pictures," in his response he substituted the verb "make" for the verb "take," as in "I made this picture last...
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Jan 28, 2003

Doing the tango, mama-san misery and chopper care

Learning the tango Today I found white and pink plum trees in full bloom in a local hillside cemetery.
COMMENTARY
Jan 27, 2003

The war dead deserve better

I was stunned by news reports that Junichiro Koizumi recently made his third visit as prime minister to Yasukuni Shrine. After his two previous visits drew strong protests from China and South Korea, and after he struggled to justify the visits, officials in both countries must be amazed and angered....
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Jan 27, 2003

Corporations cast a shadow on education

NEW YORK -- Did you know that Stanford University has a Yahoo! Chair of Information Management Systems?

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