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JAPAN
Oct 18, 2001

FTC probes four medical goods firms

The Fair Trade Commission on Wednesday began investigating four medical equipment companies suspected of forming a price-fixing cartel for bone-fracture materials and other medical supplies, according to sources.
JAPAN
Oct 18, 2001

Ex-Afghan ambassador fears statelessness

Former Afghan Ambassador to Japan Hassani Mohammad Asif says his greatest worry as U.S.-led forces pound his native land is that he and his family will be left stateless.
JAPAN
Oct 16, 2001

Imperial Japanese Navy trombone returned after more than 50 years

More than 50 years after being discarded in the chaos of a Pacific island combat zone, an Imperial Japanese Navy trombone has been returned to Japan -- in a condition nearly as good as when it left the factory.
JAPAN
Oct 14, 2001

Sommelier believes there's more to serving up a fine wine

Takashi Atsuta knows precisely what his customers need to round out a delicious meal. Good food and wine are essential, but the 63-year-old sommelier believes that good service -- with sincerity -- also makes a great difference. Being a sommelier is not just a matter of knowing about wines and selecting...
JAPAN
Oct 14, 2001

Steps drawn up to fight nuclear, chemical threat

Government ministries and agencies have drawn up antiterrorism measures to deal with attacks involving nuclear, biological or chemical weapons, government officials said Saturday.
CULTURE / Books
Oct 14, 2001

David Mitchell experiments with success

Like his complex and cleverly constructed novels, a conversation with British writer David Mitchell is enjoyably cerebral and full of references to books, music and out-of-the-way places he has visited. Sitting in the famous sunken garden Shukkei-en in Hiroshima, the city he now calls home, Mitchell,...
JAPAN
Oct 13, 2001

Opposition ridicules Koizumi's concept of proof

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi was challenged during a House of Representatives committee session Friday over his idea of what constitutes evidence of guilt.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Oct 13, 2001

Koh Gabriel Kameda

Ten years ago, Koh Gabriel Kameda made his debut concert tour of Japan. He was 17 then, delicate and sensitive, and already confident and polished as exclusively a violinist. As soloist he had accumulated experience in concert performances with different orchestras playing in different countries. He...
JAPAN
Oct 12, 2001

Kenya given terms to continue dam project

The government laid out conditions this week to Kenya for the continuation of a Japanese-funded project to expand the African country's capacity to generate electricity, Japanese officials said.
JAPAN
Oct 12, 2001

Political rapport to smooth cultural ties

As Japan's frosty political relations with China and South Korea head for a long-awaited thaw, its high-level cultural contacts with the two Asian neighbors are expected to follow suit.
JAPAN
Oct 12, 2001

Koizumi calls for DPJ support

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi called on the opposition camp Thursday to back a government-proposed bill that would allow SDF personnel to play a noncombat role in the U.S.-led military drama now playing out in Afghanistan.
ENVIRONMENT / GARDENING FOR ALL
Oct 11, 2001

Firmly rooted in tradition and daily life

In the foothills of Mount Fuji, there is a fascinating botanical garden devoted to the cultivation and display of bamboo plants and products. Unique in this country, the Fuji Bamboo Garden, which opened on its 4-hectare site in 1951, cultivates more than 500 species and cultivars of bamboo from around...
JAPAN
Oct 10, 2001

Tokyo-Seoul fisheries talks start today

Japan and South Korea will hold two days of fisheries talks beginning today in Tokyo to discuss fishing conditions in each other's exclusive economic zones next year, the Japanese Fisheries Agency said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Oct 10, 2001

Security measures expanded to cover 580 areas

Security has been expanded to encompass 580 locations nationwide, including those affiliated with countries supporting the U.S.-led military action against targets in Afghanistan, the chairman of the National Public Safety Commission said Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Oct 9, 2001

Nation's airlines remaining steadfast in face of aftershocks from terrorism

Declines in passenger loads and increases in insurance premiums after last month's devastating terrorist attacks in the United States are threats to Japanese airlines as they are to other carriers, but reaction in Japan may not be as drastic.
BUSINESS
Oct 9, 2001

Oil-dependent industries worry strikes may hit Middle East

Japanese industries are concerned that the U.S. retaliatory strikes on targets in Afghanistan on Sunday will expand to the Middle East, leading to a surge in crude oil prices.
JAPAN
Oct 8, 2001

Ozawa warns against unprincipled SDF action

Opposition Liberal Party leader Ichiro Ozawa reiterated his opposition Sunday to a bill aimed at allowing the Self-Defense Forces to extend logistic assistance to an expected U.S.-led military operation against terrorists.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Oct 7, 2001

Ichiro, Ichiro, Ichinooo!

"All the world's a stage," a well-known English playwright declared in "As You Like It," adding: "And all the men and women merely players . . . "
JAPAN
Oct 6, 2001

State aims to let coast guard fire first at suspected spy ships

Two years after humiliatingly failing to capture suspected North Korean spy boats violating Japan's territorial waters, the government submitted a bill Friday to the Diet that would give the Japan Coast Guard new powers to fire on suspicious vessels.
JAPAN
Oct 6, 2001

Diet receives bill for SDF to support U.S. action

The Cabinet approved a bill Friday to combat terrorism that will allow Japan's armed forces to support U.S.-led operations against terrorist suspects in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks in the United States.
BUSINESS
Oct 6, 2001

Foreign reserves top $397 billion

Japan's foreign exchange reserves hit a record high $397.02 billion at the end of September, up $24.80 billion from the previous high set in August, the Finance Ministry said Friday.
JAPAN
Oct 5, 2001

Bond cap may go: Koizumi

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi suggested Thursday that he is ready to withdraw his policy goal of limiting the current fiscal year's net bond issues to within 30 trillion yen.
JAPAN
Oct 5, 2001

Archaeologist exposed again

Disgraced archaeologist Shinichi Fujimura, who previously admitted to planting pieces of Paleolithic tools at two sites in northern Japan, has also admitted faking discoveries at at least 30 sites in the Tohoku region and Saitama Prefecture, archaeological association sources said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Oct 5, 2001

Japanese, ASEAN execs mull China, terror attacks

The annual meeting between business leaders from Japan and six of the 10 ASEAN countries began Thursday in Tokyo.
JAPAN
Oct 5, 2001

A-bomb survivor sues state for lost medical benefits

OSAKA -- A South Korean man filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the Japanese government, seeking compensation for the termination of his medical benefits as an atomic bomb survivor on the grounds that he left Japan to return home, his lawyers said.
BUSINESS
Oct 4, 2001

Reform panel eyes privatization of Shoko Chukin

The secretariat of a government panel charged with drawing up administrative reforms plans to call for the privatization of Shoko Chukin Bank, the state-run lender to small and midsize companies, as well as 57 of 86 government-backed public corporations, government sources said.
BUSINESS
Oct 4, 2001

South Africa forum touts cooperation

Japanese and South African business leaders agreed at a forum in Tokyo on Wednesday that they will further cooperate to promote investment and trade in the natural resource, automobile and information technology industries.

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