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BUSINESS
Mar 5, 2002

Nikkei soars above 11,000

Tokyo stocks surged Monday, lifting the 225-issue Nikkei average to its highest closing since Aug. 16 on Friday's jump in U.S. stocks and the failure of midsize contractor Sato Kogyo Co., which spurred hope banks are seriously tackling their bad loans.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 4, 2002

Beating the U.N. endgame in Cambodia

CANBERRA -- The U.N. Secretariat's Feb. 8 announcement ending further cooperation with Cambodia on jointly run Khmer Rouge trials has set off a round of international commentary, mostly unfavorable to Cambodia. Here is an attempt to set the record straight, based on reliable public sources.
COMMENTARY
Mar 4, 2002

Research needs cutting edge

Since Japan has already decided to reorganize national universities into public corporations in fiscal 2004, it would be useless now to discuss the pros and cons of the plan. I happen to feel the plan will do neither harm nor good.
JAPAN
Feb 27, 2002

Minister hints CJD settlement near

The government will do its utmost to settle a lawsuit by one Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease victim and 19 families of deceased victims who are seeking a total of 1.16 billion yen in compensation from the state and companies involved, the health minister said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Feb 27, 2002

Free-lancers, Web 'media' under bill

A human rights bill being prepared to, in part, protect individuals from excessive media coverage will apply to freelance reporters working in all media -- including the Internet -- as well as reporters employed by news organizations, the government said Tuesday.
BUSINESS / TAKING STOCK
Feb 26, 2002

Banks to need public funds

The question now is whether the government should inject public funds into banks anew to stabilize the financial system.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 26, 2002

Sonar echoes may come from sunken 'spy' vessel

A sonar search that began Monday for an unidentified ship that sank in the East China Sea in December after a firefight with Japanese patrol vessels has picked up telltale echoes from the seabed where the vessel is believed to have gone down, Japan Coast Guard officials said.
JAPAN
Feb 25, 2002

Tires and child seats to be subject to recalls under revised vehicle law

The transport ministry plans to include tires and child seats as items that can be recalled under the Road Trucking Vehicle Law, according to a bill for submission to the current Diet session that was made available Sunday.
JAPAN
Feb 25, 2002

Bill puts localities under state's control in event of attack

A bill designed to deal with direct military attacks on Japan will make it clear that local governments must obey a governmental task force on war contingencies headed by the prime minister, according to a copy of the bill's outline.
JAPAN
Feb 25, 2002

Human rights bill bolsters press freedom

A human rights bill being prepared by the government aims to protect press freedom despite mounting public criticism about invasions of privacy and overzealous crime reporting by journalists, sources familiar with the bill have said.
JAPAN
Feb 23, 2002

'Spy ship' sunk after fight set to be filmed for clues

The government will use an underwater camera next week to investigate an unidentified ship that sank in December in the East China Sea after exchanging fire with Japan Coast Guard vessels, transport minister Chikage Ogi said Friday.
BUSINESS
Feb 23, 2002

LDP housing committee advocates giving home-buyers a break on gift tax

The Liberal Democratic Party's housing and land research panel adopted Friday a proposal to change the gift tax scheme to benefit home buyers and promote housing demand as part of the party's measures to fight deflation.
BUSINESS
Feb 22, 2002

Sakakibara calls Koizumi a chicken

Former financial diplomat Eisuke Sakakibara said Thursday the government of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has "failed miserably" to resolve the bad-loan problem, making it impossible to push ahead with any real reforms.
BUSINESS
Feb 22, 2002

Koizumi opposes book-value loan deals for RCC

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi indicated Thursday that he does not support a proposal that the state-run Resolution and Collection Corp. buy bad loans at "effective book value" rather than at market value.
BUSINESS
Feb 19, 2002

Patent Law update aims to protect Net companies

The government plans to revise the Patent Law to enhance protection of intellectual property rights held by Internet firms, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said Monday.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 18, 2002

Taiwan, mainland jockey for influence

PALO ALTO, Calif. -- What is going on across the Taiwan Strait and within Taiwan becomes more of a puzzle with each passing day.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 18, 2002

Will Blair err as Icarus did?

LONDON -- No European leader rode higher in the reaction to the Sept. 11 attack in New York than Tony Blair. The British prime minister immediately rallied to the American cause, enunciated the need to fight terrorism in ringing tones and committed troops to fight in Afghanistan. At last he had emerged...
JAPAN
Feb 18, 2002

Takenaka ups deadline for fund-injection decision

Economic and fiscal policy minister Heizo Takenaka said Sunday the government may decide by the end of March whether an additional public fund injection into major commercial banks is necessary.
JAPAN
Feb 17, 2002

Serious crimes by teens rising: poll

Many teenagers and adults believe the number of serious crimes committed by teenagers is on the rise, according to a government survey on juvenile delinquency released Saturday.
COMMUNITY
Feb 17, 2002

We hold competition to be self-evident

Sibling rivalry, rivals in love, factional rivals, rivalry between nations: There seems to be no level of our lives not riddled with rivalry. Like its relatives, competition and conflict, rivalry is found in all societies and cultures.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Feb 17, 2002

Was she used -- or were Makiko's tears deemed too dangerous?

The sixth Press and Human Rights Committee Conference, held at the end of January by the Asahi Shimbun, focused on the problem of gender discrimination in the media. In a full-page feature promoting the event in the Feb. 10 issue of the newspaper, three participants started out by blasting Prime Minister...
EDITORIALS
Feb 16, 2002

Only way to restore confidence

The Foreign Ministry, its public image badly tarnished by scandals, has launched a comprehensive effort to put its house in order. A reform package unveiled by Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi on Tuesday, less than two weeks after she took up the post, conveys a sense of urgency. It is aptly titled...
JAPAN
Feb 16, 2002

How safe will bank accounts be after March 31?

On April 1, the full guarantee on bank deposits will expire, and you owe it to yourself to make sure your savings are not at risk. Here are some frequently asked questions about what happens if a bank fails after March 31:
JAPAN
Feb 16, 2002

New bill would limit visitors and protect national parks

A bill that would allow limits on visitors to national parks and other sensitive areas to protect the sites at a time of improved access and growing popularity was approved Friday by the Cabinet.
BUSINESS
Feb 15, 2002

Small companies set for loan repayment boost

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry is planning to relax loan repayment terms for small and midsize companies that took advantage of an expired government guarantee and are now having difficulty paying back the funds, ministry officials said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Feb 14, 2002

Antideflation steps to be devised

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Wednesday formally instructed his Cabinet ministers in charge of the economy to compile a comprehensive package of antideflation measures, following the launch Tuesday of such discussions by a key government policy panel.
BUSINESS
Feb 14, 2002

Moody's eyeballs Japan for two-notch downgrade

Moody's Investors Service Inc. said Wednesday it will review for possible downgrade the Aa3 rating of yen-denominated domestic securities issued or guaranteed by the Japanese government.
CULTURE / Music / J-POPSICLE
Feb 13, 2002

Nimaime wa so-so, baby

I hate to say it, but Love Psychedelico has succumbed to the dreaded "second-album syndrome" with "Love Psychedelico Orchestra," which was released Jan. 9. It's not a bad album -- in fact it has some great songs, like the opening track, "Standing Bird," which features a wonderfully infectious keyboard...
EDITORIALS
Feb 11, 2002

Space business still awaiting liftoff

The second H-2A rocket, which is touted as the leading player in Japan's space development at the beginning of the 21st century, was successfully launched last Monday, deploying one of the two probes it was carrying into orbit. Following the successful launching of the first H-2A rocket in August 2001,...

Longform

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.