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JAPAN
Apr 3, 2003

FTC fines firms over cartel formation

The Fair Trade Commission has ordered three petrochemical firms to pay a total of 2.04 billion yen in fines for forming a polypropylene price cartel in 2000, FTC officials said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Apr 2, 2003

Compaq fined over hidden income

Tokyo tax authorities penalized the Japan unit of U.S. computer maker Compaq Computer Corp. for failing to report 3.6 billion yen in taxable income, industry sources said Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Apr 1, 2003

Industrial production sees 1.7% decline

Industrial production fell a seasonally adjusted 1.7 percent in February from the previous month after posting a 1.5 percent rise in January, prompting the government to say it remains on a weakening trend.
COMMENTARY
Apr 1, 2003

Alternatives to pummeling

WASHINGTON -- After Vietnam and Operation Mongoose (the bizarre 1962 attempt by the U.S. military to invent covert "pretexts" for an attack on Cuba), only flag-waving militarists and small children could want to believe current U.S. and British excuses for the attack on Iraq.
CULTURE / Music
Mar 30, 2003

Setting music free on the open road

While major record labels battle Internet file-sharing to preserve the sanctity of music delivery media (CDs and whatever the hell will take their place), major artists challenge their contracts and less-than-major artists avoid the "entertainment industry" altogether. The consequence of technological...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Mar 30, 2003

Was WWF3 a washout for citizens' rights?

While the outbreak of war in Iraq may have disrupted proceedings at the Third World Water Forum being held in Kansai, it also lent them deeper significance.
BUSINESS
Mar 29, 2003

Millea Insurance companies finally announce merger

After a series of false starts, the companies of the Millea Insurance Group on Friday officially announced their merger, which will take place in October 2004.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 29, 2003

Japan Post debut invokes wariness, hope

When the Postal Services Agency is reborn Tuesday as Japan Post, the public corporation is expected to increase its operational efficiency and better serve its customers.
BUSINESS
Mar 28, 2003

Demand for electronics on the rise

Domestic demand for DVDs and car-navigation systems was robust in February as overall shipments of electronic equipment continued to grow, an industry body said Thursday.
CULTURE / Books / THE BOOK REPORT
Mar 27, 2003

Libraries under attack

Are public libraries stealing the livelihoods of Japanese authors? So say writers and publishers as the number of books borrowed climbs while sales of books and magazines steadily decline.
BUSINESS
Mar 26, 2003

Fourth Haneda runway seen as potential boon

The transport ministry estimates that a planned fourth runway at Tokyo's Haneda airport will add 1.2 trillion yen to the economy of the metropolitan area the year it is completed, ministry officials said Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Mar 25, 2003

Japan's land prices fall for 12th straight year

Land prices fell for the 12th straight year in 2002, the land ministry said in a report released Monday.
COMMENTARY
Mar 25, 2003

Weak tobacco pact reflects Japan's lukewarm attitude

The member-nations of the World Health Organization have recently approved a draft Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), putting an end to four years of negotiations. The draft is expected to be adopted at the general meeting of the WHO in May, and will take effect after 40 countries have ratified...
Japan Times
JAPAN / PREFECTURAL FARE
Mar 22, 2003

Tokyo gets taste of Okinawa longevity

Last in a series Okinawa is well-known for the longevity of its people. Its subtropical climate may be one reason, but a major contributing factor is most likely the southern-most prefecture's healthy foods.
BUSINESS
Mar 20, 2003

Boost sought for loan-firm checks

The Financial Services Agency has asked prefectural governments to screen applications from prospective loan business operators more stringently to stave off illegal lending.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 19, 2003

Market intervention not the right solution

GUATEMALA CITY -- Japan's Nikkei average is below 8,000 for the first time in 20 years, putting it 80 percent below its 1989 high. A fall in the Nikkei below 7,500 could mean that some Japanese banks would not meet their international capital adequacy requirements.
BUSINESS
Mar 18, 2003

SMBC disbands and merges with subsidiary

Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. disbanded Monday and merged with Wakashio Bank, a tiny SMBC subsidiary.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 18, 2003

Energy deal will fuel East Timor's growth

SYDNEY -- Southeast Asia's newest and poorest nation has done an oil deal that should bankroll its way to real independence.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Mar 16, 2003

'Bogus' theme parks becoming the last resort

On Jan. 23, Tokyo Disneyland held a preview event for the media in anticipation of the park's 20th anniversary, which will be celebrated April 15. About 1,400 celebrity guests showed up trailed by 50 camera crews, all from domestic television stations, which means that most of them were from outside...
BUSINESS
Mar 15, 2003

Business failures down, liabilities up

Corporate bankruptcies were off 7.4 percent in February for the second straight month of decline on a year-on-year basis, but liabilities left by the failed firms jumped 20.6 percent, Teikoku Databank Ltd. said Friday.
BUSINESS
Mar 15, 2003

Orient eyes capital boost through share issuance

Struggling consumer credit firm Orient Corp. said Friday it will issue 150 billion yen in preferred shares to be purchased by Mizuho Corporate Bank to boost its depleted capital base.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 14, 2003

Firms plug their toys' ability to lick stress

It seems as though everyday life is getting more and more stressful, and toy manufacturers are coming up with new products they say can soothe mind and body of young and old alike.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 14, 2003

Deprived, ignored and scorned, North Korea driven into a corner

CAMBRIDGE, England -- For several years now North Korea has been carrying out a process of economic reform and opening up. Sound familiar? That is what the Chinese did 25 years ago when they, too, realized that their economic system was out-of-date and unable to meet the aspirations of its people.
BUSINESS
Mar 14, 2003

Stock resuscitation plan unveiled

In a bid to end a tailspin in Tokyo stock prices, the government on Thursday unveiled six emergency steps, including stricter control of speculative sales.
BUSINESS
Mar 14, 2003

Ministry says economy is firming

The vice finance minister said Thursday that Japan's real economy is firming, although it is currently being weighed down by geopolitical concerns.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 14, 2003

How the U.S. piqued Pyongyang

CAMBRIDGE, England -- If it weren't for the fact that the lives of several million people are at stake it could be fun watching the game of diplomatic poker being played by North Korean leader Kim Jong Il and U.S. President George W. Bush. Those lives are at stake, however, as is the future stability...
BUSINESS
Mar 13, 2003

'Happoshu' claims big market share

"Happoshu," a low-malt beverage, grabbed a 46.4 percent share of the beer market in February, its largest share ever, according to data released Wednesday by the nation's five major brewers.
BUSINESS
Mar 12, 2003

S&P rating on Fast Retailing stable

Standard & Poor's Corp. said Tuesday its rating on Fast Retailing Co. will not be immediately affected by the casual-clothing retailer's downsizing of its store operations in Britain.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Mar 11, 2003

Building projects defy huge cash woe

Until a year ago, the tallest structure I could see from my apartment in Hashimoto, Kanagawa Prefecture, was the neon sign for the local Denny's. Not any more.

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past