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JAPAN
Oct 26, 2004

Machimura tells WFP to watch North

The U.N. food agency should closely monitor how aid from the international community is distributed in North Korea, Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura reportedly told the visiting head of the World Food Program on Monday.
JAPAN
Oct 26, 2004

NTT East offers emergency voice mail for quake victims

The automatic response when hearing that a natural disaster has struck is to call loved ones in the area to see if they are all right.
JAPAN
Oct 26, 2004

Political funds law revision not the answer

Despite moves to amend the Political Funds Control Law after a recent scandal involving a 100 million yen political donation by a dental lobby to a faction of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, experts are skeptical about whether such efforts will actually give it teeth.
JAPAN
Oct 26, 2004

Japan, Hungary boost Iraq help

Japan and Hungary agreed Monday in a meeting of their leaders to boost efforts to help reconstruct Iraq and reform the United Nations as early as possible, as well as urging North Korea to dismantle all nuclear programs, according to a joint statement.
JAPAN
Oct 26, 2004

MSDF to remain in Arabian Sea

The government decided Monday to extend the deployment of Maritime Self-Defense Force vessels in the Arabian Sea as part of the U.S.-led antiterror mission by another six months to May 1.
JAPAN
Oct 26, 2004

Police compile unified manual for handling organized crime

The National Police Agency has compiled a manual to help police nationwide cooperate on dealing with organized crimes committed by Japanese and foreign syndicates, agency officials said Monday.
JAPAN
Oct 26, 2004

Train derailment investigation begins

A transport ministry panel on Monday began a full-scale probe into the first-ever derailment of a bullet train over the weekend in Niigata Prefecture during a series of powerful earthquakes.
BUSINESS
Oct 26, 2004

Citigroup CEO says trust bank to be shut down

The CEO of U.S. banking giant Citigroup Inc. apologized Monday for the bank's misconduct in Japan and said it will terminate its private banking business here for wealthy customers by Sept. 30, 2005.
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Oct 26, 2004

Gaijin: good or bad?

Near criminal As a Japan vet, I say "Yes" to both good and bad connotations. More important than terminology, though, is the actual treatment of non-Japanese regarding important employment issues. What happens on a near daily basis is often criminal.
BUSINESS
Oct 26, 2004

Carmaker's overseas director sees growing demand

Scandal-tainted automaker Mitsubishi Motors Corp. will try to revive itself by promoting overseas sales, which remain stable compared with plunging sales in the domestic market, according to MMC Managing Director Osamu Masuko.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Oct 26, 2004

Dodgy landlords and police

Dodgy landlord I was two weeks late with my rent and the landlord locked me out of my apartment. Is there anything I can do?
JAPAN
Oct 26, 2004

Typhoon approaches Amami Isles

Typhoon Nock-ten in the East China Sea was approaching the Amami Islands in Kagoshima Prefecture on Monday afternoon after hitting Taiwan, the Meteorological Agency said.
EDITORIALS
Oct 26, 2004

Troubling signs in Myanmar

A shakeup in Yangon has refocused international attention on the reclusive regime in Myanmar. The ousting of Prime Minister Khin Nyunt bodes ill for hopes of democratic reform in the country and will increase tension between Myanmar and ASEAN, and between ASEAN and the West. Concerned governments need...
BUSINESS
Oct 26, 2004

Seibu Rail declines to offer much info on director's exit

The Seibu group's secretive reputation was further underscored Monday, as Seibu Railway Co. declined to give details about a managing director's resignation last week over his involvement in questionable sales of its shares.
BUSINESS
Oct 26, 2004

UFJ execs grilled over alleged block of FSA probe

Prosecutors on Monday questioned three former executives of UFJ Bank on suspicion of obstructing a government inspection, according to investigative sources.
BUSINESS
Oct 26, 2004

MMC hopes remodeled Colt will win back drivers

Mitsubishi Motors Corp. on Monday unveiled a remodeled compact wagon, the firm's first new model since a series of defect coverups began surfacing in March.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Oct 26, 2004

Do you think global warming is behind the recent freakish weather?

Robert Ouderk Tourist, 36 There are about a million things that influence typhoons. In every year there is something extreme in the weather. If you talk to old people on any continent, they say what's been happening in the last 10 years they've never seen before. There are things changing fast.
JAPAN
Oct 26, 2004

Thousands airlifted in Niigata

OJIYA, Niigata Pref. -- Thousands of stranded people were airlifted Monday from their mountainous communities in the earthquake-hit Chuetsu region of Niigata Prefecture, as the death toll from Saturday's powerful quakes reached 25.
COMMENTARY
Oct 26, 2004

British pension crisis looms

LONDON -- An important report on the pension crisis facing Britain was published Oct. 12. The report by the Pensions Commission, chaired by Adair Turner, a former director of the Confederation of British Industry, warned that, because of increased longevity and a shortfall in pension funds, British pensioners...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 26, 2004

Resona hopes ATM placements lift profit

Banking group Resona Holdings Inc., currently under rehabilitation, has begun setting up automated teller machines in unconventional places to boost profit.
JAPAN
Oct 26, 2004

Mission in Iraq won't be affected by rocket: Hosoda

Japan does not plan to withdraw or scale down its contingent of troops in southern Iraq after a rocket was fired into its base there, a top official said Monday.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Oct 25, 2004

Lions force decider

NAGOYA -- Daisuke Matsuzaka came through with another huge win.
BUSINESS
Oct 25, 2004

New bank notes could draw underground cash into the light

When the Bank of Japan puts new bank notes into circulation next month, it could draw out cash hoarded away in the country's underground economy and into investments like gold and real estate.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 25, 2004

First-ever bullet train derailment reveals safety-system's limitations

The Toki No. 325 bullet train on the Joetsu Shinkansen Line was running at 210 kph when the first of a series of powerful quakes hit Niigata Prefecture shortly before 6 p.m. Saturday evening.

Longform

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