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BUSINESS
Sep 18, 2004

IRCJ begins assessing Daiei's assets

The state-backed Industrial Revitalization Corp. of Japan has begun analyzing financial data provided by Daiei Inc. without a formal request from the struggling retailer, the minister in charge of industrial revitalization said Friday.
EDITORIALS
Sep 17, 2004

Mr. Putin's power grab

I t should come as no surprise that Russian President Vladimir Putin has used the horrific terrorist attack in Beslan in southern Russia to justify the consolidation of power in his own hands. Plainly, the Russian government has not been able to counter the threat posed by Chechen separatists. The problem...
Rugby
Sep 17, 2004

Rugby's top stars hoping to help Top League live up to its name

Toutai Kefu, Matt Cockbain, Jaco van der Westhuyzen, Tony Brown, Leon MacDonald. Besides being a who's who of some of the biggest names to have played in the Super 12 in recent years they are also just a few of the world-class players who will be turning out this year in Japan's Top League.
BUSINESS
Sep 17, 2004

Food body seeks swift end to ban on U.S. beef

A federation of nine food industry associations called on the government Thursday to quickly end its ban on U.S. beef imports, saying it has disrupted supply and demand in the beef market.
BUSINESS
Sep 17, 2004

Ministry issues wake-up call on food self-sufficiency target

The government target of raising Japan's food self-sufficiency ratio to 45 percent by fiscal 2010 is a pipe dream, the farm ministry said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Sep 17, 2004

Chinese firm wins Mothers IPO nod

The Tokyo Stock Exchange said Thursday it has given approval for Xinhua Finance Ltd. to become the first Chinese firm to make an initial public offering on the TSE Mothers market for startups Oct. 28.
BUSINESS
Sep 17, 2004

JEPX gears up for wholesale electricity trade

The Japan Electric Power Exchange said Thursday it will begin receiving membership applications Oct. 1 during the runup to its launch of wholesale electricity trading next April.
BUSINESS
Sep 17, 2004

METI targets outside takeovers

A new panel at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry on Thursday began discussing measures aimed at helping Japanese companies beat hostile takeover bids by foreign firms.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Sep 17, 2004

Shiroyama bravely battles on

In matters of war, history is most often recounted from the perspective of the conqueror and rarely, if ever, passed down from the point of view of the defeated. So it's not surprising that the historical significance of the remnants of 16th-century Hachioji Castle on western Tokyo's Mount Fukazawa --...
SUMO
Sep 17, 2004

Asashoryu loses second straight

Grand champion Asashoryu was handed his second straight defeat Thursday when he was shoved out by Iwakiyama on the fifth day of the Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 17, 2004

Private universities stage central Tokyo comeback

After relocating some departments to the outskirts of Tokyo to cope with increasing enrollments, private universities are now increasingly returning to the city center to survive amid a declining birthrate.
BUSINESS
Sep 17, 2004

Sega Sammy has sights set on joining industry top five

Hajime Satomi, chairman and president of Sega Sammy Holdings Co., said Thursday the firm will actively seek mergers and acquisitions to become one of the world's top five companies in the video game publishing industry.
COMMENTARY
Sep 17, 2004

An oil shock on the horizon?

LONDON -- The world is now drinking 84 million barrels of oil each day. The figure may be meaningless to most people but to energy planners, security strategists and environmentalists it spells growing disappointment and danger. Why so? Because only a short while ago the figure was 72 million barrels,...
BUSINESS
Sep 17, 2004

Koizumi to get specially heated water via fuel cell

The government said Thursday it will make the world's first purchase of a polymer electrolyte fuel cell to help supply electricity and heated water to Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's new residence.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Sep 17, 2004

Chance of player strike increases

The first strike in the history of Japanese baseball looked increasingly likely Thursday after representatives of the country's professional baseball teams ruled out a key player demand.
Rugby
Sep 17, 2004

JRFU'S new ruling puts players' lives at risk

At the press conference to launch the start of the second year of the Top League, which kicks-off this weekend, Japan Rugby Football Union Chairman Tetsuo Machii admitted that the game's image had suffered in recent years.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Sep 17, 2004

Food fit for a doge on canals of Venice

Eating where the tourists eat is always a risky proposition, especially in a city like Venice, whose sole raison d'e^tre is tourism. Along the city's main arteries and tourist sites, the restaurants are often disappointing -- and sometimes even disastrous. But, as we found on a quick visit there earlier...
BUSINESS
Sep 17, 2004

Scandal-hit Maruishi Cycle fails

Maruishi Cycle Industries Ltd. is bankrupt because banks have suspended transactions with the firm following its second failure to honor a bill, a private credit research agency said Thursday.
EDITORIALS
Sep 16, 2004

UNSC quest raises questions

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, in a speech to the United Nations General Assembly later this month, will express Japan's desire to become a permanent member of the Security Council. There is almost unanimous agreement that Japan should play a larger international role. This does not necessarily mean,...
SUMO
Sep 16, 2004

Tochinonada shocks Asashoryu

Tochinonada upended Asashoryu on Wednesday to hand the Mongolian wrestler his first loss of the Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament.
BUSINESS
Sep 16, 2004

Seiko to fix 250,000 printers for free

Seiko Epson Corp. said Wednesday it will provide free repair services for 250,000 laser printers in 13 models to prevent them from short-circuiting or giving users electric shocks.
LIFE / Lifestyle / MATTER OF COURSE
Sep 16, 2004

Reading-out-loud renaissance falls upon deaf ears

I'm a fan of "Doraemon," the long-running children's television show about a blue robot cat from the future, who lives with an average family on the outskirts of Tokyo. The Japanese is relatively easy to understand, and I love Doraemon's magic pocket, from which he pulls amazing tools like the dokodemo...
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Sep 16, 2004

Womanlike, manlike -- beware what you ask for

Elsewhere in the world, social distinctions between men and women erode on a daily basis, but in Japan, they still endure. Women are expected to be "onna-rashii (womanly)," men must go by "otoko-rashii (manly)" codes of conduct, and to hell with political correctness. And you know something? We actually...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Sep 16, 2004

The changes that come what may

The arrival of just one dramatic, even devastating, typhoon, storming to the center of the seasonal stage like a massively overblown diva with a case of bad timing, is enough to signal autumn is on its way. This year the global signs of the season change have been untempered in the extreme. Hurricanes...
BUSINESS
Sep 16, 2004

Group pitches rail system in Southeast Asia

A consortium of 16 Japanese railway-related companies has begun marketing a package of trains, an operating system and other necessary facilities for building railways in Southeast Asia, consortium officials said Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Sep 16, 2004

KDDI, Japan Telecom to undercut NTT

Gearing up for a price war in the country's fixed-line phone market, KDDI Corp. and Japan Telecom Co. both said Wednesday they would introduce a basic monthly fee cheaper than that of industry behemoth NTT Corp., along with a single long-distance rate.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji