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COMMENTARY / World
Oct 8, 2004

U.S. must engage North Korea directly

CAMBRIDGE, England -- Caught in the crossfire of the first presidential debate between U.S. President George W. Bush and Sen. John Kerry, most Americans were likely taken aback by Korea's prominence and prospects.
BUSINESS
Oct 8, 2004

Fee cut drives NTT into tight financial corner

The Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. group has been driven into a tight financial corner with its first-ever cut in charges for fixed-line phone services in the face of an onslaught from rivals.
JAPAN
Oct 7, 2004

Summit block over Yasukuni 'ridiculous': Abe

Shinzo Abe, deputy secretary general of the Liberal Democratic Party, urged China on Wednesday to resume top-level exchanges with Japan and set aside its dissatisfaction with Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's repeated visits to Yasukuni Shrine.
JAPAN
Oct 7, 2004

Hijacker's wife avoids prison

The Tokyo District Court on Wednesday sentenced the wife of a Japanese Red Army Faction hijacking fugitive to a suspended 18-month prison term for disobeying a Foreign Ministry order to surrender her passport.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Oct 7, 2004

NPB begins hearings on Rakuten, Livedoor bids

The public hearing for the two companies that have applied for membership to Nippon Professional Baseball began Wednesday with the two sides presenting their business propositions before a panel of baseball executives.
MORE SPORTS
Oct 7, 2004

Ai-chan climbs in world rankings

Japanese teenager Ai Fukuhara moved up two places to 19th in the women's world rankings released by the International Table Tennis Federation on Tuesday.
EDITORIALS
Oct 7, 2004

Basic security-policy concerns

A n advisory panel to Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has completed a report calling for a review of Japan's defense-only security policy. The report, by the Forum on Security and Defense Capability, says Japan should have a "multifunctional, flexible defense force" to meet security threats such as...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OLD NIC'S NOTEBOOK
Oct 7, 2004

A 'theme park' that's an eco-friendly dream

I recentl went down to Nagasaki Prefecture to spend time with a dear old friend, Takekuni Ikeda, who lives on a little wooded peninsula jutting into Omura Bay. He's an incredible man.
BUSINESS
Oct 7, 2004

FSA targets UFJ over attempts to block inspections

The Financial Services Agency will file a criminal complaint against UFJ Bank and several former executives for allegedly violating the Banking Law by blocking FSA inspections, sources said Wednesday.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Oct 7, 2004

A woman's happiness is in the home . . . huh?

The term "shufu (main woman of the house, or housewife)" has shifted from derogatory to almost exalted.
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Oct 7, 2004

Knicks distracted by in-house fighting

CHARLESTON, S.C -- If it's such a great honor to wear a New York uniform, as Isiah Thomas preached to Shandon Anderson last Friday through the media, how come he decided to retire when the Pistons traded him to the Knicks rather than try it on for size?
BUSINESS
Oct 7, 2004

Sales of imported vehicles climbed 1% in September

Sales of new imported vehicles in Japan, including those produced overseas by Japanese makers, rose 1.0 percent in September from a year earlier for the second straight monthly increase.
JAPAN
Oct 7, 2004

Koizumi seeks support for UNSC bid at ASEM summit

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi left Wednesday evening for Hanoi to attend the fifth biennial summit of the Asia-Europe Meeting and to meet with his French and Vietnamese counterparts.
BUSINESS
Oct 7, 2004

J-Power debuts on TSE as year's biggest listing

Power wholesaler Electric Power Development Co. debuted Wednesday on the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange and in the process became the nation's largest stock listing this year.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 7, 2004

Chubu airport to add to Kansai's unease

TOKONAME, Aichi Pref. -- With the February opening of Chubu Centrair International Airport, its general manager of sales and marketing has a few words for those who worry the new facility will take flights away from Kansai International Airport.
BUSINESS
Oct 7, 2004

186,302 PCs recovered in 12 months

An industry body that supervises the recovery of used personal computers said Wednesday its member computer makers have collected 186,302 PCs over the past 12 months.
BUSINESS
Oct 7, 2004

Ministries to pave way for U.S. beef imports

The health and farm ministries will present policy blueprints aimed at easing blanket testing for mad cow disease to an advisory panel as early as Friday, setting the stage for a resumption of U.S. beef imports, sources said Wednesday.
MORE SPORTS
Oct 7, 2004

Hewitt, Sharapova advance in Japan Open

Top seeded Lleyton Hewitt rallied to a 6-0, 3-6, 6-1 win over Japan's Gouichi Motomura on Wednesday in the second round of the Japan Open.
JAPAN
Oct 7, 2004

Carbon tax should target users, not providers: official

Any new carbon tax should be imposed on consumers of fossil fuels, not their importers and processors, a senior Environment Ministry official indicated Wednesday.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / ON THE BOOK TRAIL
Oct 7, 2004

"The End of the Beginning," "Change Your Room"

"The End of the Beginning," Avi Harcourt, Dorling Kindersley; 2004; 140 pp. "Hmmmm," said the ant. "You'll need a lot of questions answered."

Longform

Figure skater Akiko Suzuki was once told her ideal weight should be 47 kilograms, a number she now admits she “naively believed.” This led to her have a relationship with food that resulted in her suffering from anorexia.
The silent battle Japanese athletes fight with weight