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COMMENTARY / WASHINGTON UPDATE
Feb 6, 2004

Candidates in sudden death

WASHINGTON -- What a difference a month can make in the campaign to win the Democratic Party's presidential nomination. As the election year started, we had a front-runner with a big bankroll and double-digit leads in the polls: Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean was threatening to run away with the nomination,...
JAPAN
Feb 6, 2004

Kepco allowed to get MOX fuel from overseas

The government on Thursday approved a plan by Kansai Electric Power Co. to procure mixed uranium-plutonium oxide fuel from overseas.
BUSINESS
Feb 6, 2004

Sega Corp.'s profit almost doubles

Profit at video-game maker Sega Corp. nearly doubled during the April-December period on strong sales of arcade-game machines in Japan.
BUSINESS
Feb 6, 2004

NTT unit eyes global IP phone service

NTT Communications Corp. will start offering this spring an Internet protocol-based international phone service as part of its global IP-based intranet data communications services.
LIFE / Travel / THEN AND NOW
Feb 6, 2004

Spanning eras at Edo's vibrant hub

First of three parts Nihonbashi -- "Bridge of Japan" -- is the most famous and important bridge of Edo Period Japan. Designated by Shogun Ieyasu in 1603 as the hub of the country's highway network, with all distances measured from there, the small wooden structure with a 50-meter span was where journeys...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Feb 6, 2004

Dhaba India: a South Indian oasis in central Tokyo

Fans of Indian food -- and the Food File is a lifelong member of that happy congregation -- are always pleased to discover new places to satisfy those insistent cravings for the spicy flavors of the subcontinent. As we sat down for dinner at Dhaba India, though, we felt overjoyed.
JAPAN
Feb 5, 2004

Coalition irons out pension plan

The ruling coalition reached final agreement Wednesday on a pension reform program that includes a phased premium increase for salaried workers and benefit decrease to cope with the rapidly graying society.
JAPAN
Feb 5, 2004

Fears over depleted uranium lead to GSDF use of dosimeters

Responding to concerns over the use of depleted uranium rounds by the U.S. military during the Iraq war, the Defense Agency is equipping Ground Self-Defense Force troops in the country with hundreds of radiation dosimeters.
BASEBALL / MLB
Feb 5, 2004

Mori hospitalized

Seibu Lions right-hander Shinji Mori was hospitalized Tuesday after he was diagnosed with an irregular pulse rate, which heightens the risk of stroke.
JAPAN
Feb 5, 2004

Effort on to curb Sumatra logging

A fund to preserve Sumatra's forests was established recently by a nongovernmental organization and Japanese firms importing paper from the Indonesian island.
BUSINESS
Feb 5, 2004

Honda workers seek record bonus

The labor union of Honda Motor Co. will demand a record-high annual bonus equivalent to 6.6 months' salary during this year's spring wage negotiations.
BUSINESS
Feb 5, 2004

Standard sought for Net appliances

A group of 14 electronics and telecom companies will set up a forum aimed at creating a single industry standard for Internet-capable digital home appliances, industry officials said Wednesday.
CULTURE / Books / THE BOOK REPORT
Feb 5, 2004

Japan mulls its future with Koizumi

What stance should Japan take in a world dominated by the American superpower? Is Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi no more than an errand boy for bullyboy George W. Bush, as a Shukan Gendai headline implied last March? Is he an incompetent know-nothing who has casually thrown away Japan's precious pacifist...
BUSINESS
Feb 5, 2004

Think tanks see 4.9% growth in October-December period

The economy is estimated to have expanded at an average annualized rate of 4.9 percent in real terms in the October-December quarter, according to projections by nine major economic research institutes.
BUSINESS
Feb 5, 2004

Hitachi profit jumps in third quarter

Hitachi Ltd. said Wednesday it chalked up a group net profit of 2.52 billion yen in the October-December quarter, marking a turnaround from a loss of 2.26 billion yen posted a year ago.
MORE SPORTS
Feb 5, 2004

Defending champ Davenport eases into Toray quarterfinals

Defending champion Lindsay Davenport walloped Venezuelan Maria Vento-Kabuchi 6-2, 6-1 to advance to the quarterfinals of the singles competition at the Toray Pan Pacific Open on Wednesday.
EDITORIALS
Feb 5, 2004

Set to resume political donations

Nippon Keidanren, or the Japan Business Federation, is moving toward the resumption of donations to political parties. As a preliminary step, the organization has published a report evaluating key policies of the two largest parties, the Liberal Democratic Party and the Democratic Party of Japan. The...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 5, 2004

Visiting Serb hopes western Balkan economic parley boosts investments

Japan will host a two-day ministerial meeting in April in Tokyo to promote stability and boost the economy of the western Balkans, according to Zlatan Milosevic, visiting director of the Serbian Investment and Export Promotion Agency.
BUSINESS
Feb 5, 2004

Wholesale prices of pork surge 40%

Wholesale prices of pork have surged 40 percent in the last 10 days due to rising demand following import bans on U.S. beef and suspension of poultry shipments from some Asian countries, industry officials said Wednesday.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OLD NIC'S NOTEBOOK
Feb 5, 2004

Deer's tasty demise helps them, too

The first time I saw a Japanese sika (deer, Cervus Nippon) was on tiny Lundy Island, which lies in the Bristol Channel between South Wales and the north coast of the beautiful English county of Devon. I was going on for 20, and had gone to the island to assist the warden.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / ON THE BOOK TRAIL
Feb 5, 2004

"The Pig Scrolls," "Blood Red Horse"

"The Pig Scrolls," Paul Shipton, Puffin Books; March 2004; 224 pp. Author Paul Shipton warns us at the outset of his (sort of) Greek-style epic that though every effort was made to ensure the accuracy of the material, the Great Library of Alexandria was closed on the Tuesday afternoon he tried to go...

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