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BUSINESS
May 15, 2003

Takenaka told to settle with ruling bloc on yield cuts

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said Wednesday he has told Financial Services Minister Heizo Takenaka to try to resolve differences within the ruling bloc over whether to allow life insurers to cut yields guaranteed to policyholders.
BUSINESS
May 15, 2003

Australia antimonopoly pact eyed

Japan and Australia agreed Wednesday to consider signing a cooperation pact on antimonopoly policies, a Fair Trade Commission official said.
BUSINESS
May 15, 2003

Kobe Steel plans environmental move

Kobe Steel Ltd. and its subsidiary, Shinko Pantec Co., said Wednesday they have agreed to combine Kobe Steel's environmental business into Shinko Pantec on Oct. 1.
SUMO
May 15, 2003

Asashoryu defeats fellow Mongolian

Yokozuna Asashoryu rode his luck again to defeat Kyokutenho and keep his unbeaten record intact while ozeki Chiyotaikai blasted out Kyokushuzan to get his yokozuna promotion campaign back on track at the Summer Grand Sumo Tournament on Wednesday.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / THEN AND NOW
May 15, 2003

Where the Tokaido left the town

Eastern Shinagawa, on the western side of central Tokyo, is fast being transformed from a decaying industrial area of warehouses and rail marshalling yards into a modern business hub. One step beyond the forests of shining new high rises, however, the area's history as an Edo Period post-station town...
LIFE / Digital / NETWISE
May 15, 2003

Is your wireless network airtight?

I'm sitting with my ThinkPad in a Starbucks near Akasaka. The cafe isn't advertised as a WLAN hot spot, so I'm pleasantly surprised to find myself enjoying high-speed Internet access courtesy of some nearby wireless network.
BUSINESS
May 15, 2003

By any measure, prices keep falling

Wholesale prices in April fell 0.8 percent from the year before for the 32nd consecutive month of decline, the Bank of Japan said in a preliminary report Wednesday.
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
May 15, 2003

Fish have feeling too

"It's OK to eat fish 'cos they don't have any feelings." So sang Kurt Cobain on "Something in the Way," from 1991's "Nevermind" album.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
May 15, 2003

Big-mouth bulbuls time it just right

Second of two parts Imagine, if you can, an opinion poll of Japanese forest plants. Question: which bird is most important to you? The brown-eared bulbul, or hiyodori, would have to take a bow.
BUSINESS
May 14, 2003

Eisai logs net profit surge of 12.4%

Pharmaceutical maker Eisai Co. said Tuesday that its group net profit rose 12.4 percent and its group operating profit increased 4.4 percent in fiscal 2002.
BUSINESS
May 14, 2003

Nichirei sees net profit rise 28.4%

Nichirei Corp. said Tuesday its group net profit in fiscal 2002 rose 28.4 percent from the previous year, thanks to the strong performance of its processed food and food wholesale divisions.
BUSINESS
May 14, 2003

Return of pension assets poised to be moved up

Labor minister Chikara Sakaguchi indicated Tuesday the government plans to move up by a month when corporate employee pension funds start returning the portion of pension assets they manage on the government's behalf.
BUSINESS
May 14, 2003

Business lobbies push for creation of career centers

Two major business lobbies asked the government Tuesday to help create career centers to help boost employment among the young.
SUMO
May 14, 2003

Asashoryu avoids upset

Yokozuna Asashoryu had to walk a tightrope but defeated Tochinonada for his third straight win while ozeki Chiyotaikai got tripped to his first loss by crowd favorite Takamisakari at the Summer Grand Sumo Tournament on Tuesday.
BUSINESS
May 14, 2003

Japan may aid Iraq reconstruction by freezing debt repayments

Temporarily freezing Iraq's debt repayment is one option being considered by Japan to help rebuild the war-ravaged country, a senior Finance Ministry official said Tuesday.
BUSINESS
May 14, 2003

JR East posts increases in revenue, profit

East Japan Railway Co. reported Tuesday an increase in revenue and consolidated profit in fiscal 2002, despite seeing a 3 billion yen decline in its core transport business due to the sluggish business environment, officials said.
BUSINESS
May 14, 2003

Japan to probe China dumping claim

Japan will scrutinize China's claim that polyvinyl chloride products from Japan are being sold on the Chinese market at unfairly low prices, trade minister Takeo Hiranuma said Tuesday.
BUSINESS
May 14, 2003

Yield cut proposal goes to LDP

The Financial Services Agency presented a draft bill Tuesday to the Liberal Democratic Party that would enable troubled life insurers to lower promised yields on insurance contracts.
BUSINESS
May 14, 2003

NTT back in the black but sales on the slide

NTT Corp. on Tuesday reported a consolidated net profit of 233.36 billion yen for the business year to March 31, marking a dramatic turnaround from its 834.67 billion yen group net loss in fiscal 2001.
EDITORIALS
May 14, 2003

A landmark trade deal for Asia

The United States and Singapore last week concluded a free-trade agreement, the first ever between the U.S. and an Asian nation. The deal has political and economic significance, and holds out both promise and peril. While the FTA reaffirms the U.S. commitment to Asia, it could also constitute a threat...
BUSINESS
May 14, 2003

'Happoshu' sales give breweries a lift

Total shipments of beer and "happoshu" low-malt beer posted the first year-to-year rise in eight months in April, up 0.2 percent to 603,119 kiloliters, on hefty happoshu demand ahead of a May 1 tax hike.
COMMENTARY / World
May 14, 2003

Higher oil prices need not doom a nation to inflation

UBUD, Indonesia -- With high and volatile oil prices, it appears that a rough road is ahead for those countries with currencies that have become weaker relative to the U.S. dollar. Perhaps one of the biggest concerns is that Taiwan, as an importer of oil, may face a new wave of inflationary pressures...
SOCCER / J. League
May 14, 2003

Kazu named king of J. League

Vissel Kobe striker Kazuyoshi Miura was named as the most valuable Japanese player in the J. League's history by a weekly soccer magazine in commemoration of the league's first 10 years.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
May 14, 2003

Get your tickets for Diamondbacks Day

The Pacific League Nippon Ham Fighters will hold their second annual Arizona Diamondbacks Day promotion on Sunday, June 15, at Tokyo Dome.
BUSINESS
May 14, 2003

Core machinery orders grow 3.8%

Core private-sector machinery orders rose a seasonally adjusted 3.8 percent in March from a month earlier but are expected to fall 10.5 percent in the April-June quarter amid concerns over the U.S. economy as well as other economies in Asia, the government said Tuesday.
BUSINESS
May 14, 2003

Shiokawa dodges speculation over market action

Finance Minister Masajuro Shiokawa said Tuesday that fluctuations on the foreign-exchange market over the last two weeks have been unnatural and he sees the need to issue warnings to the market.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
May 14, 2003

Prefuse 73: "One Word Extinguisher"

Atlanta-based DJ/programmer/producer Scott Herren will perform at the Fuji Rock Festival this year, which should come as no surprise. The event has hosted both techno-prankster Aphex Twin and vinyl bon vivant DJ Shadow, and fans of each will easily recognize Herren's cut-and-snip hip-hop project, Prefuse...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / CERAMIC SCENE
May 14, 2003

A 'smashing' place for pots

It was 20 years ago today . . . that the famous Kikuchi Collection of Modern Japanese Ceramics was shown to "smashing" reviews at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington. The 300-piece collection sparked a great interest in modern and contemporary Japanese ceramics that has continued to this day. The...

Longform

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