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JAPAN
Oct 9, 2003

80% eye elder-care help

Eighty percent of Japanese hope to receive publicly funded services such as part-time home helpers when they get old, according to a recent government survey.
BUSINESS
Oct 9, 2003

Private-sector machinery orders decline 4.3%

Japan's core private-sector machinery orders fell a seasonally adjusted 4.3 percent in August from July, indicating that a recovery in capital spending may lose momentum in the months ahead, according to government data released Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Oct 9, 2003

Tokyo, banks settle tax row out of court

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government and 15 major banks said Wednesday they have settled their dispute over Tokyo's bank tax.
JAPAN
Oct 9, 2003

Takashi Murakami's works to come as candy freebies

Miniaturized modern works of art are now free -- with the purchase of two pieces of chewing gum for 350 yen.
BUSINESS
Oct 9, 2003

Hino to launch eco-friendly truck

Hino Motors Ltd. said Wednesday it will debut an environmentally friendly heavy-duty truck on the domestic market on Nov. 4.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 9, 2003

Regional economies earn upgrade

The Finance Ministry on Wednesday upgraded its quarterly assessment of regional economies for the first time in a year, noting sporadic signs of recovery in production backed by exports of digital gadgets and cars.
COMMENTARY
Oct 9, 2003

Small states seek bigger say

LONDON -- The meeting of European Union member states in Rome to begin discussing a possible new constitution has opened on a discordant note. The smaller countries of Europe do not like the way things are going. The worries are not just those of "the usual suspects" -- the British, Danes and Swedes....
EDITORIALS
Oct 9, 2003

The first tripartite declaration

In their first-ever joint declaration, the leaders of Japan, China and South Korea on Tuesday pledged to promote security dialogue to maintain peace and stability in all of East Asia. The statement, signed on the sidelines of ASEAN summit talks in Bali, Indonesia, also calls for trilateral cooperation...
BUSINESS
Oct 9, 2003

Japan ready to meddle in market

Japan remains ready to intervene in the currency market, the government said Wednesday as the yen surged to three-year highs against the dollar.
CULTURE / Books / THE BOOK REPORT
Oct 9, 2003

Does ' baka explosion' indicate identity crisis brewing in Japan?

Japan has been witnessing something of a baka explosion recently. Whether or not the actual number of idiots or incidents of idiotic behavior are on the increase or not, there is certainly a sharp rise in the public irritability index, a lowering of the threshold at which people call others "baka."
BUSINESS
Oct 9, 2003

Nichirei execs docked in shrimp flap

Frozen-food processor Nichirei Corp. said Wednesday it will cut the salaries of its president and other senior officials for three months in a punitive move over imported frozen shrimp that contained banned antibiotics.
COMMENTARY / WASHINGTON UPDATE
Oct 9, 2003

Primaries and polls

WASHINGTON -- Here we are less than four months away from the actual start of the 2004 presidential race. Delegates will begin to be selected in late January. The preliminary season is in its final stage. The third quarter of 2003 proved to be reasonably decisive for the Democrats.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Oct 9, 2003

The roots of national security grow under our very feet

For many policymakers, the concept of national security now simply means possessing the capacity for overwhelming destruction. Armchair warriors find such thinking reassuringly straightforward and comforting, a neat and tidy corollary of "Might makes right." It is also pure fantasy.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 9, 2003

Charming the IMF in Dubai

HONG KONG -- James Wolfensohn, the president of the World Bank, made the most powerful speech of his career at the annual meetings of the World Bank Group and International Monetary Fund in Dubai last month. It was full of sharp sound bites driving toward a vital central theme that Wolfensohn enunciated...
LIFE / Language / KANJI CLINIC
Oct 9, 2003

Kanji tattoos are primarily for Western eyes

Tattoo culture in Japan, especially among Japan's gangster element, has a rich history. While some young Japanese are breaking the traditional taboo and obtaining discreet tattoos, they almost never opt to have Chinese characters etched permanently on their bodies. Kanji tattoos are a Western phenomenon....
BASEBALL / MLB
Oct 9, 2003

Kuroda claims 13th win as Carp defeats Swallows

Hiroshima hurler Hiroki Kuroda held Yakult to seven hits over the distance to notch his career-high 13th win as the Carp downed the Swallows 7-1 at Tokyo's Jingu Stadium on Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Oct 9, 2003

Asahi Glass develops 'crystal ball' to forecast stock price movements

Individual investors have long been searching for a "crystal ball" that can give them an edge in the markets by helping them select the right stock at the right time.
LIFE / Digital / NAME OF THE GAME
Oct 9, 2003

TV icons hit the road

What do you get when you cross America's favorite dysfunctional family with the video game "Grand Theft Auto III"? You get "The Simpsons: Hit & Run," a new game from Vivendi Universal Games for Xbox.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Oct 9, 2003

Aggregating anemone

* Japanese name: Yoroiisoginchaku * Scientific name:Anthopleura japonica * Description: Anemones are marine invertebrates, cylindrical animals with rings of tentacles on the upper surface. They are related to jellyfish and corals. Aggregating anemones grow up to 3 cm in diameter and can have a brilliant...
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Oct 9, 2003

Behavior, genes in bed together

The job of undertaker is not one that is restricted to human society. In honeybee colonies, too, some individuals have the task of removing the cadavers of their dead fellows.

Longform

Mamoru Iwai, stationmaster of Keisei Ueno Station, says that, other than earthquake-proofing, the former Hakubutsukan-Dobutsuen (Museum-Zoo) Station has remained untouched.
Inside Tokyo's 'phantom' stations — and the stories they tell