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BUSINESS
Jul 13, 2002

Matsushita to cut costs with transfer

OSAKA -- Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. will transfer 1,200 clerical and other employees to an office business subsidiary as it cuts further into labor costs, company officials said Friday.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Jul 13, 2002

Ciaran Murray

"I had to come to Japan, to sit in a garden and discover something of Japanese culture, in order to write the history of my hometown," Ciaran Murray said.
BUSINESS
Jul 13, 2002

Bankruptcies increase 4.7%

The number of corporate bankruptcies during the first six months of 2002 rose 4.7 percent from a year earlier to 9,872, the third-highest number since World War II, Teikoku Databank Ltd. said Friday.
JAPAN
Jul 13, 2002

Hospital pays for transplant coverup

A health ministry panel decided Friday to strip the Tokyo Women's Medical University Hospital of its designation as an advanced treatment hospital following a coverup involving the death of a patient.
BASEBALL / MLB
Jul 13, 2002

Tigers dominate at All-Star Game

As George Arias rounded the bases, he was pumped, thrilled, excited. But he showed no exuberance, trotting back to the dugout in a cool, soothing manner like the picture of the Kirin Beer ad he had just hit with a monstrous 147-meter blast at the Tokyo Dome.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 13, 2002

Society still treating homeless as pariahs

The debate was heating up at the local civic hall, packed with residents and dozens of homeless people who live nearby.
BUSINESS
Jul 13, 2002

Nonresidents take net buying spree into fourth month

Nonresident investors were net buyers of Japanese stocks in June for the fourth consecutive month, with net purchases of 134.9 billion yen, the Finance Ministry said Friday in a report based on transaction contracts.
Japan Times
JAPAN / MUSEUM MUSINGS
Jul 13, 2002

19th century face of Edo resurrected in Koto Ward commoners' ghetto

Devastated by the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake and then flattened again by U.S. air raids during the war, little of the old face of Tokyo remains.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 13, 2002

Chinese diet aids leave one dead, 11 sick

One person has died and 11 others have developed liver disorders since last year after taking three types of Chinese diet aids, officials at the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry said Friday.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jul 13, 2002

Nisei woodworker follows grain of ancestral roots

His mailbox in Kikoba, where the town of Hayama meets Yokosuka City in Kanagawa Prefecture, reads "toco," the Portuguese word for log. Lengths of bamboo lean against an outside wall.
EDITORIALS
Jul 12, 2002

Narrow the wage gap

The important fact about Japanese wages today is that pay scales for regular workers have not fallen despite declining prices. This "downward rigidity" in seniority-based wages may be partly responsible for the growing presence of part-time workers and for the nation's persistently high level of unemployment....
SOCCER / World cup
Jul 12, 2002

Inamoto deal near

Japan midfielder Junichi Inamoto, released by English Premier League champion Arsenal at the end of June, has reached a basic agreement on a transfer to London rival Fulham, soccer sources claimed Thursday.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 12, 2002

By-elections give Abdullah chance to prove his mettle

SINGAPORE -- For Malaysia's deputy prime minister, Abdullah Badawi, the sequence of two fast-moving events late last month could not have been more timely -- and dramatic.
COMMENTARY
Jul 12, 2002

Iraq debate moves to the fore

LONDON -- "Where you stand depends on where you sit" goes the old political adage. And this was never more true than in the case of Iraq and what, if anything, should be done about this troublesome tyranny.
JAPAN
Jul 12, 2002

Sewer-overflow disaster law eyed

The Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry has informally decided to pursue new legislation to prevent urban disasters caused by sewerage systems overflowing during heavy rain, according to ministry officials.
Japan Times
JAPAN / KANSAI BEAT
Jul 12, 2002

Traditional industries adapting to stay afloat

KYOTO -- Tango Orimono Kogyo Kumiai, an association encompassing the traditional textile industry in Kyoto's Tango district, has tasted success with its foray into the skin-care products sector.
BUSINESS
Jul 12, 2002

General law sought for reform zones

A government deregulation panel said Thursday it will seek enactment of a general law to create "special structural reform zones," rather than individual laws, the panel's chairman said.
BUSINESS
Jul 12, 2002

FTA with Chile just isn't in the cards

Widely known as a feverish operagoer, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi may politely but disappointingly tell an exasperated Chilean President Ricardo Lagos, "Please wait patiently until the fat lady sings."
BUSINESS
Jul 12, 2002

Uncertain times boost top gold retailer's sales 3.17-fold

The nation's top retailer of gold ingots said Thursday it logged a 3.17-fold surge in sales in the January-June period from a year earlier on a quantitative basis.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 12, 2002

Typhoon sweeps northward leaving at least four dead

Typhoon Chataan headed out to sea south of Hokkaido on Thursday after raking the Tohoku region and pounding Japan's Pacific coast, leaving at least four people dead, two missing and widespread flooding in its wake.
BUSINESS
Jul 12, 2002

Ministry plans to slash unemployment benefits

The welfare ministry is poised to slash unemployment benefits for certain recipients because the prolonged high jobless rate is putting a severe strain on the employment insurance program, ministry sources said Thursday.
BUSINESS / ON THE FRONT LINE
Jul 12, 2002

Nikkei rally flies in face of negative factors

The Nikkei average on the Tokyo Stock Exchange is showing signs of recovery.
BUSINESS
Jul 12, 2002

Benetton to open more megastores

Apparel giant Benetton Japan Co. announced Thursday it will open megastores in Sapporo and Tokyo in the fall as part of moves to increase its worldwide chain of large-scale outlets.
JAPAN
Jul 12, 2002

Mitsui will be urged to halt ODA bids

The Foreign Ministry will urge major trading house Mitsui & Co. to temporarily refrain from bidding on projects related to official development assistance, ministry sources said Thursday.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Jul 12, 2002

Giant centipede

* Japanese name: Oogeji * Scientific name: Thereuopoda clunifera * Description: Someone went a bit leg-crazy when naming these animals. Although they are called centipedes (the name means "100 legs"), oogeji have only 15 pairs of legs. They are not insects (all of which have just three pairs of legs)...

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