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BUSINESS
May 11, 2002

ODA commitment firm despite fiscal condition: Shiokawa

Despite budgetary constraints, Japan's basic attitude toward providing Asian countries with official development assistance remains unchanged, Finance Minister Masajuro Shiokawa said Friday.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
May 11, 2002

Coffee machines, bread, teas . . . whatever next?

Marcel Niederhauser is one happy businessman. In the lobby of Tokyo's Hilton Hotel in Shinjuku, visiting the small shop he opened with a Japanese partner just two weeks ago, he learns that the first day of Golden Week has been a bonanza. "We moved some 120 packs of tea. We're very, very happy with the...
JAPAN
May 11, 2002

Opposition to push for Suzuki vote

Four opposition parties have agreed to pressure the ruling bloc into calling a Diet vote on Tuesday over a non-binding motion urging beleaguered lawmaker Muneo Suzuki to resign from the House of Representatives.
BUSINESS
May 11, 2002

Consolidated taxation bill moved to Diet

The Cabinet approved a bill Friday to revise the tax code for the introduction of a consolidated tax system aimed at reducing companies' tax burdens and boosting competitiveness.
JAPAN
May 11, 2002

New food safety authority weighed

The government may create an independent food safety agency tasked with issuing recommendations to the farm and health ministries to counter growing public distrust of the ministries' handling of mad cow disease, according to a draft government plan.
JAPAN
May 11, 2002

Kawaguchi sorry for scandals

In a highly unusual arrangement, Foreign Ministry scandals and reform plans were at the fore of the so-called diplomatic Blue Book for 2002, released on Friday, with Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi expressing resolve to regain trust in the ministry.
BASEBALL / MLB
May 11, 2002

Tigers pounce all over Giants

The old rivalry is back on center stage.
EDITORIALS
May 10, 2002

Violence begets violence

The cycle of bloodshed between Israelis and Palestinians is becoming ever more difficult to break. On Tuesday, just when Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was meeting U.S. President George W. Bush in Washington, a Palestinian suicide bomb attack blew up a billiard hall in the Tel Aviv suburb of Rishon...
SUMO
May 10, 2002

Free sumo tickets up for grabs

The Grand Sumo Kachinuki Yushosen tournament, which started in 1992, will be inviting 10 pairs (20 people) of Japan Times readers to the 11th Kachinuki Yushosen tournament to be held June 15 and 16 (five pairs each day) at Tokyo's Ryogoku Kokugikan.
COMMENTARY
May 10, 2002

Uncertainty shadows Musharraf's regime

ISLAMABAD -- Gen. Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan's military ruler, has consolidated his rule with a controversial national referendum seeking a five-year term, but questions central to security interests in South Asia linger over the outlook for his nuclear-armed country.
MORE SPORTS
May 10, 2002

Lessons learned

Ryan Kuwabara is a key member of Japan's national ice hockey team currently playing at the Pool A World Championships in Sweden. Kuwabara, a Japanese-Canadian who was drafted by the Montreal Canadiens and now stars for Japan Ice Hockey League champion Kokudo, has agreed once again to keep a journal...
COMMENTARY / World
May 10, 2002

Learn the lessons, then let go of the past

The first step of Myanmar's democratization has begun following the bold step of the military regime, the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), to free Aung San Suu Kyi on Monday. Though it was a small step, it was a giant leap for the victimized people of Myanmar, who will now be able to live...
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 10, 2002

Condom makers jazz up contraception

The country's 60 billion yen condom industry has taken the offensive lately in a withering market, promoting a batch of new products designed to woo youths who are increasingly sexually active but reluctant to use protection.
COMMENTARY / World
May 10, 2002

Splintered blocs in Malaysia unite on draconian law

SINGAPORE -- Malaysia's disparate opposition groups have launched a new campaign against a draconian security law in an attempt to prevent Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad from further splitting their ranks.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 10, 2002

Man held for allegedly using mace in train

A 23-year-old university student was arrested Thursday in Tokyo for allegedly using a self-defense spray in a packed train, leaving several other commuters slightly injured, police said.
BUSINESS
May 10, 2002

Cabinet Office launches China study

The Economic and Social Research Institute, a research arm of the Cabinet Office, said Thursday it has set up a study group on China.
BUSINESS
May 10, 2002

Secom reports 73% dive in profit

Security-service provider Secom Co. said Thursday it posted a group net profit of 9.58 billion yen in the year to March 31, down 73 percent from the year before.
JAPAN
May 10, 2002

Officials blast transplant system as burdensome

Officials at all but one of the 18 medical centers where brain-death tests have been conducted for transplants feel that organ donations from brain-dead donors are burdensome, health ministry officials said Thursday, citing a study.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 10, 2002

Nissan eyes big global sales boost

Nissan Motor Co. chief Carlos Ghosn announced Thursday the carmaker will add 1 million units to its global sales by the end of the 2004 business year by launching at least 28 new models worldwide.
BUSINESS
May 10, 2002

Forex reserves hit $406.7 billion

Japan's foreign exchange reserves at the end of April were up $5.18 billion from a month earlier to a record $406.7 billion, the Finance Ministry said Thursday.
SUMO
May 10, 2002

Takanohana pulls out of basho

Yokozuna Takanohana has withdrawn from the upcoming Summer Grand Sumo Tournament after failing to shake off a long-term knee injury, officials of the Japan Sumo Association (JSA) said Thursday.
BUSINESS
May 10, 2002

More shares bought on credit

The balance of shares bought on credit -- a sensitive indicator of investor sentiment -- rose for the second straight week last week.
JAPAN
May 10, 2002

Dead man thought to have fallen from stairs

OSAKA -- Police found a man with a serious head injury lying on a street in the city of Higashi-Osaka early Thursday after receiving an emergency call from a neighbor who said he noticed him after hearing something hit the ground.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
May 10, 2002

Crane fly

* Japanese name: Kiriuji gaganbo * Scientific name: Tipula aino * Description: Crane flies are slender insects with light-brown bodies, a black rim around the wings and long legs that dangle beneath them when they fly. This gives them their other English name (used by children): daddy longlegs. Crane...

Longform

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What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji