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JAPAN
Apr 19, 2002

Man leaps into Boeing 767 engine

OSAKA -- A man jumped into the engine of an Air China passenger plane just before its departure from Kansai airport at around 2 p.m. Thursday, according to airport police.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CLOSE NEIGHBORS
Apr 19, 2002

Language, music point way to stronger relations

When Akiko Konishi felt life had become routine after five years in the same company, she decided to spice things up a little by studying a foreign language.
COMMENTARY
Apr 19, 2002

West's terror goes unpunished

Call me old-fashioned, but was not the deliberate use of force by one nation against another nation once labeled as aggression? And was not aggression once seen as a war crime? Certainly a large number of Japanese and German leaders once were hanged for just that kind of behavior. Yet today's U.S. and...
BUSINESS
Apr 19, 2002

Sharp confirms end of flex-time

OSAKA -- Sharp Corp. has announced that it did away with its flex-time employment system last month.
BUSINESS
Apr 19, 2002

Hitachi to take control of Unisia Jecs

Hitachi Ltd. said Thursday it will make affiliated automobile parts maker Unisia Jecs Corp. a wholly owned subsidiary Oct. 1 to strengthen its auto equipment business.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 19, 2002

Dwellers bought off; ball to fall on Aoyama flats

The ivy-covered Dojyunkai Apartments in Tokyo's Aoyama district have long been a popular landmark along Omote-sando boulevard. Although the antiquated buildings add a serene touch to the fashionable, bustling district, efforts to protect the site from redevelopment into a shopping complex have so far...
EDITORIALS
Apr 19, 2002

Tyrants: be afraid

The complaint against international law has been that it lacks teeth. Absent enforcement authority, the norms and principles that govern international behavior are merely exhortations -- even though they can have sufficient precedence to be considered binding. That changed April 11 when 10 countries...
JAPAN
Apr 19, 2002

Travel agencies found in JET air-ticket scam

Major travel agency Kinki Nippon Tourist Co. was involved in a scheme last year in which it issued cut-rate airline tickets to JET teachers, billed local governments for regular fares and pocketed the difference, it was learned Thursday.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / MATTER OF COURSE
Apr 19, 2002

Perfect parenting . . . it's all in the labeling

Here's what mid-April in Japan means to me: The cherry blossoms have come and gone, the kids are back in school and mothers all over the country are suffering writer's cramp from labeling school gear.
JAPAN
Apr 19, 2002

Obituaries

Shigenobu Sakano Shigenobu Sakano, a House of Councilors lawmaker from the Liberal Democratic Party and former home affairs minister, died of a stroke Wednesday at a Tokyo hospital, his family said. He was 84.
BUSINESS / ON THE FRONT LINE
Apr 19, 2002

Market cautiously optimistic on earnings

The benchmark 225-issue Nikkei average has been languishing at around 11,000 since the beginning of the fiscal year, reflecting a lack of clear direction.
JAPAN
Apr 18, 2002

Narita gets its second, but short, runway

NARITA, Chiba Pref. -- A ceremony to mark the opening of a controversial second runway at New Tokyo International Airport was held here Wednesday with transport minister Chikage Ogi and other dignitaries attending.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 18, 2002

Israeli offensive shakes Jordanian society

GAZA REFUGEE CAMP, Jordan -- Gloom hung over the house where Amin's adult daughter had died of an unknown disease. Rain was leaking through the tarpaulin that served as a roof in half of the two-room structure of mud brick and cinder blocks where 15 people live.
MORE SPORTS
Apr 18, 2002

Olympians Shimizu, Satoya receive awards

Olympic speedskating silver-medalist Hiroyasu Shimizu and women's moguls bronze-medalist Tae Satoya and a host of other Olympians received awards from the education ministry on Tuesday for their performances in the Salt Lake City Olympics and Paralympics.
JAPAN
Apr 18, 2002

Executive to face charges over worker's electrocution

Tokyo police said Wednesday they have turned over to prosecutors a case involving a 19-year-old worker who was electrocuted in November while engaged in renovation work on a building in Shinjuku Ward.
BUSINESS
Apr 18, 2002

Crude steel production drops 4.5%

Steelmakers produced 102.065 million tons of crude steel in the 2001 business year, down 4.5 percent from a year earlier, the Japan Iron and Steel Federation said Wednesday.
EDITORIALS
Apr 18, 2002

Emergency bills need consensus

After a quarter century of government discussion of security policy, the Diet is set to debate legislation designed to deal with emergencies directly affecting the security of Japan -- namely, military attacks from abroad. At stake is a set of three bills, adopted by the Cabinet on Tuesday and submitted...
JAPAN
Apr 18, 2002

Probe ordered into Marubeni unit

The farm ministry on Wednesday ordered Marubeni Chikusan Corp., a unit of trading house Marubeni Corp., to launch a full investigation into a mislabeling scandal involving its chicken products.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 18, 2002

Restructuring has Imperial Hotel ready to strike

As foreign hoteliers invade the Tokyo market, the prestigious Imperial Hotel Ltd. is busy planning a counteroffensive.
MORE SPORTS
Apr 18, 2002

JRFU to start new national tourney

Japan Rugby Football Union went a long way to improving rugby in Japan both on the domestic and international front with the news last week that it was abandoning the traditional company championship for a new nationwide 12-team tournament starting in September 2004.
BUSINESS
Apr 18, 2002

Softbank net profits down 91%

Softbank Investment Corp. said Wednesday its group earnings plunged in the first half through March 31, blaming falling revenues on the extended economic slump and stagnant stock market conditions.
BUSINESS
Apr 18, 2002

Nikkeiren chief wants blood from Mizuho execs

Hiroshi Okuda, chairman of the Japan Federation of Employers' Associations (Nikkeiren), said Wednesday the management of Mizuho Financial Group should take responsibility for the computer fiasco afflicting the group's two banks.

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