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JAPAN
Jun 26, 2002

Five asylum seekers talk to officials from Japan

Government officials on Tuesday interviewed the five North Korean asylum seekers who successfully made it to South Korea in May after being dragged out of a Japanese consulate in China by Chinese police, according to the Foreign Ministry.
BUSINESS
Jun 26, 2002

Reduce public utility fees: report

Public utility charges need to be further reduced by introducing more competition into the market, which would in turn revitalize the economy, according to a report on public utility costs unveiled Tuesday.
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Jun 26, 2002

Stanley Smith: 'In the Land of Dreams'

These whiskey-voiced songs of riverboats, New Orleans nights and past loves will speak to you like mellow old friends. None will blow you away the first time through, but many will replay themselves in your head long after you've turned the CD off.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jun 26, 2002

Finding a style of their own

Next year marks the 150th anniversary of the birth of Vincent van Gogh, popularly regarded in Japan (as elsewhere) as the quintessential artist. Unfortunately, it will be difficult for Japanese galleries to borrow works from abroad to celebrate this event, with insurance costs now three times higher...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / NEW ART SEEN
Jun 26, 2002

Photo selection offers the whole picture

Before World Cup events kicked off in Japan, there were distressing media reports of how hotels planned to refuse service to foreigners; and of stadium-area restaurants and bars intending to close their doors on game days, from fear of furigan (hooligans).
EDITORIALS
Jun 25, 2002

A problem of corporate ethos

The Financial Services Agency has ordered the Mizuho Financial Group, whose computer system crashed spectacularly on the occasion of its integration last April, to improve its internal management setup so as to prevent any recurrence of the bungle. Mizuho itself has decided to cut the pay of all of its...
SOCCER / World cup
Jun 25, 2002

Departing Senegal the pride of Africa

OSAKA -- Senegal's World Cup campaign came to an end on Saturday in the quarterfinals after bowing out to Turkey with a 1-0 extra-time loss at Osaka Nagai Stadium.
JAPAN
Jun 25, 2002

Electronic voting should be used for Diet, Koizumi says

The electronic voting system used for the first time in Japan over the weekend in a local election should be used in Diet elections due to its speedy ballot-counting ability, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said Monday.
JAPAN
Jun 25, 2002

Afghans again face prospect of detention

Seven Afghan men seeking asylum in Japan are again facing the possibility of detention after the Tokyo High Court earlier this month nullified a lower court decision to release them.
JAPAN
Jun 25, 2002

Sediment dioxin standard proposed

An Environment Ministry advisory committee recommended Monday that an environmental standard for dioxin in the sediment of rivers and other bodies of water be set at 150 picograms per gram.
JAPAN
Jun 25, 2002

Suzuki determined to keep Diet seat

House of Representatives lawmaker Muneo Suzuki, who was arrested last week over an alleged bribery scandal, renewed his determination Monday to stay in the Diet despite the passing of a nonbinding resolution by the Lower House demanding his resignation.
JAPAN
Jun 25, 2002

Critics question results of child behavior study

Children who suddenly run amok or act violently without reason are reacting against bad home environments and not their teachers, according to a report on a survey released recently by an affiliate of the Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 25, 2002

Former chief of Jichiro convicted of tax evasion

The Tokyo District Court on Monday sentenced Morishige Goto, a former head of the All-Japan Prefectural and Municipal Workers Union (Jichiro), to a suspended 18-month prison term for tax evasion related to the union's income.
JAPAN
Jun 25, 2002

Chiyoda Ward enacts smoking ban

The Chiyoda Ward Assembly in Tokyo enacted a local ordinance Monday prohibiting smoking on sidewalks in several busy areas.
JAPAN
Jun 25, 2002

Koizumi expresses regret over info-seeker scandal

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi voiced regret Monday over the "confusion" the Defense Agency caused by initially withholding the full report of an in-house probe into a scandal involving background checks on people seeking information.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 25, 2002

Shenyang highlights bilateral problems

BEIJING -- Although the furor raised by the two-week dispute over the Shenyang incident has died down, it has not entirely dissipated -- particularly in Japan. The incident highlighted Japan's sensitivity toward China's growing power, and demonstrated that if frictions in this area are not effectively...
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 25, 2002

Nuclear taboo remains strong

Recent comments by leading Japanese politicians have raised international concern about Tokyo's nuclear intentions. Those fears are misplaced: Japan's nuclear taboo remains as powerful as ever. The comments do signal growing frustration within Japan's policy community over the need for a long-delayed...
BUSINESS
Jun 25, 2002

No plea to WTO over China curbs

Japan will not ask the World Trade Organization to set up a dispute-settlement panel to rule on the legitimacy of steel import curbs imposed by China, a top trade official said Monday.
BUSINESS / ON MANAGEMENT
Jun 25, 2002

Nosy bosses foul up

Every CEO needs to know how to strike a balance between staying aloof from the nitty-gritty of his company's operations and getting too involved in the day-to-day details of those employees and divisions far from the corner office.
JAPAN
Jun 25, 2002

Elderly, disabled encouraged to get their motors running

The elderly and the physically and mentally impaired across Japan are being encouraged to get out of their homes and take to the streets on motorized carts.
BUSINESS
Jun 25, 2002

Nissho Iwai to tie up with Excel unit

Nissho Iwai Logistics Corp. said Monday it has reached a tieup agreement with the Japan unit of Britain's largest distribution firm, Excel PLC.

Longform

Figure skater Akiko Suzuki was once told her ideal weight should be 47 kilograms, a number she now admits she “naively believed.” This led to her have a relationship with food that resulted in her suffering from anorexia.
The silent battle Japanese athletes fight with weight