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JAPAN
Jan 18, 2002

Powell to meet Tanaka, Koizumi

U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, due in Japan for next week's Afghan reconstruction conference, will meet with Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka on Sunday and Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Monday, Japanese officials said Thursday.
JAPAN
Jan 18, 2002

Japan's Afghan pledge awaited: Ogata

The international community has high expectations for Japanese assistance to rebuild Afghanistan, and Japan needs to make an "appropriate" pledge at next week's conference in Tokyo to this end, Sadako Ogata said Thursday.
SOCCER / World cup
Jan 18, 2002

Japan names Kirin Cup opponents

The Japan national soccer team will host Honduras and Slovakia in the Kirin Cup on April 29 (4 p.m. kickoff) at Tokyo's National Stadium and May 2 (7:20 p.m. kickoff) at Kobe Wing Stadium, respectively, the Japan Football Association announced Thursday in Tokyo.
JAPAN / PROTOCOL PURSUIT
Jan 18, 2002

Emissions-trading plan put on back burner

Staff writer Until recently, trading in carbon dioxide emissions seemed destined for early introduction in Japan. The launch of such a system, however, is being put off as the government postpones key policy decisions to curb global-warming emissions.
JAPAN
Jan 18, 2002

Senior vice foreign minister to visit Seoul to kick off year of exchanges

Senior Vice Foreign Minister Shigeo Uetake will visit Seoul next week to help kick off a year of friendship exchanges between Japan and South Korea.
MORE SPORTS
Jan 18, 2002

Big-name jumpers to skip Japan

Eight of the top 10 leaders in the ski jumping World Cup standings will skip tour events in Japan later this month to prepare for next month's Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, the Ski Association of Japan (SAJ) said Thursday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Jan 18, 2002

Ishii ready to go

Left-hander Kazuhisa Ishii, returning to Tokyo on Wednesday from a short training trip to Hawaii, said he is eager to seal a deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers hopefully before Feb. 2.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / JET STREAM
Jan 18, 2002

Flexing bodies, opening minds

When 24-year-old Elena Davidenko, former gymnast of the Russian national team, returned to Moscow last summer after serving a 2 1/2-year stint as a sports exchange adviser in Akita City, she left a legacy of new ideas for her Japanese students.
BUSINESS
Jan 18, 2002

Koizumi downplays talk of March economic crisis

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi brushed aside speculation Thursday that Japan may fall into a financial crisis in March, pledging that he would not let that happen.
JAPAN
Jan 18, 2002

Produce growers learning to cope with competition

Unlike traditional family farms, 52-year-old Tetsuichi Umezu runs his like a corporation.
JAPAN
Jan 18, 2002

Kids' New Year's cash gifts inch down

Children in Japan felt the effects of deflation in their New Year's "otoshidama" monetary gifts, with the average received down 886 yen to 25,538 yen, according to a survey by Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank.
BUSINESS
Jan 18, 2002

Current account surplus climbed 19.4% in November

The current account surplus rose 19.4 percent in November from a year earlier to 1.125 trillion yen, the Finance Ministry said in a preliminary report Thursday.
JAPAN
Jan 18, 2002

Nomura files revised income report

TV personality Sachiyo Nomura, indicted in December for alleged tax evasion, has filed a revised income report with the Tokyo Regional Taxation Bureau, sources said Thursday.
JAPAN
Jan 18, 2002

Kobe marks quake anniversary

KOBE -- The people of the Kobe area on Thursday marked the seventh anniversary of the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake, which resulted in the loss of more than 6,400 lives and left tens of thousands homeless.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / LEARNING BY HEART
Jan 18, 2002

Fostering family togetherness on the rink

As my daughter stepped out onto the ice, I held my breath. Her steps were small. She moved slowly, with focus and balance and seeming assuredness. One -- two -- one -- two.
BUSINESS
Jan 18, 2002

Labor eyes job security over raises

Hiroshi Okuda, chairman of the Japan Federation of Employers Associations (Nikkeiren), indicated Thursday that companies may ask labor unions to accept pay cuts to prevent job losses in this year's wage negotiations.
COMMENTARY
Jan 18, 2002

War taking U.S. policy hostage

HONOLULU -- The fall of the Taliban government in Afghanistan has been greeted with quiet satisfaction. In fact, despite the sudden collapse of the Kabul regime, the tone in Washington has been sober. Washington has reminded us that the U.S.-led "war" against terrorism has three objectives -- the removal...
BUSINESS
Jan 18, 2002

Tokyo set to cut the umbilical cord

An aging, even failing, parent still carrying a grown-up child piggyback is about to stave off collapse by finally letting the child walk by itself -- at least for a short distance.
BUSINESS
Jan 18, 2002

Japan eyes extension of small arms-collection program

Nearly 10 months after launching a "guns for butter" program in Cambodia, Japan is preparing to extend the pilot project to include other conflict-plagued, impoverished countries around the globe, especially in Asia and Africa.
BUSINESS / ON THE FRONT LINE
Jan 18, 2002

Exhausted dollar consolidating its range

Market participants are now divided over the future of the yen-dollar rate, with some expecting the yen to continue its fall while others believe the opposite.
BUSINESS
Jan 18, 2002

Finance minister concerned about stock market slump

Finance Minister Masajuro Shiokawa said Thursday that he is worried about slumping stock prices as Japan struggles to escape its third recession in a decade.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Jan 18, 2002

Great diving beetle

* Japanese name: Gengorou * Scientific name: Cybister japonicus * Description: This is a large, streamlined water beetle, highly adapted to an aquatic life. It is a powerful swimmer, with hind legs flattened like oars and fringed with long hairs. The body is green or black, with yellow-white bands...
BUSINESS
Jan 18, 2002

Koizumi promises tax reforms

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi expressed his resolve Thursday to make dramatic changes to the nation's tax system in a bid to help promote structural reform.
BUSINESS
Jan 18, 2002

BMW looking to boost local sales

Automaker BMW said Thursday it expects to sell between 38,000 to 40,000 BMW vehicles in Japan during 2002 by expanding its product lineup and opening new dealerships. The company sold 36,266 units in 2001.
BUSINESS
Jan 18, 2002

Dire economic assessment unchanged in latest report

The Bank of Japan left its assessment of the nation's economy unchanged in its January economic and financial report, saying it continues to worsen.
JAPAN
Jan 18, 2002

Narita's short parallel runway is approved

The transport ministry gave technical inspection approval Thursday to a second -- but scaled down -- runway at Narita airport. It also finalized the schedule to open the 2,180-meter parallel runway on April 18.
EDITORIALS
Jan 17, 2002

Mr. Bush's nuclear sleight of hand

Last year, U.S. President George W. Bush proposed deep cuts in the U.S. nuclear weapons arsenal, a decision that was promptly echoed by Russian President Vladimir Putin. While the move was roundly applauded, there were concerns over the U.S. president's reluctance to codify the decision in a treaty....
JAPAN
Jan 17, 2002

Flex-time 'karoshi' redress granted

Compensation will be provided to the family of a young man who died working for a Tokyo publisher in 1997 in the nation's first recognized case of "karoshi" (death from overwork) for an employee under a flexible working system.

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