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COMMENTARY
Jan 8, 2002

India set to keep full press on Pakistan

NEW DELHI -- The biggest question now is whether war will break out between nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan. Although no right-minded citizen in either country wants war, many forget that Pakistan has thrust an undeclared war on India for years, bleeding India noticeably. Thus the aim is not...
BUSINESS
Jan 8, 2002

Japan, China to begin talks on setting up trade panel

Japan and China will hold working-level talks Tuesday and Wednesday in Beijing on setting up a consultation panel for "orderly trade" in three farm products, the Japanese farm ministry said Monday.
BUSINESS
Jan 8, 2002

Mycal to launch 80% discount sales

OSAKA -- Failed supermarket chain operator Mycal Corp. said Monday it will sell some 10 billion yen worth of stock at discounts of up to 80 percent at its Saty retail outlets and Vivre apparel stores.
JAPAN
Jan 8, 2002

Defense asks Takuma to describe his thinking

OSAKA -- Lawyers for the man accused of murdering eight children at an elementary school in Osaka Prefecture last year urged the defendant in court Monday to describe his state of mind and the way it was formed.
JAPAN
Jan 8, 2002

Foreign brides fill the gap in rural Japan

TOZAWA, Yamagata Pref. -- Cheerful laughter echoed through this snow-covered village in the Tohoku region one morning as a group of women sat down to chat over tea.
EDITORIALS
Jan 8, 2002

AFTA becomes reality

Since 1997, and the onset of the Asian financial crisis, there has been little for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to celebrate. But ASEAN rang in this New Year with a much needed boost. On Jan. 1, six of its 10 member-nations completed their plans to create an ASEAN Free Trade Area. Creation...
Events
Jan 8, 2002

Tourists take on Takla Makan aboard thirsty ships of desert

AMAGASAKI, Hyogo Pref. -- To enter the Takla Makan Desert in China's Xinjiang-Uighur Autonomous Region may mean to never return.
MORE SPORTS
Jan 8, 2002

Sri Lanka whips Zimbabwe

KANDY, Sri Lanka Sri Lanka completed its seventh successive Test victory with a day to spare when it defeated Zimbabwe by an innings and 94 runs to win the second Test in mid-afternoon of the fourth day on Monday.
SOCCER / THE BALD TRUTH
Jan 8, 2002

Former Sanfrecce boss Thomson itching to get back into J. League

SYDNEY -- Former Sanfrecce Hiroshima manager Eddie Thomson is the sort of person who could sell Michael Schumacher a used Skoda.
JAPAN
Jan 8, 2002

Fixed international marriages often disappoint

During the late 1980s, several local governments in northern Japan arranged marriages between Japanese men and foreign women mainly from other parts of Asia, including China, the Philippines and South Korea, in an effort to solve the shortage of brides in farming communities in depopulated areas.
BUSINESS
Jan 8, 2002

Argentina crisis not yet a danger

The economic woes of Argentina are not likely to have major negative effects on the rest of the global economy, Vice Finance Minister Toshiro Muto said Monday.
Events
Jan 8, 2002

Osaka hopes concerns ease in 2002 over economy, crime, the homeless

OSAKA -- From concerns over the economy to renewed hopes for the pro baseball Hanshin Tigers, here are some local issues, in no particular order, that many people in the Kansai region are focusing on for the coming year.
BUSINESS
Jan 8, 2002

2001 auto sales dip 0.9% on year

Domestic sales of all automobiles except minivehicles dipped 0.9 percent in 2001 from the year before to 4.06 million units, an industry body said Monday.
BUSINESS
Jan 8, 2002

Localities favor postal privatization

Local government chiefs in favor of privatizing postal services outnumber those who oppose it, according to a recent survey by Kyodo News and its member newspaper publishers nationwide.
JAPAN
Jan 7, 2002

Pyongyang plans tourism Web site

North Korea's state tourist body will open an official Japanese-language Web site in a bid to attract more tourists to the country ahead of a series of commemorative events scheduled for this year, officials of a Japanese travel agency said Saturday.
JAPAN
Jan 7, 2002

Consumption tax hike ruled out

The secretary general of the Liberal Democratic Party ruled out a possible consumption tax hike Sunday, calling it "politically impossible for the time being."
JAPAN
Jan 7, 2002

Princess Takamatsu backs idea of reigning empress

Princess Takamatsu has penned an article for publication in a biweekly magazine in which she expresses her support for the possibility that Japan may one day have a reigning empress, it was learned Sunday.
COMMENTARY
Jan 7, 2002

Fine-tuning needed for globalization

In the new year, the world will have to grapple with daunting political and economic challenges that surfaced toward the end of the 20th century. The terror attacks in the United States on Sept. 11 -- which The Economist called the "the day the world changed" -- complicated the problems.
COMMENTARY
Jan 7, 2002

Assuaging threats to peace

LONDON -- The Taliban has been routed and, with the arrival of U.N. peacekeeping forces in Kabul, the prospects for Afghanistan are better than they have been for many years. But Osama bin Laden and his senior henchmen have not been accounted for. The search will have to continue, and terrorist havens,...
BUSINESS
Jan 7, 2002

Travelers returning to Tokyo continue to swamp planes, trains

After spending their New Year's holidays out of town, people continued to jam air and train services back into Tokyo on Sunday, although traffic jams on highways were not as severe as on Saturday.
JAPAN
Jan 7, 2002

New national nursing-care system gives the poor short shrift: survey

About half of local government heads think the national nursing-care insurance system introduced in April 2000 lacks measures for helping people with low incomes and for coordinating facilities, according to a survey conducted by Kyodo News and its associated newspapers.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 7, 2002

One step up, two steps sideways in Nago

WASHINGTON -- On Dec. 27, Japanese central government officials and leaders from Okinawa Prefecture announced agreement on a basic plan for the proposed construction of a joint civil-military use airport on the reef off eastern Nago City. The announcement by the Futenma Relocation Committee ("Daitai...
JAPAN
Jan 7, 2002

New Year's show wows crowds with fire drills, acrobatics

Tokyo firefighters conducted disaster drills and performed traditional acrobatics on ladders Sunday in a ceremony in Koto Ward to mark the beginning of the new year.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 7, 2002

More troubling than another spy boat

SEOUL -- Pyongyang surely can be said to have stepped over the line once it is confirmed that the suspected spy boat that played tag with the Japanese Coast Guard last month was indeed from North Korea. The incident has led Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and his administration to perform an...

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