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JAPAN
Dec 14, 2001

Lift age for retirement, medical services: proposal

A government strategy drafted with Japan's graying society in mind proposes increasing the mandatory ages for retirement and eligibility for medical services, according to the draft outline obtained by Kyodo News.
BUSINESS
Dec 14, 2001

Japan to get Xbox console Feb. 22

The chief operating officer of Microsoft Corp. said Thursday that the Xbox game console will be launched in Japan on Feb. 22 as scheduled.
JAPAN
Dec 14, 2001

Afghan conference adopts appeal

A three-day conference in Tokyo on the reconstruction of Afghanistan closed Thursday after adopting a comprehensive appeal that local nongovernmental organizations in Afghanistan be left in charge of the task.
JAPAN
Dec 14, 2001

Device to scan body shape promises better-fitting goods

It takes just under a second for a head -- and less than two for a whole body -- to produce the data necessary to create a precise 3-D model of your shape.
EDITORIALS
Dec 13, 2001

Collapse of a BWC review conference

Despite the perceived threat of biological weapons that has been heightened by the anthrax attacks in the United States, a review conference on the Biological Weapons Convention in Geneva broke down in disarray last weekend. To the angry disappointment of its allies, including Japan, it was the U.S....
COMMENTARY
Dec 13, 2001

Challenges to Afghan peace

ISLAMABAD -- Afghanistan's warring factions have finally found common ground on which to build a new government almost two decades after their country was invaded by troops from the former Soviet Union. The civil war that followed the withdrawal of the Soviets has claimed thousands of lives and left...
JAPAN
Dec 13, 2001

Four Afghans denied refugee status take case to court

Four Afghan men, whose applications for refugee status were rejected by the Tokyo Regional Immigration Bureau in November, filed a case against the decision with the Tokyo District Court on Wednesday, their lawyers said.
JAPAN
Dec 13, 2001

Ministry opens counterterrorism office

The Foreign Ministry said it set up a new division Wednesday to deal with the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terror attacks in the United States, centering around cooperating with the international community in the fight against terrorism.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 13, 2001

Asylum seekers' fates hang in balance

Refugees in danger of persecution, or migrants seeking work and wealth?
JAPAN / READERS' FUND
Dec 13, 2001

Afghan aid groups persevere despite danger

Prospects for the upcoming winter in Afghanistan were bleak enough before Sept. 11, as years of drought destroyed crops and drove millions of people toward famine.
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
Dec 13, 2001

Mario, Mike and miscellaneous madness

Some recent observations from the world of sports:
BUSINESS
Dec 13, 2001

Big steelmakers make it official

Nippon Steel Corp. and Sumitomo Metal Industries Ltd., Japan's biggest and fourth-largest steelmakers, officially announced Wednesday their intentions to begin negotiations on a business alliance that would slash production, distribution and material-procurement costs.
BUSINESS
Dec 13, 2001

Seiko unit to produce in Thailand

Seiko Corp. said Wednesday its wholly owned subsidiary Seiko Precision Inc. will shift domestic production of camera devices to Thailand to enhance its competitiveness.
JAPAN / LAST CALL FOR SAKE
Dec 13, 2001

Sake brewers seeking to please palates overseas

NIIGATA -- When movie star Robert De Niro visited Hokusetsu Shuzo's cellar in the village of Akadomari on Sado Island in fall 1998, he reportedly held up a 10-year-old bottle of sake and said he wanted it shipped to his restaurant in the United States.
BUSINESS
Dec 13, 2001

Arabian Oil, Kuwait nearing deal

Arabian Oil Co. said Wednesday it has signed memorandums with the Kuwaiti government that oblige the two sides to seek to reach an agreement by Jan. 29 to allow Arabian Oil to continue tapping Kuwait's Khafji oil field.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 13, 2001

Daiwa Bank Holdings established

OSAKA -- Daiwa Bank and two regional banks established Daiwa Bank Holdings Inc. on Wednesday to integrate their management and create the largest financial group in the Kansai region.
JAPAN
Dec 13, 2001

Readers reach out with fund

Total contributions to The Japan Times Readers' Fund in 2000 came to 3,401,372 yen.
BUSINESS
Dec 13, 2001

Panel threatens NTT with splitup

An advisory panel to the telecommunications minister said that Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. should be reorganized or split up if steps to promote competition in the telecom market fail.
BUSINESS
Dec 13, 2001

Yoshinoya to open in Philippines

Fast-food chain operator Yoshinoya D&C Co. said Wednesday it will open two restaurants in Manila this month, its first in the Philippines. Yoshinoya, which sells seasoned beef strips and rice known as "gyudon," said the first outlet will open Saturday and the second on Dec. 22.
BUSINESS / ON THE FRONT LINE
Dec 13, 2001

Bond issues a given, but who will buy them?

There is a virtual consensus in the marketplace that another increase in government bond issues is inevitable.
BUSINESS
Dec 13, 2001

LDP panel nixes tax hike plans

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party's powerful tax policy panel decided Wednesday to scrap plans to raise taxes on cigarettes and low-malt "happoshu" in fiscal 2002, LDP officials said.

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