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BUSINESS
Dec 8, 2001

Reduction in state's JT stocks sought

The Finance Ministry said Friday that the mandatory percentage of shares held by the government in Japan Tobacco Inc. should be cut to 50 percent in fiscal 2002 from the current 66.7 percent.
BUSINESS
Dec 8, 2001

Foreigners net buyers

While the nation's industrial web of cross-shareholdings continued unraveling, foreign investors were net buyers of Japanese stocks for the fifth consecutive week last week.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 8, 2001

Defending the Khmer cultural heritage

CHIANG MAI, Thailand -- When discussion involves Cambodia, a natural reaction is to recall horrendous images of ruthless genocide. While this is true, one should nonetheless not exclusively equate this small country with immense suffering and torment. Cambodia is also home to a precious cultural heritage...
BUSINESS
Dec 8, 2001

International transition team works out details of global AIDS fund

With a yearend target date approaching, the multibillion-dollar Global AIDS and Health Fund is taking shape through discussions among major countries and international organizations.
JAPAN
Dec 8, 2001

Newborn princess given name Aiko

The girl born Dec. 1 to the Crown Prince and Crown Princess has been named Princess Aiko, the Imperial Household Agency said Friday.
COMMUNITY
Dec 8, 2001

East meeting with West carves history into wood

Reiko Yamanouchi remembers clearly how wood engraving entered her life. "Soon after joining my husband in Cambridge in 1968 -- he was a research student at the university -- I was given a book to help me get a feeling for the city, a memoir by Gwen Raverat, the granddaughter of Charles Darwin.
JAPAN
Dec 8, 2001

U.S. code said cracked in '41

KOBE -- In mid-1941, as tensions between Japan and the United States mounted, Washington took extreme precautions to protect coded diplomatic messages between the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo and the State Department from being intercepted by the Japanese.
BUSINESS
Dec 8, 2001

China starts dumping probe of firms

China began an antidumping probe Friday into imports of raw nylon material from Japan, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and Russia, Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said.
BUSINESS
Dec 8, 2001

Growth forecast at minus 0.3%

The government is likely to set its official growth forecast for fiscal 2002 at minus 0.3 percent in the wake of news that the economy contracted a real 0.5 percent in the July-September quarter, government sources said Friday.
BUSINESS
Dec 8, 2001

10,000 Matsushita workers apply for retirement scheme

OSAKA -- Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. said Friday that more than 10,000 workers, or over 10 percent of its group workforce, have applied to take part in an early retirement plan.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Dec 8, 2001

Kazuko Honjo

When she speaks, Kazuko Honjo sets off an avalanche of words. She has ideas and energy, inborn talent and developed skills, insights and understanding. Now that she is taking stock and formulating plans, she has reached, she says, her turning point.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Dec 8, 2001

Making central heating cool

It's wintertime and I'm huddled under the "kotatsu," the only square meter of heated space in the house. Sitting under the kotatsu is like grilling your limbs under a broiler or sticking your feet inside a toaster oven. I've taken on the two-tone look: blue upper body and red lower.
BUSINESS
Dec 8, 2001

Diet passes bill to help middle-aged, elderly find work

The House of Councilors passed a bill Friday to help middle-aged and elderly workers who lose their jobs to secure new employment via initiatives such as employer subsidies.
COMMENTARY
Dec 8, 2001

Look of Japan belies reality

LONDON -- A recent, short visit to Japan made me doubt whether there was much sense of an economic crisis threatening Japan's future and how far the recession has affected ordinary people.
JAPAN
Dec 8, 2001

Draft of Justice Ministry human-rights plan focuses on vulnerable groups

The Justice Ministry has compiled a draft of the government's basic human rights plan, calling for special efforts to protect the rights of vulnerable groups in Japan.
BUSINESS
Dec 8, 2001

New bill boosts RCC's bad-loan powers

The Diet passed a bill Friday designed to bolster the functions of the state-run Resolution and Collection Corp. to help banks accelerate the disposal of bad loans by selling them to the RCC.
EDITORIALS
Dec 7, 2001

Breaking with Keynesianism

The government's economic and fiscal report released Tuesday focuses on Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's program to resuscitate Japan's moribund economy. No wonder its writers -- selected public economists -- have made a great effort to rationalize the prime minister's "no reform, no growth" agenda....
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 7, 2001

Maoists try to undermine Nepal's ties with neighbors

T he latest Maoist turbulence in Nepal is yet another chapter in the Himalayan kingdom's recent history of bloodshed and carnage, which began with the palace massacre in early June.
SOCCER / J. League
Dec 7, 2001

Hara for FC Tokyo

FC Tokyo has named former Urawa Reds boss Hiromi Hara as the team's new manager for next season, officials of the J. League first-division side said Wednesday.

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