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BUSINESS
Dec 15, 2000

Euro heats up as U.S., dollar cool down

The euro's long bear run against the dollar has run its course amid concern over slower U.S. economic growth.
CULTURE / Music
Dec 15, 2000

The Choir of St. John's currently touring Japan

Choral music is something of a specialty in Britain, which leads the world in the number of professional-level choral groups. This strength is rooted in Britain's many collegiate and cathedral choirs, which provide a steady supply of trained and experienced singers to groups like the Hilliard Ensemble...
BUSINESS
Dec 15, 2000

GDP actually fell in third quarter

The Economic Planning Agency will likely revise the gross domestic product data for the July-September quarter from a 0.2 percent quarter-to-quarter expansion to a contraction, an EPA official acknowledged Thursday.
COMMENTARY
Dec 15, 2000

Japan ties under Bush hinge on U.S. economy

Call it U.S. exceptionalism or a deep distrust of government. Whatever it is, Americans have demonstrated a historical preference for divided government as a check against one-party dominance. But nobody had ever expected a U.S. election with a hairline split and as much divisiveness as the one that...
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Dec 15, 2000

Hopes of peace rise with dawn of the 21st century

On the last day of the 20th century, the world seemed to resonate with the mournful aftermath of tragedies perpetrated across the globe during the previous 100 years. It appeared necessary to pin one's hopes on the dawn of the new century in order to dissipate the tones of violence and death still lingering...
JAPAN / CABINET INTERVIEW
Dec 15, 2000

Streamlining hopes face roadblocks: Hashimoto

The ongoing process of realigning central government ministries and agencies remains trapped in a bureaucratic vise, according to former Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto, who is currently state minister in charge of streamlining the nation's bureaucracy.
EDITORIALS
Dec 14, 2000

Help needed for discontented workers

Despite the continuing bleak employment picture, perhaps partly because of it, many Japanese working men and women say they are unhappy in their jobs. This is not surprising, since changes in the traditional workplace are occurring so rapidly that the old rules and procedures for minimizing employee...
JAPAN
Dec 14, 2000

LDP, partners hope tax relief fires economy

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partners reached a basic agreement Wednesday on a final draft of their annual tax code revisions for fiscal 2001 that features steps to support the nation's fragile economic recovery through tax breaks totaling some 177 billion yen.
JAPAN
Dec 14, 2000

Ships to just view Antarctic's blue, minke whales

Two Japanese vessels will depart today from Setoda, Hiroshima Prefecture, to join an international study of blue and minke whales in Antarctic waters, the Fisheries Agency said.
BUSINESS
Dec 14, 2000

Panel urges review of tax relief

The government's Tax Commission on Wednesday proposed reforms for fiscal 2001 that, among other things, seek to facilitate corporate realignment.
BUSINESS
Dec 14, 2000

Bank execs to aid Daiei rehab

Compiled from wire reports The four banks that have pledged to help ailing supermarket chain Daiei Inc. regain its financial footing are considering dispatching senior managers to clarify their support for its reconstruction, informed sources said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Dec 14, 2000

Panel eyes PET recycling rate of 50%

A Health and Welfare Ministry panel released a report Wednesday calling for raising the recycling rate of plastic drink bottles to 50 percent by fiscal 2004, ministry officials said.
JAPAN
Dec 14, 2000

Mori sues over story on gangster ties

Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori filed a libel suit with the Tokyo District Court on Tuesday against a magazine that published an article and photographs allegedly linking him to a rightwing gangster, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda said Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Dec 14, 2000

No money for ailing Kansai airport, ministry says

The Finance Ministry will reject the Transport Ministry's request for a 2 billion yen budget allocation for fiscal 2001 to help revamp the management of the loss-making Kansai International Airport, government sources said Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Dec 14, 2000

Biggest union calls for performance-based pay

Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp.'s 210,000-strong labor union decided Wednesday to push for the adoption of a new wage system that gives priority to results rather than seniority.
BUSINESS
Dec 14, 2000

FRC executive to head up FSA after realignment

Shoji Mori, secretary general of the Financial Reconstruction Commission, will replace Masaharu Hino as head of the Financial Services Agency, government sources said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Dec 14, 2000

Business confidence has stalled: 'tankan'

The rising optimism reported by the nation's large manufacturers in the last quarter has ground to a halt, according to a key business sentiment survey released Wednesday by the Bank of Japan, fueling concerns that the nation's main engine of recovery is running out of steam.
BASEBALL / MLB
Dec 14, 2000

Fighters re-sign three foreigners

The Nippon Ham Fighters have re-signed sluggers Sherman Obando, Nigel Wilson and southpaw Kevin Ohme at baseball's winter meetings in Dallas, officials of the Pacific League club said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Dec 14, 2000

Green tax among panel proposals

The Central Environmental Council proposed Wednesday that the government consider introducing an environmental tax as one measure to combat global warming and air pollution.
BUSINESS
Dec 14, 2000

Dollar no safe haven as U.S. economy ebbs

International investors rushed to safe havens such as dollar-based securities in recent years on news of finan- cial crises in the Far East and elsewhere.
BUSINESS
Dec 14, 2000

Japan set for B2B e-commerce explosion

Japan's business-to-business e-commerce market will grow faster than expected and develop in a unique way, according to Joseph Kim, president and chief executive officer of ICG Japan K.K. ICGJ provides financial and operational support to companies engaged in the B2B market.
JAPAN
Dec 14, 2000

Allies agree on financing of increased child benefits

The three ruling coalition parties have agreed on the pending issue of how to finance the proposed expansion of the child benefits program, coalition officials said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Dec 14, 2000

Researchers develop cancer-promoting agent

A Japanese research team has succeeded in developing an efficient cancer-promoting agent and will announce its findings at an international conference in Honolulu that starts Thursday, according to a member of the group.
JAPAN
Dec 14, 2000

Obituary: Marius Jansen

Marius Jansen, a U.S.-trained historian of modern Japan and professor emeritus of Princeton University, died Sunday at a New Jersey hospital, Princeton officials said Tuesday. He was 78.
JAPAN
Dec 14, 2000

Foreign suffrage faces LDP roadblock

A group of Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers reconfirmed Wednesday that they will block a plan to give permanent foreign residents the right to vote in local elections when the bill comes up in the next regular Diet session.

Longform

Capsule hotels were created as a way to deal with the amount of overwork employees tend to do in Japan. Can't commute home? Then spend the night in an tiny, affordable sleeping space.
Japan wakes up to the market for a proper sleep