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JAPAN
Aug 25, 2000

Digital technology casts doubt on photo evidence used in court

Courts in the future will give less credibility to photos as evidence, due to the growing quality of computer-enhanced images, the president of the world's third-largest producer of image-editing computer software said.
BUSINESS
Aug 25, 2000

Imports outpace exports as surplus drops 19.3%

Japan's trade surplus fell 19.3 percent in July from a year earlier to 1 trillion yen as the increase in imports outpaced that of exports, maintaining the seesaw pattern that has prevailed over the past several months, the Finance Ministry said Thursday.
JAPAN
Aug 25, 2000

Updated environment plan to add new economic options

The Basic Environment Plan -- Japan's 5-year-old master plan for a more environmentally sustainable society -- is in the middle of a seismic revision.
BUSINESS
Aug 25, 2000

RCC waiving billions of yen in debts

The Resolution and Collection Corp. has given up its claims on loans worth dozens of billions of yen it inherited from failed financial institutions since its inception in April 1999, it was learned Thursday.
JAPAN
Aug 25, 2000

State institutes set to study violent kids' backgrounds

Amid a rise in youth violence in the country, two government research institutes will launch a joint study into the backgrounds of youths who commit impulsive acts of violence, government sources said Thursday.
JAPAN
Aug 25, 2000

Acquitted Nepal man's second trial continues

The second hearing in the prosecution's appeal of a Nepalese man's acquittal of robbery and murder by a district court was held Thursday, after the Tokyo High Court on Wednesday designated two of his five defense lawyers as court-appointed attorneys.
BUSINESS
Aug 25, 2000

July department store sales fell for fifth month in a row

Sales at department stores in Japan dropped 4.5 percent in July from a year earlier to 873.73 billion yen, down for the fifth straight month, an industry group said Thursday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Aug 25, 2000

Wakatabe hurls Hawks by Lions

Kenichi Wakatabe tossed a two-hit shutout against the Pacific League-leading Seibu Lions on Thursday, leading the Daiei Hawks to a 1-0 victory in a tight pitchers' duel at the Seibu Dome.
BUSINESS
Aug 25, 2000

Japan, Saudi Arabia to build 1.5 billion yen mechanics school

Despite the collapse of key oil negotiations earlier this year, Japan and Saudi Arabia are entering the final stage of preparations for a 1.5 billion yen joint project to establish a training institute for Saudi car mechanics in the kingdom.
BUSINESS
Aug 25, 2000

Yen looks poised to restart upward march

The yen has come largely unscathed through a recent spate of unnerving economic and corporate news, including the collapse of Sogo Co.
MORE SPORTS
Aug 25, 2000

Japan set for Asian Cup hockey defense

The Japan national ice hockey team will play in the Asian Cup early next month in its quest to defend its title at the annual three-nation tournament and qualify for the 2001 World Championship Pool A, the Japan Ice Hockey Federation announced Thursday in Tokyo.
JAPAN
Aug 25, 2000

Japan and North Korea spin wheels in normalization talks

KISARAZU, Chiba Pref. -- Japanese and North Korean negotiators resumed their 10th round of bilateral normalization talks here Thursday but failed to narrow their differences on Pyongyang's demand for an apology and redress for Japan's colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 25, 2000

Wahid battered but still kicking

SINGAPORE -- The threat of impeachment from angry legislators stared Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid grimly in the face on Aug 7., when the 695-member People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) convened in Jakarta to review Indonesia's progress.
COMMENTARY
Aug 25, 2000

Turbulent times await Mori

Japan's new political season will open in late September, when an extraordinary Diet session starts after the summer recess. Politics in the upcoming year will be marked by three potential turning points.
JAPAN
Aug 25, 2000

Government unveils guidelines for axing works projects

The three ruling parties have adopted a set of four criteria for deciding whether to scrap or suspend ongoing public works projects as part of a plan to make Japan's huge construction budgets more effective, according to coalition officials.
EDITORIALS
Aug 24, 2000

The children must be protected

Increasing media coverage of horrendous cases of child abuse, complete with gruesome details of serious injury or death, seems to indicate that the problem is getting out of control in this country. Until not so long ago, an issue that was widely believed to be a private family matter received scant...
BUSINESS
Aug 24, 2000

Bridgestone to boost tire output in Japan to assist U.S. unit

Bridgestone Corp. said Wednesday that it will boost production at its three domestic plants to facilitate the recall of 6.5 million tires that its U.S. unit, Bridgestone/Firestone Inc., announced earlier this month.
JAPAN
Aug 24, 2000

Defense Agency to seek tanker aircraft

The Defense Agency plans to seek government approval to acquire a tanker aircraft for aerial refueling for the Air Self-Defense Force in the next fiscal year.
BUSINESS
Aug 24, 2000

State needs to publicize economic reality

When the Bank of Japan ended its 18-month-old "zero-interest-rate" policy it capped speculation over the controversial shift in monetary policy.
BUSINESS
Aug 24, 2000

Nifty ties up with South Korean ISP

Nifty Corp., a leading Japanese Internet service provider, said Wednesday that it has agreed to promote Internet-based services with two Samsung Group companies of South Korea.
BUSINESS
Aug 24, 2000

Japan, EU to study joint Cambodian aid project

Japan and the 15-nation European Union will start talks as early as next month on drafting a unique guns-for-butter joint assistance project for Cambodia by the end of this year, government sources said Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Aug 24, 2000

MITI to abolish subsidy for solar power in homes

The Ministry of International Trade and Industry plans to scrap government subsidies for solar power generation equipment for household use at the end of fiscal 2002 in order to boost competition in the industry, ministry sources said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Aug 24, 2000

Toxic powdered milk sees Snow plant closure

SAPPORO -- The Hokkaido Prefectural Government on Wednesday ordered Snow Brand Milk Products Co. to suspend operations for an unspecified period at its plant in Taiki, Hokkaido, after discovering a bacterial toxin in samples of powdered skim milk produced there, officials said.

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