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BUSINESS
Sep 10, 2003

Banks and FSA draw closer on loan estimates

The gap between major banks and the Financial Services Agency in their estimates of the banks' risky and bad loans has narrowed, FSA data showed Tuesday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 10, 2003

Foreign execs coached through local game

The American executive blurted out a series of questions he had been unable to ask for a year.
JAPAN
Sep 9, 2003

Osaka's Ohta announces she will seek second term

OSAKA -- Osaka Gov. Fusae Ohta formally announced Monday that she will seek a second term when her current term expires in February 2004.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / A GAIJIN'S TALE
Sep 9, 2003

No fixed abode

When I first arrived in Japan I was living with a friend who was working "under the table."
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 9, 2003

Using the right words in Kosovo

When it comes to media access, Kosovo's population is spoiled for choices. No apartment block is complete without its symmetrical rows of white satellite dishes scanning the heavens for news and entertainment. One estimate has it that 75 percent of the population has media access. BBC and MTV are just...
JAPAN
Sep 8, 2003

3D digital map of Japan planned to boost accuracy

The Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry is planning to create a digital three-dimensional map of Japan for use in such fields as disaster preparedness and fostering new businesses.
JAPAN
Sep 7, 2003

Japan's space station bill to top 1 trillion yen

Japan will have to shoulder more than 1 trillion yen to help build and operate the International Space Station, a figure much higher than previously cited by the government, internal documents from the science ministry obtained by Kyodo News showed Saturday.
JAPAN
Sep 7, 2003

Envoy on Iraq fact-finding mission

Yukio Okamoto, diplomatic adviser to Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, left Saturday for Iraq to look into how Japan can contribute to reconstruction efforts there.
COMMENTARY
Sep 7, 2003

Exams fail to rock the boat

LONDON -- Summer is examination season in Britain with results posted in mid-August. These are important for young people as entry to university, especially a more prestigious one, depends on the results they achieve.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 4, 2003

Over 100 million yen withdrawn with stolen bank card

Police are searching for a man suspected of stealing a company president's bank card and using it to withdraw more than 100 million yen from an Internet banking service, officials said.
JAPAN
Sep 4, 2003

Workers happy to serve as jurors as long as trials are short

Some 72 percent of respondents in a recent survey said they would be willing to act as jurors if a quasi-jury system being contemplated by the government is introduced -- as long as the trial did not run longer than three days.
JAPAN
Sep 3, 2003

Transport minister stands behind highway chief after finances OK'd

Transport minister Chikage Ogi brushed aside mounting calls Tuesday for the president of Japan Public Highway Corp. to step down over allegations it doctored its financial statements to cover up huge debts.
BUSINESS
Sep 3, 2003

China e-government venture eyed

Hitachi Ltd. said Tuesday it will set up a joint venture with the Beijing University of Technology to push ahead with joint business efforts tied to China's e-government initiatives.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 2, 2003

Lawmaker wants transplant law revised

Six years after the implementation of the Organ Transplant Law, moves are afoot to alter one of its core conditions for using organs from brain-dead donors -- the donor's prior consent.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Sep 2, 2003

Baby names, death tax and crackers

Greetings from Baghdad, where it's 120 in the shade, the food is great, the people the best and electricity a dim memory. Oh, for the goodness of Japan.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Aug 31, 2003

Tips from the top

Feeling lucky? This time, you're certain, you just know the takarakuji is as good as yours.
COMMENTARY
Aug 31, 2003

France's long, hot summer

PARIS -- Fifty-three thousand deaths in August against 40,000 the same month in 2002: This has every chance of being the minimum toll of the unprecedented heat wave France has known this summer, with daytime peaks of more than 40 degrees Celsius vs. a seasonal norm of 27 degrees.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Aug 31, 2003

Reform is required to untangle pension system

A woman I know recently went to her local Social Insurance Agency office to find out about her pension. Since she is 68, she is past the age when she should have started collecting benefits, but she was never sure what she was supposed to do because the SIA never contacted her.
BUSINESS
Aug 29, 2003

NEC, Oki target Japanese firms in China

NEC Corp. and Oki Electric Industry Co. said Thursday they will jointly provide Japanese companies operating in China with a range of software and hardware products to help them contact customers directly and manage customer information more effectively.
BUSINESS
Aug 27, 2003

Environment Ministry greening up

The Environment Ministry said Tuesday it is preparing a bill to encourage more companies to reduce industrial pollution and protect the environment.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Aug 26, 2003

Publishing, futons and more motors

Budding author Z. has written a book he thinks is ready for publication. "Can you give me guidance or advice as to how to go about getting published?"
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Aug 25, 2003

What has your political party done for you lately?

The Nippon Keidanren is working on a set of guidelines aimed at encouraging member companies to donate to political parties and evaluate their policies. I would like to provide some background on the objectives of this ongoing effort.
COMMUNITY
Aug 24, 2003

The curious afterlife of Ada Lovelace

Celebrity is a fickle thing, as Ada Lovelace's famous father, the poet Lord Byron, learned to his cost -- sexual scandals and seesawing public opinion drove him into exile and to his death. For his daughter, however, the ups and downs of fame have mostly been posthumous.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 24, 2003

Japan again risking too little, too late

Last month Japan passed legislation that opened the door to sending the Self-Defense Forces on missions to Iraq. In principle, this was a very positive step forward for those who had hoped to see Japan play a greater role in international security affairs.
BUSINESS
Aug 23, 2003

Toyota declares most income for the fourth straight year

Toyota Motor Corp. has retained its spot as the biggest declared income earner in Japan for the fourth straight year, a private research firm said Friday.
COMMENTARY
Aug 23, 2003

Pawns for Tokyo's hardliners

Japan seems bound forever to want to embark on quixotic foreign-policy campaigns. Yesterday it was Tokyo's bizarre Northern Territories demands against Moscow. Today it is its equally bizarre abductee demands against Pyongyang.

Longform

It's back to the classroom for some residents as municipal governments across the country conduct lessons to learn how to use new technologies.
Can aging Japan go digital without leaving anyone behind?