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EDITORIALS
Apr 22, 2003

The meaning of low interest rates

The global economic outlook remains dim despite the swift and decisive coalition victory in Iraq. In Japan the prospects are darker still, with deflation getting worse, not better. Stock prices are at their lowest level in about 20 years. Banks are still burdened with piles of bad debt. Prime Minister...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 22, 2003

ASIMO gets job at Takashimaya

ASIMO, the humanoid robot developed by Honda Motor Co., started work Monday as a department store clerk for customer services at Takashimaya Co. in Tokyo.
BUSINESS
Apr 22, 2003

Mobile phone sales dropped 3% in 2002

Domestic mobile phone sales in 2002 dropped 3 percent from the previous year to 39.39 million units for the second straight year of decline, Gartner Japan Ltd. said Monday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 22, 2003

Group seeks care for socially withdrawn

An alarming number of young people are cutting off contact with society and shutting themselves in their rooms for years on end. More than a few turn into violent tyrants at home.
COMMUNITY
Apr 22, 2003

Why should the guarding of human rights even be an option?

On April 12, the government published a report on human rights of foreigners in Japan.
JAPAN
Apr 21, 2003

Setagaya OKs transsexual's election bid

A transsexual living socially as a female became on Sunday the first person in Japan to register as an election candidate under a gender different from that listed on their official family registry.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / ON THE ARCHIPELA-GO
Apr 20, 2003

Seeking tranquillity in Tohoku

Nobody goes to Tohoku. The region used to be known as Michinoku, meaning, quite literally, "the end of the road." Even today, its six prefectures -- Aomori, Akita, Iwate, Yamagata, Miyagi and Fukushima -- are among the least developed for tourism in Japan. However, if you venture north, you'll find that...
JAPAN
Apr 19, 2003

Team develops 'book' to store DNA gene data

A research team has developed a simplified technique for storing and delivering genes by creating what it describes as "DNA books" using genes extracted from animal cells.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / THE SECOND ROOM
Apr 19, 2003

2003 party season gets its blessing; Credit where due in 2002

As omens go, the last two Sundays have been righteously encouraging for the Tokyo party scene.
JAPAN
Apr 19, 2003

Swedish Honorary Consulate reopens

KOBE -- The Swedish Honorary Consulate in Kobe was reopened Friday, with Naoya Wada, president of machinery maker Kinki Industrial Co., appointed as honorary consul.
JAPAN
Apr 19, 2003

June eyed for SDF-Iraq bill

Legislation that would allow the dispatch of Self-Defense Forces to Iraq for postwar reconstruction will probably be submitted to the Diet in June, a senior member of the ruling coalition said Friday.
BUSINESS
Apr 18, 2003

METI eyes online credit market

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry will create an online credit market as early as in 2004 to give small and midsize firms more ways to procure funds, METI officials said Thursday.
JAPAN
Apr 16, 2003

TOEFL preparatory aids hit market

The operator of the Test of English as a Foreign Language said Tuesday it has introduced two new products targeting schools: a software package named LanguEdge Courseware and an online service called Criterion.
BUSINESS
Apr 16, 2003

Ishihara banking plan welcomed

Financial Services Minister Heizo Takenaka welcomed on Tuesday plans by Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara to establish a new type of bank to help spur the local economy.
BUSINESS
Apr 15, 2003

Stocks sink for fifth session, sending Nikkei to 20-year low

Tokyo stocks closed lower for the fifth straight session Monday, driving the key Nikkei average down to a new 20-year closing low.
JAPAN
Apr 15, 2003

Ishihara has novel ideas for new term

Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara suggested Monday that municipal government employees might be able to lend police a helping hand as a way to strengthen security in the capital.
COMMUNITY
Apr 15, 2003

'Mind-blowing' art display hits Odaiba

Biannual art extravaganza Design Festa, now marking Vol. 17, is sweeping toward Tokyo Big Sight convention center, with some of the best and brightest of art and design from Japan and all over the world penciled in for an April 19-20 explosion of creativity.
MORE SPORTS
Apr 13, 2003

SARS can't stop world of rugby's grand wake for fallen mates

Thursday, March 28, 2003, and noted Australian commentator Chris "Buddha" Hardy asks for quiet from the players and spectators gathered at the Hong Kong Football Club for its annual tens tournament.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 13, 2003

Chinese deserve grown-up party leaders

SEOUL -- The leaders of the Chinese Communist Party want the world to believe that the government they control is fit to be accepted as a full-fledged mature member of the global community. But is it? There have to be some doubts.
JAPAN
Apr 12, 2003

Cloned beef may hit grocery stores later in the year

A health ministry report released Friday says that meat and milk of cows cloned from the somatic cells of adult animals are safe for human consumption.
BUSINESS
Apr 11, 2003

Sanyo, Samsung join forces to develop air conditioners

Sanyo Electric Co. and Samsung Electronic Co. said Thursday they will jointly develop household air conditioners.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 11, 2003

Futility felt by journalist drives him to show war's true face

Hearing U.S. bombs find their targets and feeling the ground shake under his Baghdad hotel, Kosuke Tsuneoka was struck by the futility of his plan to serve as a "human shield" and stop the war.
JAPAN
Apr 10, 2003

School texts cite 9/11, toe line on SDF

The Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States and subsequent war in Afghanistan are included in most high school textbooks that survived the latest round of screening by the education ministry.
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Apr 10, 2003

Immune system linked to mating habits

David Beckham might wear a sarong and Takuya Kimura of SMAP may sometimes wear lipstick, but in humans, most males are dull compared to the females. In other animals, of course, the opposite is true: it is the males that are showy, brightly colored, flashy.
LIFE / Digital / NETWISE
Apr 10, 2003

Sifting online study aids

Just a few years ago, I was certain I could never get by without Kenkyusha's New Japanese-English Dictionary and the venerable Nelson close at hand. Today, however, these and other weighty tomes gather dust on a nearby bookshelf, banished to obsolescence by my favorite desktop reference, the Web.
Japan Times
JAPAN / INTERNATIONAL RATIONALE
Apr 9, 2003

Domestic firms missing out on slice of medical device market

Dr. Kiyoshi Namba is a hard-core believer in medical technology. A breast cancer specialist, Namba has invested heavily in state-of-the-art medical equipment at his two clinics in Miyazaki Prefecture, claiming this provides exactly what he needs to counter the killer disease -- the earliest detection...
BUSINESS
Apr 9, 2003

Pasona, Randstad forge alliance

Staffing agency Pasona Inc. said Tuesday it has launched joint marketing activities with Randstad Holding N.V. of the Netherlands to provide multinational clients with a global network.
BUSINESS
Apr 8, 2003

Post offices to aid in recycling PCs

Personal computer makers and the public postal corporation will join hands to recycle PCs starting Oct. 1, an industry group said Monday.

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?