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BUSINESS
Nov 30, 2001

Capital spending may drop in '01 despite planned rise

Actual fiscal 2001 capital outlays by Japanese firms are expected to shrink due to the effects of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States despite corporate plans that would have resulted in a second year of increase, Industrial Bank of Japan said.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 29, 2001

Lee Teng-hui on a mission to save his vision of Taiwan

NEW YORK -- Taiwan will hold an election Saturday to choose members of the national Parliament, mayors and county magistrates. The outcome will have a lasting impact on Taiwan's future -- in particular on its relationship with China.
EDITORIALS
Nov 29, 2001

Banks come to grips with bad debts

After years of timid attempts to clear mountains of nonperforming loans, Japanese banks appear to be finally coming to grips with the bad-debt crisis. In the half-year business term to September, most of the 14 top lenders took larger-than-expected charges against their dud loans, even dipping into their...
CULTURE / Film
Nov 28, 2001

Refuge in the little shop of solace

Sekai no Owari to Iuano Zakkaten Rating: * * * Director: Kiseki Hamada Running time: 94 minutes Language: Japanese Now showing
JAPAN
Nov 28, 2001

Imperial Couple off to Mie despite looming royal birth

The Emperor and Empress started a four-day visit Tuesday to Mie Prefecture to worship at Ise Shrine and visit a college and other facilities -- just as the Crown Princess is expected to give birth to her first baby any day now.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Nov 27, 2001

Second budget takes page from Nakasone's book

Only 10 days after the first supplementary budget was enacted, the government performed an almost acrobatic feat to finance a second extra budget for this fiscal year -- tapping the proceeds from government sales of shares in Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp.
Japan Times
Events
Nov 27, 2001

Designer gives throwaways 'a second life'

KYOTO -- Dresses from sail-cloth, bikinis from Red Army parachutes, trousers from post bags, shirts from table cloths and accessories from car inner-tubes.
BUSINESS
Nov 27, 2001

BOJ not mulling foreign bonds, Shiokawa reckons

Finance Minister Masajuro Shiokawa said Monday he does not think the Bank of Japan is considering purchasing foreign bonds as a means of boosting liquidity in the money market.
JAPAN
Nov 27, 2001

Pamphlet urges those traumatized by Sept. 11 to stay calm, seek help

A pamphlet for those suffering from trauma associated with the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States has been published to offer guidelines on coping, according to its publisher.
Japan Times
Events
Nov 27, 2001

Kyoto locals slam fall traffic jams

KYOTO -- The Arashiyama area, situated in the northwestern part of this ancient city, is famous for its colored leaves at this time of the year and the many temples that serve as sightseeing spots for enjoying the natural beauty.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Nov 25, 2001

Failed chemistry experiments in the media lab

Two weeks ago, a friend faxed me an article from the weekly news magazine Aera about a new advertising trend called "collaboration CF," which is the selling of two different companies' products in one TV commercial. I had already read about collaborations two days earlier in advertising critic Yukichi...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Nov 25, 2001

What she's doing in Japan: a novel with heart

ASH, by Holly Thompson. Stone Bridge Press, 2001, 292 pp., $16.95 (paper) Don't read "Ash" if you're a jaded expatriate pining for a ticket home. Don't give a copy to an idealistic friend considering the Japan Exchange and Teaching Program. Above all, don't lend it to Japanese acquaintances keen to discover...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Nov 25, 2001

Book Bites

TOKYO CONFIDENTIAL: Titillating Tales From Japan's Wild Weeklies, edited by Mark Schreiber. The East Publications, 2001, 257 pp., 1,400 yen (paper) Grown men in diapers? Couples going all the way in the back seats of Tokyo taxi cabs? Mothers stalking their daughters? Companies that rent out wedding guests?...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / PLAY BUTTON
Nov 25, 2001

Where the twains meet and swing

Certain musical phrases, combinations of notes, chord changes and rhythms appear consistently in the folk music of Hungary, Turkey and China.
BUSINESS
Nov 24, 2001

Nonfinancial firms suffer steep falls in profit for first half

Nonfinancial companies listed on the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange incurred huge profit falls in the first half of the 2001 business year, reflecting the deepening information technology slump, according to a private research institute.
JAPAN
Nov 23, 2001

Colleges for teachers face drastic cuts

An education ministry panel recommended Thursday that the number of government-run teachers' universities and education departments at other schools should be cut in half.
BUSINESS
Nov 23, 2001

China-Japan trade discussions fail once again

Japan and China, in their government-level meeting, failed again Thursday to settle a trade row over Japan's emergency import curbs, according to officials from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.
JAPAN
Nov 23, 2001

Colleges for teachers face drastic cuts

An education ministry panel recommended Thursday that the number of government-run teachers' universities and education departments at other schools should be cut in half.
BUSINESS
Nov 22, 2001

Koizumi, partners agree on 2.5 trillion yen in extra spending

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and his two coalition partners agreed Wednesday to compile a 2.5 trillion yen second extra budget for this fiscal year to prop up the ailing economy, lawmakers of the coalition parties said.
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Nov 22, 2001

Wise words from Earth's defenders

Most of us have heard warnings that humans are destroying the Earth and all that lives on it since we were toddlers. So much so that the message has lost its urgency. More than that, we've become cynical. What good can we do when in the United States, for example, every bill aimed at cutting back on...
BUSINESS
Nov 21, 2001

Japan, Thailand to explore free trade

Visiting Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra came up with a new approach Tuesday to get his country and Japan on the road toward a free-trade agreement.
JAPAN
Nov 21, 2001

Ministry to keep ban on untested beef

Farm minister Tsutomu Takebe pledged Tuesday to maintain a ban on the distribution of 13,000 tons of beef from cows butchered before nationwide cattle testing began for mad cow disease on Oct. 18.
JAPAN
Nov 21, 2001

Theft of bank data system leads to Aum arrest

Tokyo police Tuesday arrested a member of Aum Shinrikyo on suspicion of stealing a transaction data management system from a major Japanese bank.
COMMUNITY
Nov 18, 2001

Universal fashion: One design fits all

Everyone knows how hard it is to find clothes that fit, but imagine how much harder it would be if you had special needs. If you were a wheelchair-user looking for pants with gathers at the knees, or a frail senior looking for a blouse with easy-to-detach buttons, chances are you wouldn't find them easily...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Nov 18, 2001

The long road to a barrier-free Japan

Compact size. Lightweight. High-speed. Extra new features. Appealing design. Competitive price. Manufacturers have long focused on criteria like these in their quest for successful product lines. In the single-minded pursuit of profits, though, consumers unable to adapt themselves to standardized products...
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 17, 2001

Tobin tax: fodder for spendthrift pols

Suggestions have been made that the turmoil that swept through East Asia in 1997-98 is evidence of the instability of global capital markets. Supporters of this idea validated their claims by asserting that a contagion effect spread the turbulence to other emerging market economies.
BUSINESS
Nov 17, 2001

Sony plans major Vaio push in China

In a bid to break into China's rapidly growing market, Sony Corp. will produce and market a range of its popular Vaio notebook computers there starting next month, company officials said Friday.

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?