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BUSINESS
Jun 1, 2002

Tax panel calls for investment and R&D breaks

The Finance Ministry's Tax Commission on Friday unveiled a reform outline that would allow corporations to write off investments and spending on research and development.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 1, 2002

Make the world a better place for children

From May 8 to 10, the streets of New York City were adorned by the presence of 60 heads of state and their bodyguards, 3,000 government officials, 3,000 nongovernmental organizations and children from 180 countries. They were delegates of the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on Children,...
BUSINESS
May 22, 2002

Nissan, Toyota gear up to win lion's share of minivan market

Nissan Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp. are gearing up for keener competition in the minivan market, auto industry officials said Tuesday.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
May 20, 2002

Kobe beef's secret: nice alcoholic cows

As we enter the barbecue season, that tiny lovely sliver of a season stuck between "o-hanami" and the rainy season, the question on everyone's mind is: What is Kobe beef? And what could make Kobe beef so special that people willingly pay over 10,000 yen for a steak?
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
May 17, 2002

We're all narrow-minded

It's a commonly held belief that we lose brain cells as we age. But, in fact, although our brains may not work as well when we get older -- learning becomes harder, memories fuzzier -- the number of cells they contain remains the same, about 28 billion. Scientists think the real problem is that the myelin...
BUSINESS
May 16, 2002

Department store sales down again

Sales at Tokyo department stores fell 4.8 percent in April from a year earlier to 166.6 billion yen, the fifth straight monthly decline, the Japan Department Stores Association said in a preliminary report Wednesday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 15, 2002

East Timor truth commission faces arduous task

After a lifetime dedicated to fighting for a free East Timor, Jacinto Alves will finally see his country move to full independence Monday, when the United Nations' transitional administration steps aside to make way for the country's first democratically elected government.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / NEW ART SEEN
May 15, 2002

Weird science, but great art

It's the old quantity-versus-quality problem. Though there are only a couple of private contemporary-art museums in Tokyo (the Watari-Um and the Hara), their shows are almost always good and focus on providing authoritative coverage of some of the domestic and international art scenes' most important...
JAPAN
May 11, 2002

New food safety authority weighed

The government may create an independent food safety agency tasked with issuing recommendations to the farm and health ministries to counter growing public distrust of the ministries' handling of mad cow disease, according to a draft government plan.
MORE SPORTS
May 9, 2002

Tamura considering surgery

Five-time world champion Ryoko Tamura is looking into having surgery on her right knee and right elbow, the head of the Japanese women's national team revealed Tuesday.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
May 5, 2002

Straight from Tsukiji to Harajuku

What's the difference between an izakaya and a restaurant? Often very little, if the izakaya in question serves good food and comports itself with a degree of sophistication. Perhaps the best yardstick is the noise level. The louder the conversation and more voluble the pleasure, the less likely a place...
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
May 3, 2002

Just your average, run-of-the-mill salaryman sings the blues

So let me introduce myself. I'm your futsu (run-of-the-mill), heikin (average) salaryman, nothing special. What's wrong with that? I can remember a time when this particular jiko-shokai (self-introduction) at company functions and karaoke parties was perfectly acceptable -- even welcomed.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
May 1, 2002

The U.S. Ambassador of Magic

Neither clown nor magician but something of both, Steve Marshall has, from early childhood, been charming audiences with his unique brand of comedy magic. Watching him in action, it is difficult to tell where performance genres begin and end -- what's certain is that they blend into a seamless, entertaining...
LIFE / Digital
Apr 18, 2002

Navigating the broadband connection

Last week we discussed the different broadband services available in Japan and how to subscribe to each. This week we'll take a look at the steps necessary to configure your system to connect to the Internet using your new broadband service, and also consider some of the options available to users with...
MORE SPORTS
Apr 16, 2002

JJF picks Tamura despite loss

Olympic champion Ryoko Tamura was named to the Japanese national team for this summer's World Cup competition in Switzerland despite her first loss in 12 years at the women's judo weight-category national championships Sunday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / INTERNATIONAL RATIONALE
Apr 11, 2002

Domestic, foreign insurers engaged in turf war

The deregulation of Japan's insurance sector last year has set domestic and foreign-affiliated companies squarely against each other in the cancer and medical insurance battlefield.
JAPAN
Apr 10, 2002

'Satoyama' key to preservation of rural settlements

The Environment Ministry said Tuesday it will use the term "satoyama" to explain a new biodiversity policy aimed at preserving areas in which residents have coexisted harmoniously with nature.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 5, 2002

Accident at nuclear waste incinerator exposes worker to carbon-14 soot

OSAKA -- The exhaust pipe of a nuclear waste incinerator in Kawachinagano, Osaka Prefecture, ruptured Thursday, exposing a female worker to a small amount of soot, police said.
BUSINESS
Apr 2, 2002

'Tankan' report shows gloom lifting among big manufacturers

The decline in corporate sentiment among large manufacturers slowed for the first time in five quarters but remains weak overall, according to the Bank of Japan's quarterly "tankan" survey released Monday.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 1, 2002

The role of nuclear weapons is deterrence

How do we justify the paradox of using a weapon of mass destruction to stop others from acquiring them?
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Mar 31, 2002

Everything you need to know: Shin-chan's still in kindergarten

One cultural export that Japan does very well is animation, as evidenced by the fact that the Japanese word anime describes its own special category overseas. But while old reruns of "Astro Boy" are still shown in the West, "Crayon Shin-chan" probably never will be.
LIFE / Food & Drink / VINELAND
Mar 24, 2002

Let your taste buds do the browsing

At some point, it happens to all of us. You stand in front of the wine shelves and stare at the labels. You struggle to remember the last great vintage in the Rhone Valley, Rioja or Tuscany. You see the name of a winery you've liked in the past, but can't recall if it was the Syrah or the Zinfandel (it...
COMMENTARY
Mar 19, 2002

Class struggle joins Marx in the dustbin

HONG KONG -- Last Wednesday, a top official declared that, as a result of the market economy, "people's jobs and status keep changing" in China today, and there are "differences and contradictions between communities, between industries and between regions." These remarks by Li Ruihuan, China's fourth-ranking...
BUSINESS
Mar 9, 2002

S&P sees little impact from U.S. tariffs

Standard & Poor's Corp. said Friday the U.S. government's decision to place tariffs on steel imports will not immediately affect the agency's ratings on Japanese steelmakers.
BUSINESS
Mar 2, 2002

Household spending up 0.2%

Spending by wage-earning households increased by an inflation-adjusted 0.2 percent in January from a year earlier, following a 4.4 percent decline in December, the government said Friday.
BUSINESS
Feb 28, 2002

Wholesale, retail sales slide again

Combined sales by Japan's wholesalers and retailers dropped 5.4 percent from a year before in January, marking a 12th consecutive monthly decline, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said Wednesday.
COMMUNITY
Feb 24, 2002

No end to stress in modern Japan

Thirty-year-old Hiroko Sato was having her hair done, just as she had every month for the past several years, when suddenly she began to feel ill. First, she felt dizzy, then nauseous, then her hands started to go numb. She tried to shrug it off, but when she rose from her chair, she fainted.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Feb 24, 2002

Moral absolutism on trial

ONE MAN'S JUSTICE, by Akira Yoshimura, translated by Mark Ealey. New York, San Diego and London: Harcourt, 2001, 276 pp., $23 (cloth) In every society, even the most apparently open-minded, there are times when some questions become taboo. In the United States right now, such questions include anything...

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