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BUSINESS
Aug 16, 2002

Tokyo department store sales slide 5.7%

Sales at department stores in Tokyo logged a year-on-year decline of 5.7 percent in July on a same-store basis, dropping to 192.28 billion yen, according to a report released Thursday by the Japan Department Stores Association.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Aug 11, 2002

Book industry cries murder

Although everyone agrees that the Japanese publishing industry is in trouble, there is less consensus as to the causes. Book and magazine sales have been declining for five years and book revenues for last year were at roughly the same level as a decade earlier; indeed, some say that if it were not for...
BUSINESS
Aug 8, 2002

Shiokawa pushes tax-cut plan

Finance Minister Masajuro Shiokawa said Wednesday he wants to introduce tax cuts over three years and offset expected revenue shortfalls with tax hikes over five years.
LIFE / Food & Drink / THE WAY OF WASHOKU
Aug 4, 2002

For a little taste of home that's not from home

There are three smells that I associate with summer in Japan: the scent of katorisenko — the green, spiral-shaped incense that is used to ward off pesky mosquitoes; the sweet-sticky smell of the colored syrup in seasonal kaki-gori shaved-ice shops; and the odors of yatai outdoor food stalls — especially...
JAPAN
Aug 2, 2002

Private-sector leader urged for postal entity

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said Thursday that the public corporation that will take over the state-run postal service operations in April should be headed by someone from the private sector.
JAPAN
Jul 31, 2002

Half of jobless receiving no aid

An average of 3.74 million people were out of work in April and May, and 1.9 million of them had no source of income, according to a government report released Tuesday.
LIFE / Food & Drink / VINELAND
Jul 28, 2002

A taste of the renaissance

Wine lovers in Tokyo are no longer far removed from the international wine scene. We have access to great wine shops and restaurants with well-chosen wines in every price category. And as we've investigated in the last few columns, bottles of wine now turn up even in formerly unthinkable locations, such...
BUSINESS
Jul 26, 2002

June sees retail sales decline for 15th consecutive month

Retail sales across the country fell 3.7 percent in June from a year earlier for the 15th straight month of decline, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said Thursday in a preliminary report.
COMMENTARY
Jul 23, 2002

Who can succeed Koizumi?

A sense of frustration prevails as the marathon Diet session nears its end. Since it convened in January, the scandal-racked legislature has achieved very little, and the political situation has become increasingly unstable.
BUSINESS
Jul 23, 2002

Honda to sell China-made 50cc scooter

Aiming to boost sluggish motorbike sales in the domestic market, Honda Motor Co. announced Monday it will begin sales of a low-priced 50cc scooter made at its Chinese assembly plant.
BUSINESS
Jul 13, 2002

LDP elements denounce government's budget move

Senior members of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Friday increased the pressure on Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to reload the public works budget, expressing doubts about the government's decision the previous day to upgrade its economic assessment.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Jul 11, 2002

Permanent status and foreign driving licences in Japan

Reader AEB from Kyushu writes: "I am single, have lived here in Japan for almost 10 years, and have a stable job. I hope to apply for permanent residency. I heard that you must have lived here for 10 years consecutively, or be married to a Japanese national.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / J-POPSICLE
Jul 10, 2002

A card-carrying regular guy

One interesting aspect of Japanese meishi (name-card) etiquette is that entertainers never give them out. It took me a while to figure out that one. Several interviews with musicians I thought had begun inauspiciously when I handed the artist my meishi only to receive nothing in return.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 7, 2002

Violinist who plays off the scale

Most people expect the kind of music played on a violin to be classical. Unless they're listening to internationally known violinist and composer Taro Hakase, that is, whose violin demonstrates melodies that can't be easily pigeonholed into any one musical category.
BUSINESS
Jul 6, 2002

JAL joins international air cargo alliance

Japan Airlines Co. formally announced Friday it has joined international cargo alliance WOW.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jul 5, 2002

Our yankii are different from your yankees

You know you're old when the slang expressions so fashionable in your youth go right over the heads of 22-year-olds who stare blankly as though you've just spoken to them in ancient Egyptian. One remembers a time when mecchanko (extremely superduper) was the adjective of the day, used to describe everything...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jul 5, 2002

Adidas cashes in on Japan's World Cup exploits

Philippe Troussier was not the only Frenchman elated with the surprisingly good performance of the Japanese squad in the FIFA World Cup.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / VINELAND
Jun 30, 2002

Matches made in Tokyo

From California-style cafes to French bistros, international restaurants in Tokyo possess world-class wine lists. But if consumers' experience of wine is limited to their forays into international gourmet dining, it will remain an exotic, special-occasion beverage. To establish a comfortable home for...
BUSINESS
Jun 27, 2002

A first: METI upgrades retail sales assessment

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry gently upgraded its retail sales assessment Wednesday, with the scale of the year-on-year decline in sales having shrank to 3 percent in May from 4.5 percent in April.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jun 16, 2002

Why the rain is mainly a pain

Your shoes make squishing sounds when you walk. After a couple of days' use, your bath towel begins to smell like it recently emerged from an Egyptian sarcophagus. Rain hats and scarves, umbrellas and waterproofing sprays proliferate. But no matter what you do, you still don't feel dry.
BUSINESS
Jun 4, 2002

Despite heavy resistance, change is in the air

The reformist administration of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi is in a crisis as a result of strong resistance to the slogan of structural reforms with no safe haven, under which he formed his Cabinet in April 2001.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / VINELAND
Jun 2, 2002

Snobbery will not be permitted

Once upon a time, wine in Japan was a hushed affair, conducted with starched linens and stiff-backed chairs. Elusive first-growth Bordeaux and top Burgundy accompanied the tense, dutiful rituals of business negotiations. The mood was earnest; the cost high. It sometimes seemed as if the highly codified...
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?

Longform

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.