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JAPAN
Jul 12, 2004

DPJ finds favor with unaffiliated voters

More than half of the unaffiliated voters who cast ballots in Sunday's House of Councilors election threw their support behind the Democratic Party of Japan, according to Kyodo News exit polls.
COMMENTARY
Jul 11, 2004

Japan can't compete with a burning Iraq

LOS ANGELES -- Before too long, Asia might get weary of being declared by self-appointed Occidental experts as the new center of the political universe. For one thing, the notion is hardly novel in Asia. But, then again, it might as well enjoy the limelight so long denied this most pivotal region on...
BUSINESS
Jul 10, 2004

Skymark to use Zero's cash reserves

Skymark Airlines Co. said Friday it will merge with Internet service company Zero Inc. on Nov. 1 to boost the discount carrier's financial base.
JAPAN
Jul 10, 2004

Crown Princess' health still in doubt

Crown Princess Masako played tennis and attended a lecture with her husband, Crown Prince Naruhito, in the past week, but her ailing health has not improved, the Imperial Household Agency said Friday.
JAPAN
Jul 10, 2004

Is Pyongyang trying to win the election for the coalition?

North Korea's surprise live broadcast Friday of Hitomi Soga's kin at Pyongyang airport may constitute another indication that the country is apparently trying to back Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's administration ahead of Sunday's House of Councilors election, government officials claimed.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jul 10, 2004

Firms grope for enticing product names

Nissan Motor Co.'s popular March compact becomes the Micra in Europe, while Toyota's Vitz is known as the Echo in the U.S. and the Yaris in Europe.
JAPAN
Jul 10, 2004

Civil servants now face performance-related pay

The National Personnel Authority, the government body that supervises public servants, has decided to introduce a performance-based wage system for civil servants, abolishing automatic annual wage hikes based on seniority, government officials said Friday.
BUSINESS
Jul 9, 2004

Machinery order results for May raise hopes for quarter

Core private-sector machinery orders marked a smaller-than-expected fall of 2.1 percent in May from the previous month, stirring hopes of good results for the April-June quarter, the government said Thursday.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Jul 9, 2004

Long season has stars worn out for international play

LONDON -- Euro 2004 needed big names rather than long names to shine.
JAPAN
Jul 9, 2004

Schools plan HIV-awareness classes to battle rise in STDs

About 80 secondary schools in 10 prefectures are planning to teach students about ways in which to prevent HIV infection and AIDS this academic year, government officials said Thursday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jul 8, 2004

Honda unveils Edix minivan in Tokyo

Honda Motor Co. on Wednesday unveiled its new Edix minivan, featuring an unconventional seating layout.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 7, 2004

Private-sector exec's appointment seen as last-ditch attempt by LDP

In another apparent effort to win support for the ruling coalition before Sunday's election, the government said Tuesday it will appoint a private-sector executive as head of the Social Insurance Agency.
COMMENTARY / WASHINGTON UPDATE
Jul 7, 2004

Bush's financial edge fades as Kerry's coffers grow fat

WASHINGTON -- Throw away all of those crying towels that have been held in reserve to sop the tears of Democrats whining about the financial superiority of the Great Bush Money Machine. John Kerry just beat the record for fundraising by a presidential challenger, and he has a month to go to keep piling...
JAPAN
Jul 7, 2004

Atomic commission buried cost estimates

The Atomic Energy Commission had concealed from the public estimates made a decade ago showing that burying spent nuclear fuel was up to 2.4 times cheaper than recycling it, commission members said Tuesday.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 6, 2004

Pie-in-the-sky Asian monetary reform

GUATEMALA CITY -- Following the experiences of the European Union's euro zone, a common currency area for Asia has been widely discussed. Even though an Asian monetary union is a fantasy that ignores both economic and political realities, respectable economists have bought into the idea.
BUSINESS
Jul 6, 2004

TV Tokyo plans August TSE debut

The Tokyo Stock Exchange said Monday it has given the go-ahead for TV Tokyo Corp. to list its stock on the nation's largest bourse on Aug. 5.
BUSINESS
Jul 6, 2004

Blanket mad cow tests set to continue

Blanket testing for mad cow disease will continue for the time being, even though the government admitted last week that the approach has some technical limitations, a senior farm ministry official said Monday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 6, 2004

Soga, family to reunite Friday in Jakarta

Hitomi Soga, one of five Japanese repatriated to Japan in October 2002 after being abducted to North Korea, will be reunited with her American husband and their two daughters this week in Jakarta, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda said Monday.
JAPAN
Jul 5, 2004

LDP's support rate drops ahead of Upper House race

Support for the Liberal Democratic Party is at 30.7 percent, according to a Kyodo News poll released Sunday, down 7.9 points from a similar poll taken ahead of the 2001 House of Councilors election.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Jul 4, 2004

Blaming referee for England's loss to Portugal pathetic

LONDON -- When Urs Meier disallowed Sol Campbell's last-minute goal against Portugal last week the Swiss referee had no idea he was to become the latest recipient of the English media's revenge on a Johnny Foreigner who had, in the words of most tabloids, "cheated us" out of victory.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 4, 2004

A case for keeping Taiwan's status as is

Gradually, with hardly anyone noticing, President Chen Shui-bian of Taiwan has emerged as the most influential player in the volatile triangle of relations between China, the United States and his own island nation.
JAPAN
Jul 4, 2004

DPJ looks set to win more seats than ruling LDP, survey shows

The Democratic Party of Japan is expected to make great strides in the House of Councilors election on July 11 and looks set to top the list of parties in the proportional representation section, according to a new survey.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jul 4, 2004

Imaginative filmmakers shed light on dark side of humanity

At the end of May the Cine Pathos movie theater in Ginza was scheduled to run "Concrete," which is based on a "nonfiction novel" that itself is patterned after an incident that took place in Tokyo's Adachi Ward in 1989. Four teenage boys abducted a high-school girl and kept her prisoner for 40 days,...

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