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COMMENTARY
Jul 12, 2004

EU visions go head to head

LONDON -- At the final summit of the Irish presidency of the European Union in Brussels late last month, European heads of government agreed on the text of a European constitution for the enlarged group of 25 states that came into being at the beginning of May. Representatives of the 10 new states were...
COMMENTARY
Jul 12, 2004

Summits of East Asian unity

East Asia is moving toward regional integration, albeit at a slow pace. In a series of meetings held in Indonesia from late June to early July, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations agreed on a package of measures to expedite economic, financial, political and security integration. This signals...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 11, 2004

Andy Bey: "American Song"

The best vocal jazz release yet this year, Andy Bey's "American Song" reconceives jazz standards in passionate new forms. Reinventing classics is no easy business, but Bey knows how to deliver a song with unadorned sincerity and a savvy sense of vocal improvisation.
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 Times
JAPAN
Jul 9, 2004

Resort rattles isle's ecological sensitivities

IRIOMOTE ISLAND, Okinawa Pref. -- Dubbed by some as the "Galapagos in the East," Iriomote boasts subtropical forests, mangrove swamps and a surrounding coral reef.
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.
BUSINESS
Jul 9, 2004

Chip-making equipment sales lull seen

Domestic sales of equipment for manufacturing semiconductors and liquid-crystal panels are expected to peak in the current fiscal year, an industry association said Thursday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jul 9, 2004

Recovery shows benefits of letting foreigners in

Like many other Japanese investors, Hiroo Sato got burned a decade ago when the nation's speculative bubble burst. These days, he's finally getting some of his money back via a rebounding stock market.
COMMENTARY
Jul 8, 2004

Rising doubts about NATO

LONDON -- The June 28-29 summit meeting of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in Istanbul was a sour affair. The so-called allies within NATO could not agree on how to help with reconstruction in Iraq and ended up merely offering to do some training of Iraqi personnel, but not much more.
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.
BUSINESS
Jul 7, 2004

Deregulatory zones inspire outpouring of ideas from cities

A fund designed to make it easier to collect money for festivals is just one of 652 proposals the government has received from municipalities for the soon-to-be-launched special deregulatory zones, Kazuyoshi Kaneko, minister in charge of revitalizing local economies, said Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Jul 6, 2004

Japan, U.S. protest EC rules on chemicals

Japan and the U.S. have separately submitted documents to the World Trade Organization spelling out concern about draft European Commission rules on hazardous chemicals, Japanese trade sources said Monday.
Features
Jul 4, 2004

Questionnaire findings spotlight younger people's political gloom

Are you satisfied with current state of politics? Do you support a particular political party? How do you see the future of Japan? They say that the younger generation isn't interested in politics, do you agree? These were some of the questions that The Japan Times recently asked Japanese nationals in...
EDITORIALS
Jul 3, 2004

No respite for NATO

Leaders of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization expected their two-day summit in Istanbul to highlight a renewed sense of unity. Coming on the heels of one of the most bitter splits in the alliance's history, anything less would raise serious doubts about the organization's future. And yet they failed....
COMMUNITY
Jul 3, 2004

Japanese antique textiles taking over life and home

For any enthusiast keen to know the state of the Japanese antique textile market in the U.K., Marilyn Ratcliffe knows more than most. When we talk -- her already soft Cheshire burr blurred by hay fever ("they just mowed the grass in fields nearby") -- she has just the day before returned from a vintage...
COMMENTARY
Jul 3, 2004

Philippine election brings anxiety, not hope

HONG KONG -- The Philippines is lurching toward a crisis in which democracy is part of the problem instead of part of the solution. While, in theory, a long, arduous presidential election should leave a nation better aware of itself and eagerly awaiting a new beginning, in the Philippines it has left...
JAPAN
Jul 1, 2004

FTC seeks halt to Usen's alleged unfair price-cutting

The Fair Trade Commission sought an emergency court order Wednesday to suspend alleged unfair price-cutting practices by cable broadcast station Usen Corp. within a month.
BUSINESS
Jul 1, 2004

IRCJ says it's saving firms at an 'extraordinary' speed

The president of the state-backed Industrial Revitalization Corp. of Japan boasted Wednesday that the entity is reviving cash-strapped companies at an "extraordinary speed."
BUSINESS
Jul 1, 2004

Yoshinoya sees 1.9 billion yen loss, not beefy profit

Yoshinoya D&C Co. said Wednesday it expects to post a consolidated net loss of 1.88 billion yen in its 2004 business year, a reversal of its earlier forecast of 3.16 billion yen in net profit.
BUSINESS
Jun 30, 2004

MMC apologizes to shareholders, seeks tax breaks

Mitsubishi Motors Corp. chief executive Yoichiro Okazaki said Tuesday that the company plans to start negotiations with the government in July to receive favorable tax treatment for its revival plan under the Industrial Revitalization Law.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jun 30, 2004

Mizu to Abura mix mime and the surreal

Formed in 1995 by Jun Takahashi, Shuji Onodera and Momoko Fujita, who graduated that year from the Nihon Mime Kenkyujo (Japan Mime Institute), Mizu to Abura (Water and Oil) became a foursome three years later when Reina Suga, another institute graduate, joined them.
EDITORIALS
Jun 29, 2004

Talks give reason for hope

Although the third round of the six-party talks on the North Korean nuclear crisis yielded little more than a commitment to meet again, for the first time, there are grounds for genuine optimism. The United States and North Korea finally appear to be discussing solutions in earnest. To help them along,...
Japan Times
Features
Jun 27, 2004

Baby pictures

She hung up the phone and looked out of the living-room window. The house was on a slight rise and she could see most of Fairview Estates -- the rows of wide, orderly streets, the big houses and neat lawns, children on bicycles, the mail truck making its rounds. It all looked too neat, too much like...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jun 27, 2004

Korean wave may help erode discrimination

Though a lot of people are tired of the guy by now, there's something encouraging about the inexhaustible, Beatlemaniacal attention being paid to Korean star Bae Yong Joon. Bae's popularity is merely the most prominent feature of the current kanryu (Korean wave) boom, but the attraction that many Japanese...
BUSINESS
Jun 26, 2004

Investors vent spleen on execs at UFJ Holdings

Investors lashed out at executives of UFJ Holdings Inc. on Friday over the firm's dismal performance and its alleged misconduct ahead of government inspections.
BUSINESS
Jun 26, 2004

Internet, TV shopping shift firms' focus toward mail-order market

A growing number of retail corporations that once sold mostly over the counter are concentrating more on the mail-order market, made popular by the Internet and television shopping programs.
BUSINESS
Jun 26, 2004

Hitachi, NEC agree joint venture

Hitachi Ltd. and NEC Corp. said Friday they have agreed to set up a 5.5 billion yen joint venture in October to develop and produce Internet routers and switches.

Longform

Totopa in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward was picked by consultants TTNE as the best sauna of the year.
Japan’s sauna movement: Relax, refresh, repeat