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EDITORIALS
Dec 12, 2003

Russian reality test for Kyoto

It is still unclear whether Russia has decided to withdraw from the Kyoto Protocol on global warming. But reports that Moscow had rejected the proposal refocused international attention on the appalling lack of progress since the agreement was negotiated more than five years ago. Despite the now considerable...
JAPAN
Dec 12, 2003

Duskin exec handed suspended term

A former Duskin Co. executive was handed a suspended two-year prison term Thursday for misappropriating about 180 million yen of the Osaka-based major cleaning equipment rental firm.
BUSINESS
Dec 12, 2003

Skymark enters black-ink territory

Skymark Airlines Co. said Thursday it will probably report a net profit of 470 million yen for the second half of the business year that ended Oct. 31, marking a first-ever profit since it started operating in 1996.
BUSINESS
Dec 11, 2003

Firms create a prototype for multi-OS

Denso Corp. and Toshiba Corp. said Wednesday they have jointly developed what they believe to be the world's first prototype of a multioperating systems environment that will support both the Windows and Tron OSs.
JAPAN
Dec 10, 2003

Vietnam says it will allow visa-free entry for Japanese

Vietnamese Foreign Minister Nguyen Dy Nien said Tuesday his nation plans to allow visa-free entry for Japanese travelers and business officials.
BUSINESS
Dec 10, 2003

Mitsubishi Motors may sell truck unit to DaimlerChrysler

Mitsubishi Motors Corp. may sell its 42 percent stake in Mitsubishi Fuso Truck & Bus Corp. to DaimlerChrysler AG and Mitsubishi group companies, MMC sources said Tuesday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 9, 2003

Takefuji chairman admits ordering phone tap, resigns

Takefuji Corp. founder Yasuo Takei, under arrest for his alleged role in a wiretapping case, resigned Monday as chairman after admitting he ordered his men to bug a journalist's phone, the major consumer loan company said.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 7, 2003

Thousands pay respects to diplomats slain in Iraq

Some 3,500 people paid their last respects at the funerals Saturday of two Japanese diplomats killed in an ambush in Iraq, with many sobbing as friends and colleagues of the two men offered eulogies.
JAPAN
Dec 5, 2003

Fresh charges served in Takefuji wiretap case

Four people who were indicted Thursday on a charge of wiretapping a journalist were served fresh arrest warrants later in the day for allegedly bugging the phones of another journalist in Tokyo.
JAPAN
Dec 4, 2003

Few warm to greater-Tokyo assembly idea

Kanagawa Gov. Shigefumi Matsuzawa advocates creation of an unprecedented regional administrative system that would deal with issues affecting the multiple prefectures and municipalities that constitute greater Tokyo.
JAPAN
Dec 4, 2003

Takei issued wiretap orders, former Takefuji exec tells cops

A former Takefuji Corp. executive has told police that Yasuo Takei, founder and chairman of the consumer loan company, ordered him to bug the phones of seven senior Takefuji officials, investigative sources said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Dec 4, 2003

Grand vision touts rejiggered cities to suit aging population

The infrastructure ministry unveiled action plans Wednesday to revise city planning measures to concentrate welfare, medical and other facilities near stations and municipal offices to meet the needs of the rapidly aging population.
BUSINESS
Dec 4, 2003

Survey finds firms short of manpower

Companies short of manpower in November outnumbered those with too many workers for the first time in almost six years.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 4, 2003

Game-console makers cut prices ahead of yearend showdown

Makers of video game consoles are gearing up for the all-important yearend shopping season.
BUSINESS
Dec 3, 2003

Hitachi units set to forge alliance

Hitachi Information Systems Ltd. said Tuesday it will merge with Hitachi netBusiness Ltd., an Internet data service provider, on April 1.
COMMENTARY
Dec 3, 2003

Lots of debate, little action

The problems with Japan's education system are well known -- poor teaching in the universities; class disintegration (gakkyu hokai) in the schools -- to name but a few. So many students, unwilling to put up with the pressures and rigidities of the existing school system, are now dropping out of school...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 2, 2003

Digital broadcasts mark fledgling debut

With signs that say "Digital is coming!" hanging in stores packed with new TV models promising dazzling imagery, Tokyo's bustling electronics shopping district in Akihabara is one place in Japan that's gung-ho about digital television broadcasting that began Monday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 2, 2003

State seizes Ashikaga Bank shares

The government completed procedures Monday to seize all shares in Ashikaga Bank and temporarily nationalize the insolvent regional lender.
EDITORIALS
Dec 1, 2003

Kashmir cools off

India and Pakistan have begun a ceasefire in Kashmir. The two nuclear-armed neighbors have fought three wars, two over the disputed region. While every ceasefire is to be applauded, this one is likely to be more symbolic than substantive. Still, it may permit the leaders of the two countries to meet...
JAPAN
Dec 1, 2003

Governor lays blame for collapse on auditor

UTSUNOMIYA, Tochigi Pref. Kyodo) Tochigi Gov. Akio Fukuda on Sunday blamed an auditor for the national government's decision to take control of Ashikaga Bank in his prefecture.
COMMENTARY
Dec 1, 2003

LDP's diminishing appeal

In the Nov. 9 Lower House election, the governing Liberal Democratic Party lost 10 seats while the opposition Democratic Party of Japan gained 40. New Komeito added a few seats thanks to its cooperation in the election with the LDP, its ruling-coalition partner. The Social Democratic Party and the Japan...
COMMENTARY
Dec 1, 2003

Iraq and economy top political agenda

The special session of the Diet that was convened on Nov. 19 following the Nov. 9 general election came to an early close Nov. 27. On the question of the dispatch of the Self-Defense Forces to Iraq, which is the most important issue at the moment, fierce debate unfolded between Prime Minister Junichiro...
JAPAN
Nov 30, 2003

Government intervenes to rescue Ashikaga Bank

Stepping into a political minefield, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi decided Saturday that the government would temporarily nationalize Ashikaga Bank, currently part of the Ashikaga Financial Group Inc.
JAPAN
Nov 30, 2003

Sony plans to introduce merit-based pay system

Sony Corp. plans to shift to a completely performance-based pay system in April by abolishing family, housing and other salary-linked allowances, company sources said Saturday.
BUSINESS
Nov 29, 2003

40 billion yen in taxpayer funds improperly spent in 2002

Government ministries, agencies and state-funded entities wasted or improperly used about 40 billion yen in taxpayer money in fiscal 2002, the highest amount in 20 years, the Board of Audit said Friday in a report.

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