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BUSINESS
Nov 23, 2002

Dissension surfaces in Cabinet

In a rare gesture of ministerial dissent over a government policy that has just been formulated, the industry and land ministers said Friday that a planned supplementary budget for fiscal 2002 is too small.
JAPAN
Nov 22, 2002

Nicos head to step down over scandal

Yoji Yamada, president of Nippon Shinpan Co., said Thursday he will resign next month to take the blame for the "sokaiya" racketeer payoff scandal rocking the major loan company but will remain involved in the firm's management plans.
JAPAN
Nov 22, 2002

Extra budget to feature 3 trillion yen in fresh funds

The government and ruling parties agreed Thursday that the supplementary budget for fiscal 2002 will feature 3 trillion yen in fresh spending, with 1.5 trillion yen earmarked for both public works projects and safety net measures.
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Nov 22, 2002

Japanese movies eyed for makeover

With "The Ring," the horror film based on the 1998 Hideo Nakata hit "Ringu," sailing past the $100 million mark in the United States, remakes of Japanese and other Asian films are suddenly hot in Hollywood.
JAPAN
Nov 21, 2002

Fukuda denies that Japan backs halting of KEDO deal

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda dismissed a report Wednesday that Japan is ready to agree to a U.S. proposal to suspend a project aimed at providing North Korea with light-water nuclear reactors.
JAPAN
Nov 21, 2002

Former Pyongyang agent speaks to DPJ

A former North Korean agent on Wednesday urged the government to help Japanese-born ethnic Koreans and their Japanese spouses who have defected from North Korea to this country, saying they are living under severe conditions without jobs or Japanese nationality.
JAPAN
Nov 21, 2002

North Korea able to produce nukes by 2004, says U.S.

The U.S. government believes North Korea will be capable of producing a nuclear bomb using enriched uranium as early as in 2004, Japanese and U.S. sources have told Kyodo News.
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Nov 21, 2002

Menopause for thought on heart attacks

In the years leading up to menopause, usually from the ages of 45 to 54, a woman's ovaries start to shrink, and the levels of the female hormones they produce, estrogen and progesterone, become irregular.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 21, 2002

Racecourse chief held over bribe

Tokyo police on Wednesday arrested the former head of the Kyoto Racecourse, operated by the Japan Racing Association, on suspicion of accepting 1.6 million yen in bribes from the former president of a company that makes promotional cards.
BUSINESS
Nov 20, 2002

Tax panel gets early jump on fiscal 2003 reform plan

The Tax Commission on Tuesday proposed a reform plan for fiscal 2003 that would attempt to boost the economy by allowing tax cuts for corporate activity and to secure more revenue by reducing exemptions for individuals.
JAPAN
Nov 20, 2002

Ruling bloc nixes Diet testimony by former North Korean agent

A proposed Diet appearance by a former North Korean agent was effectively canceled Tuesday after ruling coalition parties said they oppose inviting him to the legislature.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Nov 20, 2002

Expos evoke memories of Japan's 'gypsies'

There's a lot of speculation about what will happen to the Montreal Expos and where the team will play its home games during the 2003 season.
JAPAN
Nov 20, 2002

Government overspent in resort development

The government grossly overestimated demand and unnecessarily invested large sums in designated resort areas in 41 prefectures based on a law to promote and develop resort-related industries, according to a draft report by a study group of the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry.
JAPAN
Nov 19, 2002

Nicos failed to sever 'sokaiya' ties

Nippon Shinpan Co., mired in allegations that its executives paid off a racketeer to expedite proceedings at the firm's general shareholders' meetings, had failed to sever ties with a number of racketeers in the late 1980s, a former company executive said Monday.
BUSINESS
Nov 19, 2002

NTT posts first-ever fall in consolidated revenues

Telecom giant Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. reported Monday that its consolidated sales fell 1.7 percent to 5.37 trillion yen in the fiscal first half to Sept. 30, marking the first-ever decline in revenue since the firm's privatization in 1985.
JAPAN
Nov 17, 2002

Ishihara is 'war maniac': Pyongyang

North Korea has denounced Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara as being a "fanatic ultranationalist and a war maniac" following remarks he made last Sunday regarding the abduction of Japanese nationals by North Korea.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Nov 17, 2002

Superiority met altruism when West advised East

TO CHANGE CHINA: Western Advisers in China, by Jonathan D. Spence. New York/London: Penguin Books, 2002, 336 pp., 21 b/w photographs, $15 (paper) This intelligent and entertaining book is a reprint of the original 1969 American edition, much missed and sought after, and now available again. In it, Jonathan...
JAPAN
Nov 16, 2002

Women governors press Koizumi on policy

The nation's three female governors on Friday submitted to Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi a package of policy measures that focus on the needs of ordinary citizens.
EDITORIALS
Nov 15, 2002

Iraq's 'final opportunity'

The world has united against Iraq. Last week, the United Nations Security Council voted unanimously to give Baghdad a last chance to disarm. In response, the Iraqi government has opted for "the path of peace" and agreed to accept the resolution "without conditions." That is good news - no one wants war....
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Nov 15, 2002

And you wonder why women don't want to have babies . . .

Rumiko, the 29-year-old president of her own computer-graphics company, says she has decided to become an achiragawa no ningen (person who has crossed over to the other side) by having a baby.
BUSINESS
Nov 15, 2002

BOJ credit-easing measures likely: experts

Nearly 90 percent of economists expect the Bank of Japan to further ease its grip on credit within six months, according to a Kyodo News survey released Thursday.
BUSINESS
Nov 15, 2002

Ailing trader Tomen asks Toyota group for assistance

Struggling trading house Tomen Corp. said Thursday its earnings for the first half to Sept. 30 plunged with sluggish revenues, and its president said the company is reaching out to the Toyota Motor Corp. group for assistance.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 15, 2002

Soga's husband, daughters request her prompt return

The husband and two daughters of Hitomi Soga, one of five Japanese abducted by North Korea who are now back in Japan, have said they want her to return to Pyongyang as soon as possible, officials of a Japanese weekly magazine that interviewed the trio said Thursday.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language
Nov 15, 2002

Shinta Cho wins award

Children's book writer and illustrator Shinta Cho won the 2002 ExxonMobil Children's Culture Award on Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Nov 14, 2002

Nikkei shrugs off GDP data to hit new 19-year low

The Nikkei stock average fell to a new 19-year closing low Wednesday in thin and narrow trading, as the market ignored new data showing the Japanese economy maintained growth from the start of this year.

Longform

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