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JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Apr 27, 2003

Life is one big show -- at least for Mino

On April 18, TV Asahi premiered a new quiz show called "Thumbs Up," hosted by Monta Mino. Until this show, Asahi was the only commercial network that hadn't hired Mino to helm a regular series, which means the gruff emcee is now approaching omnipresence. He hosts eight prime-time programs a week in addition...
COMMUNITY
Apr 27, 2003

Dolphin 'treatment' defies science

Michael Williams was born severely autistic. Even when he was in his teens, he was unable to communicate, other than through screeching, and his parents had to be constantly on the alert for violent behavior. Without warning, he would bang his head against objects, bite into his own fingers or lash out...
BUSINESS
Apr 26, 2003

Lifeline for life insurers extended

The House of Councilors on Friday enacted an amendment to the insurance business law to allow the government to extend its 400 billion yen contribution to the Life Insurance Policyholders Protection Corp., a safety-net body for life insurers.
BUSINESS
Apr 26, 2003

Hino Motors sees net profit decline

Hino Motors Ltd. said Friday it posted a consolidated net profit of 4.96 billion yen for fiscal 2002, down 40.7 percent from a year earlier due to valuation losses on its securities holdings amid the slumping stock market.
BUSINESS
Apr 26, 2003

Nikkei plumbs new depths

The Nikkei index closed Friday at a fresh 20-year low, battered by sales of technology stocks that were pushed down by Sony's bearish earnings outlook released the previous day.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Apr 26, 2003

Jiro Hirano

When he was poised between high school and university in the late 1950s, Jiro Hirano had a vague idea that in life he wanted to do "something international." He knew he didn't want to study at the University of Tokyo, as his father and brother and cousins had before him. "I wanted to have a way of my...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Apr 26, 2003

How to tell if your neighbor is a yakuza

Several years ago as I was taking a taxi to work, the taxi driver took a shortcut down a small side street through an old neighborhood. When we rounded a corner, we were met by about 50 men dressed in suits lining both sides of the street and making deep bows. The taxi driver stopped behind a large black...
COMMENTARY
Apr 26, 2003

An opportunity for APEC

HONOLULU -- The rapid spread of SARS, or severe acute respiratory syndrome, is a compelling demonstration of the need for a truly global health network to fight future epidemics. The particulars of this outbreak also highlight the role that the Asia-Pacific region will have to play in this effort. The...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 26, 2003

Yankee-Mariner games only bright spot for travel industry

Causing yet another made-in-Japan sensation on the other side of the Pacific, New York Yankees slugger Hideki Matsui is providing a bit of much-needed relief for the nation's travel industry.
BUSINESS
Apr 25, 2003

China seen as 'second engine' of growth for ASEAN nations

The rise of China as an economic power has been greeted with a mixture of fear and hope by member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, according to Chia Siow Yue, a senior research fellow with the Singapore Institute of International Affairs.
BUSINESS
Apr 25, 2003

Tertiary industry activity down 0.8%

The index of Japan's tertiary industry activity fell 0.8 percent in February from January, partly affected by sluggish tourism amid fears about the war in Iraq, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Apr 24, 2003

More proposals target stock falls

The ruling coalition reached a basic agreement Wednesday over more proposals aimed at halting the stock market decline, according to coalition lawmakers.
JAPAN
Apr 24, 2003

Death sentence for killer confirmed

The Tokyo High Court on Wednesday upheld the death sentence for a man convicted of murdering six female employees during a jewelry store raid in Utsunomiya, Tochigi Prefecture, in June 2000.
EDITORIALS
Apr 24, 2003

Quick action needed to stabilize Iraq

Last Sunday marked one month since the war began in Iraq. The United States and its allies have yet to declare victory, but for all intents and purposes the military operation is over. In fact, the fighting in strategic areas ended in less than four weeks, making this war one of the shortest in history....
JAPAN
Apr 24, 2003

Merger to create monster law firm

Nishimura & Partners and Tokiwa Sogo Law Offices said Wednesday they have agreed to merge Jan. 1.
COMMENTARY
Apr 23, 2003

A bigger Europe may not be any better

LONDON -- A few days ago in Athens, the birthplace of democracy, EU leaders approved a major expansion of the European Union that will embrace 10 new members and 73 million more European citizens.
BUSINESS
Apr 23, 2003

Takeda Chemical names new chief

Takeda Chemical Industries Ltd. said Tuesday it will appoint board member Yasuchika Hasegawa as its next president and chief operating officer, replacing Kunio Takeda, who will become chairman.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 23, 2003

Honda picks Fukui as new president

Honda Motor Co. said Tuesday that Takeo Fukui, a senior managing director, will succeed President Hiroyuki Yoshino in June.
JAPAN
Apr 23, 2003

Top court upholds right of inventors to be properly rewarded for work

The Supreme Court gave inventors a major victory Tuesday as it sided with a former employee of Olympus Optical Co. in his battle for more royalties from a crucial component in videodisc technology.
BUSINESS
Apr 22, 2003

Mobile phone sales dropped 3% in 2002

Domestic mobile phone sales in 2002 dropped 3 percent from the previous year to 39.39 million units for the second straight year of decline, Gartner Japan Ltd. said Monday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / FRONT-RUNNERS
Apr 22, 2003

Optical equipment maker focuses on creativity

If you really want to work for a company that produces high-technology devices, you may have to brush up on your chopstick skills.
BUSINESS
Apr 22, 2003

Tokio Marine to acquire capital stake in new Shanghai-based life insurer

Tokio Marine & Fire Insurance Co. is finalizing a plan to take a capital stake in Shanghai-based Sino Life Insurance Co., which will begin operating this fall, company officials said Monday.
BUSINESS
Apr 22, 2003

Sony unveils huge chip investment plan

Sony Corp. said Monday its group will invest 200 billion yen through March 2006 to produce cutting-edge semiconductors being jointly developed by IBM Corp. and Toshiba Corp.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / THE SECOND ROOM
Apr 19, 2003

2003 party season gets its blessing; Credit where due in 2002

As omens go, the last two Sundays have been righteously encouraging for the Tokyo party scene.
JAPAN
Apr 19, 2003

Swedish Honorary Consulate reopens

KOBE -- The Swedish Honorary Consulate in Kobe was reopened Friday, with Naoya Wada, president of machinery maker Kinki Industrial Co., appointed as honorary consul.
BUSINESS
Apr 18, 2003

Sky Perfect looks to wipe out losses

Sky Perfect Communications Inc. said Thursday it may eliminate all of its accumulated losses, which stand at some 120 billion yen, by the end of March 2004.
BUSINESS
Apr 18, 2003

Mark-to-market rule to remain for fiscal 2003

Corporate accounting rules will remain unchanged through the current fiscal year, meaning listed companies will file their financial statements based on the globally accepted mark-to-market accounting rule, the Accounting Standards Board of Japan said Thursday.

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