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COMMENTARY / World
May 13, 2002

Prime minister or nationalist puppet?

CAMBRIDGE, England -- The ink was barely dry on my April 21 Japan Times article "Koizumi trade pitch misses," which stated Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi was thinking of going to pray at Yasukuni Shrine, when the news came that he had gone. We were told that he had felt the need "to mourn those who...
EDITORIALS
May 12, 2002

Harry Potter and the no-show sequel

Where is Harry Potter when we need him? For the second year in a row, the nonappearance of Book 5 of the small bespectacled one's magical doings is throwing readers of all ages into a spring tizzy.
JAPAN
May 12, 2002

Man seized in Chinese Embassy in 1998

Japanese police seized a Chinese intruder inside the grounds of the Chinese Embassy in Tokyo in May 1998 and released him after questioning, police confirmed Saturday.
JAPAN
May 12, 2002

DVD firms want 4% patent royalty on Chinese versions

Six Japanese and U.S. companies with DVD-related patents are negotiating with Chinese makers to charge about 4 percent of the price of a DVD player as royalties, China's official Xinhua News Agency reported Saturday.
JAPAN
May 11, 2002

Personal information bill endangers privacy, press: LDP politician

A government-sponsored bill to protect personal information, which critics fear would threaten freedom of the press, is more likely aimed at protecting bureaucrats rather than individual members of the public, according to a Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker who has openly criticized the legislation....
JAPAN
May 11, 2002

Prosecutor gets new arrest warrant

OSAKA -- A fresh arrest warrant was served Friday on a former senior official of the Osaka High Public Prosecutor's Office on suspicion of accepting bribes from a gangster in return for investigative information, Osaka prosecutors said.
BUSINESS
May 11, 2002

JAL suffers 36.7 billion yen in losses for fiscal 2001

Japan Airlines Co. on Friday said it slipped 36.7 billion yen into the red in fiscal 2001, it's first net loss in four years.
COMMENTARY / World
May 11, 2002

Reflecting on the future of Myanmar

CHIANG MAI -- The hopeful news from Myanmar calls for a pause and reflection: What really triggered these happy developments? Which is the most appropriate course for the international community to follow on the strenuous road to a full blossoming of democracy in Myanmar?
BUSINESS
May 11, 2002

Panel urges drastic, extensive action to ensure Japan is competitive again

If Japan is to regain its competitiveness, the government must take drastic and extensive action to increase research and development and make the country a base for value-added industries, according to a report Friday by a government panel.
JAPAN
May 11, 2002

New food safety authority weighed

The government may create an independent food safety agency tasked with issuing recommendations to the farm and health ministries to counter growing public distrust of the ministries' handling of mad cow disease, according to a draft government plan.
MORE SPORTS
May 10, 2002

Lessons learned

Ryan Kuwabara is a key member of Japan's national ice hockey team currently playing at the Pool A World Championships in Sweden. Kuwabara, a Japanese-Canadian who was drafted by the Montreal Canadiens and now stars for Japan Ice Hockey League champion Kokudo, has agreed once again to keep a journal...
BUSINESS
May 10, 2002

Mitsui unit in U.S. settles pig feed lawsuit

Trading house Mitsui & Co. said Thursday its animal feed subsidiary in the United States has agreed to settle a class-action suit lodged by U.S. pig and poultry farmers over sales of feed supplements.
BUSINESS
May 10, 2002

School vacation in fall seen as economic salve

The government's Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy is drawing up an economic revitalization package featuring the introduction of a fall vacation for schools and a three-year plan to promote outsourcing of public-sector services, according to an interim draft report.
BUSINESS
May 9, 2002

DoCoMo profits vanish into writeoffs

After years of spectacular growth, NTT DoCoMo Inc. on Wednesday said group net profits in fiscal 2001 plunged 99.8 percent to 862 million yen due to losses on strategic foreign investments.
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
May 9, 2002

Sons light up mum's life, but also take years off it

All sons know that we get more flak than daughters. Does "You've taken years off my life" or "Why can't you be more like your sister?" sound familiar?
COMMUNITY
May 9, 2002

Zeitgist

The foreigner needs only two words to bridge the language gap in Japan, says Matt Shea.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 8, 2002

Probe of mystery ship concludes after six days

The Japan Coast Guard on Tuesday concluded a six-day undersea probe of a suspected North Korean spy ship in the East China Sea, coast guard officials said.
COMMENTARY / World
May 8, 2002

Smiling Koizumi guarded on free trade

SYDNEY -- All sweetness and light, plus a dash of pay dirt. That about sums up the three-day foray into Australia by Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. A free-trade agreement, or FTA, got no further than free-talking. A security protocol including the United States as a third party came a few...
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM MOSCOW
May 5, 2002

Adventurer's death touches Russia's soul

MOSCOW -- One does not have to be a pop singer or a movie actor to have loyal fans all over the globe. Occasionally even a scholar can become an international star, as the recently deceased Norwegian Thor Heyerdahl demonstrated. A remarkable thing about his popularity, however, was that Russia was one...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / VINELAND
May 5, 2002

Vineyards of New World beckon in warm weather

Only a decade ago, adventure and good value were tough to find in Japan's wine market. Wine lovers traded news of secret finds. We carried treasured bottles back from trips overseas. We called up buddies and huddled together to relish the long-saved treat of a wine unavailable in Japan. The rituals bore...
JAPAN
May 4, 2002

Tide turns against Koizumi as voters give up hope: poll

More people disapprove of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's Cabinet than those who approve of it for the first time since the Cabinet's inauguration last April, according to the results of a Kyodo News telephone poll.
BUSINESS
May 4, 2002

52% of firms expect October-March upturn

Some 52 percent of major companies expect an economic upturn in the latter half of the current business year, according to a recent survey by Kyodo News released Friday.
JAPAN
May 2, 2002

Bid-rigging scandal entangles engineering firm

As the investigation continues into the suspected bid-rigging case involving the top aide to Lower House member Muneo Suzuki, prosecutors now believe that the initiative for the scheme was taken by a Tokyo-based engineering firm.
JAPAN
May 2, 2002

Crown Prince's ex-chamberlain to head household

Hideki Hayashida, former chief chamberlain to Crown Prince Naruhito, on Wednesday became the top official in charge of the Crown Prince's Household.

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