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BUSINESS
Jun 8, 2002

Kobe Steel to sell equity to Comalco

Kobe Steel Ltd. said Friday it has signed an agreement to sell its 9.5 percent interest in Australian aluminum refiner Boyne Smelters Ltd. for around $78.5 billion to Comalco Ltd.
LIFE / Lifestyle / JET STREAM
Jun 7, 2002

Working with people to save the Earth

Money was not Fareeha Ibrahim's reason for joining the JET program. In fact, as a senior policy adviser in Australia's Environment Department, her annual income was significantly more than the 3.6 million yen she gets as a JET.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 7, 2002

Sometimes 'open' schools are more secure

OSAKA — The main gate of Hakata Elementary School in the city of Fukuoka is kept wide open.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 6, 2002

Tiananmen legacy to haunt new leaders

EDMONTON, Canada -- Tuesday was another anniversary of the tragic morning of June 4, 1989, when the Chinese government used force to crack down on student protesters and their supporters in and around Tiananmen Square.
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jun 6, 2002

Looking at the bright side of Japan's cash woes

One of the most soul-destroying experiences of my life in Japan occurred back in 1986.
JAPAN
Jun 6, 2002

Foreigners flock to Aichi town to learn Japanese

Japanese generally know two things about the city of Okazaki in Aichi Prefecture.
JAPAN
Jun 5, 2002

Koizumi postal reforms draw flak from LDP vested interests

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi was criticized Tuesday by a lawmaker from his own Liberal Democratic Party over his long-held goal to privatize the nation's postal services.
BUSINESS
Jun 5, 2002

Nissan Construction to receive aid

The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry said Tuesday it has designated failed Nissan Construction Co. eligible for an employment aid program.
JAPAN
Jun 4, 2002

Single men in 30s save either a lot or naught

OSAKA — In terms of saving money, single males in their 30s generally fall into two extreme categories: those who diligently set aside their yen and those who spend all they have, according to a recent survey by a consumer credit company.
BUSINESS
Jun 4, 2002

NEC and Matsushita in China tieup

NEC Corp. and Matsushita Communication Industrial Co. said Monday they have established a joint venture with a local firm in China to expand their third-generation mobile handset business.
BUSINESS
Jun 3, 2002

U.S. energy policy pushes new course

KANSAS — The Bush administration is attempting to direct global energy policy in a new direction five years after the landmark Kyoto agreement to roll back emissions of greenhouse gases.
COMMENTARY / JAPAN IN THE GLOBAL ERA
Jun 3, 2002

Can a nation learn from Nissan's success?

LAUSANNE, Switzerland -- The twin announcements that Nissan made a record profit of 372 billion yen last year and that Carlos Ghosn has been appointed chief executive officer of the parent company, Renault, as well as retaining the presidency of Nissan, are an extraordinary landmark.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Jun 3, 2002

Balance of payments and intervention signal danger for economic reforms

Japan's international balance of payments for fiscal 2001, released by the Finance Ministry on May 15, highlighted a year-on-year fall in the trade and current account surpluses. But it also revealed a 24.4 percent increase in the nation's income surplus to a record-high 8.68 trillion yen.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / VINELAND
Jun 2, 2002

Snobbery will not be permitted

Once upon a time, wine in Japan was a hushed affair, conducted with starched linens and stiff-backed chairs. Elusive first-growth Bordeaux and top Burgundy accompanied the tense, dutiful rituals of business negotiations. The mood was earnest; the cost high. It sometimes seemed as if the highly codified...
JAPAN
Jun 2, 2002

Fast Retailing, Daiei settle store-design row

Fast Retailing Co., a leading casual-clothing retailer known for its Uniqlo brand, and Daiei Inc. have reached an out-of-court settlement over a dispute involving the layout of Daiei's PAS casual clothing stores, company officials said Saturday.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jun 2, 2002

The slow train to France

To reach AOC Yoyogi entails an undemanding stroll down a narrow shotengai shopping street in one of those quiet, unexceptional parts of Tokyo you would never have recourse to visit in the normal run of affairs. It's only minutes away from the JR station, but far enough that you feel well removed from...
JAPAN
Jun 1, 2002

Japan scrapes the barrel after latest downgrade

Moody's Investors Service Inc. on Friday dealt a long-expected blow to Japan's credit rating, lowering it two notches to A2. The world's second largest economy and largest creditor nation is now in the same league as Cyprus, Greece and Israel.
BUSINESS
Jun 1, 2002

Japan, China need cooling-off period before launching cooling-off forum

When they met during an international business conference on the southern Chinese island of Hainan in March, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and his Chinese counterpart, Zhu Rongji, agreed to inaugurate a high-level comprehensive forum for dialogue on economic topics.
BUSINESS / ON THE FRONT LINE
May 31, 2002

All signs point to 13,000

In a rare development in recent months, the daily turnover on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's first section topped 1 trillion yen on May 17 and stayed above this level on four of five trading days last week.
BUSINESS
May 31, 2002

Lower House takes up postal bills

The House of Representatives Committee on Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications opened debate Thursday over a set of four postal services deregulation bills.
BUSINESS
May 31, 2002

Hakuhodo eyes TSE listing in fall

Toshio Miyagawa, president of advertising agency Hakuhodo Inc., said Thursday his company hopes to list on the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange in the fall. "Our aim to be listed next fall remains unchanged," Miyagawa told reporters during a briefing on Hakuhodo's earnings reports for fiscal...
COMMENTARY
May 30, 2002

Chirac chooses neutral team

PARIS -- Not so long ago, a majority of the EU members had leftist governments. Most have since shifted to the right, starting with Spain followed by Austria, Portugal, Italy, Denmark and, on May 16, the Netherlands -- despite very low unemployment figures under the Socialist Cabinet.
JAPAN
May 30, 2002

Morgan Stanley fund accused of tax evasion

A real-estate investment fund operated by the Morgan Stanley group of the U.S. allegedly failed to report 18 billion yen in Japanese income from the buying and selling of bad loans in 1999 and 2000, sources said Wednesday.
BUSINESS
May 30, 2002

Aozora expresses fear over foreign investment

Softbank Corp. may sell part of its stake in Aozora Bank, raising the possibility of a tussle should a leading stake fall into foreign hands, Aozora Bank President Hiroshi Maruyama said Wednesday.
BUSINESS / ON THE FRONT LINE
May 30, 2002

Global economic prospects remain shaky

The government declared earlier this month that the economy has bottomed out.
EDITORIALS
May 29, 2002

The odd couple's African tour

U.S. Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill and Irish rock singer Bono have just concluded a four-nation tour of Africa. During their visit to Ghana, South Africa, Uganda and Ethiopia, the two men studied ways to help the world's poorest continent. They bring two very different approaches to this pressing problem....
JAPAN
May 29, 2002

Flights climb at Kansai airport

OSAKA -- Kansai International Airport, hit by a slump in international travel since the terrorist attacks in the United States last fall, is slowly attracting more overseas business, particularly from Asian airlines.

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