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CULTURE / Film
Sep 5, 2001

Yes! Super film, hurrah!

Bridget Jones's Diary Rating: * * * 1/2 Japanese title: Bridget Jones no Nikki Director: Sharon Maguire Running time: 97 minutes Language: English Opens mid-September at Shibutoh Cine Tower and other theaters
BUSINESS
Sep 5, 2001

Koizumi's son to promote light 'happoshu'

Suntory Ltd. on Oct. 10 will launch a new "happoshu" -- a low-malt, beer-like alcoholic beverage -- that has about half of the calories of its other happoshu products.
BUSINESS
Sep 5, 2001

Ota flies Kansai privatization kite

OSAKA -- Osaka Gov. Fusae Ota said Tuesday the operator of Kansai International Airport in Osaka Prefecture could be fully privatized, either on its own or via a merger with another corporation.
JAPAN
Sep 5, 2001

'Eiken' tests to go on despite ministry

The Society for Testing English Proficiency, Inc. said Tuesday that it will continue to hold its "eiken" English proficiency test despite an education ministry decision to halt official recognition of the exam.
BUSINESS
Sep 4, 2001

New runway at Narita to open in April

A second runway at Narita airport is scheduled to open for business in April, a month earlier than initially planned, the head of the airport operator said Monday.
BUSINESS
Sep 4, 2001

Oct. 1 set for 3G launch

NTT DoCoMo Inc. announced Monday that it will launch its next-generation mobile phone service on Oct. 1 in parts of Tokyo, claiming it has improved on reception problems that plagued a trial service that began in May.
JAPAN
Sep 2, 2001

Tokyo hoping to double number of foreign tourists

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government hopes to more than double the number of foreign tourists visiting Tokyo to 6 million a year within five years and is considering building a casino to attract visitors, officials said.
JAPAN
Sep 1, 2001

Suzuki denies all links with Kenyan project

The following are excerpts from an interview with Lower House member Muneo Suzuki about a controversial hydropower project in Kenya. The interview was conducted on Aug. 22 in Tokyo.
JAPAN
Sep 1, 2001

Nikkei hits postbubble closing low

An overnight tumble on Wall Street and investors' disappointment in what they see as lukewarm government action on structural reform kept Tokyo stocks weak Friday and again sent the key price index to a new postbubble closing low.
BUSINESS
Sep 1, 2001

IMF can't review Japan banks: FSA

The government cannot accept a request from the International Monetary Fund to conduct an assessment of Japan's financial system, Financial Services Agency chief Hakuo Yanagisawa said Friday.
JAPAN
Sep 1, 2001

Islanders' concerns over cash grow

More than half of the people evacuated from Miyake Island following the eruption of Mount Oyama a year ago are experiencing economic difficulties, according to a recent survey by Kyodo News.
JAPAN
Sep 1, 2001

Ministry to get ex-justice as adviser

Former Supreme Court Justice Itsuo Sonobe will become an inspections adviser at the scandal-riddled Foreign Ministry, Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka said Friday.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Sep 1, 2001

In Dog Heaven, pee on the Pearly Gates

There is much talk these days about the first tourists to the moon and Mars. Everyone wants to be the first to go. Except me. I'm not interested in going to the moon or Mars. I have a hankering to go someplace much farther away and much more exciting. I want to be the first person to go to Dog Heaven....
BUSINESS
Sep 1, 2001

Tax panel to list proposals in September

A financial affairs subcommittee of the government's tax panel plans to compile a set of tax reform proposals on stock transactions by the end of September, the head of the subcommittee said Friday.
JAPAN
Sep 1, 2001

China's new envoy warns relations are at low ebb

Sino-Japanese relations are facing their "toughest situation" since the two countries normalized ties nearly 30 years ago due to issues related to history, trade and Taiwan, new Chinese Ambassador to Japan Wu Dawei said Friday.
BUSINESS
Aug 31, 2001

Ministry expects lower tax revenues

Vice Finance Minister Toshiro Muto said Thursday tax revenues for the current fiscal year may be lower than the government's 50.73 trillion yen estimate due to the deteriorating economy.
JAPAN
Aug 30, 2001

Nikkei plummets below 11,000 mark

The key Nikkei stock average closed on Wednesday below the psychologically important 11,000 line for the first time in nearly 17 years as Japanese investors became worried by signs of a further delay in a U.S. economic recovery.
COMMENTARY / WASHINGTON UPDATE
Aug 29, 2001

A bearded Gore and the shrinking surplus

WASHINGTON -- At long last, Al Gore has reappeared! He is pursuing the political training school program that he had floated in a more full-blown way last spring. Al, sporting a full beard, is working with his fellow Tennessee loser, Republican presidential wannabe Lamar Alexander, training young people...
JAPAN
Aug 29, 2001

Defense chief planning fact-finding visit to East Timor

Defense Agency Director General Gen Nakatani said Tuesday that he plans to visit East Timor from Sept. 11 to 14 to see what sort of contributions Japan can make to international efforts toward the region's independence.
BUSINESS
Aug 29, 2001

Hiranuma urges cap-busting budget

Takeo Hiranuma, minister of economy, trade and industry, said Tuesday he believes an extra budget of 5 trillion yen needs to be compiled this fall to stimulate the moribund economy.
JAPAN
Aug 29, 2001

Ogi told to submit privatization plans

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Tuesday ordered transport minister Chikage Ogi to submit her ministry's draft plans for privatizing six controversial state-backed corporations.
BUSINESS
Aug 29, 2001

Shiokawa tries to talk yen down

Finance Minister Masajuro Shiokawa told a regular news conference Tuesday he hopes to see the yen weaken against the dollar.
JAPAN
Aug 28, 2001

Infrastructure spending key to town mergers

The government plans to emphasize social infrastructure investment as part of a comprehensive plan to support mergers of cities, towns and villages, according to a draft plan obtained by Kyodo News.
JAPAN
Aug 28, 2001

Kinki postal bureau searched over vote-rigging scandal

OSAKA -- Police on Monday raided the Kinki Postal Administration Office following the arrest of its head official Sunday in connection with a vote-rigging scandal.
JAPAN
Aug 26, 2001

Toshiba to slash 20,000 jobs worldwide amid IT slump

Toshiba Corp. will slash 20,000 jobs from its group workforce of 190,000 to cope with deteriorating earnings in its semiconductor business amid the worldwide slump in the information technology sector, company officials said Saturday.
COMMUNITY
Aug 26, 2001

Living on the edge

It's 6 a.m. on Saturday, and Teruyuki Kato is woken at home by the beeping of his government-issued pager. The University of Tokyo professor of geophysics knows he must act fast. He calls the local police, who arrive within minutes and transport him, sirens howling, red lights whirling, to the Meteorological...

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?