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Japan Times
JAPAN / THE OKINAWA FACTOR
May 15, 2002

Nuclear pact ensured smooth Okinawa reversion

On Nov. 21, 1969, President Richard Nixon met with Prime Minister Eisaku Sato in Washington to discuss an extremely delicate issue.
BUSINESS
May 15, 2002

Nippon Life, T&D to be UFJ agents

The UFJ financial group is expected to appoint Nippon Life Insurance Co. and T&D Financial Life Insurance Co. as agents tasked with carrying out paperwork and other administrative duties related to UFJ's sales of life insurance policies, industry officials said Tuesday.
BUSINESS
May 15, 2002

Workers' confidence up for sixth month

Economic confidence among employees with jobs close to the consumer improved in April for the sixth month in a row, but pessimists still outnumber optimists, according to a government survey released Tuesday.
BUSINESS
May 14, 2002

Mitsubishi Pharma profits up 229%

Mitsubishi Pharma Corp. said Monday that its group net profit soared 229.4 percent to 8.99 billion yen in fiscal 2001 due to cost-cutting and the U.S. government's authorization of a resumption of shipments from a U.S. plant.
COMMENTARY / World
May 14, 2002

Time for U.S. to scrap Cuba embargo

FREDERICKSBURG, Virginia -- In his travels around Cuba this week former U.S. President Jimmy Carter will meet a friendly, resilient people who have bravely withstood the stupidity and cruelty that have emanated from both sides of the Straits of Florida.
BUSINESS
May 14, 2002

Toray's group net profit plunges

Toray Industries Inc., a manufacturer of synthetic fibers, said Monday its group net profit plunged 77.6 percent to 3.8 billion yen in the fiscal year ended March 31 as overall demand weakened amid the severe business environment.
BUSINESS
May 14, 2002

IY Bank admits double-billing 4,000 accounts for bank fees

IY Bank, the banking unit of retailer Ito-Yokado Co., said Monday that 4,000 accounts were erroneously double-billed for monthly fees.
BUSINESS
May 13, 2002

British design firm consolidates in high-tech Japan

As finance companies and huge multinationals reconsider their positions in Japan, a ground-breaking British design firm is seizing the opportunity to consolidate in a market that is "very, very important" to its strategy.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / BEST BAR NONE
May 12, 2002

The song remains the same

Finding Endorphin for the first time was like unraveling a mystery. Word of mouth is an excellent source of leads, but sometimes the modern-myth syndrome kicks in as the word is passed along. The stories I accumulated for what I thought was one little rock bar in Jiyugaoka turned out to be for two bars...
COMMENTARY / World
May 11, 2002

Indian state frenzy borders on genocide

NEW DELHI -- The continuing communal violence in the western Indian state of Gujarat has not only left hundreds dead, but has also led to embarrassing condemnation by world leaders. New Delhi finds itself in an utterly shameful spot, a situation brought on by its own inept handling of the Hindu-Muslim...
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?
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.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 10, 2002

Condom makers jazz up contraception

The country's 60 billion yen condom industry has taken the offensive lately in a withering market, promoting a batch of new products designed to woo youths who are increasingly sexually active but reluctant to use protection.
BUSINESS
May 10, 2002

Secom reports 73% dive in profit

Security-service provider Secom Co. said Thursday it posted a group net profit of 9.58 billion yen in the year to March 31, down 73 percent from the year before.
BUSINESS
May 10, 2002

Coincident index tops 50% for first time in 15 months

The key gauge of the current state of the economy topped the boom-or-bust line of 50 percent in March for the first time since December 2000, the government said Thursday in a preliminary report.
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.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 9, 2002

Ministry official gets two years

A former Foreign Ministry official on Wednesday was sentenced to two years in prison for defrauding the government of 422 million yen.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 9, 2002

Prices keep Electronic Toll Collection system from catching on

The Electronic Toll Collection system was introduced in March 2001 amid great expectations that it would ease the notorious traffic jams on Japan's expressways as it allows vehicles equipped with a transponder to pass through toll gates without having to stop to pay.
BUSINESS
May 9, 2002

U.S. presses for cross-border share swaps

The United States on Wednesday asked Japan to improve its environment for foreign direct investment by letting companies carry out cross-border stock exchanges for mergers and acquisitions.
BUSINESS
May 9, 2002

Toshiba, Samsung unite DRAMs

Toshiba Corp. and Samsung Electronics Co. said Wednesday they have agreed to use a common interface specification to produce dynamic random access memory chips for business-use, high-speed network applications.
COMMUNITY
May 9, 2002

Zeitgist

The foreigner needs only two words to bridge the language gap in Japan, says Matt Shea.
LIFE / Digital / NAME OF THE GAME
May 9, 2002

Big guns duel on the courts

Not since the time of "Pong" have two prominent powers like Sega and Namco gone head to head on the lowly sport of tennis. Sega and Namco, the two biggest names in the arcade business, are serving up tennis on PlayStation2.
JAPAN
May 8, 2002

Heo repeats not guilty plea in Itoman appeal

OSAKA -- Real-estate broker Heo Young Joong repeated his not guilty plea Tuesday before the Osaka High Court in the first hearing of his appeal against a district court ruling last year on a fraud case involving collapsed trading house Itoman Corp.
BUSINESS
May 8, 2002

Moody's might downgrade ANA long-term rating

Moody's Investors Service Inc. said Tuesday it may downgrade the Baa3 senior unsecured long-term rating of All Nippon Airways in response to the Fair Trade Commission's decision to approve the merger of Japan Airlines and Japan Air System.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 8, 2002

Info brokers have got your number, among other things

In the spring of 1999, Haruo Tanaka (not his real name) became interested in buying a condominium and visited several showrooms in Tokyo. Each time, he was asked to fill out a questionnaire. He provided his name, age, address and phone number as well as his annual income.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
May 8, 2002

His fingers on the pulse

Bill Laswell stands in the lobby outside the Shinjuku Pit Inn, where on April 27 and 28 he played to packed houses with drummer Hideo Yamaki and saxophonist Yasuaki Shimizu. He's just set up his bass rig and is wondering where to sit for our interview.
BUSINESS
May 8, 2002

Matsushita inks drug technology deal

OSAKA -- Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. and U.S. venture business Tensor Biosciences have signed an agreement to jointly develop and commercialize Brain-on-a-Chip drug discovery technology, the two companies said Tuesday.

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