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BUSINESS
Jan 1, 2002

Nikkeiren pushes job-sharing to stabilize unemployment

Employers and employees will eventually agree on wage cuts in the form of work-sharing as they undergo the much expected pains of ongoing structural reforms initiated by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, the chief of Japan Federation of Employers Association (Nikkeiren) said.
BUSINESS
Jan 1, 2002

Banks book 1.31 trillion yen combined midterm loss

The nation's 135 banks incurred a combined 1.31 trillion yen parent-only pretax loss in the fiscal first half of 2001 due to huge loan-loss charges and appraisal losses on shareholdings, according to the Japanese Bankers Association.
BUSINESS
Dec 31, 2001

Hunting down terrorist funding requires new teamwork

The bombing in Afghanistan continued throughout the Islamic holy month of Ramadan and the Taliban government was swept from power much more swiftly than was previously anticipated.
LIFE / Food & Drink / BEST BAR NONE
Dec 30, 2001

Party on, to the break of the new dawn

I was going to make just one recommendation for New Year's Eve -- the countdown party at Milk, a freestyle club in Ebisu. I have had a couple of great New Year's Eves there -- including one special moment making mochi (traditional rice cakes) as the first tendrils of dawn crept across the sky in the...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Dec 30, 2001

Tokugawa diplomacy: Foundering in the waters of distrust

PRISONERS FROM NAMBU: Reality and Make-Believe in 17th-Century Japanese Diplomacy, by Reinier H. Hesselink. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2001, 215 pp., $47.00 (cloth), $24.95 (paper) The Dutch presence in Japan during the Edo Period is one of the most intriguing episodes of Europe's global...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 29, 2001

Koizumi plays public relations game like a pro

This was the year of the Koizumi craze.
BUSINESS
Dec 29, 2001

Japan, South Korea and China eye launch of IT talks

Japan, South Korea and China are expected to launch regular ministerial talks on information technology issues, telecommunications minister Toranosuke Katayama said Friday.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 29, 2001

A step back after the euro?

LONDON -- Shopkeepers in Germany say they have never seen so many crisp 1,000-mark (about $500) bills as in the past month -- the last before the new euro replaces the mark.
JAPAN
Dec 29, 2001

Japanese opt for domestic travel

Akihiro is planning to spend some of his New Year's holiday at a hot spring resort.
EDITORIALS
Dec 28, 2001

No public faith in Koizumi reforms

The first year of the 21st century has seen a great change in Japan's political landscape with the appearance of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. Mr. Koizumi, who in April won the post of prime minister with an ardent call for "reforms without sacred cows," has been maintaining an unprecedentedly high...
BUSINESS
Dec 28, 2001

Unemployment rate hits 5.5%

The jobless rate rose to a seasonally adjusted 5.5 percent in November, rewriting the record high for a third consecutive month as the economic slump continues to weigh heavily on the labor market, government sources said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Dec 28, 2001

Mitsui Mutual to get 100 billion yen cash injection

Mitsui Mutual Life Insurance Co. said Thursday that Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. and other firms have agreed to plow a combined 100 billion yen into its foundation funds to improve its financial health.
BUSINESS
Dec 28, 2001

Kuraray to spin off real estate unit

Synthetic fiber maker Kuraray Co. said Thursday that it will spin off its real estate operation and hand it over to its wholly owned real estate company in April.
BUSINESS
Dec 27, 2001

Tokyo tax on big banks rings up 102.9 billion yen

A tax on major banks that the Tokyo Metropolitan Government introduced in fiscal 2000 will bring in revenues of 102.9 billion yen, 38.7 billion yen less than initially expected, metro government officials said Wednesday.
CULTURE / Film
Dec 26, 2001

When men were men -- and spies were spies

Spy Game Rating: * * * 1/2 Director: Tony Scott Running time: 128 minutes Language: English Now showing
COMMENTARY / WASHINGTON UPDATE
Dec 26, 2001

At last, Congress tackles election reform

WASHINGTON -- It was just a year ago last week that the Supreme Court elected George W. Bush our 43rd president. The mess of the elections in 2000, from the faulty voting machines in Florida to the long counts in western states (remember it took almost a month to declare a winner in the Senate election...
JAPAN
Dec 26, 2001

Octopus tax evasion probe entangles Kanbe

Tokyo Customs on Tuesday filed criminal complaints with prosecutors against an Osaka-based seafood company and two senior officials of the firm's Tokyo branch office on suspicion of evading duties on imported octopus.
EDITORIALS
Dec 24, 2001

Polishing the diamond trade

Money is the fuel of conflict. Without it, there is no way to sustain a military. In many poor countries, the sale of natural resources is the only means of financing an insurgency. In recent years, there has been increasing concern about the sale of illegal stones, "conflict diamonds," which have financed...
COMMENTARY
Dec 24, 2001

No rush to ease rules against layoffs

A government advisory group recommends that Japan consider legislation to establish standards and rules for layoffs. A report to Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi by the Council for Regulatory Reform covers a wide range of subjects, including medical care, welfare and education. However, resolving the...
COMMENTARY
Dec 23, 2001

Preserving freedom in an unfree world

WASHINGTON -- The massive terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 brought home to the United States its vulnerability. Protecting Americans' security has become a critical challenge. So has protecting their freedom. People who seek to do the first often sacrifice the second. So it has been in the war on terrorism....
COMMUNITY
Dec 23, 2001

Jewelry collectors: guardians of a glittering past

At first glance, the visitor would hardly guess that the austere-looking building nestled in the beautiful, green mountains of Nasu Kogen, Tochigi Prefecture, is the Akiba Museum of Antique Jewellery -- Japan's first private museum specializing in European antique jewelry.
LIFE / Food & Drink / BEST BAR NONE
Dec 23, 2001

Finding the Christmas spirit (and ale)

Christmas was once a lonely business for an expat in Japan. With no holiday, no family and everyone who could manage it having already left town, it was downright dismal -- even for a seasoned Japan-hand.
BUSINESS
Dec 22, 2001

Pundits see Japan-China spat as just the beginning

The recent trade dispute between Japan and China over three farm products was a harbinger of future trade friction between the two countries, according to pundits.
BUSINESS
Dec 22, 2001

Nikko Cordial buys bonds to help unit repay investors

Nikko Cordial Corp. has bought 108.9 billion yen worth of banks' subordinated bonds in devalued money management funds managed by its subsidiary, Nikko Asset Management Co., to help it reimburse investors, company sources said Friday.
EDITORIALS
Dec 21, 2001

Public-sector reforms move forward

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's efforts to streamline inefficient public corporations have been largely successful so far. But he has suffered a setback in one important category of these corporations: state-run financial institutions. Faced with stiff resistance from both inside and outside the government,...
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
Dec 20, 2001

Sports world fails to confront fear

It's very interesting to see how people react to crisis. Some embrace it and confront it. Some try to fight it and overheat. Others just run from it altogether.

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