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JAPAN
Dec 20, 2001

Armenia chief condemns terrorism

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and visiting Armenian President Robert Kocharian on Wednesday jointly condemned the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States and stressed the need to strengthen international cooperation "in combating terrorism at all levels."
BUSINESS
Dec 20, 2001

Zero growth in GDP forecast for fiscal '02

The government on Wednesday adopted an official projection of zero economic growth in real terms for fiscal 2002, turning in its lowest-ever fiscal year growth target.
BUSINESS / ON THE FRONT LINE
Dec 20, 2001

Does a 'sell Japan' scenario loom again?

Investors have opted for electric machinery and auto shares in recent days, counting on the positive effects of a weak yen.
BUSINESS
Dec 19, 2001

Son to get into the phone business

Beginning this spring, some broadband Internet users will be able to place a three-minute call to the U.S. for 7.5 yen over a new service to be offered by Softbank Corp.
CULTURE / Art
Dec 19, 2001

How-to secrets of Japan's greatest artistic export

First of two parts There can be few readers of The Japan Times who have not browsed a secondhand bookshop in Japan, hoping to discover an unrecognized gem of a woodblock print. Although the subjects they depict are far removed from the reality of contemporary Japan, ukiyo-e still charm us today. Western...
JAPAN
Dec 18, 2001

More females left jobs than were hired in '01 first half

The rate at which female workers lost jobs exceeded that of those who became employed during the first half of 2001, marking the first negative gap in the 10 years that such figures have been recorded, according to the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry.
BUSINESS / TAKING STOCK
Dec 18, 2001

U.S. pickup set to revive Tokyo market

Although weak economic fundamentals have been factored into the Tokyo stock market to a large degree, trading currently remains directionless.
BUSINESS
Dec 18, 2001

BOJ vows action if bank crisis hits

Bank of Japan Gov. Masaru Hayami on Monday pledged the central bank would take action in the event Japan was threatened with another financial-system crisis.
EDITORIALS
Dec 18, 2001

Farewell to the ABM Treaty

Last week, President George W. Bush officially announced that the United States would withdraw from the Antiballistic Missile Treaty. The decision was long anticipated. Mr. Bush and others in his administration never concealed their disdain for the treaty. But the inevitability of the decision makes...
JAPAN
Dec 18, 2001

Only half of high school grads find jobs

High school students hoping to begin work after spring graduation are facing the nation's severest employment conditions ever, with just 50.7 percent of them having found post-graduation jobs as of the end of October, according to an education ministry survey released Monday.
BUSINESS
Dec 17, 2001

Discount chains thrive amid Ginza's chic boutiques

With the end of the year just around the corner, Christmas shoppers visiting Tokyo's posh Ginza commercial district may find a new aspect to the area this winter.
COMMUNITY
Dec 16, 2001

From 'shashin' to snapshots

Shashin, the Japanese word that came to mean "photograph," was used quite differently when it first entered everyday language here. Derived from the two characters for "reflect" and "true," it arrived in the early Edo Period from China, where it was used to refer to portraits that were thought to express...
COMMUNITY
Dec 16, 2001

From pinholes to pixels, photgraphy keeps evolving

The camera on a tripod outside Edward Levinson's countryside home in Chiba Prefecture is deceptive in its simplicity. It has no lens or viewfinder, no focusing dial, and no shutter-release button.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Dec 16, 2001

The final downfall of a hard-boiled harridan

Just audible under the cheers that greeted the birth of the new princess was the tip-tapping of bored fingers coming from the direction of the "wide shows," where smiling faces and mandatory keigo barely masked acute impatience. Nine months of being forced to keep quiet about the crown princess's pregnancy...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Dec 16, 2001

Young Japanese struggle to find their way

As another year comes to an end, the Japanese media continue to wonder at the new generation at school and at work. The term "shinjinrui" (new species) seems to have fallen out of use but the prevailing attitude is still one of bemusement and even dismay.
BUSINESS
Dec 14, 2001

MMC contracts IBM to manage its IT system

Mitsubishi Motors Corp. will outsource the management and maintenance of its information technology systems to IBM Japan Ltd. in 2002, the two firms revealed Thursday.
JAPAN
Dec 14, 2001

Foreign Ministry officials to give to charity

Five sub-ministerial political appointees within the Foreign Ministry will each donate one month's allowance money to worthy causes as a form of punishment over the latest scandal to hit the ministry, Senior Vice Foreign Minister Seiken Sugiura said Thursday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 13, 2001

Asylum seekers' fates hang in balance

Refugees in danger of persecution, or migrants seeking work and wealth?
BUSINESS
Dec 13, 2001

Seiko unit to produce in Thailand

Seiko Corp. said Wednesday its wholly owned subsidiary Seiko Precision Inc. will shift domestic production of camera devices to Thailand to enhance its competitiveness.
JAPAN / LAST CALL FOR SAKE
Dec 13, 2001

Sake brewers seeking to please palates overseas

NIIGATA -- When movie star Robert De Niro visited Hokusetsu Shuzo's cellar in the village of Akadomari on Sado Island in fall 1998, he reportedly held up a 10-year-old bottle of sake and said he wanted it shipped to his restaurant in the United States.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Dec 13, 2001

Global warming: WWF expert tells it like it is

Have difficulty getting your head around global warming? Join the club.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 12, 2001

Afghan NGOs explain obstacles to reconstruction

Nongovernmental organizations from Afghanistan on Tuesday explained the key issues facing their post-Taliban country at the start of a three-day conference in Tokyo to discuss rebuilding the war-torn country.
BUSINESS / ON THE FRONT LINE
Dec 12, 2001

Some see weak yen as last-ditch policy ploy

The dollar has risen steadily against the yen in recent weeks and now appears poised to test its April 2 high of 126.84 yen.
BUSINESS
Dec 12, 2001

Deregulation measures target health and labor

Japan should seek early deregulation in six priority areas, including health care, to build a consumer-friendly society and revive the faltering economy, a government advisory panel on deregulation said Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Dec 12, 2001

Gist of deregulation steps

The following is a summary of key deregulation measures proposed Tuesday in a report drafted by the Council for Regulatory Reform, a 15-member panel consisting of academics and business leaders:
BUSINESS
Dec 12, 2001

Japan, Mexico to hold FTA talks

Japan and Mexico will hold a two-day meeting in Mexico City to study details of a proposed bilateral free trade agreement, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry 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