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JAPAN
Apr 13, 2002

Obituaries: Keizo Takahashi and Hideki Nakazono

Keizo Takahashi, a former popular announcer at NHK and ex-member of the House of Councilors, died Thursday night of kidney failure at a hospital in Tokyo's Setagaya Ward, his family said Friday. He was 83.
JAPAN
Apr 13, 2002

FSA's bank probe sparks downgrades for large borrowers

The Financial Services Agency on Friday officially disclosed the results of its latest inspections of major banks, downgrading credit assessments of 71 of the banks' 149 large corporate borrowers.
COMMUNITY
Mar 24, 2002

Living national treasures

Three is an auspicious number. Things grouped in threes are believed to acquire prestige by virtue of the number's magic. Likewise, a ritual action repeated three times is considered to bring good luck.
BUSINESS
Mar 23, 2002

U.S. airlines set to switch Narita slots

Transport minister Chikage Ogi indicated Friday that Japan will allow Delta Air Lines to transfer some of its slots to FedEx Corp. at Narita airport, as the United States has requested.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Mar 17, 2002

The global village: small, but not always beautiful

The current No. 1 best seller in Japan is the cheery picture book "Sekai ga moshi hyakunin no mura dattara" ("If the World Were a Village of 100 People"; Magazine House), a retelling of a bit of "Netlore." Several years ago, the environmentalist Donella Meadows wrote a newspaper column on the global...
BUSINESS
Feb 23, 2002

Japan Metals throws in towel, seeks protection from creditors

Japan Metals & Chemicals Co., the nation's top ferroalloy manufacturer, on Friday afternoon stopped trying to rehabilitate itself and filed for court protection from creditors.
EDITORIALS
Feb 22, 2002

His own worst enemy

There are many reasons to object to U.S. President George W. Bush's "axis of evil" comment in his State of the Union address last month. Including Iran in this unholy triumvirate may be the most troubling, since it could undermine elements in that country that have been trying to move Tehran toward some...
JAPAN
Feb 21, 2002

Find something worth saying, then build skills: translator

Natsuko Toda, a leading writer of Japanese subtitles for English-language movies, said Wednesday that Japanese people should learn how to be more expressive in their own language before worrying about learning English.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Feb 18, 2002

Hopeful bond sellers should strike while the iron is hot

Long-term interest rates are on an upward trend both in Japan and the United States. The yield on the 10-year Japanese government bond has recently been in the 1.5 percent range, while market rates on 10-year U.S. government bonds have been hovering at around 5 percent — the same as at the beginning...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Feb 9, 2002

Chef's Table event to aid street children projects

Karen Lewis is wary of placing herself in the spotlight. She is part of a team -- a committee -- so finds it embarrassing to be singled out. There again, she recognizes that publicity is good for the cause she serves: protecting and caring for street children in seven facilities in the Philippines, Vietnam,...
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 7, 2002

Canberra sticks to its policy on illegal immigrants despite growing protests

SYDNEY -- Just as Australian Prime Minister John Howard was addressing world economic leaders in New York on the profits to be made from investing here, Afghan asylum seekers held in detention camps in the Australian desert were trying to die in hunger strikes.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Jan 13, 2002

Why North Korea's people starved

THE GREAT NORTH KOREAN FAMINE: Famine, Politics and Foreign Policy, by Andrew S. Natsios. United States Institute of Peace Press, 2002, $19.95 (paper) This is a grim and troubling account of the 20th century's fifth great famine, a calamity that swept through North Korea during the 1990s, claiming an...
BASEBALL / MLB
Jan 12, 2002

Eight enter Japanese Hall of Fame

Kazuhiro Yamauchi, one of the best sluggers of the late 1950s and 1960s, has been elected to the Hall of Fame along with seven other notable contributors to Japanese baseball, baseball officials said Friday.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Jan 12, 2002

Keiko Otsu

HELP stands for House in Emergency of Love and Peace. This shelter for Asian women and children was established in 1986 on the 100th anniversary of the Japan Women's Christian Temperance Union.
JAPAN
Jan 5, 2002

More to laser surgery than meets the eye

Corneal laser surgery may be a sight for sore eyes for people suffering from nearsightedness or those just tired of wearing glasses, but experts warn that people considering the increasingly popular operation need to be well-informed about the procedure and its possible results before going under the...
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Dec 31, 2001

War recalls the savaging of Okinawa

NEW YORK -- Evidently prompted by the war in Afghanistan, John Gregory Dunne has discussed three books in The New York Review of Books (Dec. 20) to remind us of the savaging process that is war. For Dunne, whose sensitivity to anything false matches that of his wife, Joan Didion, who called "The Greatest...
JAPAN
Dec 30, 2001

Retiring politician's war memories spur his fight for peace

As Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi rose to power this year with pledges of radical reform, one 77-year-old Diet veteran made a brief return to the political arena before deciding to abandon his life's work.
JAPAN
Dec 24, 2001

Tax-evasion case reveals connivery behind Kepco's nuclear plant quest

KYOTO -- A recent ruling handed down by the Yokohama District Court on a tax evasion case details for the first time the methods employed by major power companies to circumvent national land laws and stymie local opposition to nuclear power plants.
JAPAN
Dec 23, 2001

Government admits rejecting report that warned of BSE

Japan rejected a report by the European Union that warned of a high risk of mad cow disease in Japan, before the discovery of the country's first case, officials of the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry has acknowledged.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 20, 2001

War 'back home' divides Jordan's Chechen community

ZARQA, Jordan -- When the wounded Chechen fighters arrived in Jordan in 1994, everything changed for Younis Ashab.
BUSINESS
Dec 11, 2001

Kansai businessmen push to continue second runway

OSAKA -- Kansai's economic leaders expressed their determination Monday to push forward with plans for a second runway at Kansai International Airport, despite some in the central government calling for a freeze.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Dec 1, 2001

Patrick Carroll

From the sea to the sky: When he was living in southeast England, Patrick Carroll joined the Royal Naval Reserve, the "part-time navy." He served on small vessels, such as minesweepers and patrol vessels. When he came to Japan, he volunteered his services to the Royal Naval Association Japan Branch....
BUSINESS
Nov 28, 2001

Yanagisawa welcomes 'pretty big' loan disposal

Financial Services Minister Hakuo Yanagisawa on Tuesday welcomed moves by major banks to take loan-loss charges topping 6 trillion yen for the 2001 business year.
SOCCER / THE BALD TRUTH
Nov 27, 2001

Only fools and Boca up for Toyota Cup

The circus is back in town for tonight's World Club Cup (otherwise known as the Intercontinental Cup, Toyota Cup or Mickey Mouse Windshield Trophy) between Germany's Bayern Munich and Boca Juniors of Argentina.
JAPAN
Nov 17, 2001

Cabinet approves plan for the dispatch of SDF

The Cabinet on Friday approved Japan's antiterrorism action plan, which includes dispatching five naval vessels to the Indian Ocean to lend logistic support to the U.S.-led coalition.
JAPAN
Nov 17, 2001

Cabinet approves plan for the dispatch of SDF

The Cabinet on Friday approved Japan's antiterrorism action plan, which includes dispatching five naval vessels to the Indian Ocean to lend logistic support to the U.S.-led coalition.
JAPAN
Nov 14, 2001

Over 100 million yen spent from illicit funds: Tanaka

Foreign Ministry personnel used more than 100 million yen in illicitly pooled funds at the ministry over the past six years by padding hotel bills and other means, Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Nov 14, 2001

Over 100 million yen spent from illicit funds: Tanaka

Foreign Ministry personnel used more than 100 million yen in illicitly pooled funds at the ministry over the past six years by padding hotel bills and other means, Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka said Tuesday.

Longform

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