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Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Aug 13, 2003

Reverend Charlie Jackson: "God's Got It"

When the Rev. Charlie Jackson was a boy, he played sacred music on Sundays and blues the rest of the week. While Jackson himself saw no irony in this, his mother had little appreciation for her son playing electric guitar on both sides of the Lord's fence and quickly steered him toward the church. Little...
BUSINESS
Aug 13, 2003

Slightly cooler July puts beer drinkers on wagon

Domestic shipments of beer and its low-malt cousin, "happoshu," logged a 12 percent year-on-year drop in July, according to data released Tuesday by five major brewers.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 13, 2003

Uniqlo to sex up its product line as part of image makeover

Tadashi Yanai, chairman and chief executive of the company that owns the Uniqlo chain, used to liken his casual clothing stores to "vending machines" that continuously spit out products to thirsty consumers.
EDITORIALS
Aug 12, 2003

Time to rethink Japan-China ties

A quarter century ago, on Aug. 12, 1978, Japan and China signed a treaty of peace and friendship in Beijing, putting a legal end to the technical state of war between the two nations. With the United States and the Soviet Union locked in the Cold War, however, the treaty talks reflected the hard realities...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / FRONT-RUNNERS
Aug 12, 2003

Ajinomoto's amino acid products draw athletes, health-conscious consumers

Don't be surprised if you see Seattle Mariners sensation Ichiro Suzuki downing an Ajinomoto Co. amino acid drink in the dugout at Safeco Field during a baseball game.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 12, 2003

Tanaka seen as comeback threat

Reports that prosecutors do not plan to indict former Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka for allegedly misusing the salary of her state-funded secretary have set off a political firestorm not only in her home area but in Tokyo's political center of Nagatacho.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 10, 2003

Chaotic images of Indonesia

HONOLULU -- Turmoil in Indonesia was underscored Tuesday when a terrorist bomb exploded in a hotel in Jakarta killing at least 14 people and wounding about 150 more. It has added to the already surging concern of American officials in Washington and at the U.S. Pacific Command's headquarters in Hawaii,...
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 10, 2003

Japanese nuclear arsenal looks unlikely

WASHINGTON -- Speculation is rife about whether North Korea's possession of nuclear weapons could drive Japan to develop a nuclear arsenal. Some opinion leaders have even suggested that America should exploit this prospect to scare China into resolving the North Korea nuclear crisis. However, the reality...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Aug 10, 2003

Lost pet? No sweat -- except in the tub

You may think you've got just about everything for your pet -- from brand-name waterproofs and jewelry to its weekly trips to a pet cafe and yoga classes. Now, though, there's a new out-of-this-world accessory for the pet owner with everything: the no-hiding-place collar.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Aug 10, 2003

State of the rock nation, in 35-min. bites

Since they took place on successive weekends, it's difficult not to compare this year's editions of the Fuji Rock Festival and Summer Sonic, so let's do it. Fuji is bucolic where SS is urban. Fuji's vibe is communal and free-spirited, while the SS vibe is commercial and controlling. Fuji is populated...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Aug 9, 2003

Heart of Laos displays traditional textiles' beauty

Having heard so much about Rassanikone Nanong, what a joy to meet her at an exhibition of textiles from her homeland. Sponsored by Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), the show in Akasaka Twin Towers is promoting the work of three of 10 companies working in the arena of traditional Laotian weaving....
BUSINESS
Aug 9, 2003

31 Tokyo banks taxed 92.4 billion yen

Thirty-one banks operating in Tokyo paid a combined 92.4 billion yen to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government as local tax based on their revenues in fiscal 2002, which ended March 31, metro government sources said Friday.
BUSINESS
Aug 8, 2003

Banks fail to lift small-firm lending

Mizuho Financial Group Inc., Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. and six regional banks reduced their lending to small and midsize firms in fiscal 2002, despite pledging to increase such lending in exchange for receiving public fund injections, the Financial Services Agency said Thursday.
ENVIRONMENT / OLD NIC'S NOTEBOOK
Aug 7, 2003

A tale of two Afans reborn

Two thousand years ago, my native Wales had 98 percent forest cover. By 1950, when I was a little lad, woodland in Wales was down to 5 percent. I was born in Neath, where coal-mining wasn't particularly heavy, and where there were still wooded parks and groves of wild trees so I didn't really feel the...
BUSINESS
Aug 6, 2003

Toyota profit down 9.7% year-on-year for quarter

Toyota Motor Corp. reported a consolidated net profit of 222.59 billion yen in the April-June quarter, down 9.7 percent from the same period last year.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 6, 2003

Flash memory card formats vie for prominence

Not quite a VHS vs. Betamax sequel. But again, two consumer electronics giants find themselves in opposing camps in a format battle as they crank up production of removable flash memory cards.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 6, 2003

Tanaka set to escape indictment for fraud

Prosecutors are expected to decide against indicting former Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka, who stands accused of misusing the salary of her state-funded secretary, investigative sources said Tuesday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 4, 2003

Abductees cite coercion in kids' letters

Yasushi and Fukie Chimura, who were abducted to North Korea 25 years ago and repatriated last October, said Sunday that North Korea appears to have told their daughter in the reclusive state that her parents are being detained in Japan.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 3, 2003

Airline clipped its own wings

The self-defeating myopia of British Airways employees and the mind-numbing ineptitude of BA management combined to produce a nightmare journey recently. I had flown flight BA 8 from Tokyo to London on Friday, July 18, landing at Heathrow's Terminal 4 around 5 p.m. I was due to catch another BA flight...
EDITORIALS
Aug 2, 2003

Mounting pressures to revalue yuan

International pressure is mounting on China to let its currency appreciate. Beijing seems to have no choice but to respond one way or another. The prevailing belief in the United States and Europe as well as in Japan is that the yuan is undervalued in light of China's rapidly increasing economic strength....
BUSINESS
Aug 2, 2003

FSA kicking banks out of bed, demands results

In a move suggesting further deterioration in the cozy relations between banks and regulators, the Financial Services Agency slapped banks with a business improvement order Friday for failing to meet pledged targets in fiscal 2002.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 1, 2003

Terrorists find new haven in a quiet corner of Asia

SINGAPORE -- The failed mutiny by 300 Philippine Army soldiers, which gripped Manila's financial district for 21 hours on Sunday, highlighted the intricate problem of security and terrorism in Southeast Asia.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 1, 2003

Ex-governor escapes indictment

Former Saitama Gov. Yoshihiko Tsuchiya escaped indictment Thursday over his suspected role in the misuse of political funds by his eldest daughter, prosecution officials said.
BUSINESS
Aug 1, 2003

Bank execs face FSA ultimatum to lift earnings

The Financial Services Agency on Friday will order the management of five domestic banking groups to either improve their earnings by the end of the year or step down, FSA sources said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Jul 31, 2003

Koizumi denies postal plan report

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi denied Wednesday he plans to set up an official committee on privatizing Japan's postal services to boost studies that his private panel conducted in 2001 and 2002.
EDITORIALS
Jul 30, 2003

Wanted: clear view of Japan Highway

In recent weeks, Japan Highway Public Corp. has come under intense scrutiny because of its financial status. The pivotal question is whether the corporation, set to go private in 2005, is solvent or not. The answer remains unclear. Two different sets of financial statements -- one "official," the other...
BUSINESS
Jul 30, 2003

Snow Brand sales in first quarter exceed forecast

Snow Brand Milk Products Co. on Tuesday reported group sales of 80.82 billion yen for the April-June quarter, about 8 percent more than its earlier projection.
JAPAN
Jul 30, 2003

Major firms searched for bid-rigging clues

The Fair Trade Commission on Tuesday searched more than a dozen companies, including major machinery makers, in Tokyo and Osaka for evidence of bid-rigging in connection with local government construction contracts for sewage pumps.
JAPAN
Jul 29, 2003

Social recluses age in isolation as help elusive

The average age of those who shun interaction with society and hole themselves up inside their homes stands at 26.7, with some 14 percent aged 35 or older, according to a health ministry study released Monday.

Longform

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