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BUSINESS
Aug 22, 2001

NEC, Matsushita units tie up on 3G software

NEC Corp., Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. and Matsushita Communication Industrial Co. formally announced Tuesday an alliance to develop common software architecture for next-generation (3G) multimedia cellular handsets.
JAPAN
Aug 21, 2001

Sugiura was reprimanded: Tanaka

Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka said Monday she severely reprimanded Seiken Sugiura, senior vice foreign minister, last week for earlier agreeing to conceal a diplomatic scandal.
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM MOSCOW
Aug 19, 2001

The greatest show on Earth?

There have been only three notable 20th-century leaders who were addicted to trains: Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin, Chinese leader Mao Zedong and North Korean founder Kim Il Sung. These venerable gentlemen would readily expose their tender flesh to the inconveniences of a long railway journey rather...
JAPAN
Aug 14, 2001

Yet another money scandal surfaces at Foreign Ministry

Another money scandal involving a Foreign Ministry official surfaced Monday, as the ministry announced that a diplomat at its embassy in Palau misappropriated about $10,000 in public money for his personal use.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 14, 2001

Koizumi visits Yasukuni Shrine

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi visited Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo on Monday afternoon, two days before the anniversary of Japan's World War II surrender, amid strong domestic and international criticism.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Aug 12, 2001

'Model' family vs. maternal love: a nation judges

Last week, the Japan Office of the Nevada Center for Reproductive Medicine announced that a 60-year-old Japanese woman gave birth to a healthy baby at Jikei University Hospital in Tokyo. Though the woman's identity and the child's gender were not revealed, the mother released a statement through the...
JAPAN
Aug 10, 2001

Japan considers retaliating over saury fishing issue

Japan will consider retaliating against Russia's granting of fishing rights to other countries in waters around Russian-held islands claimed by Japan, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda said Thursday.
JAPAN
Aug 7, 2001

Kobe animals arrive at zoo in China

Six animals donated to a zoo in the Chinese port city of Tianjin by Kobe's Oji Zoo arrived there Sunday, according to a Chinese report monitored in Tokyo by China News Service.
SOCCER / THE BALD TRUTH
Aug 7, 2001

Japanese soccer stars shocked by encounters with outside world

First the good news: Five Japan internationals now play abroad. With Naohiro Takahara playing for Boca Juniors and Hidetoshi Nakata, Junichi Inamoto, Shinji Ono and Akinori Nishizawa all employed in Europe, Japan coach Philippe Troussier has good reason to be optimistic ahead of next year's World Cup....
JAPAN
Aug 6, 2001

N. Korean media finally report Kim's Russia visit

SEOUL -- North Korean media on Saturday reported a visit to Russia by the country's leader, Kim Jong Il, for the first time since he crossed the Russian border by train July 26, nine days ago.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Aug 5, 2001

'It's a complicated story,' pleads a battered press

The press has taken quite a beating over its coverage of the murders at Ikeda Elementary School. Even before the funerals, letters to the editor columns were filled with missives from enraged readers lam basting the media's lack of either common decency or common sense. Most complaints concerned interviews...
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 4, 2001

Fight the good fight for press freedom

What strange set of circumstances could connect the issue of tax probes of South Korean media outlets with China's bid for the Olympics and the advertising policy of a Hong Kong bank? While it may not seem obvious at first glance, the linkage relates to freedom of expression.
JAPAN
Aug 4, 2001

Kato named U.S. ambassador

Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka formally gave in to Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's ministry personnel requests Friday, agreeing to appoint Deputy Foreign Minister Ryozo Kato as the next ambassador to the United States, replacing Shunji Yanai.
JAPAN
Aug 1, 2001

Shiokawa set to cut public works 10%

Five Cabinet members spoke out Tuesday on economic matters, with two, including Finance Minister Masajuro Shiokawa, calling for a reduction in public works for fiscal 2002, and the others discussing the need for a supplemental budget for the current fiscal year.
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Jul 30, 2001

Is yellow journalism in vogue again?

Why do so many foreign commentators feel they can get away with anything they say about Japan?
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jul 29, 2001

Talking about the weather is no longer so boring

We tend to take weather forecasts with a grain of salt. Some people leave their umbrellas at home unless the probability of precipitation is over, say, 40 percent, while others keep a collapsible in their bag at all times because they don't know what to believe. We know it's raining because we are getting...
CULTURE / Film
Jul 25, 2001

Pick a question, any question

Good news: We members of the Japanese masu-komi were privileged to attend the premiere press conference for Tim Burton's "Planet of the Apes."
LIFE / Travel / NATURE TRAVEL
Jul 10, 2001

Where pachyderms on the run find haven

A thumping makes the banana-flower curry shiver in the bowl. The cutlery rattles, and there is an excited rush of diners to the second-floor windows of the restaurant. Bellows and borborygmus* rise from below. The air is pungent with a dusty, thunderous aroma.
SOCCER / THE BALD TRUTH
Jul 10, 2001

Troussier has no room for hanky-panky and circus animals

Its official: Philippe Troussier is not running a circus. The Japan coach was, in tabloid-speak, "gobsmacked" last Wednesday when he was quizzed about his team selection moments after Japan had defeated Yugoslavia 1-0 to win the Kirin Cup.
BUSINESS
Jun 30, 2001

NTT launches L-mode Internet service

In a bid to halt the ongoing demise of fixed phone services, the Nippon Telegraph and Telephone group on Friday launched L-mode, a text-based Internet browsing service that does not require a computer.
JAPAN
Jun 27, 2001

Insurance-yield cuts put forward in plan

A government panel presented a plan Tuesday that would enable life insurers to reduce yields promised to policyholders as a way to help weak insurers restructure.
BUSINESS
Jun 27, 2001

Cabinet OKs reforms; rough road expected

The Cabinet on Tuesday approved a sweeping reform program compiled last week by a key government panel that aims to revive the economy in two to three years through a fundamental cleanup of banks' nonperforming loans and a thorough review of the state budget.
BUSINESS
Jun 20, 2001

Kokusai execs to resign over violations

Kokusai Securities Co. said Tuesday that three of its executives will resign today over a violation of the Securities and Exchange Law that led to the second-tier brokerage being ordered to suspend operations.

Longform

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