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BUSINESS
May 10, 2002

School vacation in fall seen as economic salve

The government's Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy is drawing up an economic revitalization package featuring the introduction of a fall vacation for schools and a three-year plan to promote outsourcing of public-sector services, according to an interim draft report.
COMMENTARY / WASHINGTON UPDATE
May 9, 2002

Bush policies drawing fire from both left and right

WASHINGTON -- When George H.W. Bush was U.S. president, George W. Bush considered himself a disciplinarian, protecting his dad from sniping from the right. He worried about the weakening of his father's political position as his support from conservative Republicans eroded.
BUSINESS
May 9, 2002

Nippon Life hopes to raise funds from individual investors

Nippon Life Insurance Co. plans to bolster its foundation fund, the equivalent of a stock company's capital, by 150 billion yen by August via a securitization plan it hopes will attract individual investors, informed sources said Wednesday.
BUSINESS
May 8, 2002

Moody's might downgrade ANA long-term rating

Moody's Investors Service Inc. said Tuesday it may downgrade the Baa3 senior unsecured long-term rating of All Nippon Airways in response to the Fair Trade Commission's decision to approve the merger of Japan Airlines and Japan Air System.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
May 5, 2002

Kids these days

What is wrong with kids today?
COMMENTARY / World
May 5, 2002

Why it must be Bush vs. Gore in 2004

NEW YORK -- It is impossible to overstate the importance of tossing U.S. President George W. Bush back onto the unemployment lines in 2004. His illegitimate presidency isn't even half-over, yet Bush's disreputable Cabinet of tin-pot gangsters has already succeeded in causing irreparable harm to our great...
JAPAN
May 4, 2002

Old habits die hard, especially group pressure to chug the ale

NARA -- Since the days of Prince Shotoku in the early seventh century, Japanese have been encouraged to respect "wa," or harmony in a group.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
May 4, 2002

'Nagashibina': a tradition just for girls

Tomorrow is Children's Day, the politically correct way to say "Boys' Day." This is not to say that girls don't have a special day. The Doll Festival was March 3, but is not a national holiday like Boys' Day is.
LIFE / Lifestyle / MATTER OF COURSE
May 3, 2002

When one-size-fits-all schooling doesn't fit

There's a boy in our building who doesn't go to school. Ever. Nine-year-old Kenji missed 40 days of school last year, then refused to go back at all after the spring break. He says that he "can't breathe" at school and that his stomach hurts whenever he's in the building.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
May 2, 2002

20 years of writing on the wild side

The biological exuberance of the equatorial region is staggering to behold. Walking through a temperate forest (as one might find in many areas of northern Japan, the northern United States or across much of central Europe), it is commonplace to have a clear view for hundreds of meters -- even to the...
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 2, 2002

Firm seeks to boot out child labor

Children around the globe dream of someday playing in the World Cup, but few people know that thousands of them spend their days making soccer balls to help feed their families, unable to go to school or enjoy the game.
EDITORIALS
Apr 29, 2002

The importance of conserving forests

Forests play a vital role in preventing global warming and building sustainable societies. So the need to protect and develop them can never be stressed enough. Japan's substantial forests make it a notable example. In brief, that is the message of the government report on forests and forestry released...
JAPAN
Apr 28, 2002

Labor unions rally to urge Koizumi to focus on jobs

Labor unions staged daylong rallies across Japan on Saturday to mark May Day with a call on Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to safeguard their jobs in the face of near-record unemployment.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / PLAY BUTTON
Apr 28, 2002

A familiar story but with a sincerely new spin

Sometimes hard times can turn out to be the best of luck. There is nothing like a little parental abuse -- or substance abuse -- to burnish an artist's street credibility. Everyone from Eminem to Nine Inch Nail's Trent Reznor to, more locally, DJ Krush has a rough past.
JAPAN
Apr 27, 2002

Sustainable sea resources promoted

The fisheries ministry calls for sustainable use of marine resources in its first annual report under the basic fisheries law that went into effect in June.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 27, 2002

Waseda project hatching entrepreneurs

Inside decades-old school buildings in Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo, that had been used by Waseda Jitsugyo High School until a year ago, university students and entrepreneurs work around the clock to realize their dream of launching successful startup businesses.
BUSINESS
Apr 26, 2002

Toshiba, NEC, Fujitsu report huge losses

High-tech giants Toshiba Corp., NEC Corp. and Fujitsu Ltd. on Thursday reported decreased sales and huge losses for the 2001 business year, blaming the slump in global demand for semiconductors and a sharp decline in prices.
LIFE / Digital
Apr 25, 2002

Lie detection infiltrating everyday life

When Bill Clinton first said, "I never had sexual relations with that woman . . ." back in 1998, a report flushed that a new Israeli lie detector figured he was being truthful.
JAPAN
Apr 23, 2002

Rules sought on secondhand smoke

A citizens' group in Osaka campaigning for a smoke-free environment for children submitted a petition Monday to the health minister calling for stricter regulations to reduce secondhand smoke.
BUSINESS
Apr 23, 2002

Prodi visit to pave way for EU-Japan summit

BRUSSELS -- European Union Commission President Romano Prodi will embark on an official visit to Japan later this week to pave the way for the EU-Japan summit in July and to discuss a variety of international issues.
COMMENTARY
Apr 22, 2002

Defense bills only a first step

Japan has moved a step closer to enacting emergency security legislation to deal with direct military attacks on the nation. Last Wednesday, the government introduced in the Diet a package of three bills for such emergencies.
BUSINESS
Apr 22, 2002

Japan's deflation a puzzling issue for Europeans

BRUSSELS -- Viewed from Europe, there are some signs that the Japanese economy might be starting to emerge from its 10-year slumber, but it remains essential that Tokyo focus on far-reaching structural reforms and antideflation measures rather than short-term policy lurches if the economy is to avoid...
COMMUNITY
Apr 21, 2002

Fine fare from them there hills

In Japan, the woods traditionally have been imagined to be the epitome of all that is unknown and fearsome in nature -- dark, enchanted places inhabited by magical foxes and raccoon dogs that children are made to fear from an early age.
BUSINESS
Apr 19, 2002

Mazda to release 36 new models as it accelerates out of the red

Mazda Motor Corp. President Mark Fields said Thursday that the company plans to launch 36 new models over the next couple of years, following expectations that it has returned to profitability in the just-ended fiscal year.

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