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BUSINESS
May 31, 2001

IMF chief urges expanded disclosure of bad loans

International Monetary Fund chief Horst Koehler encouraged the Financial Services Agency on Wednesday to step up disclosure of its assessments of banks' problem loans.
BUSINESS
May 30, 2001

Fate of Nikkei tied to Koizumi's policies

Although the stock market has reacted positively to the inauguration of the reformist Cabinet of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, doubts linger.
JAPAN
May 30, 2001

Environment Ministry plugs green tax in first white paper

In its inaugural white paper approved Tuesday by the Cabinet, the Environment Ministry is touting the merits of introducing an environment tax to help put Japan on a more environmentally sustainable path and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
JAPAN
May 30, 2001

Koizumi to meet Bush June 30 at Camp David

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and U.S. President George W. Bush will hold their first summit on June 30 at Camp David, Md., Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda announced Tuesday.
JAPAN
May 28, 2001

Koizumi eyes higher burden for seniors

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi is intent on capping medical expenditures and calling on wealthy senior citizens to bear more of the financial burden for social security, according to a draft version of his economic and fiscal policy seen by Kyodo News on Sunday.
JAPAN
May 27, 2001

73% of Japanese in favor of increased competition

Seventy-three percent of Japanese polled rated competition among enterprises as positive because it results in cheaper products and services, according to a Cabinet Office poll released Saturday.
JAPAN
May 27, 2001

Seoul's Han tells Tanaka to act on disputed history textbook

South Korea demanded Saturday that Japan take "visible action" over recently approved Japanese junior high school history textbooks that critics say whitewash Japan's past military aggression, a Japanese Foreign Ministry official said.
BUSINESS
May 26, 2001

Tokyo prices posted 0.6% drop in May

Consumer prices in Tokyo witnessed a year-on-year decline of 0.6 percent in May for a record 21st straight month of decline, led by lower prices in housing rents and telecom charges, the government said Friday.
BUSINESS
May 26, 2001

Hiranuma outlines plan to boost jobs, markets

Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Takeo Hiranuma proposed a 15-point plan Friday to increase jobs and markets, including optimizing research outcomes at universities to create business opportunities in the private sector.
COMMENTARY
May 26, 2001

Feud serves nation poorly

The new administration of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi is enjoying a high public-approval rate of around 80 percent. But although he may be able to carry out his economic and domestic agenda, I have some reservations about his ability in the field of diplomacy.
BUSINESS
May 25, 2001

Banks cautioned against second waivers

A second waiver for struggling companies whose debts were partially forgiven once should be given by banks only in exceptional cases, Financial Services Minister Hakuo Yanagisawa said Thursday.
BUSINESS
May 25, 2001

Specter of intervention points to firmer yen

The dollar, having risen to close to 127 yen in early April, has given up much of its recent gains and is now hovering around 120 yen.
JAPAN
May 25, 2001

Diet action eyed to help Hansen's disease patients

The ruling coalition agreed Thursday that it will move quickly to adopt a Diet resolution to help former Hansen's disease patients.
JAPAN
May 24, 2001

State won't appeal court ruling on redress for Hansen's patients

The government decided Wednesday not to appeal a landmark court ruling ordering the state to compensate former Hansen's disease patients for violating their basic human rights by forcing them to be isolated in sanitariums.
BUSINESS
May 24, 2001

Trains, ships eyed to haul more cargo

The government will seek to reduce the amount of pollution caused by the domestic long-distance cargo transportation system by shifting from trucks to trains and ships, according to a draft report obtained Wednesday.
BUSINESS
May 23, 2001

Stocks favored over real estate as best investments

More people favor stocks or deposits over owning land as a means of investing money for the first time since the government began a poll on the matter roughly a decade ago, according to a draft government report.
EDITORIALS
May 23, 2001

A new dawn for nuclear energy?

After a 28-year lull, the United States seems ready to resume its flirtation with nuclear energy. Despite several high-profile incidents, including one that claimed two lives in 1999, Japan has never lost its interest in this power source. Europeans have gone back and forth on the issue: Green candidates...
BUSINESS
May 23, 2001

Ailing Kansai airport retains top execs

Transport Minister Chikage Ogi on Tuesday reappointed Yasuo Shingu as chairman of Kansai International Airport Co. and Kiyoyasu Mikanagi as its president.
JAPAN
May 22, 2001

Judicial reform panel calls for more lawyers, jury system, faster trials

The Judicial Reform Council released on Monday a draft of its final report on structural legal reforms, calling for more lawyers and better public access to them, more public participation in the judiciary, and juries whose decisions would be nonbinding.
ENVIRONMENT
May 22, 2001

China's shifting sands close in on Beijing

BEIJING -- Mother Nature has got it in for Wang Yongxian. In 1988, the farmer fled his hillside cave when flooding triggered landslides on Dragon Treasure Mountain, 70 km north of Beijing. Forced to abandon their traditional cave homes, Wang and neighbors moved down to the safety of the plain. Or so...
JAPAN
May 22, 2001

Hansen's disease patients fight on

A total of 923 former Hansen's disease patients filed a lawsuit against the state Monday, demanding it pay them 115 million yen each in compensation for forcing them into isolation to undergo treatment for the disease.
JAPAN
May 21, 2001

Tanaka didn't vow to snub Lee: Abe

Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe said Sunday he did not think that Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka had promised her Chinese counterpart Tang Jiaxuan that Japan will not issue further entry visas to former Taiwanese President Lee Teng-hui.
JAPAN
May 20, 2001

More Okinawans accept presence of U.S. military

The percentage of Okinawans who accept the presence of U.S. military facilities in their prefecture exceeds the percentage of those opposed to the bases for the first time since 1975, according to the results of a government poll released Saturday.
COMMENTARY
May 20, 2001

Koizumi honeymoon rolls on

Three weeks after its debut, the administration of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi continues to command high popularity. In opinion polls immediately after its inauguration April 26, the new administration received record approval ratings of over 80 percent. The "Koizumi boom" is likely to last for...
BUSINESS
May 19, 2001

Nonresidents continue their spending spree

Foreign investors were net buyers of Japanese stocks for the eighth straight week last week.
COMMENTARY
May 19, 2001

Diplomacy fails to measure up

The administration of President George W. Bush has disclosed major changes in U.S. military and diplomatic strategies. These include the stepped-up deployment of U.S. missile defense systems, the discontinuation of the "two major war" approach and the overhaul of policies toward North Korea.
JAPAN
May 19, 2001

White paper calls for foreign investment

To cope with intensifying competition with China amid a prolonged economic slump at home, Japan should actively woo foreign direct investment and become more efficient, according to the White Paper on International Trade 2001 released Friday.
BUSINESS
May 18, 2001

Ease 'green' car definition: lobby

The nation's auto industry group will ask the government to include gasoline-powered, low-emission vehicles among the environmentally friendly cars the government plans to buy, the head of the group said Thursday.
JAPAN
May 18, 2001

Koizumi rejects Beijing's demand for text revision

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Thursday rejected China's demand to revise a controversial junior high school history textbook, but said he will work to improve ties with Beijing.
BUSINESS
May 18, 2001

Man on street more optimistic

The economic outlook of workers with jobs particularly sensitive to economic shifts showed an improvement in April for the first turnaround in three months, the Cabinet Office said Thursday.

Longform

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