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SUMO
Jul 7, 2002

Musashimaru favored again

Yokozuna Musashimaru is a strong favorite to win his third consecutive title at Nagoya. The 31-year-old Musashimaru will take his 12th yusho if he wins in July, which will tie him with the great Futabayama, who dominated sumo during the late 1930s and early '40s. Musashimaru is reported to be in top...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / NIHONSHU
Jul 7, 2002

As benchmarks rise, honjozo takes a hit

Last year, sake production dropped below 1 million kiloliters for the first time since the industry's postwar recovery. Much of this drop was seen in the realm of cheap sake and honjozo, whereas the higher grades of junmaishu and ginjoshu stayed the same or made very modest production gains. Fewer people,...
BUSINESS
Jul 6, 2002

Key gauge stayed above boom-bust line in May

The government said Friday its key gauge of the current state of the economy stayed above the boom-or-bust line in May for the fourth straight month.
BUSINESS
Jul 4, 2002

RoboNavigator to offer accurate parts assembly

Trading house Marubeni Corp. said Wednesday it has developed with two business allies a control system capable of recognizing the spatial location of industrial parts to be picked up and assembled by robot arms.
BUSINESS / ON THE FRONT LINE
Jul 4, 2002

Fundamentals, intervention to rein in yen

The dollar's slide remains unstoppable. After U.S. President George W. Bush remarked that the unit's value should be determined by market forces, the currency rapidly plunged below 120 yen, despite the Bank of Japan's market intervention.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 4, 2002

The Cyprus connection: How Milosevic evaded arms sanctions

NICOSIA, Cyprus -- On Dec. 27, 1998, a Yugoslav named Drakomir Stojkovic flew from Belgrade to Cyprus's Larnaca airport on a private jet carrying bags stuffed with 35 million deutsche marks -- worth roughly $17 million.
BUSINESS / ON THE FRONT LINE
Jul 3, 2002

Dollar declining, intervention efforts or no

I have long warned against Japan's political leadership shortcomings, expressed doubt about a real economic recovery and predicted the yen will be weak this year.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / NEW ART SEEN
Jul 3, 2002

A photographer records the naked truth

On April 25, 1990, San Francisco photographer Jock Sturges' life changed forever. On that day, police raided his studio and office. They confiscated cameras, film, prints, computers and records -- on the suspicion that Sturges was involved in the production and distribution of child pornography.
BUSINESS
Jul 2, 2002

Toyota to market fuel-cell car by end of year

Toyota Motor Corp. said Monday it will begin limited marketing of its fuel-cell hybrid car by the end of this year, a year earlier than originally planned, in order to raise social awareness of the clean-running vehicle.
COMMENTARY
Jun 30, 2002

Tollgate mentality in Japan

Straddling the Keiyo Expressway linking Tokyo and Chiba is the Funabashi tollgate. A long row of booths collects a 200 yen toll from most drivers. Perennial jams at the tollgate have long caused frustration to me and others heading toward Chiba. People late for planes at Narita suffer even more.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jun 30, 2002

A sparkling alternative

In Japan, the term "beer" is reserved for alcoholic beverages made from at least 65 percent malted barley, with the remainder of the grains being rice and corn (including cornstarch). Plus the requisite hops, yeast and water. If it contains anything else, it is classified as something else, usually happoshu,...
BUSINESS
Jun 27, 2002

May auto production jumps but trucks, motorcycles fall

Japan's motor vehicle production rose 9.3 percent in May from a year earlier to 803,323 units, up for the second straight month, the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association said Wednesday.
BUSINESS / ON THE FRONT LINE
Jun 27, 2002

Upturn no excuse to ignore global realities

Japan's gross domestic product in the January-March quarter grew at an annualized 5.7 percent from the previous quarter.
BUSINESS / TAKING STOCK
Jun 25, 2002

U.S. rebound to pace stocks

The recent weakness of Tokyo stocks has created a golden opportunity to buy shares despite growing concerns about worldwide price falls.
JAPAN
Jun 25, 2002

In danger of becoming white elephants

There is a growing trend among prefectural governments to distance themselves from Kasumigaseki, the seat of the nation's bureaucracy, as moves accelerate to decentralize the national government and a recent ban, issued in response to a series of scandals, prevents lawmakers from wining and dining ministry...
BUSINESS
Jun 24, 2002

Indonesia just the tip of copyright-piracy iceberg

JAKARTA -- Piracy of intellectual property rights can be found all over Southeast Asia. A short visit to the street markets of Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Manila or Singapore will convince anyone that counterfeits, fakes and so-called look-alike products are big business.
JAPAN
Jun 21, 2002

Accidents involving electric wheelchairs on the rise

The number of traffic accidents involving users of electric wheelchairs more than doubled to 207 in 2001 from 89 in 1996, the year in which the National Police Agency started collecting such data, the NPA said Thursday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 20, 2002

Toshiba, Fujitsu form LSI tieup

In a bid to survive global competition in the broadband age, electronics giants Toshiba Corp. and Fujitsu Ltd. announced Wednesday they have agreed to form a comprehensive alliance to promote their semiconductor businesses.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Jun 20, 2002

Making the right computer choice is no big struggle

In answer to Stephen Harris, who's seeking to finally enter the computer age and is looking for the right machine for him, this is a huge subject, and largely a matter of personal preference.
BUSINESS
Jun 20, 2002

Suzuki wants in on Daewoo successor

Suzuki Motor Corp. is expecting to acquire an equity stake in a company to be established by General Motors Corp. that will take over the operations of bankrupt South Korean firm Daewoo Motor Co., industry sources said Wednesday.
EDITORIALS
Jun 17, 2002

Key to corporate survival

Recent revelations about the mislabeling of foods and the use of illegal food additives by Japanese companies suggest a collapse of corporate ethics. The latest incident -- mislabeling of chicken by Zen-Noh Chicken Foods, an affiliate of the National Federation of Agricultural Cooperative Associations...
SOCCER / World cup
Jun 16, 2002

Sports bars tap new thirst for soccer

As Japan screamed into the second round of the World Cup with a win over Tunisia on Friday, sports bars in Tokyo lapped up a surge in customers.
CULTURE / Music / HOGAKU TODAY
Jun 16, 2002

We're talking the real thing

I recently received an e-mail from a foreign journalist in Japan asking me to comment on "the ongoing boom in Japan of traditional music." The request both puzzled me and made me think. Traditional Japanese music, hogaku, is not exactly booming. Attendance at traditional concerts and enrollment in university...
JAPAN
Jun 15, 2002

Sports bars tap into new thirst for soccer

As Japan screamed into the second round of the World Cup with a win over Tunisia on Friday, sports bars in Tokyo lapped up a surge in customers.

Longform

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