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CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
May 12, 2002

When in doubt, just say 'wakarimasen'

Violent antisocial crimes by teenagers have sent shockwaves through Japan in recent years, hinting ominously at cracks in the very foundations of modern Japanese society. On a more mundane level, older Japanese often find themselves puzzled and annoyed by the everyday behavior of young people, who often...
BUSINESS
May 11, 2002

Softbank posts 88.76 billion yen net loss

Internet business investor Softbank Corp. dipped into the red in the year that ended March 31, due to costs to build infrastructure for broadband online services and a devaluation of the firm's stockholdings, company officials said Friday.
JAPAN
May 11, 2002

Snow Brand officials arrested

KOBE -- Five former executives of Snow Brand Foods Co. were arrested Friday on suspicion of defrauding an industry body out of 196 million yen by mislabeling beef.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
May 11, 2002

Coffee machines, bread, teas . . . whatever next?

Marcel Niederhauser is one happy businessman. In the lobby of Tokyo's Hilton Hotel in Shinjuku, visiting the small shop he opened with a Japanese partner just two weeks ago, he learns that the first day of Golden Week has been a bonanza. "We moved some 120 packs of tea. We're very, very happy with the...
BUSINESS
May 10, 2002

More shares bought on credit

The balance of shares bought on credit -- a sensitive indicator of investor sentiment -- rose for the second straight week last week.
BUSINESS
May 10, 2002

Coincident index tops 50% for first time in 15 months

The key gauge of the current state of the economy topped the boom-or-bust line of 50 percent in March for the first time since December 2000, the government said Thursday in a preliminary report.
BUSINESS
May 10, 2002

Mitsui unit in U.S. settles pig feed lawsuit

Trading house Mitsui & Co. said Thursday its animal feed subsidiary in the United States has agreed to settle a class-action suit lodged by U.S. pig and poultry farmers over sales of feed supplements.
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.
JAPAN
May 10, 2002

Experts struggle to boost prophylactics among teens

Alarmed by the spread of sexually transmitted diseases and a record number of abortions among teenagers, educators and health experts are desperately searching for ways to increase condom use.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 9, 2002

Ministry official gets two years

A former Foreign Ministry official on Wednesday was sentenced to two years in prison for defrauding the government of 422 million yen.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 9, 2002

Prices keep Electronic Toll Collection system from catching on

The Electronic Toll Collection system was introduced in March 2001 amid great expectations that it would ease the notorious traffic jams on Japan's expressways as it allows vehicles equipped with a transponder to pass through toll gates without having to stop to pay.
BUSINESS
May 9, 2002

Foreigners stayed net buyers last week

Foreign investors remained net buyers of Japanese stocks for the second straight week last week.
JAPAN
May 8, 2002

Heo repeats not guilty plea in Itoman appeal

OSAKA -- Real-estate broker Heo Young Joong repeated his not guilty plea Tuesday before the Osaka High Court in the first hearing of his appeal against a district court ruling last year on a fraud case involving collapsed trading house Itoman Corp.
BUSINESS
May 8, 2002

Yahoo auction fee hike helps rival cash in

The number of items featured on the online auction site of Yahoo Japan Corp. has fallen by nearly 50 percent since early March, due to a recent hike in user fees, officials said Tuesday.
COMMENTARY / World
May 4, 2002

No end in sight to China's banking woes

While Japan's recession and its wobbly banks distract much of the world, the banking sector in China is in much worse shape. Xinhua News Agency has reported that central bank governor Dai Xianglong admits that nonperforming loans (NPLs) account for 26.6 percent of total lending by China's top four state-owned...
Japan Times
JAPAN / MUSEUM MUSINGS
May 4, 2002

Shibuya museum links tobacco, salt past and present in curious harmony

To the uninitiated, the combination of tobacco and salt in a museum is a curious one.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
May 4, 2002

Marie and Kelly Gray

When the House of St. John USA brought out its fragrance White Camellia, St. John founder Marie Gray thought of it as a celebration of a relationship. The relationship, special and cherished, is between herself and her daughter Kelly. Marie said she could "think of no better way to celebrate something...
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 3, 2002

Vacated banks seeing new tenants

At an intersection in Tokyo's Nihonbashi financial district, a wholesale supermarket with a bright yellow sign and outdoor fruit bins draws the curious eyes of people passing by.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 1, 2002

Tracking systems try to tackle food safety

Shoppers are now being invited to check with their own eyes that what something is labeled is what they actually eat.
BUSINESS
May 1, 2002

BTM chiefs to resign after June 26

Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi Chairman Satoru Kishi and Vice Chairman Kenji Yoshizawa will step down now that the bank has almost finished disposing of nonperforming loans to large-lot clients, sources close to the bank said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Apr 30, 2002

Inventors advised to take out patents

Amid the prolonged recession, more people are trying their hand at inventing in the hope of making a fast fortune.
BUSINESS
Apr 30, 2002

'Community currencies' seen fulfilling only half of mission

The recent boom in community "currencies" -- a virtual form of payment being used to promote exchanges of goodwill and business -- seems to have reached a turning point.
BUSINESS / ON MANAGEMENT
Apr 30, 2002

Timing is everything in redoing contracts

Negotiating, often denigrated as a field for those with more attitude than aptitude, is often the place where very smart executives make glaringly dumb decisions. A good example of this surfaced when ABC attempted to woo David Letterman away from CBS.
BUSINESS
Apr 28, 2002

Asahi Mutual eyes net profits in '01

Asahi Mutual Life Insurance Co. will likely secure the equivalent of a stock company net profit in the year to March 31 despite its plan to write off some 400 billion yen in latent stockholding losses, company sources said Saturday.
BUSINESS
Apr 27, 2002

Two major brokerages sink deep into the red in fiscal '01

Two of the nation's three main brokerages on Friday said they sank deep into the red in the year that ended March 31, as sluggish share prices and competition from online and bank-affiliated brokers sent retail revenues plunging.
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

Nichido Fire rapped for car policies

The Financial Services Agency ordered Nichido Fire & Marine Insurance Co. on Thursday to suspend some of its operations after it was found to have sold an unauthorized type of automobile insurance.
BUSINESS
Apr 25, 2002

Balance of short-sold shares breaks five-week decline

The balance of shares sold short turned higher last week, snapping a five-week back-to-back decline.
BUSINESS
Apr 25, 2002

Insurer likely to be rapped for unauthorized sales

The Financial Services Agency is expected to punish Nichido Fire & Marine Insurance Co. for allegedly selling car insurance policies without obtaining official approval, sources said Wednesday.

Longform

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