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Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Apr 17, 2003

A natural sense of belonging

I pass through the Heidelberg area of Baden-Buerttemberg in southwest Germany several times a year, and though I am transient there, I feel that I have roots -- roots that come from a natural connectedness with the earth. The several thousand hectares of land sandwiched between the gently rising hills...
EDITORIALS
Apr 5, 2003

A partially changing land-price map

Falling land prices are symptomatic of Japan's deflationary economy. Banks sell collateralized land to write off dud loans. Companies dump their land holdings to pay off debts. Land prices drop further as the property market weakens. As things stand, there seems to be no way to halt this vicious circle....
BUSINESS
Mar 25, 2003

Fukui weighs up asset risk options

BOJ Gov. Toshihiko Fukui indicated Monday that he is willing to consider measures such as buying riskier assets from banks to help money flow into the economy, although he added that the central bank must tread lightly.
BUSINESS
Mar 8, 2003

Nikkei sinks to 20-year low as nerves fray over Iraq war fears

The Tokyo Stock Exchange tumbled Friday, driving the benchmark Nikkei index to a 20-year closing low on growing fears that a military strike will be launched on Iraq.
COMMENTARY
Jan 16, 2003

Japan plods path of isolation

HONOLULU — Japan continues to be the odd man out in Northeast Asia. While the other states in the region have been forging ties and building networks with each other — even North Korea — Japan has lagged behind. Tokyo could be marginalized in its own neighborhood. That risk has motivated Japanese...
JAPAN
Jan 16, 2003

Pampered pets seen turning porky

People seem to be handing out too many treats to their cats and dogs, as there are growing signs that household pets are getting a bit chubby these days.
EDITORIALS
Dec 27, 2002

Resuscitate local economies

Japan's economy for 2003 poses inevitable questions. Will deflation get worse or better? How far will banks go to shed their dud loans? If the United States goes to war with Iraq, how will it affect the economy? In these increasingly uncertain times, forecasting is a tricky business. Offering stock answers...
BUSINESS
Nov 30, 2002

Industrial production fell 0.3% in October

Japan's industrial production fell a seasonally adjusted 0.3 percent in October from September for the second straight monthly decline, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said Friday in a preliminary report.
EDITORIALS
Nov 28, 2002

Staving off banking disaster

The latest financial reports from Japan's major commercial banks tell more of the same story: The huge overhang of nonperforming loans continues to block a return to health. To be sure, banks made a profit in their main lines of business in the first six months of fiscal 2002, as they did in previous...
EDITORIALS
Nov 22, 2002

Achilles' heel in FTA progress

In a major shift of trade strategy, Japan is moving toward concluding bilateral and regional free-trade agreements. In January of this year the nation signed its first FTA with Singapore. Now it is negotiating a similar arrangement with Mexico. And looming over the horizon are FTAs with South Korea and...
BUSINESS
Nov 20, 2002

Monetary policy to go unchanged

As stock prices continue to slide, the Bank of Japan made a rare announcement Tuesday that it will flood the market with yen to the limit of its current policy.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 2, 2002

Back to the future via broken promises

BRUSSELS -- Next year's crisis on the Korean Peninsula has come early. The year 2003 was to see an explosive conjuncture of events: a change of regime in South Korea, markedly less sympathetic to engagement with the North than that of current President Kim Dae Jung; the final failure of the United States...
COMMENTARY
Oct 26, 2002

Sino-Indian war still haunts New Delhi

NEW DELHI -- Forty years after China humbled India in a two-front Himalayan war masterminded by Chinese leader Mao Zedong, the lessons of that crushing defeat still reverberate in New Delhi. The war was Mao's attempt to demolish India as an alternative democratic model and geopolitical rival to communist...
EDITORIALS
Oct 2, 2002

High-stake games on the Peninsula

For North and South Korea, the Asian Games that opened on Sunday in the South Korean port city of Pusan are not only an arena of competition, but also an opportunity for reconciliation. Following an earlier decision by Pyongyang to join the games, their teams paraded together under a single flag at the...
BUSINESS
Sep 28, 2002

NKK, Kawasaki Steel set up holding company

NKK Corp. and Kawasaki Steel Corp. on Friday set up JFE Holdings Inc., a joint holding company, as the first step toward forming the JFE Group and becoming the world's fourth largest integrated steelmaker.
BUSINESS
Sep 17, 2002

Bookkeeping reforms lead to surge in number of aspiring accountants

An increasing number of people are aspiring to become licensed public accountants as demand for accounting experts rises in line with ongoing reforms in accounting and bookkeeping rules.
COMMENTARY
Sep 10, 2002

Making Japan's voice heard

Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi is doing a good job -- much better than expected. She has made few blunders since she assumed the post Feb. 1, aside from the trouble over the inept bureaucratic handling of the Shenyang Japanese Consulate incident involving North Korean asylum seekers.
BUSINESS
Sep 4, 2002

Stocks sink to levels last seen in '80s

Tokyo stocks tumbled Tuesday on broad-sector selling by speculative investors, sending the benchmark indexes on the Tokyo Stock Exchange to levels last seen in the early 1980s.
JAPAN
Aug 30, 2002

Real estate appraisal to reflect costs of polluted-soil cleanup

The government will introduce new criteria for real estate appraisals under which costs for cleaning up soil contamination will be reflected in land prices, according to officials of the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry.
COMMENTARY
Aug 23, 2002

Chen eyes Taiwan's 'own road'

HONG KONG -- In the days following Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian's provocative declaration Aug. 3 that Taiwan and China are separate countries, there has been much speculation regarding his motives, with some analysts suggesting it was an unintentional slip of the tongue. Others said his words were...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Aug 18, 2002

A man of truly noble blood

In 1987, Salif Keita released "Soro," and, though it was not his first album, for many listeners around the world it served as an introduction to the musician's unique sound: soaring West African-style vocals set to a new blend of traditional African rhythms and electric pop arrangements. He matched...
EDITORIALS
Aug 14, 2002

Vote of confidence for Brazil

Ever since the Argentine economy slid into crisis last year, there have been fears that the difficulties would ripple across the region. Uruguay's recent troubles are proof that Latin American markets are so deeply intertwined that any national emergency poses a threat to its neighbors. The chief concern...
EDITORIALS
Aug 8, 2002

China's military buildup

Two annual reports released last month -- one from the U.S. Department of Defense and the other from the U.S.-China Security Review Commission, a congressional panel -- express serious concern about China's military buildup and economic development. Such a perception does not sit well with the Japanese...
COMMENTARY
Aug 8, 2002

Kim's last chance to shine?

MANILA -- Politically, South Korean President Kim Dae Jung's time is running out, and the alleged corruptive practices of his sons have accelerated the erosion of his authority tremendously. The recent thaw in inter-Korean relations may well be Kim's last chance to improve his tarnished image.
BUSINESS
Jul 6, 2002

Suntory hopes France can help it produce better wine

OSAKA -- Suntory Ltd. said Friday that it has commissioned Castel Freres S.A. of France to produce its two major brands of wine beginning in September.
BUSINESS
Jun 26, 2002

Japan must deregulate and reform before it's too late: METI report

Japan should quickly deregulate its markets and reform its policies so it can take part in the rapid economic growth of East Asia, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said in a annual report released Tuesday.
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...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 21, 2002

Big companies demanding better English

Takuya Suzuki has been taking the Test of English for International Communication exams twice a year since he joined electronic parts maker Sumida Corp. two years ago.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 6, 2002

Tiananmen legacy to haunt new leaders

EDMONTON, Canada -- Tuesday was another anniversary of the tragic morning of June 4, 1989, when the Chinese government used force to crack down on student protesters and their supporters in and around Tiananmen Square.
BUSINESS
May 31, 2002

Cyclical upswing no time to relax reforms: Hayami

BOJ Gov. Masaru Hayami said Thursday that Japan should not relax its efforts to promote structural reforms and dispose of banks' nonperforming loans despite the recent economic uptick.

Longform

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