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BUSINESS
Sep 9, 2004

Banks' lending down for 80th month

The average daily balance of bank lending dropped 3.1 percent in August from a year earlier, marking the 80th straight month of decline, the Bank of Japan said Wednesday in a preliminary report.
BUSINESS
Sep 9, 2004

Sojitz to receive 370 billion yen capital injection from financial institutions

Struggling trading house Sojitz Holdings Corp. officially announced Wednesday it will get a 370 billion yen capital injection from financial institutions, including UFJ Holdings Inc. and UBS AG, to clean up its balance sheet.
COMMENTARY
Sep 9, 2004

Seoul is not the proliferator

LOS ANGELES -- Fundamentally, as they tend to say in particle physics, the big brouhaha over the secret South Korean uranium-enrichment experiment is an absurdity.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / NAME OF THE GAME
Sep 9, 2004

Return of the plant people

"Pikmin 2" may be old news around Japan, but it's fresh out in English.
BUSINESS / Q&A
Sep 9, 2004

Why is Japan Post going to be privatized?

After months of government debate, the Cabinet on Friday will formally approve a plan to privatize the government-run Japan Post.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 8, 2004

Tangled in the helix

Code 46 Rating: * * * * (out of 5) Director: Michael Winterbottom Running time: 93 minutes Language: English Opens Sept. 11 [See Japan Times movie listings] In "Code 46," the dynamics of boy-meets-girl is explained not as destiny but as a genetic consequence. In the near-future world...
EDITORIALS
Sep 8, 2004

North Korea's ticking time bomb

Many North Koreans continue to escape from their impoverished and repressive country. Last week, 29 escapees took refuge at a Japanese school in Beijing. Shortly afterward, they were taken to the Japanese Embassy for identification and questioning before being transferred to a third country. The South...
BASKETBALL
Sep 8, 2004

Tabuse inks multiyear deal

Japanese point guard Yuta Tabuse, who had already reached a contract agreement to play for the Phoenix Suns for the upcoming season, said Tuesday he has signed a multiyear deal with the NBA team.
BUSINESS
Sep 8, 2004

Three Nikkei stocks to be replaced

Nihon Keizai Shimbun Inc. said Tuesday it will replace three constituent stocks in its key 225-issue Nikkei stock average, effective Oct. 1.
BUSINESS
Sep 8, 2004

Koizumi, Bush likely to discuss beef ban

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi is expected to discuss the issue of how Japan would lift its import ban on U.S. beef at a meeting later this month with President George W. Bush, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda indicated Tuesday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 8, 2004

What are you trying to do? Scare us?

The Village Rating: * * (out of 5) Director: M. Night Shyamalan Running time: 108 minutes Language: English Opens Sept. 11 [See Japan Times movie listings] Van Helsing Rating: * * (out of 5) Director: Stephen Sommers Running time: 133 minutes Language: English Currently showing [See...
BUSINESS
Sep 8, 2004

Brazilian bank to open Tokyo branch

The Financial Services Agency said Tuesday it has authorized Banco Itau SA, the third-largest Brazilian commercial bank in terms of assets, to open a branch in Tokyo.
BUSINESS
Sep 8, 2004

Startup airlines to get more flight slots at Haneda

The government will give startup airlines 20 more departure and arrival slots at Tokyo's Haneda airport to boost competition.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 8, 2004

Director follows kabuki offstage to find the essence of onnagata

Musume Dojoji Rating: * * * (out of 5) Director: Yukiko Takayama Running time: 110 minutes Language: Japanese Currently showing [See Japan Times movie listings] Kabuki plays were an important source of material for early Japanese filmmakers, conferring prestige and popularity on their...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 8, 2004

Catching up with the 24-hour filmmaker

I sat down with English director Michael Winterbottom at the tail end of what was obviously a long, hard day of back-to-back interviews. Rather than my trying to get him discuss the same points of "Code 46" one more time, we instead kicked back with some beers and had a wide-ranging discussion covering...
BASEBALL / MLB
Sep 8, 2004

Lions owner Tsutsumi denies merger reports

Seibu Lions owner Yoshiaki Tsutsumi denied press reports Tuesday that his club will merge with the Lotte Marines.
BUSINESS
Sep 8, 2004

Mitsui Sumitomo eyes Aviva nonlife operations in Asia

Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co. said Tuesday it is in talks with Aviva PLC to purchase the major British insurer's nonlife operations in Asia.
SOCCER / J. League
Sep 8, 2004

Zico picks best squad to face India in qualifier

BANGKOK (AP) Asian Cup champion Japan isn't taking any chances against India as it pursues a place in the 2006 World Cup, with coach Zico mustering his strongest available squad for Wednesday's regional qualifier at Calcutta.
BUSINESS
Sep 8, 2004

Sony to release HD camcorder

Sony Corp. announced Tuesday it will introduce the world's first consumer digital high-definition camcorder to the Japanese market Oct. 15 and overseas by the end of this year.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 8, 2004

No long-term gains against terror yet

WASHINGTON -- So which U.S. President George W. Bush was right? The one who said Aug. 30, the day the Republican National Convention started, that the war on terror might not be winnable, or the Bush who showed up the rest of the week and asserted that victory would be ours?
BUSINESS
Sep 8, 2004

Key economic gauge remains in positive territory

A key gauge of the current state of the economy stayed above the boom-or-bust line of 50 percent in July, spurred by upbeat figures for large-lot electricity consumption and sales by small and midsize companies, the government said Tuesday.
BASKETBALL
Sep 7, 2004

Tabuse signs agreement with Suns

Japanese point guard Yuta Tabuse reached a contract agreement with the Phoenix Suns for the upcoming season, NBA Japan said Monday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Sep 7, 2004

Japanese ball players set to strike

Japan's professional baseball players' association will go on strike for the first time if owners go ahead with a proposed merger of two teams later this week, the group's leader said Monday.
BUSINESS
Sep 7, 2004

Sides still at loggerheads over proposed four-way postal privatization split

Several ruling coalition politicians and Cabinet ministers remained at odds Monday over whether to split Japan Post into four firms in 2007, the first year of the planned 10-year privatization process, officials said.
BASEBALL / MLB
Sep 7, 2004

Oji takes company championship

Naokatsu Hayashi hit a "sayonara" homer with one out in the bottom of the 10th inning as Oji Paper edged Honda Motor 6-5 for its first inter-city corporate baseball championship title on Monday.
BUSINESS
Sep 7, 2004

Bandwidth allotment draws protest

Softbank Corp. said Monday it has lodged a complaint with the telecommunications ministry over its plan to allot a new radio bandwidth exclusively to mobile phone giants NTT DoCoMo Inc. and KDDI Corp.
BUSINESS
Sep 7, 2004

Imported vehicle sales grow 1.2%

Sales of new imported vehicles, including those produced by Japanese markers, rose 1.2 percent in August from a year earlier to 16,605 units for the first rise in two months.
BUSINESS
Sep 7, 2004

Capital spending up 10.7% in April-June quarter

Capital spending by companies grew 10.7 percent from a year earlier in the April-June quarter for the fifth straight quarterly increase, the Finance Ministry reported Monday.

Longform

A store clerk tries to cool things down in front of their shop by spraying a hose.
Is extreme weather changing the way Japan shops?