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COMMENTARY / World
Sep 4, 2004

Howard, Latham doff gloves

SYDNEY -- Australians had hardly stopped cheering their Olympic champions in Athens -- the highest medal winners in the world on a national per capita basis -- before a general election was announced and the media again went wild.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 4, 2004

Line being drawn in East Asia's waters

HONOLULU -- In East Asia today, a line is gradually being drawn in the water, starting in the sea between Japan and the Korean Peninsula, and running south through the East China Sea and the Taiwan Strait into the South China Sea.
COMMENTARY
Sep 4, 2004

China favored in cross-strait tug-of-war

HONG KONG -- When Singapore's then Deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong visited Taiwan in July on what was described as a "private and unofficial" trip, China reacted angrily. Among other things, it canceled a visit by its top banker to Singapore and warned darkly of "grave consequences" for which "the...
BUSINESS
Sep 4, 2004

Sojitz ups losses to 400 billion yen for 2004

Struggling trading house Sojitz Holdings Corp. will book losses of around 400 billion yen in the current fiscal year, up from the originally planned 250 billion yen, company sources said Friday.
COMMENTARY
Sep 4, 2004

Afghanistan's volatile politics

ISLAMABAD -- A spate of attacks by Taliban forces on U.S. troops and Afghan government soldiers has intensified worries over the country's first presidential elections, which are scheduled to take place next month.
EDITORIALS
Sep 3, 2004

Sparing banks without spoiling them

For all practical purposes, big banks in Japan have turned the corner in their efforts to clean up their bad loans. For small and medium-size banks, though, no light is yet visible at the end of the tunnel. With caps on deposit insurance due to be fully reinstated next April, smaller lenders have no...
BASEBALL / MLB
Sep 3, 2004

Furuta: Players ready to strike if merger happens

The head of the Japanese baseball players' association said Thursday his organization will do everything possible to block the proposed merger of two Pacific League teams.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Sep 3, 2004

Signing of Rooney a big gamble for Manchester United

LONDON -- Incredible.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 3, 2004

Nissan unveils six models as part of big sales drive

YOKOHAMA -- Nissan Motor Co. on Thursday unveiled six new models that will be released by mid-January to help achieve the automaker's global sales target.
BUSINESS
Sep 3, 2004

Sustainable growth in reach despite slowdown: Fukui

The nation is heading toward sustainable growth and the central bank will stick with its policy of pumping cash into the economy, Bank of Japan Gov. Toshihiko Fukui said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Sep 3, 2004

Fresh JGBs draw strong demand

An auction for a fresh batch of 10-year Japanese government bonds drew strong demand Thursday, with investors filing the most bids on record amid growing jitters over a slowdown in the U.S. and Japanese economies.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / THEN AND NOW
Sep 3, 2004

Enshrined in the modern world

The accompanying woodblock print depicts Hiyoshi Sanno Shrine, better known today as Hie-jinja in Chiyoda-ku. A stairway on the left ascends through a thick pinery, leading the viewer into the spacious precincts of the shrine.
BASEBALL / MLB
Sep 3, 2004

PL set to propose four-team league if 'Wave-Buffs move approved

The Pacific League is likely to propose a four-team league if a merger between the Kintetsu Buffaloes and Orix BlueWave is formally approved at an owners meeting next Wednesday, confirming a move for a second merger is in the works.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 3, 2004

U.S. visa cut pushing translation firm to Asia

A recent cut in the number of U.S. visas given to foreign technical experts has convinced a U.S. translation-services company to expand its business in Japan and other parts of Asia, MultiLing Corp. President Michael Sneddon said in Tokyo this week.
BUSINESS
Sep 3, 2004

Shinsei Bank to buy Showa Leasing

Shinsei Bank might buy Showa Leasing Co. possibly this year, sources said Thursday.
COMMENTARY
Sep 3, 2004

Labour seeks a constituency

LONDON -- A ruler can obtain power only with the help of his own people. He uses them to fight against those who revolt against his party. They fill his administrative offices and he appoints them to prestigious and lucrative positions. They help him to achieve his ascendancy. This is true so long as...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Sep 3, 2004

Arossa spreads Antipodean goodness

Ever since it opened, the Food File has been a major fan of Arossa, the Aussie-specialist wine bar and restaurant out on the leafy fringes of Shibuya's Shoto district. We like the modern styling, the extensive cellar of Antipodean wines and the sophisticated food menu. But there is one area in which...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 3, 2004

Economist advocates Japan Post carve-up

The priority in privatizing Japan's gigantic postal system is to quickly split its financial and postal service operations despite strong opposition, according to high-profile economist Hiroshi Kato.
EDITORIALS
Sep 2, 2004

DPJ must shed turf mentality

Mr. Katsuya Okada, president of the Democratic Party of Japan, secured a second term as head of the largest opposition party Monday, the deadline for filing candidacies for president. Since Mr. Okada is the only candidate, he will be formally re-elected without a vote on Sept. 13. That's to be expected,...
BUSINESS
Sep 2, 2004

Domestic vehicle sales rise 2.1%

Domestic vehicle sales totaled 250,736 in August, up 2.1 percent from a year earlier for the first rise in seven months.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 2, 2004

Unavoidable as death, beer taxes

Since ancient times, alcohol has been an important source of tax revenue for rulers.
BUSINESS
Sep 2, 2004

Uniqlo Plus outlet to open in Osaka

Fast Retailing Co. said Wednesday it will open a large-scale Uniqlo store in downtown Osaka in October, with several more to follow in major cities within a year.
BUSINESS
Sep 2, 2004

UFJ told to explain data disparities

Britain's Financial Services Authority has ordered UFJ Holdings Inc., which is listed in London, to report by mid-September on the huge gap between its earnings projection and actual results for fiscal 2003, UFJ officials said Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Sep 2, 2004

Windows XP SP2 to be offered free

Microsoft Corp. said Wednesday it will exploit a network of 25,000 post offices in Japan to provide a free CD-ROM version of the Windows XP Service Pack 2 with added security features, beginning Oct. 1.
BUSINESS
Sep 2, 2004

Firm launches antiforgery service

Tokyo-based software developer Mediaseek Inc. said Wednesday it has launched an antiforgery service for Japanese products sold in China.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Sep 2, 2004

Dragons hoping Ochoa's lucky No. 4 can bring them success

The Chunichi Dragons have won the Central League pennant four times in the past 30 years, and each time the club had a strong foreign player who wore the uniform No. 4 and contributed greatly to the team's championship seasons.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OLD NIC'S NOTEBOOK
Sep 2, 2004

Ravens, shamans and 'shrooms

In 1988 I made a documentary with the Hokkaido Broadcasting Co. We filmed on the Kamchatka Peninsula in northeast Siberia, in Alaska and in Japan. Our main theme was the raven and the many raven legends that link the peoples of the Pacific Rim.

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?