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BUSINESS
May 12, 2004

Most firms upbeat about China's economic growth

Sixty-five percent of major Japanese companies say the rapid growth of the Chinese economy is having a favorable effect on the Japanese economy, according to a recent survey by Kyodo News.
BUSINESS
May 12, 2004

Employment fears recede amid recovery

Workers are becoming less concerned about losing their jobs due to increasing signs of a turnaround in the country's economic situation, according to a survey report released this week by a private career consultant firm.
JAPAN
May 12, 2004

Officials call for increased security in Samawah

Government leaders said security measures need to be bolstered for Ground Self-Defense Force personnel in Samawah following the death of a Dutch soldier there, but denied that the southern Iraqi city is no longer safe enough for the Japanese troops to operate.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
May 12, 2004

Beastly love story 'beyond good and evil'

He is a 50-year-old world-famous American architect; she is Sylvia, his first lover as a married man. But who is Sylvia and what is unspeakable about his passion for her? Is she a much younger woman? Perhaps foreign, or colored? Or even a man?
BASEBALL / MLB
May 12, 2004

Arias lifts Tigers over Giants 7-6

At Tokyo Dome, George Arias tripled home the go-ahead run off Hideki Okajima (1-3) in the eighth inning to turn back the tide for the Hanshin Tigers as the visitors went on to edge the Yomiuri Giants 7-6 on Tuesday in a game featuring four homers, including Shinnosuke Abe's 19th in 32 games.
JAPAN
May 12, 2004

Municipalities promoting own bonds

With national financial support decreasing and competition in the municipal bonds market intensifying, local governments are trying to enhance their creditworthiness.
COMMENTARY / World
May 12, 2004

What's next as ASEAN+3 integrates?

MANILA -- As we watch with interest the expansion of the European Union, the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations plus Three (China, South Korea and Japan) continues to make its own progress toward regional economic integration. Needless to say, there is a long way to go. But the question...
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 12, 2004

War criminals' poems uncovered

The themes found in a newly uncovered collection of traditional Japanese verse would be familiar to any reader here: the melancholy passing of the seasons, fleeting beauty, the inevitability of death.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 12, 2004

Where everybody can be a jury member

Who are film festivals for, really? The biggest of all, Cannes, is strictly for industry professionals (or rather, anyone with enough connections to wangle accreditation). But many other festivals have turned in a more populist direction, as indicated by the ubiquity of audience awards, which make anyone...
SUMO
May 11, 2004

Asashoryu extends unbeaten run

Indestructible grand champion Asashoryu dismantled Kakizoe on Monday to extend his remarkable winning run to 32 on the second day of action at the Summer Grand Sumo Tournament.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
May 11, 2004

Insurance, pension cash and divorce

Health Insurance I have been in Japan for almost 6 years and I have paid into the social health insurance system during my 3 years on the JET Program. After I had finished JET, I dropped out of the system and have not enrolled in the national health insurance system.
Japan Times
JAPAN / POLITICS IN FOCUS
May 11, 2004

Lawmakers now looking to make laws

Liberal Democratic Party member Ichita Yamamoto felt he had done his job when the Diet enacted legislation earlier this year to allow Japan to impose unilateral economic sanctions on North Korea.
BUSINESS
May 11, 2004

Sumitomo Electric to make superconductive wire

Sumitomo Electric Industries Ltd. said Monday it plans to launch commercial production by the end of the year of high-temperature superconductive wire whose electricity transfer capability is about 130 times that of conventional copper wire.
JAPAN
May 11, 2004

Coast guard blocks boat at Senkakus

The Japan Coast Guard turned a Chinese fishing vessel away Monday after it illegally entered Japanese waters near a disputed island chain, a spokesman said.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 11, 2004

Kan falls on his sword over failure to pay pension fees

Naoto Kan announced Monday that he will resign as chief of the Democratic Party of Japan over his past failure to pay mandatory state pension premiums.
JAPAN
May 11, 2004

Group against Koizumi trip to North

A support group for people kidnapped to North Korea and their families protested on Monday a possible visit to Pyongyang by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to pick up five former abductees' relatives there.
BUSINESS
May 11, 2004

Import beef price up; domestic down

Retail prices of imported beef rose in the two weeks to last Friday for the first time in five weeks, while prices of domestically produced beef fell for the first time in two weeks, the government said Monday.
JAPAN
May 11, 2004

Kawaguchi: Geneva treaty breach?

Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi said Monday the abuse of Iraqi prisoners by American soldiers may be a violation of the Geneva Conventions on the treatment of prisoners of war.
JAPAN
May 11, 2004

Nikkei hits 10-week low below 11,000

Tokyo stocks plunged across the board Monday, with the benchmark Nikkei index closing at a 10-week low below 11,000 on sharp falls in U.S. shares at the close of trade last week due to fears of a U.S. interest rate increase.
COMMUNITY / Issues
May 11, 2004

Kidnap crisis poses a new risk

When five Japanese were taken hostage in Iraq last month, huge public concern for their safe return quickly gave way to hostility and a campaign of vilification. A disastrous public appeal by the families of three of the hostages for the withdrawal of SDF troops from Iraq encouraged the government to...
JAPAN
May 11, 2004

U.S. Embassy receives bomb threat

The U.S. Embassy in Tokyo has received a threat via the Internet about a possible bomb attack this week, although it has yet to determine its credibility, the embassy said in an e-mail message sent Monday to American citizens living in Japan.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 11, 2004

These scientists stick to their harpoons

In a cramped laboratory, a biologist with the Institute of Cetacean Research prepares plugs taken from whales' ears for age analysis. Scientists study their reproductive habits and food sources, along with the mercury levels in their tissue.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 11, 2004

Struggling Daiei adapts stores to suit local shoppers' needs

Debt-ridden Daiei Inc. has begun adapting its stores to suit the needs of local shoppers.

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?