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JAPAN
Mar 8, 2003

Revised personal info bills win approval

The government approved a set of bills Friday for protecting personal information, paving the way for them to clear the current Diet session, after making major revisions to avert criticism that the legislation would restrict freedom of the press.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 8, 2003

Sakai arrested after Diet strips him of immunity

LDP lawmaker Takanori Sakai was arrested Friday on suspicion of violating the Political Funds Control Law immediately after the House of Representatives stripped him of his Diet immunity.
BUSINESS
Mar 8, 2003

Foreign-exchange reserves hit third consecutive high

The nation's foreign-exchange reserves hit a new record high at the end of February for the third straight month, rising $6.67 billion from a month earlier to $485.27 billion, the Finance Ministry said Friday.
Japan Times
SUMO
Mar 7, 2003

Takanohana getting grip on life off the dohyo

Recently retired yokozuna Takanohana was the idol of the sumo world during the 1990s and his departure from the sport earlier this year leaves many wondering how it will carry on.
JAPAN
Mar 6, 2003

Koizumi turns on majority opposing war

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, after relying heavily on public support for his political power base, is now turning against the majority of Japanese, who oppose a war against Iraq.
JAPAN
Mar 5, 2003

Cabinet approves bill to relax refugee rules

The Cabinet on Tuesday approved a bill to scrap the 60-day limit on accepting applications for refugee status, government officials said.
JAPAN
Mar 5, 2003

Labor having to swallow merit pay, lower income

Electrical machinery and automobile manufacturing companies are moving away from the annual pay raise system in a bid to reinforce performance-based pay and rein in payrolls.
JAPAN
Mar 5, 2003

Politician's aides held over unreported funding

Two aides to House of Representatives member Takanori Sakai were arrested Tuesday on suspicion of failing to report some 120 million yen in political donations from a supporter over a period of several years.
JAPAN
Mar 5, 2003

Ezoe: portrait of a fall from grace

Just prior to his arrest in 1989 and amid mounting public criticism of his alleged bribe-paying, Recruit Co. founder Hiromasa Ezoe thought he'd "rather die" than be detained, according to sources close to him.
BUSINESS
Mar 5, 2003

Monetary base up 12.6% to 93.02 trillion yen

Japan's monetary base was 93.02 trillion yen in February, up 12.6 percent from a year earlier and rising for the 25th consecutive month, the Bank of Japan said Tuesday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Mar 5, 2003

All ye that pass by, behold

A little girl, neglected by her busy parents, one day meets a headless man in a suit, holding an umbrella in one hand and a hat in the other. This ghostlike stranger gives her the hat and when she puts it on, her familiar world disappears and she finds herself in "Quidam" -- a wonderland where nothing...
JAPAN
Mar 4, 2003

Once-charging Koizumi now besieged

Approval of the 81.79 trillion yen fiscal 2003 budget package by the Lower House Budget Committee -- with little deviation from the ruling coalition's schedule -- should spell one victory for the administration of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.
COMMENTARY
Mar 4, 2003

Signs of a thaw in cross-Strait relations

HONG KONG -- In a potentially significant move, China is reported to have pulled back some of its missiles along the Fujian coast facing Taiwan, something that the United States and Taiwan have been urging China to do for some time. An article in Taiwan's United Daily News on Thursday reported that "the...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 4, 2003

Display firm fancies dollhouses

KYOTO -- Dollhouses have a long history in the West, but in Japan they are mainly the work of hobbyists.
EDITORIALS
Mar 3, 2003

Price of backing U.S. against Iraq

A pall of gloom hangs over the world economy as a war looms with Iraq. If war does come, world oil prices will go higher, crimping growth and investment worldwide. That much is fairly clear. What is not clear is just how much the price of petroleum will rise and how hard the global economy will be hit....
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Mar 2, 2003

The Great North

"It is Japan, but yet there is a difference somehow.'' -- Isabella Bird, 1878
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / NATURE TRAVEL
Mar 2, 2003

Robben Island's living ghosts

First of two parts The history of Robben Island is so dense with incident, tragedy, hope and despair that you can almost touch it. You can almost hear the ghosts and the slamming of prison doors.
BUSINESS
Mar 1, 2003

With Sogo recovering Wada takes on Seibu

Shigeaki Wada, who has successfully navigated the Sogo department store chain out of bankruptcy, began his second successive resuscitation job Friday, taking the helm of now troubled Seibu Department Stores Ltd.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Mar 1, 2003

Tips on teaching yourself sumo at home

The sumo world is being turned upside down, so to speak, with the recently retired yokozunas (grand champions) and the proliferation of foreigners reaching high ranks in the sport. The first foreign-born yokozuna was Akebono (born in Hawaii), followed by Musashimaru (born in Hawaii) and Asashoryu, from...
Japan Times
JAPAN / IN WITH THE NEW
Feb 28, 2003

Ex-BOJ man hopes to wield LDP clout as reformer

A glance at his Web site can tell you quite a lot about his position.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 28, 2003

Oshima back in the frying pan

Scandal-tainted farm minister Tadamori Oshima faced more trouble Thursday as opposition lawmakers grilled House of Representatives Legislative Bureau officials who coached Oshima on how to respond to sensitive questions at a recent Diet committee session concerning misdeeds by his former aide.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 27, 2003

Quake drill held on Tokyo subway system

A Tokyo subway company and the Tokyo Fire Department conducted a special earthquake and fire drill Wednesday, following last week's fatal subway torching in South Korea.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / GARDEN PATHS
Feb 27, 2003

Plants of blooming passion

On a gray February day, gardeners may be looking at colorful seed catalogs or even holiday brochures, dreaming of a trip to a tropical island. But this week it's time to leave your armchair gardening, because the tropics have come to Tokyo. The Japan Grand Prix International Orchid Festival offers a...
JAPAN
Feb 27, 2003

Application time limit for asylum may be scrapped

The government plans to scrap a widely criticized rule that says refugee applications can only be accepted within 60 days of an individual's arrival, according to a draft bill.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 25, 2003

Ministry cuts off funds for fraudulent NGO

The Foreign Ministry will demand that a nongovernmental organization that falsified documents to get government subsidies in 2001 refrain from accepting the subsidies for fiscal 2002, and if it doesn't cooperate, the funds will be withheld anyway, ministry officials said Monday.
EDITORIALS
Feb 25, 2003

Less than reassuring words

Finance ministers and central bankers from the Group of Seven industrialized countries held one of their regular meetings last weekend in Paris. Two days of discussions produced a statement promising efforts to stabilize and stimulate their economies and a pledge to convene again in the event of an emergency....
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Feb 25, 2003

The Art of Dining 2003

Refugees International Japan is staging its thirteenth annual Art of Dining Exhibition on March 12 2003 at the Westin Tokyo, Ebisu Garden Place.

Longform

Totopa in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward was picked by consultants TTNE as the best sauna of the year.
Japan’s sauna movement: Relax, refresh, repeat