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Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 7, 2004

Harajuku Segway stunt draws Tokyo cops' ire

Tokyo police turned over to prosecutors Friday their case against a businessman who asked an employee to ride a U.S.-made Segway scooter on a public street, allegedly in violation of the Road Traffic Law.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Feb 7, 2004

Kazuko Asakura

"Bar pianists are like public bathhouses, or shoeshine boys in the street. There are no jobs any more. Situations have changed, and it is shocking how much has disappeared," said Kazuko Asakura.
EDITORIALS
Feb 7, 2004

Pakistan and the nuclear bazaar

Pakistan has long argued that it had tight grip on the country's nuclear-weapons program. Despite mounting suspicions, Islamabad assured the world that neither it nor its scientists were involved in the proliferation of such weapons to other countries. In recent weeks, Pakistan has changed its tune....
JAPAN
Feb 7, 2004

Ski resorts hope discount programs will lure people back to the slopes

The ski industry, another victim of the nation's frigid financial state, is trying to get people back on the slopes.
BUSINESS
Feb 7, 2004

Japan Post eyes China offices to snap money-losing mail service

Japan Post plans to open liaison offices in Beijing and Shanghai in the fall, officials said Friday.
JAPAN
Feb 7, 2004

Southern Iraq isn't the only place in need of attention, aid group says

The Japanese media and public are focusing too much on the southern Iraqi city of Samawah where Ground Self-Defense Force troops are being deployed, a Japanese nongovernmental aid group said Friday.
JAPAN
Feb 7, 2004

90% of consumers worried about future food supply

About 90 percent of Japanese consumers are concerned about Japan's future food supply, according to a survey by the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry.
BUSINESS
Feb 7, 2004

Matsushita posts 70% growth in profit

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. said Friday its pretax profit for the October-December quarter jumped 70 percent, driven by robust sales of flat-screen TVs and DVD recorders.
BUSINESS
Feb 7, 2004

New metro bank to be profitable in third year: plan

The new bank planned by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government is expected to become profitable in its third year of operations, according to a master plan announced Friday.
JAPAN
Feb 7, 2004

Komura to head Japan-China league

Former Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura has become head of the parliamentarians league for Japan-China friendship, league members said.
BUSINESS
Feb 7, 2004

McDonald's set to snare Apple president

McDonald's Holdings Co. (Japan) is set to name Apple Japan Inc. President Eiko Harada as its chief executive officer.
COMMENTARY
Feb 7, 2004

Flu brings out worst in Asia

HONG KONG -- Amid the spread of bird flu, developing Asian nations face a challenge they are failing to meet, because a degree of modernity is required that they are unable to attain. On the one hand, Asia pursues the skyscrapers, the summit conferences, the high-tech industries seen as symbols of modernity....
BUSINESS
Feb 7, 2004

Mitsubishi, wholesalers turn up heat on food firms

Mitsubishi Corp. said Friday it and five food wholesalers will establish a joint venture this month to strengthen their bargaining power in dealing with food makers.
JAPAN
Feb 7, 2004

Croupier school anticipates legal casinos

The nation's first school for casino croupiers will open in Nakano Ward, Tokyo, in April as lawmakers and local governors push to legalize casinos in Japan.
BUSINESS
Feb 7, 2004

Airport issues unresolved as forum ends

KYOTO -- The Kansai region's top business leaders concluded their two-day annual Kansai Economic Seminar on Friday, calling for further regional cooperation aimed at attracting industries and promoting tourism and conventions.
JAPAN
Feb 7, 2004

Officials flee embassy amid terror fears

Officials at the Japanese Embassy in Baghdad have been evacuated from the compound to a separate site in the city amid fears of a terrorist attack, government sources said Friday.
JAPAN
Feb 7, 2004

Government taps Nobel laureate to head Okinawa graduate school

The government on Friday chose a British molecular biologist and Nobel laureate to head a new graduate school in natural sciences that will be set up in Okinawa.
BUSINESS
Feb 7, 2004

Foreign-exchange reserves hit record high

Japan's unprecedented spree of dollar-buying interventions pushed its foreign-exchange reserves to a record $741.25 billion as of the end of January.
BUSINESS
Feb 7, 2004

JAL sees earnings recover after Iraq war, SARS

Japan Airlines System Corp. said Friday it posted a net profit of 3.7 billion yen in the October-December quarter, as flights to the United States and Europe began to recover after the Iraq war and the SARS outbreak.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Feb 7, 2004

'Setsubun': devils out, mystery sushi in!

When I woke up, there was a large sushi roll sitting on the "genkan" step in my house. "Hmm," I eyed it suspiciously, then decided to leave it there and instead took the newspaper from the mail slot and headed to the living room.
BUSINESS
Feb 7, 2004

Mobile phone subscribers topped 80 million in January

The number of subscriptions to mobile phone services in Japan topped 80 million in January for the first time, the Telecommunications Carriers Association said Friday.
JAPAN
Feb 7, 2004

Government eyes crackdown on bribery overseas

A government panel approved a draft bill Friday that would allow the government to punish Japanese nationals working abroad who were involved in bribing foreign public servants, regardless of whether their parent companies in Japan were involved, officials said.
BUSINESS
Feb 7, 2004

Ashikaga Bank poised to ax 300 employees

The nationalized Ashikaga Bank has formalized a rehabilitation plan that will see some 300 of its 2,800 workers cut within two years, the Financial Services Agency said Friday.
JAPAN
Feb 7, 2004

Mandatory oil-spill insurance eyed

Japan might make it mandatory for ships of 100 tons or more to be insured against oil spills -- a move that would bar many North Korean vessels from entering Japanese ports.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 7, 2004

Japan crosses the Rubicon

HONOLULU -- Japan has crossed the Rubicon, with surprisingly little opposition at home or abroad, by starting to dispatch armed soldiers to Iraq in their first deployment to a combat zone since World War II.
MORE SPORTS
Feb 7, 2004

Williams withdraws

Top-seeded Venus Williams was forced to pull out of the Toray Pan Pacific Open on Friday with an injured leg, while defending champion Lindsay Davenport overwhelmed Slovakia's Daniela Hantuchova to advance to the semifinals.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Feb 7, 2004

Two Myers-Briggs analysis sessions change lives

Californian-born Terri Nii of KNT Co. appears to have found a most agreeable and satisfying balance in her life.
JAPAN
Feb 6, 2004

Iraq safety apparently a foregone conclusion

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda entered the fray Thursday over an alleged draft of a report concluding the security situation in Iraq was safe even before an advance team had handed in its findings.

Longform

The volunteer lifesavers of Nishihama Surf Lifesaving Club never know what's in store at the start of their day.
It's no simple day at the beach for Japan's volunteer lifesavers