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BUSINESS
Dec 18, 2003

Pension reformers give short shrift to the bigger picture

The political battle over public pension reforms may have subsided, but it's only a temporary lull.
BUSINESS
Dec 18, 2003

Premiums rise, benefits fall under pension plan

The government and the ruling parties on Wednesday approved a public pension-reform plan that will increase premiums paid by workers and cut their benefits over the coming decades.
JAPAN
Dec 18, 2003

Uzbek foreign minister to pay visit

Uzbek Foreign Minister Sodyq Safaev will come to Tokyo on Sunday for a three-day visit to discuss bilateral relations with Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi, the Foreign Ministry said Wednesday.
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Dec 18, 2003

Wallace lives up to nickname

NEW YORK -- The less Rasheed Wallace's silly soliloquy is scrutinized, the less exposure his fraudulence is afforded. To so much as deny his drivel, fine him for such tasteless thoughtlessness, much less waste a subdivision of space to refute such uneducated gibberish, is to dignify it.
JAPAN
Dec 18, 2003

Terror threat spurs ministry panic

The Foreign Ministry was thrown into confusion Wednesday when Press Secretary Hatsuhisa Takashima told a news conference that the Japanese Embassy in Baghdad had been evacuated -- a remark he later retracted.
JAPAN
Dec 18, 2003

Enzyme discovery may lead to ALS cure

Researchers have discovered that a certain type of enzyme plays a key role in the advance of Lou Gehrig's disease, raising the chances of delaying the progress of the chronic, usually fatal muscle disorder.
SOCCER / J. League
Dec 18, 2003

Berger set to manage Oita Trinita

Former FC Utrecht coach Han Berger has agreed to take over as the new manager of Oita Trinita and will sign a one-year contract with the J. League first division side early next month, soccer officials said Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Dec 18, 2003

Firms team up on Net-linked appliances

Four major electronics firms announced Wednesday they have agreed to jointly develop standard specifications for connecting fridges, microwave ovens and laundry machines to the Internet.
BUSINESS
Dec 18, 2003

TV stations seek world's tallest tower

NHK and five private television stations said Wednesday they have agreed to promote the construction of the world's tallest broadcasting tower, envisioned at about 600 meters.
LIFE / Lifestyle / MATTER OF COURSE
Dec 18, 2003

Colorblind schoolkids can see clearly now

Red. Green. Red. Green. A simple pattern. Or so I thought, until I spent an hour at the Japanese elementary school my son attends. I had come in to do holiday crafts, and was showing the kids how to make a paper chain in Christmas colors. I told them to take a strip of red paper and bend it into a circle....
JAPAN
Dec 18, 2003

Kin of Ehime Maru victims seek U.S. probe

Relatives of two people killed when a Japanese fishing boat was sunk when it was struck by a U.S. Navy submarine nearly three years ago have asked U.S. transportation authorities to investigate the collision, their lawyer said Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Dec 18, 2003

Honda sets sights on 10% sales increase in 2004

Honda Motor Co. said Wednesday it hopes to boost its global sales in 2004 to a record 3.2 million vehicles, up 10 percent from the forecast for this year.
BUSINESS
Dec 18, 2003

Real growth projection seen at 1.8%

The government is expected to set its fiscal 2004 economic growth projection at 1.8 percent in real terms and 0.5 percent in nominal terms, official sources said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Dec 18, 2003

Ministers back Japan Highway splitup

The transport minister and the administrative reform minister agreed Wednesday to carve up the heavily indebted Japan Highway Public Corp. after it is privatized in fiscal 2005, government officials said.
BUSINESS
Dec 18, 2003

Bonuses see first rise in three years

Labor-management negotiations for this winter's bonuses at major companies settled on a weighted average of 802,481 yen, up 1.61 percent in the first year-on-year increase in three years, according to a report released Wednesday by the Japan Business Federation (Nippon Keidanren).
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 18, 2003

Japanese Embassy in Baghdad issues alert

The Japanese Embassy in Baghdad has asked Japanese nationals to refrain from visiting it for the time being after receiving threats of attack, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda said Wednesday.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Dec 18, 2003

Cold feet over winter camp

Camping is a wonderful way to unplug from the computer and e-mail, catch up on sleep, and escape the never-ending round of deadlines and commitments. While summer and autumn camps offer opportunities to "shoot the breeze" around a campfire, on dark evenings in the winter there is nothing more one can...
BUSINESS
Dec 18, 2003

Resona group nixes Saitama's offer

Banking group Resona Holdings Inc., now undergoing rehabilitation, will turn down Saitama Gov. Kiyoshi Ueda's offer to invest 1 billion yen in taxpayer money into the locally operating Saitama Resona Bank, Chairman Eiji Hosoya said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Dec 18, 2003

Coalition says consumption tax hike in 2007 could save pension system

The ruling coalition finalized an annual tax reform package Wednesday that vaguely advocates a consumption tax hike in fiscal 2007 as a means of saving the ailing public pension system.
COMMENTARY
Dec 18, 2003

Conservatives smell an upset

LONDON -- A transformation has taken place on the British political scene, and it is one that could have profound effects on the wider European landscape as well as on trans-Atlantic relations. The nature of this change can be summed up in two words -- Michael Howard. This is the man who has now emerged...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 17, 2003

NPO opens craft shop to fund effort to eradicate land mines

A nonprofit organization engaged in the elimination of land mines has opened a shop in Tokyo that sells handbags, table cloths and other items from kimono material to help fund its activities.
JAPAN
Dec 17, 2003

Moves afoot to accelerate Narita arrivals processing

Foreigners arriving at Narita airport waited an average of 13 minutes and a maximum of 44 minutes to get through immigration on a busy weekend earlier this month, the government said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Dec 17, 2003

Barriers stay down at rail crossings

As many as 500 railroad crossings in Japan are closed to road traffic for a total of 40 or more minutes an hour during peak train traffic, the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry said Tuesday.
MORE SPORTS
Dec 17, 2003

Skylarks capture Japan X Bowl

Running back Yasuhiro Kabata rushed for 126 yards in an X League championship record-setting 33 carries, leading the Onward Skylarks to a 13-10 victory over the Asahi Beer Silver Star on Tuesday at Tokyo Dome in the Japan X Bowl.
JAPAN
Dec 17, 2003

Koizumi in dark over Kanzaki Mideast trip

Takenori Kanzaki, leader of New Komeito and a key coalition ally of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, left for Kuwait on Tuesday and may visit southeastern Iraq if circumstances permit.

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