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JAPAN
Nov 15, 2003

Japan to ban certain beef items

A health ministry panel on Friday recommended a ban on the use of cattle backbones in food products, as a safeguard against the human variant of mad cow disease.
BUSINESS
Nov 15, 2003

Yakult Honsha sees net profit slide

Yakult Honsha Co. said Friday its group sales and pretax profit for the first half of fiscal 2003 declined slightly from year-before levels.
BUSINESS
Nov 15, 2003

Graduates enjoy starting salary hike

The average starting salary for male and female university graduates rose 1.5 percent in 2003 from a year before to 198,100 yen, the biggest increase on record, the labor ministry said Friday.
JAPAN
Nov 15, 2003

SDP local chapter representatives agree against DPJ merger

Regional chapter representatives of the Social Democratic Party confirmed in Tokyo on Friday the party's decision not to merge with the Democratic Party of Japan.
COMMENTARY
Nov 15, 2003

Prospects for six-party talks

HONOLULU -- U.S. President George W. Bush's recent offer to provide Pyongyang with written assurances that the United States does not intend to attack North Korea and the North's willingness "to consider" this offer provide the basis, however tentative and contentious, for a negotiated solution to the...
JAPAN
Nov 15, 2003

Passing of NCP leaves New Komeito feeling exposed

New Komeito, a member of the three-way ruling bloc, appears to be unhappy at the prospect of seeing the New Conservative Party, the smallest coalition member, swallowed up on Monday by the biggest, the Liberal Democratic Party.
JAPAN
Nov 15, 2003

NPSC chief Ono accepted meeting fee from rightist

National Public Safety Commission chief Kiyoko Ono accepted payment from a company linked to a rightwing group, Ono and her aides said Friday.
BUSINESS
Nov 15, 2003

Resona forecasts huge full-year loss

Bailed-out banking group Resona Holdings Inc. said Friday it expects a group net loss of 1.71 trillion yen for the year to March 31, reversing its June estimate of a 63.5 billion yen profit.
BUSINESS
Nov 15, 2003

Consumer sentiment up in October

Consumer sentiment improved in October for the first time in four months due to a better economic outlook, according to a bimonthly report released Friday by the public Nippon Research Institute.
JAPAN
Nov 15, 2003

Future pension benefits, premiums depend on who does the calculating

Four government entities are bracing for a policy showdown that could dictate the financial state of future generations and could influence the country's economic vitality for years to come.
BUSINESS
Nov 15, 2003

Rakuten to buy online brokerage

The nation's largest Internet shopping mall operator has agreed to acquire online brokerage DLJdirect SFG Securities Inc. by the end of the year.
BUSINESS
Nov 15, 2003

Ishihara eyes bank purchase

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government is in talks with Paribas International SA over the purchase of the French financial group's Japanese trust bank, Gov. Shintaro Ishihara announced Friday.
MORE SPORTS
Nov 15, 2003

Carlisle has Pacers winning without Tinsley

NEW YORK -- Welcome to the NBA where there are more buyouts than sellouts.
JAPAN
Nov 15, 2003

Takefuji exec, four others arrested in wiretapping case

Tokyo police arrested five people Friday, including a former senior managing director of the consumer loan firm Takefuji Corp., over the alleged wiretapping of a journalist.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Nov 15, 2003

Importing sake to U.K., Asahi beer back here

Lynfa Phillips is still feeling overcome by her welcome to the Tokyo headquarters of Asahi Beer. "Crossing Izuma-bashi bridge, I saw flags hanging limp at the approach to the building. One was the company flag, the next the Rising Sun, and then I saw a hint of white, red and green."
BUSINESS
Nov 15, 2003

FTA task force holds first meeting

A farm ministry task force to tackle issues related to bilateral free-trade agreements met for the first time Friday.
JAPAN
Nov 15, 2003

Economy grew 0.6% in second quarter

Japan's economy grew a real 0.6 percent in the July-September period, logging a seventh straight quarterly expansion, backed by strong exports and corporate capital investment, the government said Friday.
COMMENTARY
Nov 15, 2003

Election heralds dawn of new political era

The Nov. 9 election of the House of Representatives ushered Japanese politics into a new era in which two parties will dominate: the Liberal Democratic Party and the Democratic Party of Japan.
JAPAN
Nov 15, 2003

Tokugawa symposium promotes idyllic view of life under shogunate

People should use the opportunity of the 400th anniversary of the establishment of Tokugawa Shogunate to consider the culture and social stability of the Edo Period, participants of a symposium in Tokyo said Friday.
JAPAN
Nov 15, 2003

Iran seeks Japan's help in resolving nuclear issue

Visiting Iranian Foreign Minister Seyyed Kamal Kharrazi on Friday asked for Japan's support in resolving the issue of Iran's nuclear development within the framework of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 15, 2003

Rumsfeld gets the hint: no SDF dispatch this year

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Friday told U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld that Japan supports U.S. efforts to rebuild Iraq, but also hinted no Japanese troops will be dispatched to the country this year.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Nov 15, 2003

Did Godzilla roar? Or simply growl?

Let's see . . . our world is writhing through some of its worst turmoil ever, the Japanese economy continues to stumble about like a man on uneven stilts, crime is up, jobs are down and the ozone layer has begun to resemble Swiss cheese without the cheese.
BUSINESS
Nov 15, 2003

Japanese company employees seek career upgrade after time overseas

Many employees at big Japanese corporations see their business environment change dramatically when they are transferred overseas.
JAPAN
Nov 15, 2003

Japan must stop deep-sixing arms: treaty

After years of simply dumping it into the sea, Japan is struggling to find new ways to get rid of almost 1,000 tons a year of unexploded ordnance and unused ammunition from World War II, with international environmental controls set to tighten.
JAPAN
Nov 15, 2003

Exercise from 12th week urged for expecting moms

Pregnant women can start physical exercise from the 12th week of pregnancy, but should make efforts to keep their heart rate to less than 150 beats per minute while doing so, the Japanese Society of Clinical Sports Medicine recommended in a report released Friday.
BUSINESS
Nov 15, 2003

Postal insurance policy sale to go ahead

The posts ministry on Friday approved a new postal insurance product being opposed by other countries' trade watchdogs and domestic private-sector insurers.
JAPAN
Nov 15, 2003

Japan wants North Korea talks moved to new dates

Japan has asked China to avoid holding the next round of six-way talks on North Korea from Dec. 10 through Dec. 13 as it would clash with another summit, Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi said Friday.

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