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COMMENTARY / World
Nov 8, 2003

Double blow to peace efforts in Sri Lanka

MADRAS, India -- The Sri Lankan peace process is under serious threat. Worse, there is a constitutional crisis provoked by President Chandrika Kumaratunga's dismissal of three key ministers, including the island nation's defense chief.
JAPAN
Nov 8, 2003

Forum ponders attributes of 'globally useful Japanese'

Leading business executives and scholars gathered Friday in Tokyo to discuss what constitutes a "globally useful Japanese," and how individuals of this kind may be nurtured at businesses.
BUSINESS
Nov 8, 2003

Economic assessment raised on business confidence boom

The government upgraded its assessment of the economy after business confidence in Japan improved significantly in the July-September period from the previous quarter.
BUSINESS
Nov 8, 2003

Toray net profit explodes 754.6%

Toray Industries Inc. said Friday its group net profit for the six months to Sept. 30 soared 754.6 percent from a year earlier to 10.95 billion yen, due to aggressive structural reforms and the solid performance of its core textile business.
BUSINESS
Nov 8, 2003

IY Bank's 24-hour ATMs turn profit

Seeking to meet consumer needs long ignored by conventional Japanese banks, IY Bank announced a first-half net profit of 104 million yen on Friday.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Nov 8, 2003

Lazy Invertebrate Consumption Medal

I just finished polishing off a plate of "iwashi" and "tsukudani," and frankly, I think I deserve a medal. Why? It took me over a decade to accomplish this feat! Iwashi is sardines. Tsukudani is, well, no one really knows. It's black, it kinda glistens, and has a dark but sweet taste. Even my dictionary,...
JAPAN
Nov 8, 2003

Man kills ex-lover at FamilyMart

A woman was fatally stabbed at a convenience store in the suburb of Kodaira, western Tokyo, on Friday afternoon, local police said.
BUSINESS
Nov 8, 2003

Japan, U.S. eye investment boost via revised tax treaty

Japan and the United States signed a revised bilateral tax treaty Friday that will help boost cross-border investment by simplifying taxation for companies operating in both countries.
JAPAN
Nov 8, 2003

Court increases killer's sentence

The Tokyo High Court on Friday increased a man's 15-year prison sentence for killing the manager of a JR Tokyo Station convenience store, handing him a life term.
COMMENTARY
Nov 8, 2003

Pressure won't bring peace

Visit Shanghai and while you may not see the future -- contrary to what Sydney and Beatrice Webb once foolishly claimed when they visited the Soviet Union in the 1920s -- you will certainly see very little of the past.
JAPAN
Nov 8, 2003

Election and Iraq snag missile defense budget request

Preoccupation with the Iraq issue, the Diet election and a lack of consensus within the Defense Agency are delaying the process for formal government approval of the missile defense system.
JAPAN / ELECTION 2003
Nov 8, 2003

Campaign financing still high, murky

"Five pass, four fail."
JAPAN
Nov 8, 2003

McDonald's Japan set to log second yearly loss

said Friday it will probably post a net loss of 3.7 billion yen in the year ending Dec. 31, having earlier pledged to return to profitability following last year's first-ever loss in nearly three decades. In August, the firm forecast a net profit of 2.1 billion yen.
BUSINESS
Nov 8, 2003

Sales of auto imports up in October

October saw 21,035 new imported vehicles sold in Japan, up 5.8 percent from a year earlier.
BUSINESS
Nov 8, 2003

Takeda posts record first-half profit

Takeda Chemical Industries Ltd. reported Friday a record first-half profit, powered by robust sales of its four mainstay drugs.
COMMUNITY
Nov 8, 2003

Walking labyrinth satisfies hunger for the divine

"Since May 1999, many hundreds of people at the International Christian University in Mitaka, Tokyo, have taken the time to walk a labyrinth, a meditational route painted onto canvas and placed temporarily on the floor of the campus church."
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Nov 8, 2003

Keiichi Kurosawa

"English music in its most primitive form was essentially group music. The old divisions were church, secular and concert music. . . . The madrigal flourished best in the Tudor period. Henry VIII and Queen Elizabeth I composed madrigals."
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 8, 2003

Solution in sight for Bhutanese refugees

NEW DELHI -- The complicated issue of Bhutanese refugees in Nepal seems to be heading toward a solution after some major breakthroughs were achieved during a two-day meeting of diplomats of two countries in Thimpu on Oct. 20-21.
EDITORIALS
Nov 7, 2003

Another keyword in campaign

What should be done to rebuild Japan's tightly-knit, bureaucrat-led society? The question is gaining urgency as local governments clamor for greater autonomy. In response, the administration of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi is moving toward streamlining the complex system of grants and subsidies,...
JAPAN
Nov 7, 2003

Government may dispatch civilians, not troops, to war-torn Baghdad

The government is planning to dispatch civilians rather than Self-Defense Forces units to provide humanitarian assistance in Baghdad, government sources said Thursday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 7, 2003

Herpes virus suspected in mass carp-farm kills

Herpes is suspected of taking a huge toll on cultured carp in 10 prefectures, according to findings reported Thursday to a farm ministry panel.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 7, 2003

Polar expeditions face cash freeze

Japan's Antarctic expedition program may be suspended because the Finance Ministry is reluctant to allocate a budget of 8 billion yen next fiscal year to build a new icebreaker, sources said Thursday.
JAPAN
Nov 7, 2003

Voice actors win pay for video clips

An audio production company for animations was ordered Thursday to pay some 87 million yen in fees to 360 voice actors for video clips that used voice material originally recorded for animated programs.
BUSINESS
Nov 7, 2003

Yamaha Motor sees profit drop

Yamaha Motor Co. said Thursday its group operating profit fell 9 percent year-on-year to 37.29 billion yen in the fiscal first half partly due to a stronger yen.
BUSINESS
Nov 7, 2003

Quarterly growth seen at 1.4%

The economy is estimated to have expanded at an average annualized rate of 1.4 percent in real terms in the July-September period, marking the fourth consecutive quarter of growth, according to projections by nine major economic research institutes.

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