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BUSINESS
Aug 2, 2002

New car, truck, bus sales off 5.8% for July

Sales of new cars, trucks and buses in July fell 5.8 percent from the same month in 2001 to 367,902 units, marking the 11th consecutive month of decline, the Japan Automobile Dealers Association said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Aug 2, 2002

Recent yen intervention cost 3.8 trillion yen

A series of currency market interventions Japanese monetary authorities conducted from May to June to stem the yen's appreciation cost the government around 3.8 trillion yen, the Finance Ministry said Thursday.
LIFE / Lifestyle / MATTER OF COURSE
Aug 2, 2002

School trips help cut the apron strings

My son is leaving home. I've always known, of course, that the day would come when he'd strike out on his own. But I never imagined it would happen when he was only 11 years old. Or that he'd make his big break to a mountain in Japan.
BUSINESS
Aug 1, 2002

Tax revenue shortfall puts general account in the red

The main budget for government operations posted a 500 million yen deficit in fiscal 2001, the Finance Ministry reported Wednesday.
COMMUNITY
Aug 1, 2002

TV news move boosts campaign to secure international channel

On July 25th, in a stunning about face, News Corporation announced the continued broadcast of the 24-hour news channel, Foxnews.
BUSINESS
Jul 31, 2002

Fukuda says no plans yet for extra fiscal 2002 budget

The government has no plans at present to draft a supplementary budget for fiscal 2002, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda said Tuesday.
EDITORIALS
Jul 30, 2002

Negotiations and desperation

North Korea has expressed regret for last month's naval clash with South Korea that left five sailors dead. While that is the responsible thing to do, questions swirl around Pyongyang's motivation for this surprising development. The most likely explanation is that North Korea's economic situation is...
COMMUNITY
Jul 30, 2002

JET membership up in numbers, diversity

For the past 15 years, the Japan Exchange and Teaching Program has greatly helped promote Japan's internationalization.
BUSINESS
Jul 30, 2002

Toyota raises outlook for global sales by 5%

Toyota Motor Corp. has raised its 2002 global sales projection from 5.3 million units to 5.5 million, up 5 percent from last year, Toyota President Fujio Cho said Monday.
CULTURE / Music / PLAY BUTTON
Jul 28, 2002

Getting their message across

Hip-hop commentators talk a lot about roots: about old school roots and neighborhood roots and ultimately roots in Africa. Though hip-hop has flourished in Japan, much of it is distinctly rootless, imitating the goofy antics of The Beastie Boys or the street-savvy poses of gangsta rappers.
JAPAN
Jul 26, 2002

Tanaka hearing a ratings winner

The TV audience for Wednesday morning's appearance by former Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka before a Diet ethics panel hearing reached 11.7 percent in the Kanto region, a TV ratings company said Thursday.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / JET STREAM
Jul 26, 2002

Breaking down people's mental barriers

Joannah Peterson was a bright, attractive, typical 14-year-old when the accident occurred. In the car with her were her older brother and a cousin. Both escaped with minor injuries, but for Peterson, the story was different.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Jul 26, 2002

Robber fly

* Japanese name: Shioya abe * Scientific name: Promachus yesonicus * Description: Robber flies are robust insects with powerful legs. The face of the fly is covered in a dense "beard" of bristles, and there is a deep groove between the eyes. There are many species of robber fly (almost 5,000 worldwide),...
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jul 26, 2002

Summertime wisdom out of the mouths of shogakusei

My French professor used to say that France is a nation where children try to become adults as soon as they possibly can, while in Japan, adults try to extend their childhood for as long as they possibly can.
JAPAN
Jul 25, 2002

59 SDF members killed themselves last year

Fifty-nine members of the Self-Defense Forces committed suicide in fiscal 2001, down 14 from the previous fiscal year, according to a Defense Agency report released this week.
JAPAN
Jul 24, 2002

Koizumi slams 'amakudari' gravy train

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi ordered his Cabinet ministers Tuesday to take steps to halt "amakudari," the practice of senior bureaucrats retiring early to join government-affiliated organizations as highly paid executives, because of the corruption that can result.
JAPAN
Jul 23, 2002

Panel suggests 20% of ambassadors be nonministry staff

An advisory panel on Foreign Ministry reform on Monday called for appointing 20 percent of ambassadors from outside the ministry within three years to increase competition for overseas postings.
COMMENTARY
Jul 22, 2002

Tokyo, Seoul narrowing gap

The Japanese people's sense of Japan-South Korea friendship has heightened following the World Cup soccer tournament cohosted last month by the two countries. After South Korea advanced to the semifinals, many Japanese cheered the team on to an extent that puzzled some South Koreans.
EDITORIALS
Jul 22, 2002

A nuclear conundrum

The world is increasing its reliance on nuclear energy. For many people, that is a dangerous development. For many others, it is the only responsible choice. The truth is energy-policy decisions are becoming increasingly difficult. A national debate -- in Japan and elsewhere -- is a necessity. Ultimately,...
JAPAN
Jul 21, 2002

Suzuki linked to another 1 million yen bribe

Lower House member Muneo Suzuki, indicted in a bribery scandal involving a lumber company, also accepted at least 1 million yen in unreported money from a construction firm in Hokkaido in the late 1990s as reward for favors in a public works project, informed sources said Saturday.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / NIHONSHU
Jul 21, 2002

Right down to the nitty-gritty grains

Rice is not, as most readers know, simply rice. Good sake is made from proper sake rice, and cheaper sake is made from much less expensive rice. In fact, most run-of-the-mill sake is made with rice bought from the local agricultural co-op, and often the purchaser knows nothing about it other than it...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Jul 21, 2002

The search for Mr. Purrfect

OF CATS AND KINGS, by Clare de Vries. Bloomsbury, 2002, 308 pp., $14.95 (cloth) In her first book, "I & Claudius," British writer Clare de Vries went on a tour of the United States with an unusual traveling companion: a dashing chocolate-brown Burmese cat called Claudius. De Vries and Claudius lived...
Japan Times
JAPAN / HONING ENGLISH
Jul 20, 2002

Japan experiments with Super English Schools

Principal Katsutoshi Wakabayashi gives a speech in English through the school's public address system at Gunma Prefectural Chuo High School every Wednesday morning, and all notices around the school are now in English.
SOCCER / J. League / ON THE BALL
Jul 20, 2002

'Father of Japanese soccer' voices opinions on World Cup

While Japan was battling to reach the Round of 16 during the recent World Cup, one man was closely watching over the cohost's performance as a coach -- and in some ways like a father.
BUSINESS
Jul 20, 2002

Diet enacts bills to liquidate JNOC, scale back state's hand in oil business

The Diet enacted legislation Friday to dissolve the debt-ridden Japan National Oil Corp. in 2005 and reshuffle the nation's oil-exploration and petroleum-stockpiling policies.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Jul 20, 2002

Tadashi Shinozuka

Dr. Tadashi Shinozuka says that his interdisciplinary speciality is concerned with the prevention and management of health problems associated with travel.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jul 20, 2002

Kyoto's unique guide gives you tour to remember

It's unfortunate that I can't join one of Johnnie Hillwalker's world famous walks. His tours -- Walk in Kyoto, Talk in English -- are scheduled come rain or shine on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays (excluding national holidays). I am in the city for the weekend.
BUSINESS
Jul 19, 2002

Asset-backed securities enjoying surge of popularity in Japan

Since British rock star David Bowie surprised Wall Street in 1997 by selling his old song royalties in bulk by issuing bonds, asset securitization has attracted greater public attention in Japan.

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