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BUSINESS
Jul 17, 2003

Pension to raise housing loan rates

The Government Pension Investment Fund said Wednesday it will raise its housing loan rates by 0.16 percentage point to 0.24 percentage point, effective Sept. 2.
CULTURE / Books / THE BOOK REPORT
Jul 17, 2003

Manga attempt to evolve against multiple threats

Manga and anime from Japan are increasingly popular overseas, with Hayao Miyazaki's "Spirited Away" receiving an Academy Award earlier this year. In their birthplace, however, manga seem past their glory days when loyal readers eagerly awaited the next installment from their favorite authors, such as...
BASEBALL / MLB
Jul 17, 2003

Tigers dominate as CL tops PL

CHIBA -- With a little help from his new Hanshin Tigers teammates, Hideki Irabu made a triumphant return to his old stomping grounds.
MORE SPORTS
Jul 17, 2003

Yamada asked to be a Buccaneer

Asahi Drink Challengers and Japan linebacker Shinzo Yamada has been invited to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' training camp, his agent announced Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Jul 17, 2003

Use of 'special accounts' for stocks grows amid market surge

Against the backdrop of booming stock transactions in recent weeks, an increasing number of individual investors are opening "special accounts" for stocks at securities companies.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / THEN AND NOW
Jul 17, 2003

Exploring a once bleak, medieval upland

In 1601 Tokugawa Ieyasu established a nationwide highway network radiating from Edo and designated post stations on the roads to serve the needs of travelers. Shinagawa, on the city's southwestern perimeter, was the first of these post stations on the Todaido, the most frequented route between Edo and...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Jul 17, 2003

Humble marvels of nature

The mechanics of flight are beyond me, and I especially can't imagine how bumblebees can become airborne. Images of a jumbo jet taking off without a runway spring to mind.
BUSINESS
Jul 17, 2003

FTC mulls new antimonopoly pact

The Fair Trade Commission is considering signing an agreement with Australia and South Korea on boosting antimonopoly cooperation after it enters a similar arrangement with Canada, a senior FTC official said Wednesday in Tokyo.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 17, 2003

Tsujimoto to face fraud charges

Tokyo police will establish a criminal case against former Social Democratic Party lawmaker Kiyomi Tsujimoto on suspicion of fraud by skimming government salaries for her policy secretaries, according to investigative sources.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 17, 2003

Why India said 'no' to U.S.

Those who think little of the United Nations are constantly puzzled by the authority it continues to exert for many others around the world. On Monday, India decided against sending a major contingent of troops to Iraq because the operation would be outside the U.N. mandate, thereby reconfirming Secretary...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Jul 17, 2003

Safe hydrogen power needs nuclear energy

...
JAPAN
Jul 17, 2003

JCP forced to admit to more public drinking rules

Top executives of the Japanese Communist Party were embarrassed again Wednesday following a newspaper report revealing an internal party document that strictly outlines the behavior of party members when they drink outside their homes.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 17, 2003

Japan must think outside the box if it hopes to get ahead: creativity guru

Japan needs to set up a "Ministry of Creativity" to think its way out of the economic slump it has endured for a decade, according to the world's leading authority in the field of creative and conceptual thinking.
BUSINESS
Jul 17, 2003

Ministry to order NTT West back to table

The telecommunications ministry will order NTT West Corp. to resume talks with the Softbank Corp. group over a Softbank demand to allow its engineers to do wiring work at NTT West's phone stations to improve its high-speed Internet access service, ministry officials said Wednesday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jul 17, 2003

Takenaka censure defeated

The House of Councilors voted down a censure motion Wednesday against Financial Services Minister Heizo Takenaka, who has been taking heat for injecting nearly 2 trillion yen in public funds into an ailing banking group and failing to pull the economy out of its decade-old slump.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 17, 2003

Koizumi, Howard stress pressuring North Korea and liberalizing trade

The leaders of Japan and Australia agreed Wednesday on the necessity of five-nation talks on the North Korean nuclear issue and the importance of liberalizing bilateral trade.
BUSINESS
Jul 17, 2003

Honda in talks to forge China tieup

Honda Motor Co. said Wednesday it is in talks with Chinese automaker Dongfeng Motor Corp. to set up a car-making joint venture in China, a rapidly growing auto market.
BUSINESS
Jul 17, 2003

Market rally aids online brokers' quarterly earnings

Online brokerage houses Monex Inc. and kabu.com Securities Co. said Wednesday their first-quarter earnings surged in line with an increase in trading volume among individual investors following the recent stock market rally.
JAPAN
Jul 16, 2003

SDF peacekeeping force eyed by Defense Agency

The Defense Agency is considering creating a standing unit of the Self-Defense Forces dedicated to peacekeeping, antiterrorism and other overseas operations, agency officials said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Jul 16, 2003

Quality, not quantity, hampers ODA: professor

The main problem with Japan's official development assistance lies not in its quantity but in its lack of expertise, a specialist in development economics said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Jul 16, 2003

Lingering cold may impact crops, weather agency says

Farm crops may be affected by the unusually cold weather in northern and western Japan since late June, the Meteorological Agency said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Jul 16, 2003

2,200 disease carriers may have given blood

About 2,200 people who tested positive for hepatitis and other contagious diseases while donating blood in fiscal 2002 had previous blood donation records, according to the Japanese Red Cross Society.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 16, 2003

Sinking isle's sentinel role to be bolstered

The government plans to boost its control over Okinotorishima Island, Japan's southernmost territory, by improving the monitoring of approaching ships, according to land ministry officials.
JAPAN
Jul 16, 2003

Government seeks SOFA deals with three Mideast hosts

The government plans to conclude status of forces agreements with Kuwait, Qatar and Jordan, a senior official of the Foreign Ministry said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Jul 16, 2003

UNSC may be brought in on North Korea

Japan, South Korea and the United States have agreed that the U.N. Security Council should adopt a statement denouncing North Korea for its suspected nuclear weapons development if it does not agree to conduct multilateral talks, a senior Foreign Ministry official said Tuesday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 16, 2003

Princess' ex-doctor faces more penalties

Osamu Tsutsumi, a University of Tokyo professor who served as the primary physician for Crown Princess Masako until June, may face further penalties because a university panel found that he made a false application for 20 million yen in donations, according to sources.

Longform

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