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BUSINESS
May 2, 2003

Ricoh profit jumps 17.7% to hit record

Copier maker Ricoh Co. said Thursday its group net profit for the business year through March 31 jumped 17.7 percent to a record 72.51 billion yen.
COMMENTARY / World
May 2, 2003

Hong Kong's blurred sense of identity had a role in SARS fiasco

HONG KNG -- In the end, it took the Chinese Communist Party's nine-member Politburo Standing Committee (PSC) 5 1/2 months to take a public stand on handling the current atypical pneumonia crisis with much greater openness. Guangdong Province experienced the first outbreak of the previously unknown disease...
BUSINESS
May 2, 2003

Liquor tax hike increases cost of 'happoshu'

Several retailers raised their prices Thursday for wine and "happoshu" in light of a liquor tax hike that took effect the same day.
BUSINESS
May 2, 2003

Dentsu forms e-content joint venture

Advertising agency Dentsu Inc. said Thursday it has established a joint venture with Toyota Motor Corp. and Sony Corp. to procure and supply music and digital content to various multimedia terminals.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
May 2, 2003

Van Nistelrooy should be Premiership's main man

LONDON -- In the autumn of 1998 a few English journalists were in Holland and had dinner with Sir Bobby Robson, who had recently taken over at PSV Eindhoven.
EDITORIALS
May 2, 2003

Reviewing Mr. Koizumi's record

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, now just one week into his third year in office, sounds as upbeat as he did when he took office two years ago, even as the gulf between his words and deeds continues to widen. He says he is still firmly committed to his banner slogan: "structural reform with no sacred...
COMMENTARY / World
May 2, 2003

U.S. sets the bar high in N. Korea talks

...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 2, 2003

Economic woes weigh on Fukui

The fragile economy makes worrying almost an official job responsibility for the governor of the Bank of Japan. Looking back on six weeks at the helm of the central bank, Gov. Toshihiko Fukui even worried about worrying.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / INDUSTRY TRENDS
May 2, 2003

Firms itching to cash in on athlete's foot sufferers

The phrase "I wouldn't want to be in your shoes" threatens to take on a whole new meaning as summer kicks in, with an estimated one in five Japanese suffering from athlete's foot.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
May 2, 2003

Studio J: Masahito Ueki does it again

While the eyes of the world -- or at least the Tokyo-centric portion of the planet -- have been fixed on the unveiling of the massive Roppongi Hills complex, our attention was focused on another new arrival, not so far away but on a totally different scale. For us, the main event last month was the opening...
BUSINESS
May 2, 2003

Sales of new cars, trucks and buses register first decline in eight months

April sales of new cars, trucks and buses fell 6.5 percent from the same month last year to 248,302 units, the first year-on-year decline in eight months, the Japan Automobile Dealers Association said Thursday.
BUSINESS
May 2, 2003

Millea forced to downgrade fiscal 2002 profit forecast

Millea Holdings Inc., which groups Tokio Marine & Fire Insurance Co. and Nichido Fire & Marine Insurance Co., said Thursday it has revised downward its group profit forecast for fiscal 2002.
MORE SPORTS
May 1, 2003

JSF may lose support for NHK Trophy

The Japan Skating Federation, unhappy with the ISU's new judging system, could lose the Grand Prix sanction for its showcase event, the NHK Trophy.
BUSINESS
May 1, 2003

BOJ promises to keep economy flush

The Bank of Japan on Wednesday said it would force-feed the economy with money as needed, in a bid to wipe out even hints of a collapse in the financial system.
BUSINESS
May 1, 2003

Nomura Holdings posts 120 billion yen net profit

Nomura Holdings Inc. said Wednesday it posted a consolidated net profit of 119.91 billion yen in fiscal 2002, down 28.6 percent from the year before.
BUSINESS
May 1, 2003

Monthly wages dwindle by 2.1%

The average monthly wage fell 2.1 percent to 343,125 yen in fiscal 2002, the biggest drop in 11 years, the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry said Wednesday.
BUSINESS
May 1, 2003

Industrial output rose 2.6% in '02; first time in two years

Japan's industrial production rose 2.6 percent in fiscal 2002, the first increase in two years, on robust output of automobiles and electronic devices, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said Wednesday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 1, 2003

Flailing Japanese companies, government turn to U.S. recovery 'guru'

Japan, still struggling to find a way out of its bad-loan quagmire, is looking for salvation from a "guru" credited with turning around whole sectors of U.S. industry.
COMMENTARY / World
May 1, 2003

Reform is key to keeping Asia on top

MANILA -- Asia's future is bright, but it is not preordained. Policy reforms that augment investment, lead to the adoption of new technologies and enhance productivity must be pursued to increase the growth potential of developing economies in Asia. The urgency of these reforms is accentuated by the...
BUSINESS
May 1, 2003

ANA fails to right '01's financial wrongs

All Nippon Airways Co. said Wednesday it failed in the year to March to rebound from the losses it suffered the year before, blaming its sluggish performance on weak consumer spending and stiff competition on prices.
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
May 1, 2003

Despite hype, Garnett's game lacking

LOS ANGELES -- When Kevin Garnett flopped on the free throw line of life with 15.7 seconds remaining in Sunday' s 102-97 power outage -- the Timberwolves were down three points at the time -- were you thinking what I was thinking?
BASEBALL / MLB
May 1, 2003

Tigers pound Giants to extend CL lead

Left-hander Kei Igawa worked eight strong innings Wednesday as the Hanshin Tigers defeated the Yomiuri Giants 6-2 at Koshien Stadium.
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
May 1, 2003

Radioactive fallout courtesy of U.S.

In 1789, a German chemist, Martin Heinrich Klaproth, announced that he had discovered a new element in the dull black mineral pitchblende. He named it after the planet Uranus, itself discovered only eight years earlier.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
May 1, 2003

Feathered friends of the forest

In a passive way, plants have got birds sussed. They use them, abuse them (ever seen a thrush drunk on fermenting apples?) and mess with their digestive systems. Birds are willing pawns, though; brightly colored flowers and gaudy berries send a simple signal to the bird brain that shouts -- energy!
BUSINESS
May 1, 2003

Canon first-quarter profit up 126%

Canon Inc. announced Wednesday that its consolidated net profit for the first quarter of 2003 jumped 126.2 percent from a year before to a quarterly record of 71.6 billion yen, due to brisk sales of digital cameras and cost-cutting measures.
COMMENTARY / World
May 1, 2003

Kelly's 'fairies' threaten peace

CAMBRIDGE, England -- Last October, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly set off an international crisis by claiming that North Korean officials had told him that Pyongyang was developing nuclear weapons. The officials denied saying that.
LIFE / Digital / NETWISE
May 1, 2003

New Wi-Fi accessibility unleashes the Internet

After enjoying the speed and always-on convenience of broadband Internet for about a year, I was surprised one afternoon to feel an odd pang of disconnectedness when staying at a friend's cottage in Izu. With nary a phone line or fiber-optic cable for miles around, I briefly found myself wishing my friend...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OLD NIC'S NOTEBOOK
May 1, 2003

Hanami with a shot of history

Vancouver, Canada, is a beautiful city. Not only for the magnificent mountains, for salmon spawning rivers, and a largely natural coast, but for the city's many trees. I am told that Vancouver has 124,000 street trees, 30,000 of which flower. The cherry trees especially are glorious.

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