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BUSINESS
Mar 28, 2003

Firms to launch interactive-TV panel

Five consumer electronics makers will form a study group next month to discuss creating common technical standards for Internet-capable digital televisions, they said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Mar 28, 2003

Firms told to return state subsidies

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said Thursday it has ordered three companies to return fraudulently obtained government subsidies.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 28, 2003

Governor wannabes shunning parties

The gubernatorial election campaigns that kicked off Thursday could trigger a major change in the political scene if strong, reform-minded candidates challenging the highly centralized system emerge victorious.
JAPAN
Mar 28, 2003

Asahara again refuses to respond to questions by his own attorneys

Aum Shinrikyo founder Shoko Asahara refused again Thursday to answer questions from his own lawyers, while victims of the cult's crimes called for him to receive the death penalty.
JAPAN
Mar 28, 2003

Interpol puts Fujimori on wanted list

Interpol put disgraced former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori on its most-wanted list Wednesday in Paris, issuing a "Red Notice" calling for the exiled leader's arrest and extradition on murder and kidnapping charges in Peru.
JAPAN
Mar 28, 2003

Hashimoto angry over remarks on postwar Iraq

Former Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto, head of the largest internal faction of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, indirectly rapped LDP Secretary General Taku Yamasaki on Thursday for discussing Japan's contributions to postwar Iraq, including the dispatch of Self-Defense Forces elements for possible...
BUSINESS
Mar 28, 2003

Suzuki sales agents to deal in just three auto insurers

Suzuki Motor Corp. has told sales companies under its direct management to handle only auto insurance offered by three select property and casualty insurance houses, sources said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Mar 28, 2003

War sparks call to boost energy conservation

The government called Thursday on companies and individuals to reinforce efforts to save energy in the wake of the U.S.-led war in Iraq.
SOCCER / World cup
Mar 28, 2003

Zico optimistic

Having spent more time than ever with his players since being appointed Japan coach, Zico is hoping to see not only a win but also improvement when his side meets Uruguay on Friday night at Tokyo's National Stadium.
BUSINESS
Mar 28, 2003

METI upbeat on U.S. steel curbs

Japan hopes the United States will withdraw its steel import curbs following an interim decision on the matter by the World Trade Organization, a top bureaucrat of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said Thursday.
COMMENTARY
Mar 28, 2003

China's systemic incompetence can sicken world

HONG KONG -- An ugly new strain of atypical pneumonia has medical scientists working overtime in their research laboratories across the world, as they strive to discover why a growing number of patients are now suffering and dying in many nations from this previously unknown virus that is being blamed...
JAPAN
Mar 28, 2003

Foreign Ministry unveils reform plan

The Foreign Ministry on Thursday unveiled a final reorganization report under which its consular department will be upgraded to a bureau.
BUSINESS
Mar 28, 2003

Lawson unveils banking tieup

Lawson Inc. will begin providing limited banking services at some of its convenience stores in July in cooperation with Hokuriku Bank, the two firms said Thursday.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 28, 2003

With Hu comes a hint of interesting times

HAINAN, China -- The 3,000-plus delegates to the annual two-week meeting of China's National People's Congress, or NPC, have packed their bags and gone home. It was an unusually important meeting this year. In addition to the usual rubber-stamping of the Chinese Communist Party's policy proposals for...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 28, 2003

Musical is well-suited to the times

"Can we sing a song of peace in a world that's full of fear?"
BUSINESS
Mar 28, 2003

Japan patents fail to set world alight

Japan had a 119.5 billion yen deficit in the external balance of revenues and expenditures in licensing regarding intellectual property rights such as patents and trademarks in 2002, according to a survey released Thursday by the Japan Patent Office.
BUSINESS
Mar 28, 2003

Sony robot upgrade can sing and feign dialogue

Sony Corp.'s toddler-size singing and dancing robot has expanded its vocabulary and musical repertoire and now avoids pinching human fingers with its metal joints.
EDITORIALS
Mar 28, 2003

A dirty war in Thailand

Last month the prime minister of Thailand, Thaksin Shinawatra, declared war on drugs, vowing to rid his country of the scourge within three months. The goal is ambitious, if not impossible. Human rights groups reportedly express fear that the campaign has become reckless and dangerous; they claim that...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 28, 2003

46 vie for governorships; economy, war emerge as key issues

Forty-six candidates applied Thursday to run in 11 gubernatorial elections April 13 in Tokyo and 10 other prefectures, marking the official start of campaigning that is expected to focus on the economy and support for the U.S.-led war in Iraq.
BUSINESS
Mar 28, 2003

Wholesale, retail sales edge up 0.5%

Japan's combined wholesale and retail sales rose 0.5 percent in February from a year earlier to 44.9 trillion yen, showing the first increase in 25 months, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said Thursday.
MORE SPORTS
Mar 28, 2003

Japanese on final roster

Linebacker Masafumi Kawaguchi and three other Japanese have made the final roster on the Amsterdam Admirals for the 2003 season of the European affiliate of the NFL, NFL Japan officials said Wednesday.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / THE WAY OF WASHOKU
Mar 28, 2003

Goodness gracious, great balls of rice

Just 60 years ago, preparing food was a time-consuming process that for some — mainly the suburban housewife — could occupy much of the day. Though we had long since progressed from hunter-gathering and industrialization had created a class of consumers rather than producers of food, keeping the...
JAPAN
Mar 28, 2003

2002 saw fewer bureaucrats landing private-sector jobs

The number of retired national government officials who landed jobs in the private sector in 2002 was down from the year before, according to data released by the National Personnel Authority.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Mar 28, 2003

Afternoon Tea Baker and Diner: More than just a pour

What's in a name? Since last year, and especially over the past month, the most in-demand dining spot in Ginza has been the one with the most unwieldy misnomer. Afternoon Tea Baker and Diner hardly trips off the tongue. It also disguises the fact this is no mere tea room: It's a proper restaurant, contemporary...

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