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Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Mar 13, 2003

Water, water -- where?

These days the talk is all about oil, but wait a couple of decades and oil politics could be a quaint historical artifact.
BUSINESS
Mar 13, 2003

'Happoshu' claims big market share

"Happoshu," a low-malt beverage, grabbed a 46.4 percent share of the beer market in February, its largest share ever, according to data released Wednesday by the nation's five major brewers.
LIFE / Digital / TANGLED WEBS
Mar 13, 2003

Poorly laid plans go astray

Let's admit it -- we made a mistake. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but we screwed up. It's time to make things right and repeal the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / NETWISE
Mar 13, 2003

How to get people to look at your site

It's a simple matter these days to build and host a Web site. What's less simple is getting others -- potential customers, readers and other users -- to find your site among the millions of others already out there. In this column I'll discuss Japanese search engines, particularly how best to use Japanese...
BUSINESS
Mar 13, 2003

Machinery orders post 7% increase

Core private-sector machinery orders rose a seasonally adjusted 7 percent in January from the previous month to 931.9 billion yen, marking the second straight month of expansion, the government said Wednesday.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Mar 13, 2003

Singing frog

* Japanese name: Kajika gaeru * Scientific name: Buergeria buergeri * Scientific name: * Description: The Japanese singing frog, known for its "fififi" call, is brown or gray-black. Other frogs merely croak or call, but this frog sings. In Japan it was once common to keep the singing frog in a special...
BUSINESS
Mar 13, 2003

Investors snap up new batch of JGBs

Japanese government bonds worth 75 billion yen that went on sale at post offices Wednesday were snapped up in just four hours, according to the Postal Services Agency. The JGBs were also offered at major banks, but most buyers chose post offices because no commissions are charged there, they said.
EDITORIALS
Mar 12, 2003

After hemming and hawing

After months of hemming and hawing, Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara has officially announced his bid for re-election, ending speculation that he might return to national politics. His solid popularity makes it almost certain that he will win a second four-year term in the April 13 election. So far only...
BUSINESS
Mar 12, 2003

Nikkei plummets below 7,900, hits fresh 20-year low

The key Nikkei stock average on Tuesday closed below 7,900 for the first time in 20 years amid growing concerns about the likelihood of war in Iraq.
BUSINESS
Mar 12, 2003

Bills on support for subcontractors to go to Diet

The government on Tuesday approved two bills that would strengthen support for ailing subcontractors.
JAPAN
Mar 12, 2003

Six indicted over Kabukicho blaze

The Tokyo District Public Prosecutor's Office on Tuesday indicted six people on suspicion of professional negligence resulting in death in connection with a 2001 fire in the Kabukicho entertainment district that killed 44 people.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 12, 2003

Court rejects wartime forced-labor suit

The Tokyo District Court on Tuesday rejected an 840 million yen lawsuit filed by 42 Chinese nationals over labor they were forced to perform during World War II.
JAPAN
Mar 12, 2003

NPOs up in arms over plan to curtail their tax exemptions

HIROKO NAKATA Staff writer A government plan to restrict the tax breaks enjoyed by so-called public-interest corporations has sparked a flurry of protests from some nonprofit organizations that fear it would dampen their civic activities.
BUSINESS
Mar 12, 2003

Economic growth of 0.5% verified

The economy grew a real 0.5 percent in the October-December quarter, unchanged from a preliminary report released in mid-February, the government said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Mar 12, 2003

Exiled Fujimori scorns Interpol arrest warrant

Alberto Fujimori, the former Peruvian president living in self-imposed exile in Japan, issued a statement Tuesday denying the legitimacy of an international warrant issued for his arrest.
BUSINESS
Mar 12, 2003

NEC in-house firms to be dissolved

NEC Corp. said Tuesday it will dissolve its two in-house companies and merge their operations in nine business divisions to cope better with growing overlap between the computer and telecommunications markets.
BUSINESS
Mar 12, 2003

Mobile phone shipments up 22.4%

Domestic shipments of mobile phones rose 22.4 percent in January from a year earlier to 3.77 million units for the fourth straight monthly increase, the Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association said Tuesday.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 12, 2003

U.S. bears costs as U.N. is challenged

As the issue of Iraq comes to a head, the United Nations faces a grave challenge. The five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council are deeply divided; many governments -- British, Japanese, Spanish, Turkish -- are at odds with their own people; and the divisions have hardened since U.S. President...
BUSINESS
Mar 12, 2003

Three-year plan boosts JAL outlook

Japan Airlines System Corp. is expecting a group net profit of 35 billion yen for the business year through March 2006, up from 8 billion yen estimated for 2002.
JAPAN
Mar 12, 2003

Resolution asks Sakai to resign

Four opposition parties on Tuesday demanded the resignation of Lower House member Takanori Sakai, who was arrested last week for alleged Political Funds Control Law violations.
BUSINESS
Mar 12, 2003

S&P rating on Fast Retailing stable

Standard & Poor's Corp. said Tuesday its rating on Fast Retailing Co. will not be immediately affected by the casual-clothing retailer's downsizing of its store operations in Britain.
CULTURE / Art / NEW ART SEEN
Mar 12, 2003

Art or 'action'? Who cares

I would describe the 64-year-old Swiss man behind the current show at Ginza's Shiseido Gallery as part conceptual artist, part performance artist, and part video artist -- but Roman Signer would have none of these labels. He considers himself a sculptor -- pure, if not so simple.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 12, 2003

Preparing news reporters for surviving a nightmare

As the world stands on the brink of what could be the most dangerous war ever, there is one question facing those of us in the news media: How far should a journalist go to get the story? With rogue groups in parts of the world appearing to regard journalists as legitimate targets, the inherently unsafe...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Mar 12, 2003

Califone's "Quicksand/Cradlesnakes"

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Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Mar 12, 2003

Jamaaladeen Tacuma & Burhan Ocal's "Groove Alla Turca"

Given the number of cheesy Asian fusion records out there these days, "Groove Alla Turca" may seem like yet another dubious selection until the name Jamaaladeen Tacuma on the album's cover pops out at you ; the presence of Tacuma means funk -- unusual funk, but mean, greasy funk nonetheless.

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