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COMMENTARY
Feb 22, 2003

Best policy Seoul can buy?

HONOLULU -- The unmaking of a hero is never pretty, but the fall of South Korean President Kim Dae Jung has been especially ugly. The statesman leaves behind a shredded legacy and he, like many of his predecessors, is but one step ahead of the prosecutor. Even his Nobel Peace Price has been tarnished:...
Japan Times
JAPAN / PREFECTURAL FARE
Feb 22, 2003

Kochi's Tokyo outpost cashing in via discerning clientele; eyes expansion

In the three years since Kai Ishiguro took the helm of the satellite shop Kochi-ya in Kichijoji, western Tokyo, the 29-year-old representative has managed to turn its sluggish business around.
BUSINESS
Feb 22, 2003

Asahi group's pretax profit sinks 5.1% on weak sales

Asahi Breweries Ltd. said Friday its group pretax profit for the business year to Dec. 31 fell 5.1 percent from the previous year to 57.55 billion yen due to weak sales.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Feb 22, 2003

Time proves relevant for aging Japan hands

"Oh really?" the girl says to me -- with the "r" stretched so painfully the word sounds as if it has been ripped from the back of her throat.
BUSINESS
Feb 22, 2003

Tertiary industry activity drops

Tertiary industry activity logged its first drop in four years in 2002, according to a preliminary report released Friday by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 22, 2003

Water issues loom large in the 21st century

The third Water Forum is expected to play a critical role in solving water issues in the 21st century. The world's population is predicted to grow from six billion today to nearly nine billion by 2050, increasing pressure on local authorities and planners to supply water to satisfy growing agricultural...
MORE SPORTS
Feb 22, 2003

Onda to miss Grand Prix final

Yoshie Onda, who is nursing an injured right leg, will skip the upcoming Grand Prix figure skating final, officials of the Japan Skating Federation (JSF) said Friday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 22, 2003

Astronaut Noguchi's resolve firm for next shuttle mission

Astronaut Soichi Noguchi, whose mission on the space shuttle Atlantis in March has been scrubbed in the wake of the Feb. 1 re-entry disintegration of the Columbia, expressed determination Friday to join the crew if the flight is rescheduled.
JAPAN
Feb 22, 2003

Kepco looks at Wakayama for spent nuclear fuel storage

OSAKA -- Kansai Electric Power Co. may construct an interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel in Gobo, Wakayama Prefecture, using land earmarked for a thermoelectric plant, it was learned Friday.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Feb 22, 2003

Men get naked for a year of good luck

Talk about male bonding! Have you ever gotten together with your buddies, stripped down to your thongs and paraded around the neighborhood? In groups of 10 to 12 people at night? In midwinter? No? Well, get with the program -- men in Okayama have been doing this for 400 years. Since I know you are dying...
BUSINESS
Feb 22, 2003

Agency to limit auditors' terms of service

The Financial Services Agency plans to revise the law governing certified public accountants so they will be unable to serve as auditors at companies for more than five years, FSA officials said Friday.
BUSINESS
Feb 22, 2003

New BOJ chief to be named next week: Fukuda

The government will decide next week who will succeed Masaru Hayami as governor of the Bank of Japan, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda said Friday.
MORE SPORTS
Feb 21, 2003

Tokuyama to take on Kawashima

super flyweight champion Masamori Tokuyama will put his title on the line for the seventh time against hard-hitting Japanese Katsushige Kawashima, Tokuyama's manager said Wednesday. Hideo Kanazawa said that although the date and venue of the fight have not yet been decided, he thinks he can make a formal...
EDITORIALS
Feb 21, 2003

Clarify refugee policy

The incident in which four North Korean citizens who had fled from their country entered a Japanese school in Beijing and asked for asylum in Japan has posed a sobering question concerning Japan's refugee policy. Acting on lessons from the incident at Japan's consulate general in Shenyang last May, the...
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
Feb 21, 2003

Antlers claim bittersweet victory

The Kashima Antlers scored a bittersweet victory Wednesday night in the A3 Mazda Champions Cup.
JAPAN
Feb 21, 2003

Net-based child prostitution grew almost 130% in 2002

Internet-based child prostitution crimes around Japan skyrocketed 129 percent in 2002, increasing to 268 from 117 a year earlier, according to a National Police Agency report released Thursday.
JAPAN
Feb 21, 2003

Six teens held in 500,000 yen extortion

Six teenage boys were arrested Thursday on suspicion of extorting at least 500,000 yen from a 14-year-old junior high school student in Adachi Ward, Tokyo, the Metropolitan Police Department said.
JAPAN
Feb 21, 2003

18 months sought for wife of hijacking fugitive

Prosecutors demanded an 18-month prison term Thursday for the wife of a Red Army Faction fugitive for alleged passport law violations.
JAPAN
Feb 21, 2003

LDP approves farm groups handling rice production

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Thursday approved an amendment to the Staple Food Law that would end decades of government control of rice output by fiscal 2008 and put farm groups in charge of production, officials said.
BUSINESS
Feb 21, 2003

Keidanren calls for hike in sales tax

Senior members of the Japan Business Federation (Nippon Keidanren) called for a hike in the consumption tax in a meeting Thursday with New Komeito executives.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 21, 2003

Farm minister admits ex-secretary pocketed cash

Scandal-plagued farm minister Tadamori Oshima admitted during a special Diet session Thursday that a former secretary pocketed a 6 million yen political donation in 2000.
BUSINESS
Feb 21, 2003

Plan calls for auctioning oil reserves

The government will release its oil stockpiles, primarily by auction, if a U.S.-led war on Iraq causes market disruptions and prompts the international community to act jointly to prevent a price spike, a ministry official said Thursday.
JAPAN
Feb 21, 2003

Public-private forum backs U.S. Iraq stance

Members of the Japan Forum on International Relations, a public-private proposal group, issued an appeal Thursday supporting the U.S. stance on the Iraqi crisis. [Full text of appeal]
JAPAN
Feb 21, 2003

Alleged thief target of manhunt

Tokyo police placed a 28-year-old man on a nationwide wanted list Thursday after store security cameras captured him using the bank card of a woman who was found slain in her apartment in Toshima Ward last week.

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