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JAPAN
Jan 31, 2003

Standing by policies remains elusive ideal

It was a humiliating blow for Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.
BASEBALL / MLB
Jan 31, 2003

Matsui's agent warns of 'pressure cooker'

Matsui's agent warns of 'pressure cooker'
BUSINESS
Jan 31, 2003

Volkswagen aims for sales boost

The Japanese unit of German carmaker Volkswagen AG said Thursday it hopes to increase sales to 62,000 units in Japan in 2003 by introducing attractive new models and reinforcing its sales network in the Tokyo metropolitan area.
JAPAN
Jan 31, 2003

Koizumi set for Roh's inauguration

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said Thursday he plans to visit South Korea on Feb. 25 to attend the inauguration of South Korean President-elect Roh Moo Hyun and hold talks with the new president on North Korea and other issues.
JAPAN
Jan 31, 2003

Bill would crack down on beef producers

A Liberal Democratic Party panel approved a bill Thursday that would impose fines of up to 300,000 yen on beef producers who fail to comply with a proposed system to track beef from production to distribution.
JAPAN
Jan 31, 2003

New system eyed to grade low-emission cars

The Environment Ministry intends to create a new system for grading low-emission vehicles in terms of their carbon dioxide output, according to ministry officials.
JAPAN
Jan 31, 2003

Highway bill calls for local consultation

The land ministry would be required to consult with prefectural governments when compiling or revising plans to build national highways, according to a bill to revise the National Expressway Law, ministry officials said Thursday.
JAPAN
Jan 31, 2003

Newspapers and plays feature in report on polishing Japanese

A panel of experts advising the education minister on use of Japanese has issued an interim report on how to improve command of the language among elementary and junior high school students.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / THE WAY OF WASHOKU
Jan 31, 2003

Rice works well as a finale or as the main event

When dining at a fine Japanese restaurant, after the raw, fried, vinegared, steamed and simmered courses, if you still have room, the final savory course of rice — gohanmono — appears. It might also be called o-shokuji, or simply meshi, the colloquial word for rice.
BUSINESS
Jan 31, 2003

Diet enacts extra budget for 2002

The Diet on Thursday passed an extra budget for fiscal 2002 that allocates 3 trillion yen to ease the negative impact of the accelerated disposal of nonperforming loans at the nation's banks.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 31, 2003

Shinsei experience: lattes in the lobby, free ATM transactions

A typical Japanese bank looks a bit like the dowdy, paper-shuffling office of a shoddily run company. There are plenty of bowing clerks. But don't count on conveniences like 24-hour ATMs.
JAPAN
Jan 31, 2003

Emperor out of hospital for a night

Emperor Akihito, recovering from a prostate cancer operation, was temporarily released from the hospital Thursday afternoon and returned to his residence in the Imperial Palace to spend the night.
JAPAN
Jan 31, 2003

Spy masters regular fixtures on North Korean ferry to Japan

The North Korean ship Man Gyong Bong-92, believed to be a key conduit for Pyongyang espionage activities, carried a political officer known as a "second captain" to deliver clandestine orders when the vessel called at Japan, sources said Thursday.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / VINELAND
Jan 31, 2003

Reunited with past loves: Oh, how sweet they are

Like many of us, William's love of the grape began with a sip of a sweet wine, in his case a thimble-full of late-harvest Gewurtztraminer offered by his mother to a curious 12-year-old. Even all these years later, he still claims to remember that sense of sticking one's head into an armful of lilies,...
JAPAN
Jan 30, 2003

Man stabs three; jumps to death

A South Korean man stabbed his wife, son and sister-in-law before jumping to his death early Wednesday morning from the eighth floor of a Tokyo apartment building, police said.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 30, 2003

China hands over Japanese refugee

A Japanese woman who had been in Chinese custody for two weeks after fleeing North Korea in November arrived in Japan shortly before noon Wednesday, her first time home in 44 years.
MORE SPORTS
Jan 30, 2003

Seles shakes off rust, boots Sugiyama

Top-seeded Monica Seles shook off some early rustiness Wednesday before defeating Japan's Ai Sugiyama in three sets in a second-round match at the Toray Pan Pacific Open.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 30, 2003

Forget about military draft

WASHINGTON -- In recent weeks, motivated partly by a looming war in Iraq, a debate has again begun about whether the United States should adopt military conscription to replace its all-volunteer force. While the motivation behind this debate is understandable, it would be a very bad idea -- the equivalent...
JAPAN
Jan 30, 2003

IT lets people keep tabs on parents from afar

Advanced information technology allows people to check up on the living habits of elderly parents living in faraway places.
BUSINESS
Jan 30, 2003

KDDI eyes mobile standardization

KDDI Corp. said Wednesday it will meet with China Unicom Ltd. and Korea Telecom Freetel Inc. of South Korea to discuss a uniform technological standard for cell phones and the mutual use of video games and other software.
BUSINESS
Jan 30, 2003

Auto exports rose 12.8% in 2002

Japan's 11 carmakers exported 4.7 million cars and commercial vehicles in 2002, up 12.8 percent from the previous year and a first year-on-year increase in two years, the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association said Wednesday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 30, 2003

Resist tariff cuts: farm body

The leader of a farming body urged Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Wednesday to resist anticipated calls from other World Trade Organization members for large agricultural tariff cuts during a ministerial WTO meeting next month in Tokyo.
BUSINESS
Jan 30, 2003

Mizuho turns to business partners in desperate effort to boost capital

Mizuho Holdings Inc. played its final trump card last week in a bid to get rid of nonperforming loans once and for all, turning to some of its largest business partners to raise an unprecedented 1 trillion yen to boost its capital base.
JAPAN
Jan 30, 2003

Weather-tied health tips advise high-tech crowd

Every morning, Akio Tanaka wakes up and reaches for his mobile phone to check on his health.
BUSINESS
Jan 30, 2003

Newly unemployed may get break

The national government will instruct local governments to reduce or eliminate public health premiums of people who have lost their jobs, labor minister Chikara Sakaguchi said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Jan 30, 2003

Escapee from North Korea stirs refugee debate anew

The high-profile case of a Japanese woman who returned to Japan on Wednesday after fleeing North Korea has rekindled debate over the government's lack of adequate support measures for others in similar circumstances, as well as its reluctance to accept refugees.
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Jan 30, 2003

Warriors marching merrily toward mediocrity

NEW YORK -- If you toss aside the triviality that accompanies the Superbowl -- and the Raiders participation in it -- only one thing should be on the minds of Oaktown: What in the name of Jack London is going on with the Warriors? Basketball's bottom feeders for the better part of the past 10 years,...

Longform

Sociologist Gracia Liu-Farrer argues that even though immigration doesn't figure into Japan's autobiography, it is more of a self-perception than a reality.
In search of the ‘Japanese dream’