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JAPAN
Jan 29, 2003

Panel members at odds over Monju ruling

Members of the Atomic Energy Commission on Tuesday voiced mixed views over a high court ruling the previous day that nullified the government's approval in 1983 of the Monju fast-breeder reactor in Tsuruga, Fukui Prefecture.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jan 29, 2003

The end of art history and the last laugh

Since 1984, the National Museum of Art, Osaka, and the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, have been examining trends in contemporary art in a series of exhibitions titled "A Perspective on Contemporary Art." Pay a visit to the latest in the series, though, and you might be forgiven for wondering exactly...
JAPAN
Jan 29, 2003

Obiuary: Jean-Jacques Origas

Jean-Jacques Origas, a French scholar of Japanese literature and expert in Japanese-language teaching, died Sunday at a hospital in a Paris suburb, sources in Japan who were close to him said. He was 65.
BUSINESS
Jan 29, 2003

LDP mulls letting insurers cut yields

A group of legislators in the Liberal Democratic Party has started considering ways to enable life insurers to cut guaranteed yields to policyholders, including a proposal for the Financial Services Agency to order financially troubled firms to make the cuts, it was reported Tuesday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jan 29, 2003

And this year's ceramics winners are. . .

Awards. We all love them, whether they are for movies, music, or for sports personalities. The art world here in Japan is no different, and there are many awards to honor those who have excelled in their respective art forms.
BUSINESS
Jan 29, 2003

Sony executive Ohga decides to retire

Norio Ohga, Sony Corp.'s chairman of the board, said Tuesday he will step down for health reasons.
BUSINESS
Jan 29, 2003

Retail, wholesale sales drop a combined 3.7% in 2002

Domestic wholesale and retail sales fell a combined 3.7 percent in 2002 to 582.27 trillion yen, declining for the 11th straight year and by the largest margin since 1999, the government said Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Jan 29, 2003

Skymark aims to profit from shuffle

Skymark Airlines Co. said Tuesday that President Takashi Ide has been replaced by Masayuki Inoue, formerly of British Airways, as part of a shakeup at the executive level.
EDITORIALS
Jan 28, 2003

Can we trust 'Davos man'?

The rich, the powerful and the famous last week descended once again on the Swiss village of Davos for the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF). This year, the assembled luminaries pondered the loss of "trust" that has sapped institutions worldwide. The question is a vital one. Of the many...
JAPAN
Jan 28, 2003

Ling Ling jets off to Mexico to mate with three pandas

Ling Ling, the only giant panda at Tokyo's Ueno Zoo, departed Monday for Mexico for a third attempt at breeding with female pandas there, following two previous failures.
JAPAN
Jan 28, 2003

Woman, 85, killed with roller skate

Police arrested a Dutch man Sunday evening for allegedly killing an elderly woman in Tokyo by hitting her on the head with a roller skate, police officials said Monday.
BUSINESS
Jan 28, 2003

Carmakers saw global output increase in 2002

Despite a shrinking domestic market, Japan's five major carmakers all increased global vehicle production in 2002, thanks to strong demand in North America, Europe and Asia, according to data released by the firms Monday.
BUSINESS
Jan 28, 2003

Tepco plans to enter gas wholesaling via Tokyo Gas pipelines

The Tokyo Electric Power Co. plans to enter natural gas wholesaling in fiscal 2004 by leasing pipelines owned by Tokyo Gas Co., Tepco sources said Monday.
JAPAN
Jan 28, 2003

Scholarship funds available for media-related research

The Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan is accepting applications for FCCJ Swadesh DeRoy scholarship funds to support students conducting research on media-related subjects involving Japan.
COMMENTARY
Jan 28, 2003

Court sends LDP a message

Two recent moves by judiciary and law-enforcement authorities are a grave warning against the Liberal Democratic Party's pork-barrel politics. One is the Supreme Court rejection of an appeal by former Construction Minister Kishiro Nakamura against a Tokyo High Court ruling that found him guilty of taking...
JAPAN
Jan 28, 2003

Nonbinding water forum declaration to tout private funds and rice paddies

The government has compiled the rough draft of a declaration to be adopted at an international conference on water issues in March, calling for a greater injection of funds and technology to make safe drinking water available to more people worldwide.
BUSINESS
Jan 28, 2003

BOJ debate focused on inflation target

The Bank of Japan Policy Board discussed the theory of inflation-targeting at its meeting Dec. 16-17, with several members agreeing it would be an inappropriate policy lever to pull in an attempt to overcome deflation, according to minutes of the meeting released Monday.
JAPAN
Jan 28, 2003

No reprieve for Empress' home

The Tokyo District Court on Monday dismissed a plea by local residents for a provisional injunction to prevent the former home of Empress Michiko from being demolished.
BUSINESS
Jan 28, 2003

Appliance sales slipped 8.5% in 2002

Sales of home electrical appliances at big retailers totaled 2.46 trillion yen in 2002, down 8.5 percent from a year earlier for the second consecutive year of decline, the Nippon Electric Big-Stores Association said in a preliminary report Monday.
BUSINESS
Jan 28, 2003

Okuda pushes yield cuts by insurers

Hiroshi Okuda, chairman of the Japan Business Federation (Nippon Keidanren), said Monday he may tolerate a cut in the guaranteed yields offered by life insurers to their policyholders.
JAPAN
Jan 28, 2003

Nude photos on Net lead to arrest

An English-language teacher in Tokyo who allegedly posted on the Internet nude photos of a woman he had been dating has been arrested on suspicion of defamation, police said Monday.
BUSINESS
Jan 28, 2003

Extra budget makes it out of key panel

The House of Representatives on Monday passed a fiscal 2002 extra budget aimed at countering the negative effects of an accelerated cleanup of the banking sector.
BUSINESS
Jan 28, 2003

Bill drafted to create urban renewal entity

The land ministry has drafted a bill to establish an urban redevelopment body that would call for utilizing private-sector funds and technologies, according to ministry sources.
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jan 28, 2003

Turning Japanese no simple process

Japan's aging society and low birthrate demand dramatic measures, some say.
JAPAN
Jan 28, 2003

Protection of asylum seekers confirmed

Japan has placed under its protective custody dozens of people who have fled North Korea, including Japanese spouses of Koreans and former Korean residents of Japan, a senior Foreign Ministry official told the Diet on Monday.

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’