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JAPAN
Nov 21, 2002

Former Pyongyang agent speaks to DPJ

A former North Korean agent on Wednesday urged the government to help Japanese-born ethnic Koreans and their Japanese spouses who have defected from North Korea to this country, saying they are living under severe conditions without jobs or Japanese nationality.
JAPAN
Nov 21, 2002

U.S. ready to use force against obtuse Iraq

Despite Iraq's recent announcement that it will accept the new United Nations Security Council resolution demanding inspectors be granted access to its weapons of mass destruction program, the United States may still opt for military action if the result is anything short of full compliance.
BUSINESS
Nov 21, 2002

Mizuno posts consolidated net loss

Mizuno Corp. said Wednesday it incurred a consolidated net loss of 180 million yen in the first half of the 2002 business year, a reversal from a profit of 478 million yen a year earlier.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 21, 2002

NGO envoy views groups' activities as an effective form of diplomacy

Nongovernmental organizations play an extremely important role abroad, with their activities constituting an effective form of diplomacy, according to a new ambassador tasked with overseeing Japanese NGOs.
JAPAN
Nov 21, 2002

Japan-U.S. ties better, but are they genuinely the best ever?

Since the September 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States and the subsequent war on terrorism, a number of American political leaders and experts have observed that Japan-U.S. relations have "never been better."
BUSINESS
Nov 21, 2002

Starbucks sees interim profit fall 55% in fiscal first half

Starbucks Coffee Japan Ltd. said Wednesday its net profit for the first half dropped 54.9 percent year-on-year to 220 million yen, battered by the declining popularity of its coffee shops.
JAPAN
Nov 21, 2002

North Korea able to produce nukes by 2004, says U.S.

The U.S. government believes North Korea will be capable of producing a nuclear bomb using enriched uranium as early as in 2004, Japanese and U.S. sources have told Kyodo News.
BUSINESS
Nov 21, 2002

Fiscal panel urges restraint, streamlining and discipline

The Fiscal System Council, an advisory panel to the finance minister, proposed Wednesday that a "reform-oriented" budget be compiled for fiscal 2003 that restricts government bond issuance and scrutinizes tax grants for local governments.
JAPAN
Nov 21, 2002

Countries discuss passport security

Australia, Britain, Japan, the United States and two other countries agreed during two days of talks through Wednesday in Tokyo to step up passport issuance controls as a means to effectively counter terrorism and illegal immigrants, a Japanese official said.
COMMENTARY / WASHINGTON UPDATE
Nov 21, 2002

Back to politics as usual as midterm dust settles

WASHINGTON -- The dust has settled from the midterm elections. President George W. Bush, enjoying his newfound political power, is orchestrating pressure on Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. The Senate is making more short-term history with its two independent senators, with no party in the majority and...
JAPAN
Nov 21, 2002

Diet enacts pay-cut law revisions

The Diet enacted revisions to a set of laws Wednesday to cut the salaries of national government employees for the current fiscal year, as recommended by the National Personnel Authority.
COMMENTARY
Nov 21, 2002

Hu inherits but Jiang still leads China

HONG KONG -- As Chinese Communist Party's 16th Party Congress convened on Nov. 8, the delegates stood for two minutes of silence in memory of past leaders. Along with Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai, one of the names read out was that of Liu Shaoqi. It was a pointed reminder of CCP tumult and strife in past...
BUSINESS
Nov 21, 2002

Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi to cut benefits

Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi will cut its employee pension benefits by up to 20 percent in an effort to reduce costs and bolster its financial position, a bank spokesman said Wednesday.
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Nov 21, 2002

Menopause for thought on heart attacks

In the years leading up to menopause, usually from the ages of 45 to 54, a woman's ovaries start to shrink, and the levels of the female hormones they produce, estrogen and progesterone, become irregular.
EDITORIALS
Nov 21, 2002

Extension of SDF role needs debate

Tuesday's Cabinet decision to extend Japan's logistic support for the U.S.-led antiterror campaign should not come as a surprise, given the continuing threat of terrorism in and around Afghanistan. The decision, however, should be thoroughly discussed in the Diet because it is linked, even if implicitly,...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 21, 2002

Comatose man's kin irate as assailant still at large

A 41-year-old man who was punched by a passenger as he was getting off a train at a Tokyo station earlier this month remains in a coma and his assailant is still at large, much to the anger of the victim's family.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 21, 2002

Racecourse chief held over bribe

Tokyo police on Wednesday arrested the former head of the Kyoto Racecourse, operated by the Japan Racing Association, on suspicion of accepting 1.6 million yen in bribes from the former president of a company that makes promotional cards.
BUSINESS
Nov 21, 2002

JT seeks discount on leaf tobacco

Japan Tobacco Inc. said Wednesday it has sought the first reduction in the purchasing price of leaf tobaccos in seven years.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Nov 21, 2002

Taking the high way through life

If you were an ant, multi-limbed with a ground-hugging body, a trip across the forest floor would present you with a daunting obstacle course. Each fallen twig would be a wall to climb; each wind-blown leaf a teetering trap poised to tip and sluice rainwater; each fallen tree and its tangled branches...
BUSINESS
Nov 21, 2002

Oji Paper profit soars on cost cuts

Oji Paper Co. said Wednesday its group net profit for the first half to Sept. 30 soared 926.9 percent from a year earlier to 5.97 billion yen, due largely to cost cuts.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / THEN AND NOW
Nov 21, 2002

Marriage of East and West

About a kilometer south of Oji in Tokyo's present-day Kita Ward, there used to be a pond called Naga-ike, from which a small river ran southeast about 6 km to feed Shinobazu Pond in Ueno. Named the Yata, the short but abundant flow was usefully exploited to support horticulture and rice-farming in its...
BUSINESS
Nov 21, 2002

Citizen Watch has healthy first half

Citizen Watch Co. said Wednesday its group net profit for the first half to Sept. 30 surged 229.9 percent from a year earlier to 2.87 billion yen despite a 7.4 percent decline in sales to 154.79 billion yen.
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Nov 21, 2002

Coach Brown likely to get the nod for Team USA in 2004

NEW YORK -- USA Basketball met last week in Indianapolis and its 10-member Selection Committee convened in New York over the weekend to dissect America's lousy sixth-place finish at the 2002 World Basketball Championships and to devise an invincible game plan regarding the qualifier tournament. Specifically,...
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / NAME OF THE GAME
Nov 21, 2002

Beware of twists ... and shouts

One chestnut some claim to be the shortest complete piece of fiction goes like this: "The last man on earth sat in his room. There was a knock on the door."

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’