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JAPAN
Nov 16, 2002

LDP rejects latest allegations of skimming by lawmaker

The Liberal Democratic Party on Friday dismissed media reports that Ryotaro Tanose, an LDP member of the House of Representatives, misappropriated some 10 million yen of his policy secretary's state-paid salary.
BUSINESS
Nov 16, 2002

Osaka Gas net profit tumbles

Osaka Gas Co. said Friday its group net profit tumbled 20 percent from a year earlier in the April-September first half of fiscal 2002, following its gas rate cut in March.
JAPAN
Nov 16, 2002

Cabinet official hits ministry for refusing to issue Lee visa

A government official on Friday criticized the Foreign Ministry for refusing to issue a visa to allow former Taiwan President Lee Teng-hui to visit Japan.
BUSINESS
Nov 15, 2002

Nippon Yusen's profit sinks 50% as deflated assets sold

Nippon Yusen K.K., the nation's biggest shipping firm, said Thursday its group net profit slid 49.7 percent in the fiscal first half to Sept. 30 from a year earlier to 7.79 billion yen.
JAPAN
Nov 15, 2002

Report calls for patriotic education

The education law must be overhauled to nurture strong, spiritually rich and more patriotic Japanese, according to a report released Thursday by the Central Education Council.
JAPAN
Nov 15, 2002

Japan plans to question North Korea on bio-arms

Japan said on Thursday it would take up the issue of North Korea's suspected development of biological and chemical weapons in future talks on establishing diplomatic ties between the historic foes.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Nov 15, 2002

New coach, new approach has Wales in hunt for Euro 2004

LONDON -- Question time.
JAPAN
Nov 15, 2002

Monthly gun haul goes easy on mob

More than half of the illegal firearms seized by police last month were confiscated from individuals outside of organized crime, the National Police Agency said Thursday.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 15, 2002

Trade pact could trap ASEAN into state of irrelevance

HONOLULU -- Supporters of the ASEAN-China Free Trade Area (ACFTA) argue that numbers tell the story. And indeed, they do.
BUSINESS
Nov 15, 2002

Business lobby rejects bank nationalization story

The Japan Business Federation (Nippon Keidanren) on Thursday denied a report in The Times of London that paraphrases the group's chairman as predicting at least one of Japan's top four banks will probably be nationalized next month.
COMMENTARY
Nov 15, 2002

Economic foolishness deepens

We knew that Japan's economic debate was fairly foolish when Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi told us that structural reforms such as privatizing highway corporations and the post office would somehow revitalize the Japanese economy. But even that looks sensible compared with the latest proposed "reform"...
Japan Times
JAPAN / AT THE JUNCTION
Nov 15, 2002

Affiliates are cashing in on cozy ties with Japan Highway

Last spring, an employee at a road maintenance company smelled a rat as his firm prepared to bid for an expressway-related project by the semi-governmental Japan Highway Public Corp.
JAPAN
Nov 15, 2002

U.S. sets off underwater blasts

The U.S. military on Thursday carried out a test involving underwater explosions in the Sea of Japan off Shimane Prefecture, in spite of protests from Japan.
EDITORIALS
Nov 15, 2002

Iraq's 'final opportunity'

The world has united against Iraq. Last week, the United Nations Security Council voted unanimously to give Baghdad a last chance to disarm. In response, the Iraqi government has opted for "the path of peace" and agreed to accept the resolution "without conditions." That is good news - no one wants war....
JAPAN
Nov 15, 2002

Alleged embezzlement, coverup par for course?

What appears be a blatant case of embezzlement at a Saitama office of Japan Highway Public Corp. was hushed up last year -- an episode that observers say illustrates how the heavily indebted corporation, now at the center of a privatization debate, pays little heed to the fact that it is dealing with...
JAPAN
Nov 15, 2002

U.S. settles with Ehime Maru victims

The U.S. Navy reached a settlement Thursday in Tokyo over a deadly collision last year off Hawaii involving one of its submarines and a Japanese high school fisheries training ship.
BUSINESS
Nov 15, 2002

Tsutaya operator has record first half

Culture Convenience Club Co., operator of the Tsutaya video rental chain, said Thursday it posted record earnings in the fiscal half, thanks to a robust growth in membership and the popularity of DVD movies.
BUSINESS
Nov 15, 2002

Toyota names 15 grant recipients

Toyota Motor Corp. and the Toyota Foundation said Thursday they have selected 15 organizations in Japan and abroad as recipients of the Toyota Environmental Activities Grant Program for fiscal 2002.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Nov 15, 2002

Ryukyu damselfly

* Japanese name: Ryukyu hagurotonbo * Scientific name: Matrona basilaris japonica * Description: The Ryukyu damselfly is a sturdy, brightly colored insect. At 51-65 mm long, it is large for a damselfly. Males have brilliant electric-blue bodies and two pairs of dark-blue wings, although there is...
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Nov 15, 2002

And you wonder why women don't want to have babies . . .

Rumiko, the 29-year-old president of her own computer-graphics company, says she has decided to become an achiragawa no ningen (person who has crossed over to the other side) by having a baby.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 15, 2002

Cycling in North Korea: hitchhikers, gaunt oxen, no famine

Seven Japanese became late last month the first foreigners allowed to take a bicycle tour of the North Korean countryside and get a glimpse of the rustic people, who often seemed shocked to see them.
BUSINESS
Nov 15, 2002

BOJ credit-easing measures likely: experts

Nearly 90 percent of economists expect the Bank of Japan to further ease its grip on credit within six months, according to a Kyodo News survey released Thursday.
JAPAN
Nov 15, 2002

Further attempts to get visa may not work, Lee warned

The government has told former Taiwan President Lee Teng-hui he would have a tough time getting a visa if he files another application to visit Japan, Tetsuro Yano, senior vice foreign minister, said Thursday.
Japan Times
JAPAN / KANSAI BEAT
Nov 15, 2002

University-business tieup breathing life into crafts

KYOTO -- Kimiko Oike, a professional maker of "mizuhiki," or decorative strings, knows she has a lot to learn from amateurs.
BUSINESS
Nov 15, 2002

Three major steelmakers approve alliance

Nippon Steel Corp., Kobe Steel Ltd. and Sumitomo Metal Industries Ltd. announced Thursday they have agreed to form a capital alliance, paving the way for wholesale consolidation of the industry.
BUSINESS
Nov 15, 2002

Ailing trader Tomen asks Toyota group for assistance

Struggling trading house Tomen Corp. said Thursday its earnings for the first half to Sept. 30 plunged with sluggish revenues, and its president said the company is reaching out to the Toyota Motor Corp. group for assistance.
JAPAN
Nov 15, 2002

China expels defense attache over off-limits entry

A Japanese defense attache at the Japanese Embassy in Beijing was effectively expelled by Chinese authorities on the grounds that he had entered an off-limits military area in the city of Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, Foreign Ministry and Defense Agency officials said Thursday.

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’