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COMMENTARY / World
Nov 2, 2002

Back to the future via broken promises

BRUSSELS -- Next year's crisis on the Korean Peninsula has come early. The year 2003 was to see an explosive conjuncture of events: a change of regime in South Korea, markedly less sympathetic to engagement with the North than that of current President Kim Dae Jung; the final failure of the United States...
JAPAN
Nov 2, 2002

EU 'withholds funds' for N. Korea reactors

The European Parliament has decided to temporarily withhold its 2003 funding to a consortium charged with building nuclear reactors in North Korea following Pyongyang's admission that it is developing nuclear arms, EU sources said Friday.
MORE SPORTS
Nov 2, 2002

Q-chan to run in Tokyo Marathon

Sydney Olympic champion Naoko Takahashi is among the 16 invitees to next month's Tokyo International Women's Marathon, officials of the Japan Association of the Athletics Federations (JAAF) said Thursday.
COMMENTARY
Nov 2, 2002

The Asia-Pacific odd couple

Japan and Australia make a rather odd couple in Asia. Yet their officials spend a lot of time talking to each other. Thursday will see yet another talkfest in Tokyo -- this time to discuss their "creative partnership." One reason for the talkativeness is that neither nation quite has the Asian credentials...
JAPAN
Nov 2, 2002

Postal agency didn't collect taxes

Tax authorities have discovered that the Postal Services Agency failed to collect taxes on about 3.5 billion yen in interest in 2000, sources said Friday.
BUSINESS
Nov 2, 2002

Targets for debt ratios to be part of rescue deal

The government is considering setting debt-ratio targets that companies in danger of folding will be required to meet before getting government help securing further financing, Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Takeo Hiranuma said Friday.
JAPAN
Nov 2, 2002

Union official arrested over coercion

A former railway union official from Saitama was arrested Friday for allegedly threatening and harassing a member into quitting the union and ultimately the company.
JAPAN
Nov 2, 2002

Opposition lawmakers slam interim report

Lawmakers on a constitutional panel slammed a report issued by the panel on Friday, stating that the document had been edited to bolster pro-amendment views.
BUSINESS
Nov 2, 2002

Tax revenue shortfall worse than anticipated: Shiokawa

The shortfall in tax revenue will be worse than expected for the current fiscal year, Finance Minister Masajuro Shiokawa said Friday, without clarifying whether additional government bonds will be issued to make up the shortfall.
Japan Times
JAPAN / KANSAI BEAT
Nov 2, 2002

Pollution-weary Amagasaki pitches potato patches

AMAGASAKI, Hyogo Pref. -- It's hard to believe that the smoggy, traffic-laden industrial zone stretching from the Hanshin Line's Amagasaki Station to the shores of the Inland Sea was once a thriving sweet-potato belt.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Nov 2, 2002

Cute, single, self-made millionaire girls

Japan wonders why the birth rate has plummeted. There are theories ranging from the fact that women aren't given painkillers during birth to the fact that women are waiting longer to get married. But the real reason women are not having babies is much simpler: This generation has grown up with Hello...
COMMUNITY
Nov 2, 2002

Design consultant draws on stores of good sense

If you see a conservatively dressed Englishman pop a plastic bag over his head as it begins to rain, it's most probably Tim Toomey: "I'd rather turn up for a meeting dry and comfortable than arrive sopping wet in some misguided attempt to preserve my image."
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Nov 2, 2002

Marie Lorenz Okabe

The late Eloise Cunningham, a lifelong resident of Japan, founded Music for Youth, which is dedicated to presenting musical programs for young people. Her Tokyo house, a Frank Lloyd Wright design, embodies many of his distinctive, country-style characteristics: huge exposed beams, an open stairway, a...
JAPAN
Nov 2, 2002

Expressways beat streets in survey of seat-belt use

On average, 88.1 percent of drivers use seat belts while on ordinary roads and 97.1 percent do so on expressways, according to a survey released Thursday by the National Police Agency and Japan Automobile Federation.
COMMENTARY
Nov 2, 2002

Keep the EU elites in check

LONDON -- Presidents and constitutions are the subjects that excite enthusiasts for European integration at the moment, while ordinary citizens of Europe look on a little uneasily. The enthusiasts are making no secret of their earnest desire to "take Europe forward," as they put it, by creating the post...
BUSINESS
Nov 2, 2002

MMC to offload 1.7% stake in Hyundai

Mitsubishi Motors Corp. said Friday it has signed an agreement with Hyundai Motor Corp. to sell a 1.71 percent stake in the South Korean automaker to Hyundai Mobis, another company within the Hyundai conglomerate.
EDITORIALS
Nov 2, 2002

A disappointing economic package

The economic package that the government unveiled on Wednesday, together with the Bank of Japan's decision to expand the credit supply, represents a concerted attempt to fight deflation. The comprehensive program includes measures to accelerate disposal of bad bank loans, help rebuild debt-heavy but...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 1, 2002

Nobel laureates hope deeds will inspire science boom

Japan's two latest Nobel laureates expressed hope Thursday their achievements will inspire younger generations to take an interest in science.
BUSINESS
Nov 1, 2002

Hitachi streamlining returns firm to black

Hitachi Ltd. said Thursday it returned to profitability in the first half to Sept. 30, posting a net profit of 12.85 billion yen, reversing a 110.54 billion yen loss in the same period a year earlier.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 1, 2002

Emergency psychiatric care falling short

Her schizophrenia repeatedly sent her over the edge.
BUSINESS
Nov 1, 2002

Suntory to sell E&J Gallo wines

Suntory Ltd., Japan's biggest wine seller, said it will distribute three brands of the California-based E&J Gallo Winery in Japan. Suntory in March will import and sell River Crest and two other brands of the world's biggest winemaker, Suntory spokesman Ikuo Tamura said. The Japanese beverage maker expects...
JAPAN
Nov 1, 2002

7 1/2-year sentence upheld for Heo

OSAKA -- The Osaka High Court on Thursday upheld a 7 1/2-year prison term and 500 million yen fine for an Osaka-based South Korean real-estate developer for his involvement in the collapse of trading house Itoman Corp.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Nov 1, 2002

Saints skipper Strachan runs tight ship

LONDON -- It was, said Southampton striker James Beattie, "a moment of madness."
BUSINESS
Nov 1, 2002

Mazda hikes group earnings forecast

Mazda Motor Corp. said Thursday it has revised upward its group earnings forecast for the first half that ended Sept. 30 and for the full year to March 31, mainly because of a weaker yen.

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’