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BUSINESS
Jan 30, 2004

Bird flu-affected firms get loan offer

Four government-backed lenders said Thursday they have begun offering special low-interest loans to small and midsize firms affected by the bird flu outbreak.
BUSINESS
Jan 30, 2004

Movie revenues hit record high

Movie revenues in Japan hit a record 203.2 billion yen in 2003, the Motion Pictures Producers Association of Japan said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Jan 30, 2004

Camera sales boost Canon earnings

Canon Inc. on Thursday said its net profit grew 45 percent in 2003, buoyed by robust digital camera sales and a cost-cutting drive.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Jan 30, 2004

Explore the past in cosmopolitan ways

A walk through Kagurazaka's many narrow winding alleys is like slipping away from reality. Just a step away from the lively main road, and quietude takes over. Gone is the incessant irritant of cell-phone chatter, the barrage of electronic sounds from game centers and the gunning car and motorbike engines....
BUSINESS
Jan 30, 2004

Prolonged U.S. beef ban feared after talks fail

The failure by Japan and the United States to settle their differences in talks in Tokyo last week on mad cow disease has given rise to fears that the import ban may be prolonged, and the dispute is fraying tempers on both sides.
JAPAN
Jan 29, 2004

Failed U.S. firm agrees to provide satellite, redress

A bankrupt U.S. company commissioned to build a Japanese multipurpose satellite has agreed to supply the device to Japan by the end of March, according to government officials.
SUMO
Jan 29, 2004

Takanohana to take over from dad

Stablemaster Futagoyama will pass the reins to son and former grand champion Takanohana, the Japan Sumo Association (JSA) said Wednesday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Jan 29, 2004

Central League announces schedule

The Central League announced Wednesday the schedule for the upcoming regular season, which kicks off with three night games April 2.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 29, 2004

Ikeda, known for work in Peru hostage standoff, dies

Former Foreign Minister Yukihiko Ikeda, who led efforts to resolve the 1996-1997 hostage standoff at the Japanese ambassador's residence in Peru, died of rectal cancer early Wednesday morning at a Tokyo hospital, his family said. He was 66.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 29, 2004

'Citizen judge' system close to reality

After more than a month of heated debate, the Liberal Democratic Party and New Komeito agreed earlier this week that three professional judges and six "lay judges" should occupy the bench in trials under a new "citizen judge" system.
JAPAN
Jan 29, 2004

Japan to send civilian medics to Iraq

Japan will send about 30 civilian medical personnel to Iraq for humanitarian assistance activities as soon as the security situation there improves, government sources said Wednesday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Jan 29, 2004

Nishiguchi to start camp on farm

Seibu Lions right-hander Fumiya Nishiguchi, who spent most of last season on the disabled list with an injured leg, will start spring training on the club's farm team, officials of the Pacific League team said Wednesday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Jan 29, 2004

BayStars set sights on Sasaki

Yokohama BayStars president Susumu Minegishi said Wednesday the Central League club will be looking to sign Kazuhiro Sasaki to a contract for this season as soon as he is formally released by the Seattle Mariners.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 29, 2004

Australia plugs its beef at Tokyo tasting party

Australia courted Japanese meat-eaters at a beef-tasting party Wednesday, offering to increase exports to Japan by 80 percent to replace the American supply after Tokyo banned U.S. beef over fears of mad cow disease.
BUSINESS
Jan 29, 2004

Oddly, Japan keeps tariffs intact as it gropes for beef

Japan's suspension of U.S. beef imports has created a strange contradiction: As the government searches for alternate sources of beef, it imposes tariffs that help keep overseas beef out.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 29, 2004

Currency intervention raises eyebrows

Japan's repeated attempts to check the dollar's fall against the yen by intervening in the currency market is raising concerns among some economists.
JAPAN
Jan 29, 2004

Japan to offer compromise on ITER fusion project, but only up to a point

Technology minister Takeo Kawamura said Wednesday that Japan is ready to compromise in the battle to host an international nuclear fusion project -- but said it will stick to its position that the reactor itself should be based in Japan.
BUSINESS
Jan 29, 2004

Wholesalers' sales up 0.1%

Wholesaler sales edged up 0.1 percent in 2003 from the previous year to 452.14 trillion yen, marking the first rise in three years, the government said Wednesday.
ENVIRONMENT
Jan 29, 2004

Japan's longliners devastate world squid stocks

It was early spring 1968, I had received a Fulbright Foundation educational grant to produce a 16mm movie about Japanese fisheries. The grant provided for the latest "state-of-the-art" Canon 16mm movie camera (there were no video cameras in those days), and with it I had successfully completed and edited...
BUSINESS
Jan 29, 2004

Restructuring spells profit decline for Sony

Sony Corp. reported Wednesday a 26 percent decline in net profit for the October-December period due to restructuring expenses.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language
Jan 29, 2004

Japan is learning to love (and loving to learn) Chinese

Every day, it seems, more and more Japanese want to communicate -- in Chinese. One million Japanese, says Web magazine ChinaGate, are learning Mandarin and other Chinese dialects. At Japanese universities and schools, Mandarin has overtaken French and German to become the most popular language after...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 29, 2004

Koizumi slip delays Diet debate on Iraq

A session of a special House of Representatives committee on the dispatch of ground troops to Iraq was canceled Wednesday following a slipup by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi regarding the security situation in southern Iraq.
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Jan 29, 2004

Scott's sacking by Nets was no shock

NEW YORK -- For a while there, I thought the Nets' latest farce would never end.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji