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Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Mar 29, 2002

Earthworm

* Japanese name: Aka mimizu * Scientific name: Lumricus rubellus * Description: An earthworm's body consists of a tube within a tube. The inner tube is a digestive tract, the outer is segmented and muscular. Between the two are reproductive organs, and running the length of the body is a simple nervous...
BUSINESS
Mar 29, 2002

Nissan to maximize stake in Renault

Nissan Motor Co. said Thursday it will acquire 13.5 percent of its alliance partner Renault SA through subsidiary Nissan Finance Co.
BUSINESS
Mar 29, 2002

Japan, U.S. to hold steel talks April 10

Japan and the United States will hold talks in Geneva under the dispute-settlement system of the World Trade Organization on April 10 and 11 over tariffs Washington imposed on steel imports earlier this month, government officials said Thursday.
LIFE / Lifestyle / JET STREAM
Mar 29, 2002

Temple tour that's a journey of the soul

It was Ryan Armstrong's dream to follow in the footsteps of the great Kobo Daishi, that is to complete the 1,200-km, 88-temple pilgrimage on Shikoku Island first made by the Buddhist saint 1,200 years ago.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Mar 29, 2002

Where sea meets sky

Although Brittany is part of France, it was, for many centuries, a wild and windswept country of Celts, where people preserved their own language, customs and faith.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 29, 2002

Davos themes dazzle with Webcasting

SEOUL -- If you missed Davos in New York last month, you have a rain check coming via the miracle of Webcasting. The more important panels will be broadcast at the World Economic Forum's Web site ( www.weforum.org ), starting Monday. Don't pass up this intellectual cyberfest for the netizen!
COMMENTARY
Mar 28, 2002

New focus on security pushes nuclear deterrence to the fore

NEW DELHI -- In the post-Sept. 11 environment, nuclear-weapons issues had acquired a lower profile in international relations as the controversy generated by America's missile-defense plans, the ongoing deadlock at the Geneva-based Conference on Disarmament and the coma-like state of the Comprehensive...
COMMENTARY
Mar 28, 2002

Strategy for attacking Iraq

LONDON -- Ample evidence suggests that Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein is determined to develop weapons of mass destruction and terror. There are reports of various underground laboratories working on biological and chemical weapons and possibly on nuclear devices. Iraq probably also managed to hide from...
MORE SPORTS
Mar 28, 2002

Prize money offered at Pan Pacifics

Organizers for the Pan Pacific swimming championships in Yokohama this summer said Tuesday that 1 million yen in prize money will be awarded to swimmers breaking a world record or Japanese swimmers who snare a gold medal in the meet.
BUSINESS
Mar 28, 2002

MMC president-to-be leaves no stone unturned

When he arrived in Tokyo more than a year ago from the Railsystem Unit of the DaimlerChrysler Group, Rolf Eckrodt, vice president and chief operating officer of Mitsubishi Motors Corp., gave each MMC executive a piece of the Berlin Wall encased in clear plastic.
BUSINESS
Mar 28, 2002

Takeda Chemical plans Irish plant

Takeda Chemical Industries Ltd., Japan's biggest pharmaceutical company, said Wednesday it will construct a plant to produce pharmaceutical bulk materials for making medicines in Ireland, to enhance its global production network.
EDITORIALS
Mar 28, 2002

A fairer tax system needed

Two years ago the Tokyo Metropolitan Government imposed a controversial tax on large banks doing business in the capital, with business size, not income, as the standard. Twenty-one banks (now 18 due to reorganization) filed a lawsuit seeking repeal of the tax. On Tuesday the Tokyo District Court ruled...
BUSINESS
Mar 28, 2002

Chiba-based 'shinkin' banks seeking to merge by yearend

Choshi Shinkin Bank and Asahi Shinkin Bank have agreed to merge by the end of the year, creating a major financial institution in Chiba Prefecture with combined deposits of 500 billion yen, financial sources said Wednesday.
BUSINESS / ON THE FRONT LINE
Mar 28, 2002

BOJ set for rethink on government bonds

Since the Bank of Japan shifted its monetary policy emphasis toward quantitative easing a year ago, the daily balance of funds held in its current account has more than trebled.
BUSINESS
Mar 28, 2002

Mitsubishi, Nissho Iwai to combine steel operations

Trading houses Mitsubishi Corp. and Nissho Iwai Corp. said Wednesday they will set up a joint venture Oct. 1 to integrate their steel businesses.
BUSINESS
Mar 28, 2002

Three electric cable makers to merge

Sumitomo Electric Industries Ltd. and two other electric cable makers said Wednesday they have reached a basic agreement to integrate operations to overcome a slump in demand.
BUSINESS
Mar 28, 2002

DaimlerChrysler's Eckrodt to take over at MMC

Mitsubishi Motors Corp. announced Wednesday that its executive vice president, Rolf Eckrodt, who came from DaimlerChrysler AG, will become the automaker's president and chief executive officer.
BUSINESS
Mar 28, 2002

Balance of stocks sold short continues downward slide

The balance of stocks sold short continued to fall last week, while that of margin buying edged higher.
BUSINESS
Mar 28, 2002

Builder Haseko to get 150 billion yen loan bailout

Daiwa Bank and two other commercial lenders on Wednesday agreed to provide 150 billion yen in financial aid to embattled condominium builder Haseko Corp. through a debt-equity swap, Haseko announced Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Mar 28, 2002

Postpone tariff decision on towel imports, LDP panel says

A special panel of the Liberal Democratic Party urged the government Wednesday to extend the April 15 deadline for a decision on whether to impose tariffs on towel imports, LDP officials said.
BUSINESS
Mar 28, 2002

Japan's Arabian Oil gets deal to work Kuwait's Khafji field

Japan's Arabian Oil Co. on Wednesday said it has struck a deal with the Kuwaiti government that will allow it to continue operating in the Khafji oil field after its drilling rights expire Jan. 4.
BUSINESS
Mar 28, 2002

BOJ injects banks with more funds

The Bank of Japan injected more funds into the banking system Wednesday via daily market operations, raising the balance of outstanding current account deposits held at the BOJ by commercial banks by 1.2 trillion yen to about 20.2 trillion yen, money traders said.
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Mar 28, 2002

Kill your television

"I know murder is a bad thing to do to society, but it was something I needed to experience."
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Mar 28, 2002

Insights from alumni are just one perk of the job

As a university professor, March ought to be a pleasure. There are no classes and few meetings. It is, though, a bittersweet month. Students who have become an integral part of the fabric and rhythm of my life are graduating. Most of the names and faces will fade, but many will be remembered, and a few...
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 28, 2002

Occupation and terrorism: Israeli-Palestinian politics from the barrel of a gun

JERUSALEM -- The political battle continues in the Middle East through gun barrels rather than across negotiating tables.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / GARDENS FOR ALL
Mar 28, 2002

Zen gardens wondrous to behold, and not

I like nothing better than to go and explore gardens and to let my imagination ponder on what's to be seen. Kyoto has plenty of places just waiting to be discovered, and the best way to go and see its gardens and temples is either on foot or by local bus.
MORE SPORTS
Mar 28, 2002

Bunnies slip past Bears in final

It may be a Canadian game, and it was being played in Japan, but when all was said and done, it was the Swedish connection that came through at crunch time.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 27, 2002

Don't apologize to Li Peng

CAMBRIDGE, England -- Get out the bunting! Li Peng is on his way! One of the people that former U.S. President Bill Clinton described as the "butchers of Beijing" and now chairman of the National People's Congress, or China's "rubber stamp" Parliament, Li was the Chinese premier at the time of the Tiananmen...
EDITORIALS
Mar 27, 2002

Developing a new perspective

In an era of unprecedented prosperity, it is important to remember how unevenly this vast wealth is spread. More than 1 billion people -- one-fifth of the world's population -- must live on less than $1 a day; nearly half the population survives on twice that amount. There has long been agreement that...
BUSINESS
Mar 27, 2002

New postal players face flat-rate service

New players in Japan's postal services would be obliged to set flat rates nationwide for ordinary mail of up to 250 grams after partial liberalization in 2003 under government-drafted legislation, Liberal Democratic Party officials said Tuesday.

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’