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BUSINESS
Mar 2, 2002

Injection can't be forced: Shiokawa

Finance Minister Masajuro Shiokawa confirmed Friday the government cannot force banks to accept public money to shore up their capital by the end of the fiscal year.
BUSINESS
Mar 2, 2002

Toshiba and Mitsubishi to set up power venture

Toshiba Corp. and Mitsubishi Electric Corp. said Friday that they have agreed to set up a joint venture in April to integrate their electric power transmission and distribution businesses.
BUSINESS
Mar 2, 2002

Tax revenues declined 13% in January

Tax revenues in January fell 13 percent from the previous year to 3.44 trillion yen, the largest monthly decline since the start of fiscal 2001, the Finance Ministry said Friday.
BUSINESS
Mar 2, 2002

Key consumer prices drop for 29th month

Key consumer prices, excluding volatile prices for perishable foods, dropped 0.9 percent in February from a year earlier, down for the 29th month in a row, the government said in a preliminary report released Friday.
BUSINESS
Mar 2, 2002

Misawa hits up UFJ for 70 billion yen

Misawa Homes Co. said Friday it has asked UFJ Bank to forgive 35 billion yen in loans and purchase 35 billion yen of its preferred shares in line with a new restructuring program.
BUSINESS
Mar 2, 2002

Auction site to introduce new fees

Internet portal Yahoo Japan Corp. said Friday it will introduce new fees for its online auction service starting April 15.
BUSINESS
Mar 2, 2002

Komatsu forecasts larger net loss

Komatsu Ltd. said Friday it expects a larger-than-forecast group net loss for fiscal 2001, blaming a a sharp fall in demand for construction machinery that was caused by falling public investment and construction investment.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 2, 2002

Daiwa Bank Holdings swallows up Asahi Bank

Asahi Bank became a wholly owned subsidiary of Daiwa Bank Holdings Inc. on Friday, creating the nation's fifth-largest banking group with more than 50 trillion yen in assets.
BUSINESS
Mar 2, 2002

Mitsui to increase stake in affiliate

Mitsui Fudosan Co. said Friday it will make its affiliate Mitsui Real Estate Sales Co. into a wholly owned subsidiary on Oct. 1 through a share-swap scheme.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 2, 2002

Bush fails to show Korean peace map

SEOUL -- The stage was set for a summit showdown when U.S. President George W. Bush arrived in Seoul last week, and it did not disappoint. At stake was not only the future of Kim Dae Jung's "sunshine policy" of engagement with North Korea -- which is highly dependent on the resumption of talks between...
BUSINESS
Mar 2, 2002

Vehicle sales fell by 5.9% in February

Sales of cars, trucks and buses fell 5.9 percent in February from a year earlier to 349,603 units, marking the sixth consecutive month of decline, the Japan Automobile Dealers Association said Friday.
BUSINESS
Mar 2, 2002

Matsushita and union haggle over bonuses

OSAKA -- Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. and its labor union are at an impasse regarding next year's bonuses, with the company hoping to slash payouts below a threshold equal to four months' pay due to a sharp decline in earnings.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Mar 2, 2002

Diplomat-poet shares center stage with Parker 51

If the Indian ambassador to Japan, Aftab Seth, ever loses his pen, the world may come to an end. His world, that is.
BUSINESS / ON THE FRONT LINE
Mar 2, 2002

Dollar may test 140 yen level by end of year

The dollar could snap out of its current range between 132 yen and 135 yen in mid-March and test the 140 yen line toward the close of fiscal 2001.
BUSINESS
Mar 2, 2002

Foreigners turn net sellers

Foreign investors turned net sellers of Japanese stocks last week.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Mar 2, 2002

Leslie deGiere

While she was still a student at San Francisco State University, Leslie deGiere took a break from lectures and went to London. "I had lived in America my entire life, and wanted to go somewhere else," she said. "I was interested in British history and literature, and decided to spend some time in London....
BUSINESS
Mar 2, 2002

Best Denki, Softbank in joint venture

Consumer electronics retailer Best Denki Co. and two Softbank Corp. group firms said Friday they have agreed to set up a joint venture April 1 to sell Softbank group's broadband services.
SOCCER / World cup
Mar 2, 2002

Asia to fight for fifth 2006 World Cup berth

The Asian Football Confederation will continue to work toward gaining a fifth berth for the 2006 World Cup, AFC general secretary Peter Velappan said on Thursday, in reaction to remarks by FIFA president Sepp Blatter the day before.
BUSINESS
Mar 2, 2002

Digital TV joint venture launched

Digital television broadcasts using a new communications satellite got off the ground Friday.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Mar 2, 2002

Metal horse, stun gun: I'm ready to roll

I have always been hesitant to drive a car in Japan. I'm afraid I'll run over pedestrians. I'm from the countryside in Ohio, where we have no pedestrians, just possums and raccoons. You're allowed to run over them. Sure, I had seen pedestrians before, but they were always on signs. They never actually...
EDITORIALS
Mar 1, 2002

Seeds of change

If you have ever visited Britain, or just dropped by one of Tokyo's popular British pubs, you might have tasted fish and chips flavored with salt and maybe a dash of vinegar. This classic takeout has been a favorite of the British working class for as long as anyone can remember. It came as a bit of...
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 1, 2002

Tempest over headscarves ruffles Singapore's multiracial calm

SINGAPORE -- As the controversy over the prohibition of wearing the Muslim headscarf, the tudung, in public schools in Singapore moves on to the next stage, a cardinal doctrine of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations -- noninterference in the domestic affairs of member countries -- looks set to...
COMMENTARY
Mar 1, 2002

Revisiting the 'axis of evil'

HONOLULU -- Those of us who comment on U.S. foreign policy are deeply indebted to U.S. President George W. Bush for his State of the Union reference to North Korea, Iran, and Iraq as an "axis of evil." Never before have three simple (if not simplistic) words spawned so many editorials, fed so many talking...
SOCCER / World cup
Mar 1, 2002

FIFA 'ready' for World Cup

FIFA officials and representatives of the 32 teams competing in this year's World Cup wrapped up a two-day workshop in Tokyo on Thursday by declaring that they are ready to stage the World Cup in May and June.
SOCCER / World cup
Mar 1, 2002

Troussier tries to defuse pressure on team

SHIMIZU, Shizuoka Pref. -- Japan coach Philippe Troussier on Wednesday night attempted to defuse the pressure on himself and his players by saying that his current training schedule for the national squad is like "testing a Formula One car."
BUSINESS
Mar 1, 2002

Market awaits followup to policy package

The much-awaited government package of measures to fight deflation has been unveiled, but the market's reaction has been muted as the content settled well within the range of expectations.
BUSINESS
Mar 1, 2002

Industrial output drops 1%

Japan's industrial production fell a seasonally adjusted 1 percent in January from December in reaction to a pickup in the preceding month, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry 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’