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JAPAN
Feb 21, 2002

Team discusses fuel-cell promotion

Vice ministers from three government ministries on Wednesday held their first meeting on promoting fuel cell technology in Japan.
JAPAN
Feb 21, 2002

Flu warnings cover 46 prefectures

Warnings of possible influenza outbreaks have been issued to all but one prefecture nationwide, a center on infectious diseases said Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Feb 21, 2002

Wire making firms promise unions to avoid staff cuts

The management of Furukawa Electric Co., Sumitomo Electric Industries Ltd. and four other leading electric wire makers promised in recent negotiations with their labor unions that they would make "utmost efforts" to avoid job cuts, union officials said Wednesday.
BUSINESS / ON THE FRONT LINE
Feb 21, 2002

Recovery to ease yen-selling

Caught between fears of a domestic crisis in March and expectations of government measures to fight deflation, the dollar-yen rate has remained stuck in a relatively narrow range between 131 yen and 135 yen in recent weeks.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Feb 21, 2002

Chino cements image as ADB's best chief ever

MANILA It was the most important night of the year. As "Show 2001" got off to a start, the hall was packed to standing room only, and talented employees -- mostly Filipinos -- strutted their stuff in aid of local charities.
BUSINESS
Feb 21, 2002

Honda chairman to head car industry association

Yoshihide Munekuni, chairman of Honda Motor Co., is expected to become the head of the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association Inc. in May, industry sources said Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Feb 21, 2002

Tepco may muscle in on Tohoku power turf

Tokyo Electric Power Co. may submit bids for three electricity retailing contracts in the Tohoku region, threatening to muscle in on Tohoku Electric Power Co.'s territory, industry sources said Wednesday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / INTERNATIONAL RATIONALE
Feb 21, 2002

Japanese companies begin to build their brands

In October 1999, Nissan Motor Co. chief Carlos Ghosn said he planned to boost Nissan's brand power as part of a turnaround plan for the then ailing automaker. Many Nissan workers were initially confused.
BUSINESS
Feb 21, 2002

TSE aiming to be listed in 2005

The Tokyo Stock Exchange aims to list itself in the 2005 business year by improving its profitability during a midterm management program from 2002 to 2004.
BUSINESS
Feb 21, 2002

Noevir to sell cosmetic goods online

Cosmetics maker Noevir Co. said Wednesday it will begin selling products over the Internet in April.
BUSINESS
Feb 21, 2002

Matsushita managers to learn sales

OSAKA -- Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. will send midlevel managers to large-scale household appliance retailers for about a month this spring to give them firsthand experience with sales of the company's product range, company officials said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Feb 21, 2002

Man held over fake job certificates

A man was issued an arrest warrant Wednesday on suspicion of registering a fictitious company in order to sell fake job certificates to immigrants.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Feb 21, 2002

Denizens of the deep that take your breath away

Almost exactly a year ago, I was introduced to scuba diving and the astonishing submarine sights of corals, colorful fish, sea lions, flightless cormorants and even penguins.
BUSINESS
Feb 21, 2002

Cooking oil producers set to merge

A joint holding company to be formed April 1 by Honen Corp. and Ajinomoto Oil Mills Co. will merge with another cooking oil producer, Yoshihara Oil Mill Ltd., to create the largest domestic entity in the field, according to the three firms.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT
Feb 21, 2002

Ancient mariners' survival in the balance

Terrestrial turtles, and their cousins that ventured into the oceans around 130 million years ago, are among the oldest groups of reptiles on Earth. At one time, millions of these creatures roamed the ancient seas, but today, only a tiny fraction remain.
Japan Times
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
Feb 21, 2002

'Rainbow Warrior' talks rugby, politics, life

Francois Pienaar is best known as the man who unified a nation.
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Feb 21, 2002

Living under pressure

Life, as we knew it only a few decades ago, needed sunlight and warmth. No one imagined that anything could survive in extreme environments -- in intolerable places such as high-pressure, high-temperature deep-sea vents or under Antarctic ice sheets.
LIFE / Digital / NAME OF THE GAME
Feb 21, 2002

Xbox gets a bit 'Wreckless'

Xbox is coming to Japan on Friday, and by all accounts, Japanese game players are pretty excited. Microsoft's new video game console is clearly the most advanced and most powerful video game console on the market. It is more powerful than Nintendo's GameCube. Sony's PlayStation2 is not even in Xbox's...
JAPAN
Feb 21, 2002

Accused killer Hayashi wins redress

OSAKA -- The Osaka District Court has ordered Shinchosha Co. and its president to pay 6.6 million yen in compensation to Masumi Hayashi, who is on trial for mass murder in a 1998 curry poisoning incident, for running a photo and drawing of her without permission.
BUSINESS
Feb 21, 2002

Hitachi, Mitsubishi ink nuclear deal

Hitachi Ltd. and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. said Wednesday they have agreed to collaborate on basic nuclear power plant technologies.
JAPAN
Feb 21, 2002

Fake bills land three on Interpol list

Police on Wednesday put three people from Taiwan on an Interpol wanted list for allegedly using fake 10,000 yen bills in Asakusa, Tokyo.
SOCCER / World cup
Feb 20, 2002

Troussier names 34-man squad

Japan coach Philippe Troussier announced a reduced 34-man squad Tuesday for the upcoming World Cup training camp for domestic-based national team players in Shizuoka Prefecture.
MORE SPORTS
Feb 20, 2002

Japanese, Korean club championship planned

The winners of the Japanese and South Korean women's basketball leagues will meet each other in a two-leg championship series next month, officials of the Women's Japan Basketball League Organization said Monday.
EDITORIALS
Feb 20, 2002

So little to celebrate

Last Saturday, North Korea celebrated the 60th birthday of "Dear Leader" Kim Jong Il, which marked the beginning of four months of festivities. It is hard to imagine what the country is celebrating, apart from survival: The economy is in a mess and shows no sign of improving, and the North Korean government...
JAPAN
Feb 20, 2002

Mitsubishi Materials Kenzai, Nozawa suspected in price cartel

The Fair Trade Commission searched about 30 Mitsubishi Materials Kenzai Corp. and Nozawa Corp. outlets Tuesday on suspicion they ran an illegal sales cartel for construction materials.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 20, 2002

Fence-mending with Megawati trumps failure by Howard to meet with Bush

SYDNEY -- Two weeks of hard-sell diplomacy in New York and Jakarta have left Australian Prime Minister John Howard feeling a little cheesed off. Back home, his wins are being downplayed. And as Parliament opens its autumn sitting in Canberra, his mind is strictly on urgent domestic problems.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 20, 2002

Miyazaki delighted to win Berlin Golden Bear

Film director Hayao Miyazaki expressed delight Tuesday about winning the top prize for his animated film "Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi" ("Spirited Away") at the Berlin Film Festival.

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’