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BUSINESS
Jan 29, 2002

Matsushita, Toshiba eye cyberappliances

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Toshiba Corp. and two other firms said Monday that they will establish a joint venture on Friday to offer Internet-access services for next-generation, Net-capable home appliances.
JAPAN
Jan 29, 2002

Joyu to take Aum's reins Wednesday

Fumihiro Joyu, a longtime spokesman for Aum Shinrikyo, will on Wednesday formally take over leadership of the cult responsible for the 1995 sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway system.
SUMO
Jan 29, 2002

New champ Tochiazuma has good night

Newly promoted ozeki Tochiazuma had no trouble sleeping Sunday night after winning his first Emperor's Cup at the New Year Grand Sumo Tournament, the Tamanoi stable grappler told reporters Monday.
JAPAN
Jan 29, 2002

Flood of bogus bills blamed on foreign mob

More than 900 counterfeit 10,000 yen bills with finely crafted watermarks have been found in Tokyo, Osaka and Shizuoka prefectures since the beginning of 2002, and investigators suspect an overseas criminal organization.
BUSINESS
Jan 29, 2002

19 Mycal outlets to close doors

OSAKA -- Failed supermarket chain operator Mycal Corp. announced Monday that it will close 19 outlets nationwide, including Otaru Vivre in Hokkaido and Toyoda Saty in Aichi Prefecture.
SOCCER / J. League / ON THE BALL
Jan 29, 2002

Bellmare looking at more than just soccer

J. League second division club Shonan Bellmare is making a unique challenge to transform itself into a multi-sports organization.
JAPAN
Jan 29, 2002

First tests on suspect chemicals complete

The Environment Ministry said Monday it has finished a preliminary assessment to determine if 39 chemicals pose a potential danger to humans and wildlife, and will perform in-depth tests on five chemicals that appear especially pernicious.
BUSINESS
Jan 29, 2002

BS digital TV shipments crawling

Shipments of TVs and tuners for broadcast satellite digital broadcasting services have slumped and probably won't reach the industry's goal of 10 million units sold within 1,000 days of December 2000, an industry association said Monday.
BUSINESS
Jan 29, 2002

METI official to visit China, inspect projects

Katsusada Hirose, vice minister of economy, trade and industry, will visit China later this week to attend a high-level meeting and inspect joint projects on information technology, it was announced on Monday.
BUSINESS
Jan 29, 2002

Consumer confidence unchanged, but deflation proving popular

Japan's overall consumer confidence in December remained unchanged from September, indicating spending is unlikely to increase soon, a quarterly government survey showed Monday.
BUSINESS / TAKING STOCK
Jan 29, 2002

Bourse in wait-and-see mode

While the Tokyo stock market awaits signs of the government's resolve to fix the nation's financial woes, macroeconomic environments surrounding the market are gradually showing improvement.
JAPAN
Jan 29, 2002

U.K. campaign targets Japan youth

The British government on Monday launched a one-year campaign to present contemporary U.K. to Japan, especially to Japanese youth.
MORE SPORTS
Jan 29, 2002

Takeba wins World Cup trap shoot

Japanese sharpshooter Taeko Takeba won the women's trap shoot at the World Cup Final meet in Doha, Qatar on Sunday, Japanese shooting officials reported Monday.
COMMENTARY
Jan 29, 2002

Work-sharing accord nears

Amid the prolonged recession, Japanese officials are giving serious consideration to a work-sharing system that has been common in Europe for a long time. Last month, government, labor and management officials held a top-level meeting to discuss the issue under orders from Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi....
BUSINESS
Jan 29, 2002

Retail sales fall for fifth year in row

Retail sales in Japan fell 2.2 percent in 2001 for the fifth straight year of decline, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said Monday.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / NATURE TRAVEL
Jan 29, 2002

Learning Spanish under the volcanoes

Fancy learning Spanish? We're pleased to suggest four options.
JAPAN
Jan 29, 2002

Osaka consultant stiffs clothing market tenants

OSAKA -- A Japanese consulting firm has failed to pay 25 million yen to South Korean merchants in a failed wholesale clothing market it managed, sources close to the case said Monday.
EDITORIALS
Jan 28, 2002

An inadequate rescue plan

A new three-year restructuring program for Daiei Inc., the nation's second-largest supermarket chain operator, is symbolic of the debt woes that plague large Japanese distributors, constructors and real estate firms. Earlier this month, Daiei's three creditor banks -- UFJ Holdings Inc., Sumitomo Mitsui...
SUMO
Jan 28, 2002

Tochiazuma downs Chiyotaikai in playoff to take New Year title

Tochiazuma won his first yusho on the final day of the Hatsu Basho after defeating fellow-ozeki Chiyotaikai in a playoff for the championship, coming from behind to take the title Sunday at Tokyo's Ryogoku Kokugikan.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 28, 2002

Commission a model of global cooperation

Responding to the call by U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan in September 1999, then-Canadian Foreign Minister Lloyd Axworthy set up an independent, 12-member International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty to try to bridge the divide between international intervention and national sovereignty....
JAPAN
Jan 28, 2002

Foreign Ministry draws criticism over NGO ban

The Foreign Ministry came under attack Sunday from ruling coalition lawmakers over a controversy stemming from a decision to exclude two nongovernmental organizations from the Tokyo conference on Afghan aid last week.
JAPAN
Jan 28, 2002

Japan to send second fleet to Indian Ocean

The government has decided to send its second fleet, comprised of three Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyers and one supply ship, to the Indian Ocean next month as part of Japan's continued noncombat support of the U.S.-led war on terrorism, government sources said Sunday.
COMMENTARY
Jan 28, 2002

Congress should do more than just spend

WASHINGTON -- With Congress back in session, economics is likely to come to the fore in Washington. President George W. Bush may be winning the war on terrorism, but congressional Democrats think they can recoup by blaming him for losing the surplus. This party of big spenders is ill-equipped to take...
JAPAN
Jan 28, 2002

Three 14-year-olds arrested over death of homeless man

Police said Sunday they have arrested three 14-year-old boys for allegedly beating a homeless man to death Friday night at a "gateball" ground in the northwestern Tokyo city of Higashimurayama.

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’