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EDITORIALS
Dec 22, 2001

Reform budget a double-edged sword

The Finance Ministry's draft general-account budget, which was unveiled Thursday, is the first under the administration of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. Living up to his "fiscal reform" slogan, he has kept his pledge to cap bond issuance at 30 trillion yen. The borrowing limit, however, is a "double-edged...
JAPAN
Dec 22, 2001

Bloc agrees to reform civil-servant pay system

The three ruling parties approved a government plan Friday to introduce a new wage system for national government officials based on competency and achievements, party officials said.
BUSINESS
Dec 22, 2001

Governments wait to see how far yen will fall

Although the yen remains under downward pressure, Washington, Beijing and other countries across Asia have adopted a wait-and-see policy.
SOCCER / J. League
Dec 22, 2001

S-Pulse's Alex called up

Shimizu S-Pulse midfielder Alessandro Santos, known as Alex before winning a Japanese passport, has been called up for the Japan national team training camp slated for Jan. 21-25 for the first time, the Japan Football Association announced Friday.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 22, 2001

AIDS devastation felt far beyond Africa

CAMBRIDGE, England -- I have just come back from a trip to Africa, my first in several years. I used to visit there frequently before my work became specialized on East Asia. This trip, to Botswana, was purely for a holiday.
JAPAN
Dec 22, 2001

Penal Code violations leap to record high 2.5 million

The number of Penal Code violations reported between January and November hit a record high 2,508,983, the National Police Agency said in a report.
BUSINESS
Dec 22, 2001

Cheap burger policy under review

Ltd. has changed its half-price hamburger policy for weekdays at outlets in three prefectures, setting new discount prices that will run throughout the week, company officials said Friday. The company plans to extend the system to other areas next year, they added.
BUSINESS
Dec 22, 2001

Pundits see Japan-China spat as just the beginning

The recent trade dispute between Japan and China over three farm products was a harbinger of future trade friction between the two countries, according to pundits.
MORE SPORTS
Dec 22, 2001

Broken hand sidelines Inoue

Sydney Olympic gold-medalist Kosei Inoue has been forced to pull out of next month's Japan international judo tournament due to a broken right hand, the All Japan Judo Federation said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Dec 22, 2001

Panel proposes NHK online limits

A telecom ministry panel proposed on Friday limiting the scope of information provided online by NHK for the next three years, ministry sources said.
JAPAN
Dec 22, 2001

Delegates hit Japan for inaction

People at the frontline of the war against child prostitution and pornography describe it as "every country's dirtiest and darkest secret."
BUSINESS
Dec 22, 2001

State seen stalling on international labor standards

HISANE MASAKI Staff writer Japan may not be as enthusiastic about implementing international labor standards as widely thought.
BUSINESS
Dec 22, 2001

UFJ Financial Group pulls a switch on choice for new Sanwa chief

Masashi Teranishi, senior managing director at Sanwa Bank, will become president of UFJ Bank when it is launched Jan. 15, instead of Sanwa Bank President Kaneo Muromachi, as had been earlier decided, a Sanwa Bank spokesman said Friday.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 22, 2001

Tanaka isn't the true target

HONOLULU — Japanese Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka has been engaged in a very public battle with Foreign Ministry officials since her appointment in April. While the controversy has focused on Tanaka's gaffes and her seeming inability to serve effectively as foreign minister, the real clash is more...
JAPAN
Dec 22, 2001

Ogata likely to be named joint chair of Afghan conference

Sadako Ogata, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's special envoy on Afghan affairs, is likely to be the Japanese chair of a multinational conference to discuss the reconstruction of Afghanistan, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda hinted Friday.
BUSINESS
Dec 22, 2001

Automakers happy, farmers angry

The domestic auto industry welcomed the compromise Friday between Japan and China on a trade dispute.
BUSINESS
Dec 22, 2001

NKK and Kawasaki Steel to team up as JFE Group

NKK Corp. and Kawasaki Steel Corp. plan to rename themselves JFE Group when they merge under a joint holding company in October, the firms announced Friday.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Dec 22, 2001

Thomas L. Wright

Part of the enduring fame of architect Frank Lloyd Wright stems from his having designed the old Imperial Hotel in Tokyo. His reputation was significantly enhanced when the Imperial Hotel, shortly after its 1923 opening, withstood the 7.9-magnitude earthquake that devastated Tokyo and Yokohama. Wright's...
JAPAN
Dec 22, 2001

Children of suicide victims seek help in alleviating social discrimination

Children who have lost one or both parents to suicide met with Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi earlier this month to appeal for measures to curb the growing number of parental suicides, according to a private nonprofit group.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Dec 22, 2001

Book by 'Japagaijin' gives abused women shelter

Right now, Diane Brown is shoveling snow. She lives 10 km from the center of Sapporo, where she finds it both amusing and annoying that so much of the drudgery of local life has been officially labeled women's work. "The shovel I use is called a 'Mamadump' because it's mums who mostly clear the white...
BUSINESS
Dec 22, 2001

LDP's Aizawa presses the BOJ to target inflation

A financial working group of the Liberal Democratic Party adopted a resolution Friday urging the Bank of Japan to set a clear inflation target to combat deflation.
BUSINESS
Dec 22, 2001

Nikko Cordial buys bonds to help unit repay investors

Nikko Cordial Corp. has bought 108.9 billion yen worth of banks' subordinated bonds in devalued money management funds managed by its subsidiary, Nikko Asset Management Co., to help it reimburse investors, company sources said Friday.

Longform

Sociologist Gracia Liu-Farrer argues that even through immigration doesn't figure into Japan's autobiography, it is more of a self-perception than a reality.
In search of the ‘Japanese dream’