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COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Dec 1, 2001

Uses for the Japanese Proficiency Test

Tomorrow, foreigners from all over the world, from China to Mars, will be sitting for the Japanese Proficiency Test.
BUSINESS
Dec 1, 2001

Dentsu's TSE debut makes a big splash

Dentsu Inc., the nation's largest advertising agency, registered on Friday the maximum daily allowable gain -- 50,000 yen -- to end the day at 470,000 yen on its first day of trading on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
BUSINESS
Dec 1, 2001

Japan and Mexico seek FTA to solve trade issues

A study group agreed Friday in Tokyo that a free-trade agreement could solve issues hindering trade and investment activity between Japan and Mexico, domestic officials said.
JAPAN
Dec 1, 2001

Motivators instill staff with a new enthusiasm

With the economy in deep freeze, motivational firms that claim they have the power to inject new vim into lifeless workers are attracting the attention of executives yearning to recapture lost corporate brio.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 1, 2001

Africa: building a better future

Next week's ministerial meeting in Tokyo on African development offers a special opportunity for Japan and other development partners of Africa to renew their commitment to building a better future for that region's 300 million children. Their future ought to be a matter of global concern: In this era...
JAPAN
Dec 1, 2001

Asia-Pacific nations back plan to fight corruption

Seventeen countries in the Asia-Pacific region endorsed an action plan to fight corruption at an international conference Friday in Tokyo, with each planning to set specific priorities for implementation.
JAPAN
Dec 1, 2001

45 public firms rack up 306 trillion yen in liabilities

Forty-five public corporations financed by the "zaito" government fiscal investment and loan program held roughly 306 trillion yen in total liabilities as of the end of fiscal 2000, according to a Board of Audit report submitted Friday to Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Dec 1, 2001

Patrick Carroll

From the sea to the sky: When he was living in southeast England, Patrick Carroll joined the Royal Naval Reserve, the "part-time navy." He served on small vessels, such as minesweepers and patrol vessels. When he came to Japan, he volunteered his services to the Royal Naval Association Japan Branch....
EDITORIALS
Nov 30, 2001

Easing rules for police use of guns

Police officers in Japan are subject to strict restrictions in the use of handguns. This is held partly responsible for the increasing deaths of police in the line of duty. Beginning Dec. 1, however, they will be able to fire shots with less constraint when their lives, or those of others in need of...
BUSINESS
Nov 30, 2001

Panel seeks import tax after salt market is freed

A subcommittee of the Fiscal System Council proposed Thursday that tariffs be imposed on salt imports for up to three years when Japan "frees up" its salt market on April 1.
JAPAN
Nov 30, 2001

Plan to scrap highway project has local interests up in arms

Having decided to dismantle and privatize Japan Highway Public Corp., the Cabinet of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi is now focusing on which road construction projects to cancel.
JAPAN
Nov 30, 2001

State seeks 10-year sentence in Matsuo embezzlement trial

Prosecutors demanded a 10-year prison sentence Thursday for fired Foreign Ministry official Katsutoshi Matsuo, who stands accused of embezzling 500 million yen from the Cabinet Secretariat's discretionary funds from 1997 to 1999.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 30, 2001

Cheers for Bhutto in Delhi a reminder of region's shifty politics

Benazir Bhutto, Pakistan's former president, played the rights cards during her seven-year reign, endearing her to India while ensuring that she was not alienated from her own people.
JAPAN
Nov 30, 2001

Panel OKs logistic support for Afghan strikes

The Upper House Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Thursday approved the provision of logistic support to the U.S.-led military strikes in Afghanistan, moving the plan a step closer to final Diet passage.
BUSINESS
Nov 30, 2001

Japanese carriers log sharp fall in passengers

The Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States were to blame for a 21.2 percent year-on-year fall in the number of passengers departing or returning to Japan on Japanese airlines in September, the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry said Thursday.
JAPAN
Nov 30, 2001

'Yakiniku' promotion aims to lure back diners

An online promotion to boost falling sales of "yakiniku," or barbecued meat, will be launched Saturday amid consumer concerns over mad cow disease, organizers said.
JAPAN
Nov 30, 2001

Ohta angered by calls for Kansai airport delay

OSAKA -- Kansai officials were angered Wednesday upon hearing that the central government wants to delay completion of the second phase of Kansai International Airport, which was initially scheduled to be built in 2007.
BUSINESS
Nov 30, 2001

Industrial output hit 13-year low in October: report

Japan's industrial output in October fell 0.3 percent from a month before to a 13-year low, according to a preliminary report released Thursday by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.
BUSINESS
Nov 30, 2001

State, BOJ to launch economic task force

The government and the Bank of Japan agreed Thursday to launch a task force charged with lifting the economy out of its deflationary state, government officials said.
JAPAN
Nov 30, 2001

Elderly folks bond in makeshift cafes

Tokyo's Suginami Ward is making a name for itself as an area where senior citizens can meet at least once a month and chat over a cup of coffee, tea or cocoa at a private home or assembly hall converted into a makeshift cafe by volunteers.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 30, 2001

Mission Possible for Chen

TAIPEI -- Since Taiwan's long-ruling Nationalist Party (KMT) lost last year's presidential election to the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), the island has slid into its worst recession in decades.
JAPAN
Nov 30, 2001

Chongryun HQ searched after embezzlement arrests

The Metropolitan Police Department on Thursday searched the headquarters of the pro-Pyongyang General Association of Korean Residents in Japan (Chongryun) for evidence in an embezzlement scandal that has ensnared a senior official of the group.
BUSINESS
Nov 30, 2001

BOJ opts to leave easy monetary policy in place

The Bank of Japan Policy Board decided by a majority vote Thursday to maintain its ultraeasy monetary policy.
COMMENTARY
Nov 30, 2001

Pyongyang's missed chances

HONOLULU -- North Korea never misses an opportunity to miss an opportunity. The latest example occurred last week when Pyongyang precipitated yet another breakdown in the North-South dialogue process, thus dealing a staggering blow to South Korean President Kim Dae Jung's beleaguered "sunshine policy"...
JAPAN
Nov 30, 2001

Justice Ministry reveals deportee's bank deposits

The Justice Ministry has revealed that about 100 million yen was deposited into a bank account of one of nine Afghan men who were denied refugee status in Japan on grounds that they lack credibility as refugees.

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’