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JAPAN
May 26, 2001

Magnitude 8.1 earthquake possible along Nagano fault line, panel warns

Part of central Japan could suffer a magnitude 8.1 earthquake if a temblor occurs near the Itoi River-Shizuoka fault line, a government panel said in a report Friday.
BUSINESS
May 26, 2001

Aid ready to be doled out to ensure African boats rise with IT tide

Japan is offering African countries a lifeboat to help keep them from drowning as the IT tsunami sweeps around the globe.
EDITORIALS
May 26, 2001

Help the world's poorest citizens

Politicians and pundits like to remind us that we live in an age of unprecedented prosperity, Japan's "lost decade" and the trillions of dollars of paper wealth that has vanished as a result of the current downturn in global stock markets notwithstanding. But for more than 600 million people -- one-tenth...
JAPAN
May 26, 2001

Police set to arrest former Sogo chief suspected of hiding personal assets

Police have obtained a warrant to arrest Hiroo Mizushima, 89, the former chairman of failed department store operator Sogo Co., on suspicion of hiding personal assets from creditors, police sources said Friday.
JAPAN
May 26, 2001

Koizumi issues state apology for Hansen's victims' abuses

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi issued a statement of apology Friday to former Hansen's disease patients for a government policy that forced them into decades of isolation.
JAPAN
May 26, 2001

Afghan man gets refugee status

OSAKA -- The Osaka Regional Immigration Bureau granted refugee status Friday to an Afghan man, a member of the Hazara minority group, because he would face death if deported to Afghanistan, his supporters in Japan said.
JAPAN
May 26, 2001

New panel proposal is criticized as soft on violations by state

Concern over freedom of the press has been the media's main focus in covering a government panel's proposal to launch an independent human rights watchdog, while other key aspects have been largely ignored.
BUSINESS
May 26, 2001

Youth favors new Fuji chief

Kyoji Takenaka, the incoming president of Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd., is determined to make the company a full-fledged global player with "premium brand" vehicles.
BUSINESS
May 26, 2001

Tokyo prices posted 0.6% drop in May

Consumer prices in Tokyo witnessed a year-on-year decline of 0.6 percent in May for a record 21st straight month of decline, led by lower prices in housing rents and telecom charges, the government said Friday.
JAPAN
May 26, 2001

State seeks sales delay of controversial textbook

The government has asked a publisher to postpone selling a controversial history textbook until local education boards have selected which books they will have schools use, Education Minister Atsuko Toyama said Friday.
BUSINESS
May 26, 2001

Hiranuma outlines plan to boost jobs, markets

Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Takeo Hiranuma proposed a 15-point plan Friday to increase jobs and markets, including optimizing research outcomes at universities to create business opportunities in the private sector.
BUSINESS
May 26, 2001

Moody's trims banks' ratings

Moody's Investors Service Inc. has cut the financial strength ratings of Fukuoka City Bank and Nishi-Nippon Bank to E from E-plus and E-plus from D, respectively.
JAPAN
May 26, 2001

Muslims protest vandalized Koran

About 500 Muslims gathered at a Tokyo mosque Friday to demonstrate against the discovery of a damaged Koran in front of a Pakistani-run business in the town of Kosugi, Toyama Prefecture, earlier this week.
BUSINESS
May 26, 2001

Lower House OKs bill to reform pension plans

The Lower House on Friday approved a new defined-benefit pension bill that will drastically reform the corporate pension system.
COMMENTARY
May 26, 2001

Feud serves nation poorly

The new administration of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi is enjoying a high public-approval rate of around 80 percent. But although he may be able to carry out his economic and domestic agenda, I have some reservations about his ability in the field of diplomacy.
JAPAN
May 26, 2001

Koizumi pitches privatization plan

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has called for the reorganization of government-affiliated corporations and pointed to the need for sweeping privatization, government officials said Friday.
BUSINESS
May 26, 2001

Two major banking groups suffer losses

Bad loans continued to make a dent in major banks' profits in fiscal 2000, even as the heat intensified to get to the bottom of the problem, according to fiscal earnings reports announced by Friday.
JAPAN
May 26, 2001

Koizumi, coalition to be tested in July

Although Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and his Cabinet continue to enjoy record-high public approval ratings, the real test for the new administration will come in the July House of Councilors election.
JAPAN
May 26, 2001

Lee should get visa again: Mori

Japan should not deny a visa for former Taiwan President Lee Teng-hui if he makes another request to visit the country for medical treatment, former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori was quoted as saying Friday by Taiwan's visiting Nationalist Party leader.
BUSINESS
May 26, 2001

Foreign investors calm down

Foreign investors remained net buyers of Japanese stocks for the ninth straight week last week, although their buying excess visibly narrowed.
BUSINESS
May 26, 2001

Lower fees drag Wowow into red

Satellite broadcaster Wowow Inc. said Friday it fell into the red for the first time in six years in fiscal 2000 due to cuts in subscription fees and growth in costs for adding subscribers.
BUSINESS
May 26, 2001

Daikin in tieup on mobile products

Daikin Industries Ltd. and Sauer-Danfoss Inc. of the United States will jointly set up a manufacturing and a sales firm for oil hydraulic products for use in mobile equipment, the two firms said Friday.
COMMENTARY / World
May 26, 2001

Charting a course as wide as the region

To understand the logic that is driving the Bush administration's redesign of U.S. military strategy, overlay two maps. The first focuses on wealth and population. It highlights Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore, some of the world's richest and most important trading nations. China, India and...
BUSINESS
May 26, 2001

Guidelines on debt waivers sought

Financial Services Minister Hakuo Yanagisawa said Friday he expects the Japan Bankers Association and the Japan Federation of Economic Organizations (Keidanren) to devise guidelines on debt waivers to corporate borrowers by the end of June.
COMMENTARY / World
May 26, 2001

Afghans' prospects grow worse by the day

KABUL -- Surrounded by squalor, 9-year-old Naim Gul raises his hand to beg for a cheap pen.

Longform

The students at Mitaka Municipal No. 7 Junior High School have access to various cooling devices for when they play sports.
Japan's extreme heat is causing a rethink of school sports