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JAPAN
Mar 16, 2001

Diesel woes spur truck firms to seek out alternative fuels

Delivery companies are starting to use trucks that run on compressed natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas in the face of stricter regulations on diesel-powered vehicles.
JAPAN
Mar 16, 2001

Prince's daughter ends nursery days

Kako, the 6-year-old daughter of Prince Akishino and his wife, Princess Kiko, graduated Thursday from her kindergarten in Tokyo's Toshima Ward.
JAPAN
Mar 16, 2001

Miyazawa proposes stock fund guarantee

Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa presented a scheme Thursday that would extend a government guarantee to a proposed private-sector fund that would purchase cross-held shares from ailing institutions, Financial Services Minister Hakuo Yanagisawa said.
JAPAN
Mar 16, 2001

Obituary: Mimpei Sugiura

Mimpei Sugiura, a scholar on Italian Renaissance literature, died of a stroke Wednesday evening at a hospital in the town of Tahara, Aichi Prefecture. He was 87.
BUSINESS
Mar 16, 2001

BOJ hints at easing monetary policy

Bank of Japan Gov. Masaru Hayami signaled Thursday that the central bank may further relax its already easy monetary policy to help shore up the faltering economy.
BUSINESS
Mar 16, 2001

Atento Pasona sets up call center

Atento Pasona Inc. started operations Thursday at its first call center in Tokyo's Toshima Ward to promote its Web-based customer relationship management services in Japan.
CULTURE / Music
Mar 16, 2001

Post-rockers toil in obscurity and they like it like that

Anonymity is the nemesis of pop. History is filled with earnest, well-meaning bands who did whatever they could to keep the music up front and the personalities in the background, often to the point where they wouldn't even reveal their names (like early Pavement). But unless you intend to toil in obscurity...
SUMO
Mar 16, 2001

Kaio grabs sole lead in Osaka

OSAKA -- Ozeki Kaio dodged a bullet Thursday to preserve his unbeaten record and take sole possession of the lead, while yokozuna duo Takanohana and Musashimaru joined a logjam of wrestlers at 4-1 in the Spring Grand Sumo Tournament.
BUSINESS
Mar 16, 2001

Part-time latte makers could own part of chain

OSAKA -- Starbucks Coffee Japan Ltd. will introduce a stock option scheme for 1,400 of its 5,000-strong workforce, including part-time workers, the subsidiary of the major U.S. coffee chain said Thursday.
JAPAN
Mar 16, 2001

Parents awarded damages over son's death at crossing

The Tokyo District Court awarded 32 million yen in compensation Thursday to a Tokyo mother whose 8-year-old son was killed after being hit by a dump truck.
EDITORIALS
Mar 15, 2001

Making sense of the slide

The blood-letting in international stock markets continues. The U.S. Nasdaq index plunged below the 2,000 level for the first time in 27 months. The S&P 500 lopped 20 percent of its peak, officially becoming a "bear market." The U.S. free fall triggered a domino effect, pushing Asian and European...
BUSINESS
Mar 15, 2001

Current account surplus falls 60% to 250 billion yen

January's current account surplus fell 59.7 percent to 249.6 billion yen for the second consecutive year-on-year decline, the Finance Ministry said in a preliminary report Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Mar 15, 2001

Slips of politicians' tongues hurt economy

The dollar appears likely to continue hovering around 120 yen for some time.
BUSINESS
Mar 15, 2001

FSA, Keidanren unite on bad loans

Financial Services Minister Hakuo Yanagisawa and business leader Takashi Imai agreed Wednesday to cooperate in efforts to accelerate the disposal of bad loans through the consolidation of borrowing companies, business officials said.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 15, 2001

The choice is North Korea's

WASHINGTON -- The curtain has come down on the first act of the Bush administration's Asia policy, and there are far more questions than answers about U.S. policy after President Kim Dae Jung's visit to Washington. The media feasted on the mixed messages from a skeptical President George W. Bush and...
JAPAN
Mar 15, 2001

Endocrine disrupter check widened

The Environment Ministry on Wednesday added four more substances to a priority list of agents that are being studied to determine the risks they pose as endocrine disrupters, ministry officials said.
SOCCER / J. League
Mar 15, 2001

Troussier names squad to face France

Japan manager Philippe Troussier was in a confident mood Wednesday as he announced his senior team for an upcoming friendly international against world champion France, slated for March 24 at Saint-Dennis.
BUSINESS
Mar 15, 2001

Bankruptcies rise, but less debt remains

The number of corporate bankruptcies rose 0.3 percent in February from a year ago to 1,448 for the first increase in two months, but debts left behind fell 7.6 percent to 1.115 trillion yen, a research institute said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Mar 15, 2001

Japan bans pork imports from France

Japan banned imports of French pork and pork products Wednesday following the confirmation of a case of foot-and-mouth disease Tuesday in France, Agriculture Ministry officials said.
JAPAN
Mar 15, 2001

Saving the forests through photos

KYOTO -- The blue mushrooms in the Australian state of Tasmania seemed like windows onto the soul of the forest to French photographer and environmentalist Jerome Hutin.
COMMUNITY
Mar 15, 2001

Queuing for the exclusive

Harajuku, on any given Saturday, is filled with shoppers. On the main streets, the shops see a steady stream of customers move freely through their doors. In the back streets, however, the clientele is made to wait. The young people queue up -- for the privilege of buying basic street clothing off near-empty...
BUSINESS
Mar 15, 2001

Toyota chief calls for more stability

Hiroshi Okuda, chairman of the Japan Federation of Employers' Association, called for political stability on Wednesday to help shore up the ailing stock market.
BUSINESS
Mar 15, 2001

Emergency economic aid set for April

The government will implement the ruling coalition's package of emergency economic measures in April and May, the Liberal Democratic Party's policy chief said Wednesday.

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