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BUSINESS
Mar 9, 2001

Average household expenditures drop 0.5% in January

Average household spending fell a real 0.5 percent in January from a year earlier to 307,952 yen following a 2.1 percent gain in December, the government says in a preliminary report released Thursday.
BUSINESS
Mar 9, 2001

Strapped builder Kumagai Gumi to issue shares

Struggling contractor Kumagai Gumi Co. said Thursday that it will issue new shares worth 20 billion yen to 13 financial institutions and one of its affiliates to help replenish its depleted capital base.
BUSINESS
Mar 9, 2001

Volvo truck tieup remains: MMC

Struggling carmaker Mitsubishi Motors Corp. on Thursday denied a report that it is in talks with Swedish truck maker AB Volvo to end their tieup in the truck business.
JAPAN
Mar 9, 2001

Japan's history again haunts future relations

The ongoing controversy between Japan and South Korea over a new textbook for Japanese junior high schools has taken a toll on the bilateral diplomatic calendar.
COMMENTARY
Mar 9, 2001

The LDP just doesn't get it

Japanese politics is in a state of dysfunction. Symbolic of the problem is the fact that even though Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori's Cabinet survived an opposition-sponsored no-confidence motion, there are moves in the governing Liberal Democratic Party to unseat him.
SOCCER / J. League
Mar 9, 2001

Bad days are over, but J. League must change with the times

When the J. League was launched on May 13, 1993, it had 10 teams in a single-division format. Since then, the league has grown and now consists of 28 teams in two divisions.
JAPAN / STAGING A COMEBACK
Mar 9, 2001

Lifetime employment myth fades amid jobless realities

At the age of 40, Yoshiro Kamimura worked in sales at a chemical company, with a wife and two preschool children to support.
BUSINESS
Mar 9, 2001

LDP lawmakers appear set to block key NTT reforms

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Thursday blasted proposed changes to the telecom law, claiming they would undermine Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp.'s international competitiveness, LDP officials said.
SOCCER / J. League
Mar 9, 2001

J. League bets on Toto

This year, Japanese soccer fans (and others) can take part in "Toto," the nation's first soccer "lottery," which, effectively, is a form of betting on J. League games.
JAPAN
Mar 9, 2001

Trackside rites mark '00 subway crash

Memorial services were held Thursday morning near Nakameguro Station on the Hibiya subway line in Tokyo's Meguro Ward to mark the first anniversary of a train derailment and collision that claimed five lives and left 64 passengers injured.
JAPAN
Mar 9, 2001

Climber returns to Mount Everest to clear up Asian alpinists' garbage

Ken Noguchi, who in 1999 became the youngest person to climb the highest peaks on the world's seven continents, is returning to the last mountain he conquered -- Mount Everest.
JAPAN
Mar 9, 2001

Fifth suspect held for harboring Red Army chief

OSAKA -- A man in the city of Ashiya, Hyogo Prefecture, was arrested Thursday on suspicion of harboring Fusako Shigenobu, founder of the Japanese Red Army terrorist group, investigative sources said.
SOCCER / J. League
Mar 9, 2001

A big year for the J. League

Japanese soccer made a significant step last year with victory in the Asian Cup. For me, it was like the halfway point to the World Cup and it really represented a victory for the J. League clubs and the work they have put in.
JAPAN
Mar 9, 2001

Obituary: Shigejiro Tabata

Shigejiro Tabata, an authority on international public law, died Thursday of a heart attack at a Kyoto hospital, his family said. He was 89.
JAPAN
Mar 9, 2001

Mori pledges more aid to Micronesia

Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori on Thursday promised Micronesian President Leo Falcam that Japan will continue to provide economic and technical support to the western Pacific nation, a Japanese government official said.
SOCCER / J. League
Mar 9, 2001

They might be giants -- or 10 players who should be

Still don't know who's got what to offer in the J. League? Here's a quick guide to some of the players who should pique your interest in the coming season.
BUSINESS
Mar 9, 2001

Core machinery orders dipped 12% in January

Core machinery orders from Japanese businesses shriveled a seasonally adjusted 11.8 percent in January from the previous month to 966.9 billion yen after a 3.8 percent rise in December, the government said Thursday.
MORE SPORTS
Mar 9, 2001

Japan Energy claims JBL title

Forward Ryoko Yano scored a game-high 21 points Wednesday as the Japan Energy Sunflowers sealed their first Japan Basketball League crown in 11 seasons with a 95-78 win over the Chanson V-Magic in Game 4 of the championship series at Yoyogi National Gymnasium Annex in Tokyo.
CULTURE / Music
Mar 9, 2001

Michio Imazato finds another shade of blue

When Michio Imazato first heard Miles Davis' "Kind of Blue," a record he checked out from the public library in Maebashi, Gunma Prefecture, he couldn't have known he'd be leading his own quintet 10 years later in New York City. After all, he was a typical rock 'n' roll-loving high-school kid playing...
BUSINESS
Mar 9, 2001

Marubeni to invest in China IT firm

Marubeni Corp. said Thursday it has obtained Beijing's approval to take a 10 percent stake in Shanghai Dragon Head Zhangjiang Business & Network, an information technology firm that operates an Internet portal site for textile companies.
JAPAN
Mar 9, 2001

MPD officer arrested for bribery

Metropolitan Police Department officer was arrested Thursday on suspicion of accepting bribes from a company president in exchange for influencing police officers investigating a case involving his firm, police sources said.
JAPAN
Mar 9, 2001

Crime rise fuels quest for security

Increasing numbers of people are flocking to the home-security sections of their local hardware and do-it-yourself stores on weekends amid reports of a growing crime wave in Japan.
SOCCER / J. League
Mar 9, 2001

Climbing out of J2 not so easy, as Oita knows only too well

The J. League's Division Two will get under way on Saturday alongside Division One. The lower division has been expanded to 12 teams, with newcomer Yokohama FC joining relegated teams Kyoto Purple Sanga and Kawasaki Frontale.
BUSINESS
Mar 9, 2001

Ministry white paper urges clarification in aid policies

Japan should clarify its priorities regarding foreign aid to China, the Foreign Ministry said in a draft annual report on aid presented Thursday to a ruling Liberal Democratic Party panel.

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