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BUSINESS
May 14, 2002

Toray's group net profit plunges

Toray Industries Inc., a manufacturer of synthetic fibers, said Monday its group net profit plunged 77.6 percent to 3.8 billion yen in the fiscal year ended March 31 as overall demand weakened amid the severe business environment.
BUSINESS
May 14, 2002

Keidanren debut no joking matter

Yoshimoto Kogyo Co., an Osaka-based entertainment management company, will join the Japan Federation of Economic Organizations (Keidanren), Chairman Takashi Imai said Monday.
JAPAN
May 14, 2002

Statues in Iran challenge theories on Buddhism's spread

OSAKA -- A Japanese scholar said Monday he believes the discovery of 19 Buddha statues at an ancient site in Iran challenges current theories on the spread of Buddhism.
BUSINESS
May 14, 2002

IY Bank admits double-billing 4,000 accounts for bank fees

IY Bank, the banking unit of retailer Ito-Yokado Co., said Monday that 4,000 accounts were erroneously double-billed for monthly fees.
BUSINESS
May 14, 2002

MMC returns to black after two years of losses

Mitsubishi Motors Corp. on Monday reported a return to the black for the first time in three years, posting 11.3 billion yen in consolidated net profits in the 2001 business year.
JAPAN
May 14, 2002

Former trading house official gets seven years

OSAKA -- Shinya Takeuchi, a former official of Yuasa Trading Co., was sentenced Monday to a seven-year prison term for swindling the Tokyo-based trading house out of about 5.72 billion yen through fictitious deals.
Japan Times
JAPAN / THE OKINAWA FACTOR
May 14, 2002

Handover of Okinawa to Japan was prickly issue

Tsuyoshi Sakurai remembers when Japan allocated 1 billion yen to Okinawa in its first financial assistance package in fiscal 1962, when the islands of the Ryukyus were still under U.S. rule.
EDITORIALS
May 13, 2002

Conditions for SDF mobilization

National defense bills now before the Diet are drawing a mixed reaction from the public. In a Kyodo News poll earlier this month, nearly 50 percent said Japan needs emergency legislation to deal with military attacks from abroad, but when asked whether the package should be passed in the current Diet...
SOCCER / World cup
May 13, 2002

A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity

"Passion" is the story of Japan soccer team coach Philippe Troussier, his struggle to make it as a player and manager and his travels around France, Africa and Japan. In the book, Troussier also details his philosophy and thinking as he prepares for the World Cup in June. In this, the ninth of 10 exclusive...
COMMENTARY / World
May 13, 2002

Unilateralism is not the way

CANBERRA -- As the sole remaining superpower, not only does the United States have no peer competitor, its dominance is unmatched across a whole range of issues and areas of activity in world affairs.
SOCCER / J. League
May 13, 2002

Rivals set for Nabisco showdown

Jubilo Iwata and Kashima Antlers are set for a quarterfinal showdown in the Nabisco Cup after both reached the last eight with late away wins in the final round of group-stage matches on Sunday.
COMMENTARY
May 13, 2002

Wider economic gaps ahead

The first decade of the 21st century is likely to be no less turbulent than the last decade of the 20th century. It is next to impossible to predict how the world will change in this coming decade, but one thing is certain: The world in 2010 will defy predictions based on today's knowledge.
BASEBALL / MLB
May 13, 2002

Nakamura's clutch home run gives Kintetsu 'sayonara' win

Trailing by a run with one out in the bottom of the ninth, Kintetsu third baseman Norihiro Nakamura belted a two-run, "sayonara" home run off of Tomokazu Iba to edge Nippon Ham 5-4 at the Osaka Dome on Sunday.
COMMENTARY / World
May 13, 2002

Prime minister or nationalist puppet?

CAMBRIDGE, England -- The ink was barely dry on my April 21 Japan Times article "Koizumi trade pitch misses," which stated Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi was thinking of going to pray at Yasukuni Shrine, when the news came that he had gone. We were told that he had felt the need "to mourn those who...
MORE SPORTS
May 13, 2002

Murofushi's bid for three-peat fails

OSAKA -- World silver medalist Koji Murofushi could only muster the day's second best distance in the men's hammer throw Saturday and failed to win his third straight title in the IAAF Japan Grand Prix track and field meet.
BUSINESS
May 13, 2002

British design firm consolidates in high-tech Japan

As finance companies and huge multinationals reconsider their positions in Japan, a ground-breaking British design firm is seizing the opportunity to consolidate in a market that is "very, very important" to its strategy.
JAPAN
May 13, 2002

Prosecutors likely to question Togo over travel costs

Prosecutors will question fired Japanese diplomat Kazuhiko Togo over an allegation that he broke rules regarding travel expenses.
SUMO
May 13, 2002

Maru dodges early bullet

Yokozuna Musashimaru turned away upset-minded komusubi Wakanosato and all four ozeki notched easy wins Sunday as the Summer Grand Sumo Tournament got off to an uneventful start.
JAPAN
May 13, 2002

Health ministry confirms fourth case of mad cow

A test conducted Saturday on a slaughtered cow has revealed that it was infected with mad cow disease, the health ministry said.
BUSINESS / ON MANAGEMENT
May 13, 2002

Training for success -- crash and learn

Car wrecks always draw a crowd, as every driver knows, and that's true for the equivalent in business, too. Rubber-necking at someone else's trouble, many executives thank their stars that they're not caught in the pileup; most take the opportunity to remind themselves to be extra careful to stay out...
COMMENTARY / World
May 12, 2002

Voter alienation feeds Le Pen's success

NEW YORK -- On May 5, I voted for a rightwinger. It was my first time, and with any luck it will be my last. I really didn't have much choice. Born in the United States of a French parent, I enjoy dual nationality -- a status that Jean-Marie Le Pen had promised to eliminate had his National Front seized...
JAPAN
May 12, 2002

Aioi faces more reinsurance obligations

Aioi Insurance Co., which lost hundreds of billions of yen in reinsurance contracts as a result of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States, faces new reinsurance obligations due to three aircraft crashes earlier this month, industry sources said Saturday.
Japan Times
JAPAN / WEEKEND WISDOM
May 12, 2002

Former top executive attempts to save Japan Inc. with ethics

What is the root cause of corporate failure?
EDITORIALS
May 12, 2002

Harry Potter and the no-show sequel

Where is Harry Potter when we need him? For the second year in a row, the nonappearance of Book 5 of the small bespectacled one's magical doings is throwing readers of all ages into a spring tizzy.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
May 12, 2002

All right, now here's the skinny . . .

People with list fetishes can get off on the new TV Asahi variety show, "Japan's Best 100" (Sunday, 6:56 p.m.), which each week runs down the Top 100 products, services or ideas related to a given topic. The premiere show covered "all you can eat" restaurants throughout Japan. Perhaps as a kind of rebuttal...
COMMENTARY
May 12, 2002

The ICC's war crimes fantasy

WASHINGTON -- Former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger recently visited Europe and almost ended up in the dock for alleged war crimes committed three decades ago. This preview of the operation of the International Criminal Court, or ICC, a U.N. body ready to go into effect after receiving the necessary...

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji