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BUSINESS
Jan 25, 2001

Mitsubishi, Nissho Iwai to combine steel dealings

Major trading houses Mitsubishi Corp. and Nissho Iwai Corp. have agreed to integrate their steel business operations, industry officials said Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Jan 25, 2001

NTT likely to survive legal revision

Proposals to amend the telecom law being worked out by the government will probably not call for the dismantling of the current holding company structure of Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp., according to draft bills obtained Wednesday by Kyodo News.
BUSINESS
Jan 25, 2001

Automakers zero in on Thailand

BANGKOK -- As Thailand gradually recovers from the financial crisis of 1997, Japanese automakers will likely see whether their effort to cut costs over the past few years has given them the strength to tackle intensifying competition in the market they have dominated for so long.
JAPAN
Jan 25, 2001

Trade surplus drops for a second year

Japan's merchandise trade surplus in 2000 shrank 12.5 percent from the previous year to 10.74 trillion yen, the second consecutive yearly decline, according to a preliminary report released Wednesday by the Finance Ministry.
BUSINESS
Jan 25, 2001

Shareholders back restructuring

Troubled construction firm Kumagai Gumi Co. received the approval of its shareholders during an extraordinary meeting Wednesday for the firm's plan to reduce its capital by 65 billion yen to 17 billion yen on March 1.
JAPAN
Jan 25, 2001

Mapping of lethal E. coli bacteria gene completed

OSAKA -- Researchers at Osaka University say they have succeeded in reading all the gene information on the O-157 strain of E. coli bacteria that caused a massive, and deadly, outbreak of food-poisoning in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, in 1996.
JAPAN
Jan 25, 2001

Sega may kill off Dreamcast hardware

Sega Corp. said Wednesday it is considering stopping production of hardware for its loss-making Dreamcast video game consoles, pulling out of the home-use game console business and instead supplying game software to its rivals.
JAPAN
Jan 25, 2001

Foreign Ministry to point finger of blame

The Foreign Ministry today will release the results of an in-house investigation that will say a ministry official almost certainly embezzled several hundred million yen and will face dismissal, sources close to the case said Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Jan 25, 2001

Yen remains second-best currency for doing business

The yen remains a secondary currency in Japan's trade with its major partners, with the U.S. dollar still the most frequently used currency in both imports and exports, data released by the Finance Ministry showed Wednesday.
MORE SPORTS
Jan 25, 2001

Ray Lewis takes on media blitz

TAMPA, Fla. -- Before taking on the New York Giants in Super Bowl XXXV, Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis first took on the media Tuesday.
JAPAN
Jan 25, 2001

Airport workers needed for more overseas flights

Justice Minister Masahiko Komura indicated Wednesday that he wants to increase the number of customs, immigration and quarantine staff at smaller airports to allow foreign air carriers to service them.
JAPAN
Jan 25, 2001

Kamei implicated in KSD scandal

Shizuka Kamei, chairman of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's Policy Research Council, asked the former Labor Ministry to increase government subsidies for a technology institute affiliated with the scandal-hit mutual aid foundation KSD, an official of the ministry said Wednesday.
LIFE / Food & Drink / WINE WAYS
Jan 25, 2001

Wine with Chinese? Sure, why not?

Once again it's time to say Happy Chinese New Year.
LIFE / Travel
Jan 25, 2001

Legally blind woman realizes dream in trek across India

Last week, a woman from Ireland embarked on an epic three-month, 1,000-km unsupported trek across India on elephant-back. Caroline Casey is caring for her elephant herself, and camping at every stage of her journey, accompanied only by an elephant feeder and Indian guides. What makes the already daunting...
LIFE / Food & Drink / NIHONSHU
Jan 25, 2001

Best time of year to savor the joys of heated sake

Warm sake. It's hard to think of anything more appealing on a cold winter evening. As we trudge through the depths of one of the coldest and snowiest winters Japan has seen in years, warming oneself from the core out with a glass or bottle of a well-chosen heated sake settles and soothes like nothing...
JAPAN
Jan 25, 2001

Annan waits on re-election decision

Visiting U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan said Wednesday that he will announce in March whether he will run for a second term as head of the United Nations.
BUSINESS
Jan 25, 2001

Time for drastic reforms

The Tokyo stock market remains in a deep slump.
BUSINESS
Jan 25, 2001

Snow links up with Nestle on range of dairy products

Nestle Japan Holdings Ltd. and Snow Brand Milk Products Co. announced Wednesday that they have agreed to set up a joint venture on Feb. 1 to promote a range of products.
JAPAN
Jan 25, 2001

Aum facilities inspected by agency

The Public Security Investigation Agency on Wednesday inspected two Aum Shinrikyo facilities in Tokyo in an effort to determine how they are being used by the cult's members, agency officials said.
COMMUNITY
Jan 25, 2001

The kindergartens are all right

Michiko Sonobe (not her real name) was nervous before an interview with authorities at a prestigious kindergarten in Yokohama as part of her 21/2-year-old son's entrance examination last November.
BUSINESS
Jan 25, 2001

JAL offers anniversary discounts

Japan Airlines Co. announced Wednesday a discount campaign between May 10 and May 14 that will allow customers to fly anywhere in Japan for 5,000 yen -- an average discount of 81 percent.
MORE SPORTS
Jan 25, 2001

Asari announces retirement

OSAKA -- Former women's marathon world champion Junko Asari announced her retirement Wednesday, saying she no longer feels she can compete on the world stage.
JAPAN
Jan 25, 2001

Tokyo general budget to increase by 0.3%

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government's fiscal 2001 budget released Wednesday underscores that belt-tightening options have been exhausted, with the general expenditure portion of the package rising 0.3 percent from the initial budget for the current year.
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
Jan 25, 2001

XFL to bring new dimension to football

TAMPA, Fla. -- With Super Bowl XXXV just three days away, the focus of the American football world is on South Florida, as the New York Giants and Baltimore Ravens prepare to do battle for the sport's biggest prize.
CULTURE / Music
Jan 25, 2001

Tickets for Bach concert

Japan Times readers will be given 30 pair tickets to the NEC Super Tower Special Concert to be held Feb. 22 at Tokyo's Sumida Triphony Hall to commemorate the 250th anniversary of Bach's death.
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jan 25, 2001

Isegen: Stoking the inner embers, Edo style

As the snow wafts down and the forecasters warn of arctic conditions to come, spare a thought for the folks of ancient Edo, who had to make it through the winter months without such essential survival tools as fleece jackets, cup ramen and Hokaron hand warmers.

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