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BUSINESS
Dec 2, 2000

Sogo sale attracts hordes of shoppers

OSAKA -- The department store chain Sogo Co. began clearance sales Friday at its Osaka flagship store and eight outlets earmarked for closure later this month.
JAPAN
Dec 2, 2000

Public-sector efficiency plan OK'd

The Cabinet on Friday approved an action plan to streamline and increase efficiency in the public sector and promote deregulation for implementation through 2005 following the reorganization in January of central government ministries and agencies, officials said.
EDITORIALS
Dec 2, 2000

Mr. Barak's bold gamble

One odd fact has hung over the violence that has descended upon the Middle East: The current Israeli government is more committed to a peaceful settlement than any that might replace it. Prime Minister Ehud Barak genuinely wants to make peace. The question is whether the Israeli people are behind him....
JAPAN
Dec 2, 2000

UA accident laid to crew miscommunication

Poor communication between crew members triggered panic aboard a United Airlines jumbo jet involved in an accident in 1998 at Narita airport that injured 24 people, according to a Transport Ministry report released Friday.
BUSINESS
Dec 2, 2000

Three insurers report mixed fortunes

Chiyoda Fire & Marine Insurance Co. fell into the red in the first half of fiscal 2000 on a consolidated basis, while Dai-Tokyo Fire & Marine Insurance Co. and Nisshin Fire & Marine Insurance Co. posted profits, according to their earnings results released Friday.
SOCCER / J. League
Dec 2, 2000

Marinos seek key to unlock Antlers

J. League first-stage champions the Yokohama F. Marinos and second-stage winners the Kashima Antlers will face off today in the first leg of the J. League Championship final at Yokohama International Stadium. The second leg is slated for Dec. 9 at Tokyo's National Stadium.
JAPAN
Dec 2, 2000

Shigenobu served fresh warrant over passports

Japanese Red Army leader Fusako Shigenobu was served a fresh arrest warrant Friday on suspicion of using forged passports to travel between Japan and China and other countries, police said.
JAPAN
Dec 2, 2000

Japan pledges $4.3 million in emergency aid to Yugoslavia

Japan decided Friday to provide $4.3 million in emergency aid to Yugoslavia to help the country purchase fertilizer for its wheat crop, the Foreign Ministry said.
BUSINESS
Dec 2, 2000

Economic gap widening: consumers

Japanese consumers believe that improvements in their daily lives over the past year has been slower than that of overall economic activity in Japan, according to a survey released Friday by the Bank of Japan.
JAPAN
Dec 2, 2000

Easier entry to Japan urged for participants in big events

An advisory panel to the Transport Ministry on Friday urged the government to introduce a "preclearance" system for customs, immigration and quarantine procedures for foreign participants in major international events, such as the planned soccer World Cup in 2002.
JAPAN
Dec 2, 2000

New animal protection law to target pet abuse

A revised law on the protection and control of animals went into effect on Friday. The law calls for harsher penalties for people who harm or abandon animals and imposes tougher controls on the pet industry.
BUSINESS
Dec 2, 2000

FRC eyes failed Chogin credit unions

The Financial Reconstruction Commission is considering sending administrators to 13 failed Chogin credit unions affiliated with the pro-Pyongyang General Association of Korean Residents in Japan (Chongryun), FRC chief Hideyuki Aizawa said Friday.
BUSINESS
Dec 2, 2000

NCB sees two key balances move back into the black

Releasing its first financial results since its sale on Sept. 1 to an investment consortium led by Softbank Corp., Nippon Credit Bank said Friday its operating and pretax balances moved back into the black in the first half of fiscal 2000.
JAPAN
Dec 2, 2000

Bill foot-dragging belies pluralist goal

The postponement of debate on a bill that would grant limited suffrage to foreigners until next year at the earliest has prompted long-term foreign residents of Japan to question whether the nation is serious about embracing the foreign population.
BUSINESS
Dec 2, 2000

BOJ pushing 2,000 yen notes

Tellers at the Bank of Japan and its 33 branch offices will change money into 2,000 yen bills from Monday to encourage use of the neglected notes, officials said Friday.
JAPAN
Dec 2, 2000

Ailing Air Do flies in face of airlines' smoking ban

Hokkaido International Airlines Co. (Air Do) introduced smokers' seats Friday on its Sapporo-Tokyo route to attract smoking passengers in an effort to improve its financial situation, airline officials said.
JAPAN
Dec 2, 2000

HIV-positive lawmaker fights battle against discrimination

When he tested positive for HIV 13 years ago, Satoru Ienishi could not imagine becoming a father -- let alone living long enough to hold his healthy, smiling baby girl.
JAPAN
Dec 2, 2000

No dispute over interpretation of 1956 pact: Kono

Japan believes its interpretation of a 1956 joint declaration with the then Soviet Union that stipulates two of the four disputed islands off Hokkaido be returned to Japan after a peace treaty is signed is the same as Russia's, Foreign Minister Yohei Kono said Friday.
JAPAN
Dec 2, 2000

Sides reach settlement over air pollution suit

OSAKA -- An out-of-court settlement was reached Friday in a 12-year air pollution suit filed against the state and an expressway operator by residents of Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture, who claim they or deceased family members developed asthma and other illnesses due to harmful substances released by motor...
BUSINESS
Dec 2, 2000

Jobless rate unchanged at 4.7%

Japan's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate stood at 4.7 percent in October, unchanged from September, although the number of jobholders increased for the first time in 33 months from a year earlier, the Management and Coordination Agency said Friday.
BUSINESS
Dec 2, 2000

Osaka bourse launches OptiMark online trading system

OSAKA -- The Osaka Securities Exchange launched the OptiMark electronic trading system for institutional investors Friday morning, with an inaugural ceremony attended by top OSE officials.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 2, 2000

Keep government out of the stock market

A few months ago, members of Japan's ruling coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party, New Komeito and the New Conservative Party encouraged the government to take steps to prop up the stock market. They also urged the government to accelerate spending from the public-works reserve fund of 500 billion...
BUSINESS
Dec 2, 2000

Digital broadcasts via satellite get under way

Full-fledged digital broadcasting via satellite began Friday morning across Japan, with some anxiety about rapid penetration due to technical problems.
BUSINESS
Dec 2, 2000

IBJ, Yasuda to link cash machines

The Industrial Bank of Japan and Yasuda Trust & Banking Co. said Friday they will link their automatic teller machines, free of charge to customers, starting Monday.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 2, 2000

Lack of leadership doomed climate talks

"We almost had it, we were close but there is no deal," said British Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott as he left a last-ditch effort among European Union countries to agree on a deal with the United States that would salvage the Kyoto Protocol climate-change negotiations. The U.S. proposal had major...
CULTURE / Stage
Dec 2, 2000

Movement at its purest

The only international production in the dance section of the continuing Tokyo Festival of Performing Arts turned out to be a heavyweight contender, a collaboration betweentwo of the German dancers and choreographers who, with Pina Bausch, have formed the representative triangle of German dance for the...
JAPAN
Dec 2, 2000

Resignation of Nonaka deals new blow to Mori

Embattled Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, who narrowly survived a recent no-confidence motion, was dealt another serious blow Friday with the sudden resignation of Hiromu Nonaka, secretary general of his Liberal Democratic Party.

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