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4 Sumitomo Mitsui firms to enhance insurance alliance

TOKYO, Japan - Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. and three insurers with ties to the Sumitomo Mitsui group said Nov. 22, 2001 they will bolster ties to enhance their ability to develop innovative insurance policies and boost marketing cooperation amid the harsh business environment. Seated at a Tokyo news conference are (From L to R) Mitsui Mutual Life Insurance Co. President Hiroshi Nishimura, Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. President Shinichi Yokoyama, Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co. Chairman Takeo Iguchi and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. President Yoshifumi Nishikawa.

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UFJ to form firm with Merrill Lynch to dispose of bad loans

TOKYO, Japan - UFJ Holdings Inc. President Hideo Ogasawara (R) speaks at a news conference Nov. 22, 2001 on his firm's plans to set up a subsidiary in collaboration with Merrill Lynch Japan Securities Co. to help its group of banks accelerate the disposal of problem loans.

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NTT plunges into red

TOKYO, Japan - Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. (NTT) President Junichiro Miyazu (C) speaks at a news conference Nov. 22, 2001 on the telecom carrier's financial statement for the fiscal first half ended Sept. 30. NTT suffered a group net loss of 261.33 billion yen as it posted huge valuation losses on its acquisitions of overseas telecommunications companies.

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Dolphin illuminations lit up

TOKYO, Japan - Christmas illuminations featuring a family of four dolphins are lit up at a square in Tokyo's downtown Harumi area Nov. 22, 2001, as three children and their mother watch.

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Tanaka departs for Pakistan

TOKYO, Japan - Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka leaves Narita airport for a four-day visit to Pakistan on Nov. 22, 2001. She is to meet with government leaders and to observe firsthand the situation involving Afghan refugees in the country in order to better direct further economic assistance from Japan.

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Court issues arrest warrant for renegade Muslim governor

MANILA, Philippines - Photo taken on Oct. 10, 2001 shows (Nur) Misuari, governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), which consists of five mainly Muslim provinces and one city. A southern Philippine court issued an arrest warrant Nov. 22, 2001 for it called the renegade governor who allegedly ordered the Nov. 19 attacks on police and military installations that left more than 100 people dead.

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Taisei Fire fails due to Sept. 11 attack claims

TOKYO, Japan - Taisei Fire & Marine Insurance Co. President Ichiro Ozawa leaves a press conference room Nov. 22, 2001 after announcing his firm has filed for bankruptcy under a special rehabilitation law for insurers, succumbing to the weight of massive claims stemming from the Sept. 11 attacks in the United States. ''An accident involving an airplane crashing in the middle of New York was not something we had included in our calculations,'' he said.

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Musashimaru holds on to lead at Kyushu sumo

FUKUOKA, Japan - Grand champion Musashimaru topples Mongolian komusubi Asashoryu by powerful arm to keep sole possession of the lead in the Kyushu Grand Sumo Tournament at Fukuoka Kokusai Center on throw Nov. 22, 2001.

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Gov't, firms agree to seek CJD suit settlement

OTSU, Japan - plaintiffs and lawyers give a news conference Nov. 22, 2001 after they agreed with the government, a German dura mater product maker and its Japanese importer to seek a settlement in litigation concerning Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) patients demanding compensation.

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Lower house begins discussing bill on larger PKO role for SDF

TOKYO, Japan - Defense Agency Director General Gen Nakatani introduces a bill aimed at expanding the scope of Self-Defense Forces participation in U.N. peacekeeping operations and easing restrictions on the use of weapons on such missions at a House of Representatives plenary session Nov. 22, 2001.

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Coalition leaders agree to reform 7 public entities

TOKYO, Japan - Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi (C) shakes hands with New Conservative Party head Takeshi Noda as New Komeito party leader Takenori Kanzaki (2nd from R) watches at the premier's official residence Nov. 22, 2001. The coalition leaders agreed to dismantle or privatize seven major state-backed institutions as part of Koizumi's administrative reform drive to cut government spending.

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Ex-Japan coach Okada to resign as Sapporo manager

SAPPORO, Japan - Former Japan coach Takashi Okada speaks at news conference Nov. 22, 2001 on his decision to resign as manager of Consadole Sapporo at the end of the season. Okada, who took Japan to the 1998 World Cup finals in France during his eight months in charge of the national side, took over at the helm of the Hokkaido club before the start of the 1999 season but said he felt exhausted.

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Koizumi visits bakery, says wants to learn from its 'spirit'

TOKYO, Japan - Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi hands his calligraphic work to one of employees at an opening ceremony Nov. 22, 2001 for a Tokyo bakery with mentally disabled people among the staff, saying he hopes to learn from the can-do spirit behind the enterprise. ''My cabinet is also trying to do what is thought to be impossible. Learning from your spirit, I would also like to make efforts to make Japan a place where one can hold hopes,'' he said in reference to his pledge for structural reform.