Sometimes Word 2002 pops up with strange units of measurement which clutter the ruler with tiny divisions that bear no relationship to the preferred measurements set in tools > options > general.  These are known as character units.

Character units above - centimeters required below:

This is an undesirable aspect of the Asian languages compatibility - undesirable for non-Asian languages that is

Fortunately the issue is soon fixed.

Press ALT+F11. This opens the macro editor. Press CTRL+G (View > Immediate Window). This provides a 'chat' window in which you can type vba code to be executed immediately. In that window, type

Options.UseCharacterUnit =False and press the enter key.

Job done! You can now close the macro editor and return to Word, where you will find your chosen measurement option set - here centimeters.