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Yuri Kageyama
JAPAN
Jul 8, 2008
DoCoMo developing next-generation 'wearable' gadgets
Rolling your eyes to turn up the volume on a portable music player and tapping your fingers to turn on a DVD player are among technologies Japan's top mobile carrier is testing to make "wearable" gadgets.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 3, 2008
Nintendo DS English learning software a big hit with students
The Nintendo DS is providing much more than just fun and games for English-language students at Tokyo's Joshi Gakuen all-girl junior high school. The portable video game console is now being used as a key teaching tool, breaking with traditional Japanese academic methods.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 25, 2008
Watanabe pushes U.S. to fix credit crisis
Likening the U.S. credit crisis to a broken bathtub leaking water, financial services minister Yoshimi Watanabe is urging Washington to inject public money to fix the problem before it gets worse.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 17, 2008
Designer's 'ecological fur' line slammed as 'green-wash' ploy
Basking in the runway spotlight at a Tokyo fashion show Monday, next to the ¥5 million Russian sable coat is a cape of lowly polyester sewn with chinchilla that's being billed as "ecological fur."
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 8, 2008
See it on catwalk, buy it through cell phone
Screams erupted from 22,000 young women in flowery frills, boots, really short shorts and glittery jewelry whenever a model — dressed similarly — waltzed down the runway in a Tokyo stadium.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 25, 2008
Writer blogs her way to top literary prize
Mieko Kawakami, a former bar hostess and bookstore clerk, was just another obscure singer until she started a blog.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Feb 29, 2008
Nissan wants U.S. partner but not talking to anyone, CEO says
Nissan still sees a partnership with a North American auto company as good for its long-term strategy, but the Japanese automaker isn't in any talks now, Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn said Thursday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 23, 2008
Offbeat exploits attract foreign visitors
Dressed entirely in black with his head wrapped in cloth, Michael Studte throws darts, turns somersaults and twirls lassos in a ninja class for foreign tourists in Japan.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 19, 2008
Hello Kitty to launch product range for men
Hello Kitty is no sexist.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 10, 2008
Gravatt brings tried and true jazz sound to Tokyo
At age 21, Eric Kamau Gravatt was McCoy Tyner's drummer, one of the most coveted jobs a jazz musician could hope to get. After 20 years of working as a prison guard, he is back behind the kit — again as the pianist's drummer.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 26, 2007
Lightning-fast arms named robot of the year
A mechanical arm that picks 120 items a minute from a conveyor belt won Japan's Robot of the Year award last week, defeating a dozen other flashier finalists, including a walking humanoid, a firefighter robot and a transparent torso for simulating surgery.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Nov 29, 2007
Defect-finding autoworker blows whistle on new 'Toyota way'
The California autoworker who is suing Toyota and others in a whistle-blower lawsuit said Tuesday she was merely carrying out the quality-conscious "Toyota way" in spotting defects when managers cracked down on her efforts and demoted her.
BUSINESS
Nov 7, 2007
Toyota powers on in battery race
Global automakers are racing to develop the next generation of energy-saving lithium-ion batteries, but Toyota has already been quietly using the technology in one of its cars in Japan — although in small numbers.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 29, 2007
Shampoo ads ditch blondes for 'beautiful Japanese women'
Shampoo ads here typically feature glamorous blondes praising imports from Procter & Gamble of the U.S. and Europe's Unilever.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 23, 2007
U.S. growers launch offensive to promote Calrose rice here
Creamy risotto in a fluffy seafood souffle and gelato sprinkled with crunchy topping were among the delicacies concocted by master chefs in a cooking contest in Tokyo for American rice — a product that is struggling to crack a nation notorious for protecting its rice farmers.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 14, 2007
Automakers turn attention to creating more jobs, plants here
At a time when Detroit's top automakers are closing plants and slashing jobs to revive themselves, their Japanese counterparts are busy opening plants in Japan for the first time in decades.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 6, 2007
Fast-food binge continues to take Japan
After years of staying slim on a humble diet of fish, vegetables and rice, Japanese are developing a sweet tooth. That's proving a business opportunity for Krispy Kreme and other chains from the U.S., a nation famous for knowing a thing or two about fattening food.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 22, 2007
After Horie's fall, Nikko case seen smacking of favoritism
Japan has been abuzz with the unusually harsh prison term handed to former Internet mogul Takafumi Horie -- and the slap on the wrist given to scandal-tainted brokerage Nikko Cordial in another high-profile case of accounting fraud that, in monetary terms, was some eight times greater than Horie's firm....
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 27, 2007
SpongeBob soaks up young fans in Japan
Square and loud, SpongeBob wasn't supposed to have much chance for success in Japan, a nation famous for its love of more cuddly characters like Hello Kitty and Pikachu.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 16, 2006
Toyota poised to get GM's top spot
Toyota is on a roll and looks set to keep going strong in the year ahead.

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Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?