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COMMENTARY
Jul 19, 2006

Cultural diplomacy in the Middle East

Political and economic stability in the Middle East is vital to ensure Japan's energy security and to reduce risks in the global economic system. In the interests of this region's mid- and long-term political stability, it is clearly desirable for "democratization" in the region to take root deeply and...
JAPAN
Jul 15, 2006

Space-bound ex-Livedoor exec 'Dice -K' hit for huge tax dodge

Daisuke "Dice-K" Enomoto, a former executive of Livedoor Co. who has been training to become the first Japanese space tourist, is suspected of failing to declare some 3 billion yen in income from stock deals, sources said Friday.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Jul 15, 2006

Alison Pockett

In 1995, Alison Pockett of Britain set up Magellan, her own personal financial advisory company, in Tokyo. She said, "When I came here, this country shocked me deeply, positively. I didn't expect so many opportunities to set up on my own and go as far as I could. There are so many things to do here....
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jul 15, 2006

BOJ terminates zero-rate policy

The Bank of Japan ended nearly six years of rock-bottom interest rates Friday, abandoning its "zero-interest-rate policy" and hiking the unsecured overnight call rate to 0.25 percent on the strength of Japan's steadily improving economy.
BUSINESS
Jul 14, 2006

Firms to get help in wireless market

The Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry plans to draw up a new set of rules this fall to allow companies that do not own their own wireless infrastructure to more easily enter the mobile communications business, ministry officials said Thursday.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Jul 14, 2006

A revival continues

More than 35 years after novelist Yukio Mishima committed ritual suicide, protesting in part against what he believed to be the demise of Japan's traditional cultural values, interest in his writing seems to be on the rise among the public.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Jul 14, 2006

Blues, soul carnival

Two veterans perform in Japan this week for the "Japan Blues & Soul Carnival," which takes place July 19-21. Chicago soul singer Otis Clay and Mississippi bluesman Eddy "The Chief" Clearwater may have a combined age of 135, but don't expect the advancing years to have diminished the power of Clay's soul...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 14, 2006

A little Fukuoka in Akihabara

'It's too easy for bands to play [in Tokyo] really. There are so many places to play, and everything is divided into convenient categories," says Hajime Yoshida of the Japanese punk band Panic Smile. "Bands from outlying cities have a tougher attitude than Tokyo bands."
CULTURE / Music
Jul 14, 2006

Udo Music Festival

When & where: Udo Music Festival takes place at Fuji Speedway in Shizuoka Prefecture and Izumiotsu Phoenix in Osaka, July 22-23. Performances begin at 10:30 a.m. The lineups on Saturday switch venues on Sunday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jul 13, 2006

A stroll among the masterpieces

The Price exhibition at the Tokyo National Museum is divided into five sections, each devoted to a specific area of painting. The first sets the stage with examples of "mainline" painters -- members of the Kano school (which, from the late 16th century to the late 19th century, combined Chinese academic...
JAPAN
Jul 13, 2006

Japan firm on missile position

Japan remains firmly behind its U.N. Security Council draft resolution to impose sanctions on North Korea, despite France's proposed compromise this week, Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Jul 12, 2006

Koizumi wants UNSC vote on North Korea before G8

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said Tuesday he hopes the U.N. Security Council votes on a resolution calling for sanctions on North Korea before the Group of Eight summit starts in St. Petersburg, Russia, this weekend.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jul 11, 2006

Multitasking recluses find route to respectability

There are many factors behind the shoshika (the declining birth rate) trend. One is mistrust on the part of Japanese women toward child rearing. The feeling is: Why have children and divest the best years of one's life bringing them up when they're likely to metamorphose into shonen-hanzaisha (underage...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jul 11, 2006

A way forward?

Last month, Diet member and Senior Vice Minister of Justice Taro Kono publicized a new action plan for immigration.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Jul 11, 2006

Food and citizenship concerns

Dual citizenship Joe is looking for further clarification on the dual citizenship issue raised in the June 27 Lifelines column.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Jul 11, 2006

How do you think conditions for foreigners in Japan could be improved?

Shinya Sato Self-employed, 28 I think there should be more free Japanese lessons that are better advertised and easier for foreigners to find. The government should also publish some kind of booklet or brochure with useful every day information.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Jul 9, 2006

Oh's illness the latest challenge for Softbank to overcome

The Fukuoka Softbank Hawks have had to scratch and claw this season to compete in the tight Pacific League pennant race.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Jul 9, 2006

Classical Japanese text -- what is lost and found in translation

THE TALES OF THE HEIKE, translated by Burton Watson, edited with an introduction by Haruo Shirane, glossary and bibliographies compiled by Michael Watson. New York: Columbia University Press, 2006, 216 pp., illustrated, $24.50 (cloth). The "Heike Monogatari," that famous account of the events that led...
CULTURE / Books
Jul 9, 2006

A bumper-car experience in Toyota-land

NOTES FROM TOYOTA-LAND: An American Engineer in Japan, by Darius Mehri. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press, 2006, $26 (cloth). Toyota is booming, but its PR department has had its hands full with a high-profile sexual harassment lawsuit in the United States -- and now this damning insider's revelations...
JAPAN
Jul 8, 2006

Tokyo snubs Pyongyang threat over sanctions

Japan rejected North Korea's demand Friday to drop new economic sanctions over the North's Wednesday missile launches, ignoring Pyongyang's threat of "stronger measures" and "devastating consequences" unless it reversed its decision.
BUSINESS
Jul 8, 2006

New BOJ rules ban its execs from most types of investment

The Bank of Japan adopted new rules Friday banning its executives from engaging in most types of investment, including stocks and private equity funds, in response to the public furor over personal investments BOJ Gov. Toshihiko Fukui made before he became chief of the central bank.
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Jul 7, 2006

Drum 'n' bass in the place

Many cities have had their musical moments. Manchester became "Madchester" in the late 1980s on the back of the Happy Mondays and Stone Roses' baggy vibes; Seattle had its grunge explosion soon after that; and by the mid-1990s, Bristol was the place to be for urban music. Massive Attack and Portishead...
BUSINESS
Jul 6, 2006

JBF chief slams launches as brinkmanship, 'intolerable'

Japan Business Federation Chairman Fujio Mitarai expressed strong regret Wednesday about the launch North Korean missiles that came down in the Sea of Japan.
JAPAN
Jul 4, 2006

Isle tensions flare up again

Tensions between Tokyo and Seoul flared again Monday when South Korea began maritime research in waters around islets under its control that are also claimed by Japan.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jul 4, 2006

Travel firm rapped over foreigner ticket policy

The nation's largest discount travel agency, HIS, which also runs foreigner-friendly No.1 Travel, has based the price of some air tickets from Japan on the nationality of the traveler, possibly in breach of Japanese law, The Japan Times has learned.
JAPAN
Jul 2, 2006

Risk of molecular substances weighed

The health ministry has started researching potential toxicity risks of molecular substances increasingly used in a broad range of products, from information technology devices to cosmetics, ministry officials said Saturday.
JAPAN
Jul 2, 2006

81% want to be told of dementia

More than 80 percent of people surveyed say they want to be informed if they are someday diagnosed with dementia, according to the National Institute for Longevity Sciences.

Longform

Atsuyoshi Koike, the president and CEO of Rapidus, says there is a “sense of urgency” when it comes to Japan’s efforts in manufacturing semiconductors. “We have to make sure we are successful,” he says.
Atsuyoshi Koike’s big game: Fourth down and 2 nanometers to go