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JAPAN
May 27, 2010

Stable masters gave front-row seats to mob

NAGOYA (Kyodo) Two sumo stable masters face disciplinary action after they were found to have given senior underworld figures front-row tickets for a tournament last year.
Japan Times
SOCCER / World cup
May 26, 2010

Okada denies he offered to resign

National team manager Takeshi Okada insists he did not offer to resign in the immediate aftermath of Japan's 2-0 defeat to South Korea on Monday night.
COMMENTARY / World
May 26, 2010

Thailand is on the brink

HONG KONG — Graphic pictures from Bangkok last week told the grim story of bloodshed, death and destruction, of democracy challenged and mortally wounded. But they cannot convey the smell of burning, the terror of chaos in the center of a supposedly civilized modern capital city, or the human, moral...
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
May 25, 2010

National health insurance a basic universal safety net

All Japanese citizens are required by law to be covered by public health insurance.
Japan Times
BASEBALL / HIT AND RUN
May 25, 2010

Time ripe for slumping Swallows, Takada to part ways

The vote of confidence the Tokyo Yakult Swallows gave manager Shigeru Takada on Friday served only to underscore how much the team is in need of a new voice.
EDITORIALS
May 24, 2010

A victory for Tehran

Score one for Iran after the announcement that Tehran's diplomats had concluded a deal last week with Brazil and Turkey, under which Iran will ship some of the country's enriched uranium to Turkey in exchange for further enriched uranium. That move is supposed to demonstrate Iran's readiness for a diplomatic...
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
May 23, 2010

What's a rogue gusher when you never had a cherry tree anyway?

Fingerpointing, dear reader, has been elevated to an art. Halliburton is pointing the finger at BP. Transocean is also pointing the finger at BP. And BP, not to be outdone, is pointing fingers at both Halliburton and Transocean.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
May 23, 2010

Snapping with SMAP in Setagaya; swordplay with Shingo; CM of the week: Sky Perfect TV

"Pussuma" (TV Asahi, Tues., 11:15 p.m.) started way back in 1998, making it one of Japanese TV's longest running variety shows. Eternally hosted by aging idol Tsuyoshi Kusanagi and loud-mouthed actor-comedian Yusuke Santamaria, the nonsensical title is meant to cash in on Kusanagi's membership in SMAP....
BUSINESS
May 22, 2010

Trust in Toyota's tainted brand to be tested when incentives end

DETROIT — U.S. buyers were willing to overlook Toyota Motor Corp.'s safety troubles the last few months thanks to zero-percent financing and other deals, but as the lure of incentives fades, the carmaker has a tough job: Winning over consumers who no longer trust the brand.
JAPAN
May 22, 2010

Clinton: Sinking also threat to Japan

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Friday in Tokyo that North Korea's sinking of a South Korean warship posed a threat to Japan and agreed with Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada to keep in close contact over the provocation.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
May 22, 2010

Betrayal of Triesman an absolute disgrace

LONDON — Imagine having dinner with a friend you trusted. You talk freely about your marriage . . . maybe your job . . . perhaps discussing a future business deal.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
May 22, 2010

The bright career of a literary 'shadow hero'

American author Paul Auster once called translators "the shadow heroes of literature," who have enabled us to understand that we all live in one world. He could also be describing Juliet Winters Carpenter, 61, one of the best-known literary translators from Japanese to English, who has won praise for...
EDITORIALS
May 22, 2010

Business results improving

Most enterprises listed on the First Section of the Tokyo Exchange Market have announced their performances for the business year ended March 31. Increased exports to emerging economies like China and India and cost-reduction efforts have enabled many firms to become profitable — a stark contrast with...
JAPAN
May 21, 2010

Hatoyama slams North over Cheonan sinking

Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama on Thursday denounced the sinking of a South Korean warship that Seoul has blamed on North Korea but did not elaborate on how Japan might respond to the incident.
JAPAN
May 21, 2010

Former negotiator lays base woes on Okinawa

Every story has more than one side.
BASKETBALL
May 21, 2010

Pierce finished with Lakestars

After two seasons, Shiga Lakestars coach Bob Pierce and the bj-league team will part ways.
BUSINESS
May 21, 2010

New JAMA head cautions of rough road ahead

The new head of the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association said Thursday he has a more cautious outlook for the auto industry now than he did a month ago thanks to the uncertainty over European financial markets.
JAPAN / Q&A
May 20, 2010

Foot-and-mouth a hammer blow for Miyazaki farms

After the first case of foot-and-mouth disease was detected April 20 in Tsuno, Miyazaki Prefecture, the outbreak has spread quickly, making headlines in major papers and TV news programs and battering the prefecture's economy.
JAPAN
May 20, 2010

JCP chief rates his U.S. visit a big success

Japanese Communist Party Chairman Kazuo Shii said Wednesday his recent visit to the United States was a success and he was able to convey the JCP's vision on nuclear weapons and Japan-U.S. relations.
Japan Times
Reference / SO WHAT THE HECK IS THAT
May 20, 2010

A traditional Christian pattern?

Dear Alice,

Longform

Totopa in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward was picked by consultants TTNE as the best sauna of the year.
Japan’s sauna movement: Relax, refresh, repeat