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BUSINESS
Aug 30, 2007

Hedge fund numbers, assets mushroom as stocks languish

Hiromichi Tsuyukubo ran the best-performing fund in Japan at Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co., an arm of the nation's biggest lender. Then, after six years, he decided to join a hedge fund.
JAPAN
Aug 29, 2007

'Sakura Papa' sues publisher, ex-girlfriend

Democratic Party of Japan member Yoshiro Yokomine, elected last month to the Upper House, filed a damages lawsuit Tuesday against publisher Shinchosha Publishing Co. and his former girlfriend for defamation of character over a recently published article.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 27, 2007

Intolerance mars climate change debate

NEW DELHI — What's up with journalists in the mainstream media? In most cases, they tend to be unconditional supporters of free expression and strive to report on controversial views.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Aug 21, 2007

'Hanko' fate sealed by test of time

A "hanko" personal seal is a necessary item for most adults in Japan, serving the same role as a signature in the West.
Japan Times
Reference / Special Presentations / WITNESS TO WAR
Aug 15, 2007

Surrender spared a young, doubting kamikaze

If Masamichi Shida, 80, had known a bit more about the world back in 1942, he might never have become a kamikaze.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Aug 14, 2007

The impact of Upper House president

For the first time in the postwar period, the House of Councilors has an opposition lawmaker as president, 66-year-old Satsuki Eda.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Aug 12, 2007

Failing to learn lessons from a nuclear past

What do disgraced yokozuna (sumo grand champion) Asashoryu Akinori and Tokyo Electric Power Co. have in common? Answer: Both are under the delusion that they can get away with lying in plain sight.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Aug 10, 2007

Two fingers to the mainstream

"We were playing these 200-capacity venues that weren't really legal. There were just too many people in there, climbing on the bar, climbing on the speakers and jumping off," Chris Batten, the 20-year-old bassist from British post-hardcore band Enter Shikari tells The Japan Times.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Aug 7, 2007

Still the king of alcohol in Japan

The unbearably hot and humid summer is peak beer season in Japan. Here are some facts about the nation's beer market and its taxes, as well as regulations related to the alcoholic beverage:
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Aug 2, 2007

DanDans meets Coco Chanel

Artists' lives are seldom easy, but the reality they face in Japan can be particularly daunting.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Aug 1, 2007

E-cash silencing the jingle of change

Since major electronic money services emerged in 2001, it has become common in Tokyo for people to go through ticket gates by just touching a smart card to electronic readers at train stations and to make small purchases without pulling out their wallets at convenience stores. Japan's cash-based tradition...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Jul 27, 2007

Escape from Tokyo Part II

I've been to Nikko countless times, but really could kick myself for putting off a trip to Edo Wonderland for so long. I finally visited on June 23, and fortunately the delayed onset of the rainy season got me there on a day with perfect weather.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jul 24, 2007

Japan baseball stars first shine bright at Koshien

When Japanese baseball stars like Hideki Matsui and Daisuke Matsuzaka joined Major League Baseball teams in the United States, fans could easily trace their trajectory backward to their roots in the sport.
JAPAN
Jul 18, 2007

Comics defying taboos, ditching slapstick for political satire

listens to ruling Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Yasuhide Nakayama during a taping of Ota's weekly "news" show at NTV in Tokyo in May. AP PHOTO
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jul 17, 2007

Hinomaru, 'Kimigayo' express conflicts both past and future

To some they are symbols of national pride, to others icons of a militaristic past. "Kimigayo," the national anthem, and the Hinomaru, the national flag, have been perpetual sources of controversy because of their contentious historical backgrounds. Following are some basic questions and answers about...
BUSINESS
Jul 13, 2007

Small-caps seen staging comeback in wake of Livedoor affair

Shares of Japan's smallest listed companies, Asia's worst performers last year, are staging a comeback as tougher accounting standards revive confidence in earnings reports and consumer spending rebounds.
Reader Mail
Jul 11, 2007

No sweat in being averse to hugs

Regarding Mark Schreiber's July 1 translation ("Will 'free hugs' take hold in Japan?") of a Weekly Playboy article: I accept that the Japanese are not likely to hug each other in public, but neither is it common practice in Australia. The concept of "personal space" is very prevalent, and one does...
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jul 10, 2007

Chongryun never gets out from under a cloud

Chongryun has recently come under the spotlight in connection with an aborted sale of its Tokyo headquarters — North Korea's de facto embassy in Japan — to an investment advisory firm led by former Public Security and Intelligence Agency chief Shigetake Ogata.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jul 3, 2007

How Japanese tax-payers' money is lost in bid-rigging

Every few years, politicians, bureaucrats and construction company bigwigs get embroiled in bid-rigging scandals — and the public's faith in government sinks deeper.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 29, 2007

The Dutch trick: flextime and shorter workweek

AMSTERDAM — Trying to figure out a Dutch work schedule is a little like solving a Sudoku puzzle: You bog down in numbers.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jun 10, 2007

Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door — but no answer

Two deaths made headlines on May 28. Izumi Sakai, the lead singer of the pop group ZARD, was found at the bottom of an outdoor staircase at Keio University Hospital, where she was undergoing treatment for cancer. Her management quickly released a statement to pre-empt media speculation that the death...
JAPAN
Jun 7, 2007

JCP: GSDF unit illegally monitored dispatch foes

The Ground Self-Defense Force's information security unit conducted detailed surveillance on journalists and citizen and religious groups opposing the GSDF's operation in Iraq, the Japanese Communist Party alleged Wednesday when revealing what it claims are GSDF internal documents.

Longform

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.