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BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
May 27, 2007

MLB should eliminate 'rookie' label for Japanese veterans

Last week an Associated Press photo appeared in these pages with a caption that began, "Boston Red Sox rookie hurler Daisuke Matsuzaka . . . "
BASKETBALL
May 26, 2007

Orimo joins new team

Takehiko Orimo and Ryota Sakurai will move to the Rera Kamuy Hokkaido of the Japan Basketball Association-led new league, the club announced Friday.
BUSINESS
May 26, 2007

SLR pioneer missed jump to digital

As the first Japanese company to commercialize a single-lens reflex camera for 35mm film, Pentax Corp. has a storied history. But that history may have prevented it from advancing into the digital age and delayed a crucial decision to be absorbed by Hoya Corp. for its own survival.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
May 26, 2007

In the darkness of our times

One night after visiting friends, I hopped on the local bus for a ride home. At the very first stop, the other passengers — a cane-clutching obaasan and a mother with her pre-schooler — stepped off, leaving me all alone as the bus barreled through the dark.
EDITORIALS
May 25, 2007

Juvenile Law revision

A bill to revise the Juvenile Law, which passed the Lower House with the backing of the Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito, is now in the Upper House. The bill is designed to provide harsher treatment of juvenile offenders. Lawmakers must question whether such a move will really help to prevent juvenile...
BUSINESS
May 25, 2007

Fujiya descends into 8 billion yen net loss

Fujiya Co. announced Thursday it posted a whopping net loss of 8 billion yen in the 2006 business year, down from a 1.8 billion yen loss the year before, after being hit by a sanitation scandal that forced the famous confectioner to suspend operations in about 890 shops and restaurants nationwide.
BUSINESS
May 24, 2007

Nonlife insurers take revenue hit

Six major domestic nonlife insurers on Wednesday reported mixed financial results for the business year to March 31 as earnings were affected by revelations of an industrywide failure to pay legitimate claims and payouts for typhoon damage.
JAPAN
May 23, 2007

Media needs to cover the Hawker case more: Beckett

British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett on Tuesday urged the Japanese media to give more coverage to the murder case of Briton Lindsay Ann Hawker in the hopes that it will help bring the killer to justice.
BUSINESS
May 23, 2007

MMC to reduce dealerships in domestic revamp

Mitsubishi Motors Corp. said Tuesday it will start paring its group dealerships to five from 29 on July 1 to help streamline sales channels and turn around its money-losing operations at home.
JAPAN
May 23, 2007

Aso announces 'manga' award for foreign artists

want to make the award something like the Nobel Prize for manga (creators)," Aso told a news conference. "Not as much money will be given as for the Nobel Prize, but we'd like to invite (the winners) to Japan." Foreign Ministry officials said the purpose of the award is to promote Japanese-style comics...
BUSINESS
May 23, 2007

Mizuho group profit falls 4.4% on Orient's losses

Mizuho Financial Group said Tuesday its group net profit dropped 4.4 percent to 621 billion yen in the business year to March on losses incurred by consumer lender Orient Corp., Mizuho's affiliate known for its Orico card.
BUSINESS
May 22, 2007

Different roads to eco-friendly vehicles

Hybrids, plug-in hybrids, diesel-powered cars, vehicles running on ethanol and fuel-cell cars — these are among the major environment-friendly vehicles under development to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, a major cause of global warming.
BUSINESS
May 22, 2007

SMFG reports 35.7% drop in net profit

The Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, one of Japan's three largest banking groups, reported Monday that group net profit dropped 35.7 percent to 441.4 billion yen in 2006 because of losses from consumer lending affiliate Promise Co. and weak banking operations.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
May 22, 2007

Seeing from the Korean side

In February this year over 300 people attended the performing arts festival at a junior high school in Okayama. It was much the same as any other arts festival at any other junior high school in Japan; the students sang, danced, played music and performed skits for an audience made up of family and friends....
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 20, 2007

Grisly crimes spark rethink of 'safe' Japan

A mother beheaded by her son. A baby who suffocated after being stuffed by his parents in the baggage compartment of a motorbike while they played pachinko. A murderous shooting spree during a hostage standoff.
Japan Times
LIFE / WEEK 3
May 20, 2007

Citizen journalists aim to serve all

For Kenichiro Masuyama, who lives in Matsumoto City in central Japan's scenic Nagano Prefecture, news that more foreign visitors than ever before are now coming to savor the region's delights is hardly a surprise.
JAPAN
May 18, 2007

Trail to Obara said overlooked in '92 death

Second of two parts
BUSINESS
May 18, 2007

Economy grew just 0.6% in quarter

The economy grew 0.6 percent in the January-March quarter for the ninth consecutive quarter of growth after corporate spending slowed, the Cabinet Office said in a preliminary report released Thursday.
BUSINESS
May 18, 2007

Toyota throws hybrid models into Lexus lineup

Toyota Motor Corp. introduced two top-of-the-line Lexus LS sedans in Japan on Thursday, hoping the cars' hybrid technology will accelerate the automaker's efforts to establish Lexus as a premium brand on the world stage.

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