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BUSINESS
Feb 1, 2006

Meiji Yasuda unveils plan to regain credibility

Scandal-hit Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co. announced a medium-term business plan Tuesday focused on regaining credibility over the next two years.
BUSINESS
Jan 31, 2006

Aeon to launch friendly bid for Origin Toshu

Retail giant Aeon Co. announced Monday it will launch a friendly takeover bid for Origin Toshu Co., offering to serve as a white knight for the boxed-meal chain currently facing a hostile takeover by Don Quijote Co.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jan 31, 2006

Hospital death exposes 'tip of malpractice iceberg'

Loyd Cummings tried to ignore his headache when it began on Aug. 7, 2003. But the electronic technician, who was working in Japan on U.S. Navy radars, eventually collapsed from an aneurysm -- a bulge in a vein in his head.
JAPAN
Jan 31, 2006

Man loses racial discrimination suit against shop

OSAKA -- In a case that human rights lawyers and activists worry could condone racial discrimination against foreigners by Japanese businesses, the Osaka District Court rejected a lawsuit Monday that was filed by a black American man who was denied entry to a store apparently due to his color.
JAPAN
Jan 31, 2006

Yen fall, Dow rise send TSE to 65-month high

The key Nikkei stock index rose Monday to end at a fresh five-year, five-month high on buying prompted by the yen's fall against the dollar and recent strength on Wall Street.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Jan 30, 2006

Fighters, Diaz agree to contract

After originally agreeing to a one-year deal with the Hiroshima Carp, former Chicago White Sox prospect Felix Diaz instead will be joining the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters, the club announced Sunday.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jan 29, 2006

Sifting through the geeks -- that's all of us -- to identify the perverts

Less than a week after the Supreme Court upheld the death sentence for serial killer Tsutomu Miyazaki on Jan. 17, the online encyclopedia Wikipedia had not only recorded the ruling in its entry on Miyazaki, but had added an incisive note. When the Miyazaki case was dominating the headlines in 1989, he...
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Jan 29, 2006

With Horie's downfall, who can young Japan look up to?

The media has had a field day with Takafumi Horie, the 33-year-old founder of the communications firm Livedoor.
JAPAN
Jan 28, 2006

Three-prong North Korea talks set for Feb. 4

Japan and North Korea will begin the first of three-track normalization talks on Feb. 4 in Beijing, Foreign Minister Taro Aso said Friday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 28, 2006

Hotelier beats checks, drops disabled access

Toyoko Inn Co. admitted Friday that some of its business hotels in Yokohama and other areas removed mandatory parking facilities for the disabled after authorities certified them as barrier-free.
JAPAN
Jan 28, 2006

Support for Cabinet falls to 52.9%

The approval rate for Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's Cabinet stood at 52.9 percent in January, down 4.2 percentage points from the previous month, a Kyodo News poll of 1,007 people showed Friday.
JAPAN
Jan 28, 2006

U.S. Democrats urge Japan to halt nuclear fuel plan

WASHINGTON (Kyodo) Six U.S. Democrats have urged Japan to suspend its plan to begin a test operation to extract plutonium at a nuclear-waste reprocessing facility in Rokkasho, Aomori Prefecture, Democratic congressional sources said Thursday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 28, 2006

Professor faked enzyme test: Todai panel

A University of Tokyo investigative panel said Friday that results from 12 experiments on human enzymes conducted by one of its academic teams have not been reproduced so far, suggesting a biochemistry engineering professor may have fabricated results published in scientific papers on the research.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 27, 2006

'Harem' man held after candidate balks

Police arrested a man Thursday who allegedly tried to force a woman to live with him and his "harem" of 10 female housemates in suburban Tokyo.
BUSINESS
Jan 27, 2006

Bravia, Vaio sales buoy Sony earnings forecast

Sony Corp. said Thursday it revised its earnings forecast for the full year through March 31 from a net loss of 10 billion yen to a net profit of 70 billion yen, buoyed by stronger-than-expected sales of Bravia TVs and Vaio PCs over the holidays.
JAPAN
Jan 26, 2006

LDP, DPJ both red-faced for wooing Horie

A war of words erupted between senior officials of the Liberal Democratic Party and the Democratic Party of Japan over both parties' wooing of now-arrested Livedoor Co. founder Takafumi Horie to run in the Sept. 11 general election.
JAPAN
Jan 26, 2006

Koizumi not backing down on Yasukuni

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi again attempted Wednesday to justify his repeated trips to Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine by noting that China and South Korea are the only countries that denounce the visits.
BUSINESS
Jan 26, 2006

Toyota expands Belgium R&D base

Toyota Motor Corp. said Wednesday it has completed the expansion of its research and development center in Belgium, part of its continuing localization of European design and engineering operations to better meet customer needs in Europe.
JAPAN
Jan 25, 2006

Fans liked how Horie lived on the edge

Monday's arrest of Takafumi Horie, the 33-year-old founder of Internet services firm Livedoor Co., left the public wondering how he rose to fame so fast and what his impact on society, especially the young generation, will be.
BUSINESS
Jan 25, 2006

U.S. official tries to play down risky beef shipment

U.S. agricultural official J.B. Penn tried Tuesday to minimize the impact of a recent shipment of banned U.S. beef material, saying it was "an isolated incident" carried out by a meatpacker inexperienced in export procedures.
JAPAN
Jan 25, 2006

Pyongyang may hold secret info on missiles

Confidential data on a Defense Agency surface-to-air missile system may have been leaked to a group affiliated with the pro-Pyongyang General Association of Korean Residents in Japan (Chongryun) in 1995, the Defense Agency said Tuesday.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Jan 25, 2006

Saving our environment one step at a time

Having ended 2005 with a rant (see below), let me begin 2006 on a more positive note by introducing some valuable environmental education resources.
JAPAN
Jan 24, 2006

Queen nixed mum's surrender sword slight: book

LONDON (Kyodo) Despite her rather formal appearance, Queen Elizabeth is known to enjoy the occasional joke and can take pleasure when formal proceedings don't go exactly as planned.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 24, 2006

Tuna farms that are feeding Japan seen as a threat to natural stocks

Japan's consumption of sliced raw tuna is undergoing a major upheaval as the surge in supply of farmed tuna brings down prices and threatens to decimate tuna stocks.

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