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Rugby
Apr 9, 2005

Government backs bid for Rugby World Cup

The Japan Rugby Football Union's hopes for hosting the Rugby World Cup in 2011 were boosted on Friday with news that the Japanese government was officially backing the bid.
JAPAN
Apr 9, 2005

Koizumi to go to Afro-Asia meeting

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi will visit Indonesia from April 21-24 to attend the Afro-Asia Conference in Jakarta and a ceremony to mark the 50th anniversary of the Bandung Conference, the top government spokesman said Friday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 9, 2005

Prolific director Nomura of 'Castle of Sand' fame dead at 85

Movie director Yoshitaro Nomura, whose 1974 suspense thriller "Castle of Sand" ("Suna no Utsuwa") has been ranked by critics as one of the country's best films ever, died Friday at 85.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Apr 9, 2005

'Too friendly'? Hopelessly Midwestern

I am crossing America by Amtrak train and am now leaving the Wild West headed east through the Midwest. Much of the Midwest is prairie, farms and cows. Collectively these states are called the Plains States, probably because they are indeed very plain. Not a thing is growing at this time of year, but...
BUSINESS
Apr 9, 2005

BOJ policy like morphine: appointee

A newly appointed member of the Bank of Japan Policy Board said Friday the central bank should eventually stop its ultraeasy monetary policy, calling it "morphine" for the economy.
BUSINESS
Apr 9, 2005

Tokyo's terms for joining China gas project rejected

Japan could accept China's offer to jointly conduct oil and gas exploration in the East China Sea, but only if Beijing provides details of its ongoing gas projects in the disputed waters and halts its operations there, the industry minister said Friday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 9, 2005

Japan Post unit chiefs to be from private sector

The government will select private-sector personnel for the presidential posts at five spinoff units of Japan Post to be created in April 2007, sources said Friday.
BUSINESS
Apr 9, 2005

Yoshinoya forecasts profit for current year

Yoshinoya D&C Co. on Friday forecast a profit for the current fiscal year, despite the loss of its signature dish of "gyudon" beef on rice.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 9, 2005

Palestinian struggle: reality vs. rhetoric

DOHA, Qatar -- No other national struggle in the world has assimilated itself, or has been inadvertently assimilated, to symbolize so many things to different people as has the Palestinian struggle. And yet, despite the intricate layers of sense and understanding that have sought to encapsulate the Palestinian...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 8, 2005

More Minamata victims to receive financial aid

The central and Kumamoto Prefectural governments announced Thursday they would offer financial assistance to about 3,000 Minamata disease sufferers who have not yet received any help to pay for their medical treatment, the Environment Ministry said.
BUSINESS
Apr 8, 2005

Honda hopes compact wagon debut snaps slide

Honda Motor Co. said Thursday it will start selling its first compact station wagon this week.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 8, 2005

Prime minister's new quarters a step up

Built more than 70 years ago, it had only three rooms for private use that get little sunshine and was inhabited by mites and cockroaches. A previous occupant had been assassinated there.
BUSINESS
Apr 7, 2005

BOJ maintains monetary policy; member objects

The Bank of Japan said Wednesday its policy-setting panel decided to leave its ultraloose monetary policy unchanged.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OLD NIC'S NOTEBOOK
Apr 7, 2005

Birds of fine feather -- and taste

The Green or Common pheasant was adopted as the national bird of Japan in 1947, and a pair of these kiji used to decorate the 10,000 yen note. Recently however, the noble pheasant, symbol of masculine might and courage -- and, through its sudden agitated flying and crying, supposedly a prophet of earthquakes...
JAPAN
Apr 6, 2005

Disclaimer on government textbook screenings

The way Japan's wartime past is described in history textbooks officially approved Tuesday does not necessarily reflect Japanese policy, according to Akira Chiba, assistant press secretary at the Foreign Ministry.
BUSINESS
Apr 6, 2005

Business leader raps environment tax

A senior Japanese business leader urged the government Tuesday to drop an idea to levy a new tax on fossil fuels like oil, warning it could adversely affect people's livelihood.
JAPAN
Apr 5, 2005

Cabinet OKs compromise postal plan

After compromising with the Liberal Democratic Party, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's Cabinet adopted a watered-down plan Monday to privatize the state-run postal services by 2017.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Apr 5, 2005

Made in Japan

The Nintendo
JAPAN
Apr 4, 2005

Ex-Defense Agency engineer suspected of leaking sub info

Police have questioned a former senior Defense Agency engineering officer and searched his home on suspicion he gave copies of confidential submarine documents to an acquaintance who may have leaked the information to China, according to informed sources.
JAPAN
Apr 4, 2005

Atomic bomb survivors mourn pope's passing

People in Hiroshima and Nagasaki on Sunday mourned the death of Pope John Paul II, who visited the atomic-bombed cities in 1981 to appeal for world peace.
COMMENTARY
Apr 4, 2005

Unstable bond unraveling

South Korean President Roh Moo Hyun's March 23 statement denouncing Japan for its colonial past is bound to seriously damage Tokyo-Seoul relations that have been improving in recent years. The statement reverses positive diplomacy Seoul has pursued on the basis of a 2003 agreement between Roh and Prime...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Apr 3, 2005

Ryu Murakami: Straight-talking wordsmith wields his pen like a sword

For nearly three decades since his seismic debut with "Almost Transparent Blue," which delved into the sex- and drug-fueled lives of Japanese youths in a town hosting a huge U.S. military base, author Ryu Murakami has often used his trademark explicit, offensive and guiltlessly cheerful language to dig...
JAPAN
Apr 2, 2005

U.S. military aircraft crash site roles spelled out

Japan and the United States agreed Friday on what roles authorities of the two countries would play if an accident involving U.S. military aircraft occurred in Japan.
BUSINESS
Apr 2, 2005

Metro government's new lender to small firms starts up

ShinGinko Tokyo began operations Friday.
JAPAN
Apr 1, 2005

Tokyo wants safety assurances for soccer team

Japan said Thursday it wants Japanese soccer players and fans to have their safety guaranteed when the national team plays a World Cup qualifier against North Korea in Pyongyang on June 8.
BUSINESS
Apr 1, 2005

Livedoor seeks Fuji TV equity tie

Livedoor Co. President Takafumi Horie said Thursday that an equity alliance with Fuji Television Network Inc. is necessary for the continued expansion of his company's business.

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