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Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 25, 2006

Sweden's IKEA back in Japan after 20-year hiatus

Furniture giant IKEA marked its return to Japan with the opening of a store Monday in Funabashi, Chiba Prefecture, but some domestic rivals question whether the Swedish firm has learned enough about Japanese consumers to please them.
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Apr 25, 2006

Aso family's 'slave' link under scrutiny

While Taro Aso's public statements as foreign minister have done little to help ease tensions between Tokyo and the rest of Asia, a family connection to wartime forced labor has raised further questions over his ability to oversee good relations with Japan's neighbors.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 24, 2006

For female 'otaku,' a coffee house all their own

Opening the thick wooden door to the Swallowtail coffee house in Tokyo, a man in a black tailcoat greets female customers: "Welcome home, Madam."
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Apr 23, 2006

Dietician Sonoko Suzuki's life dramatized in Nihon TV's "The Diet Queen" and more

Everybody is excited about this summer's World Cup in Germany, but before that takes place there is another international tournament being held in the same country.
BUSINESS
Apr 21, 2006

Yahoo Japan sets another profit record

Yahoo Japan Corp. reported Thursday that it set an all-time high for earnings for the ninth consecutive year, helped by an increase in advertising and the popularity of its Internet auction and shopping businesses in 2005.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 19, 2006

Police question Huser president

Police on Tuesday questioned Susumu Ojima, president of failed condominium developer Huser Ltd., on a voluntary basis about suspicions the firm sold units in a condominium building in Kanagawa Prefecture despite being aware it was built using fabricated quake-resistance data, investigative sources said....
BUSINESS
Apr 19, 2006

Get rid of interest rate 'gray zone': FSA panel

A Financial Services Agency panel reached a broad agreement Tuesday to recommend that the "gray zone" that allows for a higher ceiling on consumer loan interest rates be removed to help reduce the rising number of personal bankruptcies, FSA officials said.
BUSINESS
Apr 19, 2006

Business impact of oil prices rings alarm bells at METI

The government will conduct an urgent survey on the impact of soaring crude oil prices on Japanese companies, bringing forward the regular survey schedule, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Apr 19, 2006

Patent Office hands out IP awards

Academics, corporate leaders and companies were among recipients Tuesday of the Japan Patent Office's 2006 intellectual property rights system awards.
JAPAN
Apr 18, 2006

Huser president facing criminal investigation

Police will launch a criminal investigation of Susumu Ojima, president of condominium developer Huser Ltd., and could arrest him as early as next month over a building constructed with quake safety data faked by architect Hidetsugu Aneha, sources said Monday.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Apr 16, 2006

Return of Hara, revamped roster have Giants off to fast start

The Yomiuri Giants are off to a great start in the 2006 Central League pennant race, winning 11 of their first 13 games (with one tie) and taking the early lead in the CL standings.
JAPAN
Apr 16, 2006

Koizumi waxes poetic under cherry blossoms

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi promised Saturday to serve out his term with dedication as he hosted a garden party to view cherry blossoms in a Tokyo park.
JAPAN
Apr 16, 2006

Murakami Fund ups stake in Matsuzakaya to 7.52%

The Murakami Fund has increased its stake in Matsuzakaya Co. to 7.52 percent and remains the largest shareholder in the department store operator, according to a report the investment fund submitted to the Finance Ministry.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 16, 2006

CHIBA BY-ELECTION

Leaders of all the political parties vying for a seat in the April 23 House of Representatives by-election in the Chiba No. 7 district hit the stump Saturday.
Japan Times
LIFE / WEEK 3
Apr 16, 2006

What's really 'Chinese' about fortune cookies?

Try this for fun next time you're in New York City: Walk into any sushi bar, eat your fill and then ask for a fortune cookie.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Apr 16, 2006

Unlike with the French, a lack of fight spells future gloom for Japan's workers

While traveling through Europe recently I tried to get a handle on the controversy surrounding France's now abandoned First Job Contract (CPE) law, which was meant to make it easier for companies to hire young people. However, those same young people thought the law would make it easier for companies...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 15, 2006

Aneha to be arrested over quake-resistance data fabrication

Police investigators plan to arrest former architect Hidetsugu Aneha by the end of this month on suspicion of fabricating quake-resistance data for condominiums and budget hotels, sources said Friday.
BUSINESS
Apr 15, 2006

Dell to supply Defense Agency PCs

The Japanese unit of U.S. computer maker Dell Inc. said Thursday it will supply some 56,000 personal computers to the Defense Agency in the largest deal ever for business-use PCs by the subsidiary.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Apr 15, 2006

Scouring the bush for flowers with power to heal

Upon mailing Australian Bush Flower Essences last year for help with a nauseous pregnant daughter, the speed of reply, kindness and concern was impressive. It was so impressive that it seemed a good idea to seek out the company's founder, Ian White, who said he would be coming to Japan in the spring,...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 14, 2006

Livedoor stockholders to sue for compensation

About 1,000 Livedoor Co. shareholders will launch a damages suit in late May against the Internet firm and its former executives to recover their losses from the sharp fall in its stock price following allegations of accounting fraud, their lawyers said Thursday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 14, 2006

Companies court women with children as workforce shrinks

Companies are trying to make working conditions more tolerable for women with children in an effort to retain them as the workforce continues to shrink amid population decline and the retirement of the baby boomers.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / COUNTER CULTURE
Apr 14, 2006

Knight expands fashion empire

Eccentric British fashion designer Paul Smith is currently presiding over a rollout of stores across the globe. Following on from the December 2005 opening of a bubblegum-pink store on Melrose Avenue, L.A., last week he was in Tokyo to unveil a four-story flagship in the Aoyama district. Later this year...
BUSINESS
Apr 13, 2006

Tokyo condo supply rose in March

The number of condominiums put on sale in the Tokyo metropolitan area in March rose 13.4 percent from a year earlier to 7,596 units, the first year-on-year increase in five months, the Real Estate Economic Institute said Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Apr 12, 2006

GM selling Isuzu stake to trading companies, bank

Cash-strapped General Motors Corp. is selling the shares it holds in truck maker Isuzu to two Japanese trading companies and a bank for about $300 million to fund its turnaround in North America, the U.S. automaker said Tuesday.

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