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BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Apr 4, 2005

Expo no ordinary economy booster

Aichi Expo 2005 -- the first world exposition of the 21st century -- has attracted tens of thousands of visitors since it opened March 25. Under the theme of "Nature's wisdom," the expo is providing the governments, companies and people of the 120 participating countries a place to exchange ideas and...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Apr 3, 2005

"Unnan Kyokugen Neta Battle" on TBS, "NHK Special" on stem-cell research and more

On TV, Japanese comedians are called upon to be funny in both prepared standup routines and in ad-lib conversational settings, but few seem to be able to combine these two skills into improvisational routines.
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...
COMMENTARY
Apr 2, 2005

Tokyo talks of a challenge, not a threat

Tension between China and Taiwan are heating up again, but Japanese government officials seem not as hot and bothered about it as one might expect. Perhaps they have taken a measure of China and decided that Japan will do just fine and is very capable of holding up its own end of Asia.
BUSINESS
Apr 2, 2005

Metro government's new lender to small firms starts up

ShinGinko Tokyo began operations Friday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 2, 2005

800,000 new grads begin life as workers

Some 800,000 new high school and college graduates experienced their first day as regular workers at Friday's start of the new fiscal year, with companies and public offices across Japan holding welcome ceremonies for them.
Rugby
Apr 1, 2005

Rugby fans tell IRB: Give the 2011 World Cup to Japan

If the Japan Rugby Football Union is on the lookout for a theme song for its bid to host the 2011 Rugby World Cup, it could do a lot worse than the Ray Davies penned, "Give the People What They Want."
EDITORIALS
Apr 1, 2005

New era for depositors

Beginning Friday, in a sure sign of the renewed strength at Japanese banks, the government will reimpose the legal cap on deposit-insurance coverage. Nine years ago, in 1996, that ceiling -- 10 million yen in principal plus interest -- was removed amid widespread concern about banks' ballooning bad debt....
JAPAN
Apr 1, 2005

Forum wants Mount Fuji on heritage site list

A group of political, business and academic figures, including former Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone, has launched a forum to push for the listing of Mount Fuji as a World Heritage site by the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
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.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Apr 1, 2005

Osteria La Luna Rossa: Moon shines brightly in Naka-Meguro

La Luna Rossa is one of those excellent little places that fly under the critical radar, avoiding the hyperventilation of the vernacular media but generating a deep, slow-sure buzz of appreciation among the culinary cognoscenti. In the parlance of the showbiz world, it's a sleeper.
BUSINESS
Apr 1, 2005

End to deposit guarantee: How will it affect you?

The nearly decade-old blanket guarantee on bank deposits is to end Friday, reflecting an improvement in the creditworthiness of banks due to active bad-loan disposal efforts.
EDITORIALS
Mar 31, 2005

Rules to survive by

The Cabinet has approved a set of ground rules for protecting the people in the event of a military, terrorist or missile attack on Japan. The rules, officially called "Guidelines Concerning the Protection of the People," state what protective measures the government will take in such an emergency.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 31, 2005

Daiei shareholders stamp rehab

Daiei Inc. received approval from shareholders Wednesday to adopt a rehabilitation program mapped out by the Industrial Revitalization Corp. of Japan that features a 592.4 billion yen aid package.
EDITORIALS
Mar 30, 2005

Ready or not, a revolution it is

Fourteen years after the fall of the Soviet Union, democracy is showing fresh signs of life in yet another former Soviet republic: Kyrgyzstan. Last week, in a dramatic display of "people power," popular protests against disputed elections toppled President Askar Akayev, who had ruled the Central Asian...
BUSINESS
Mar 29, 2005

Interest in diversification grows ahead of 'payoff' deadline

What is the best way to diversify your assets in an economy with rock-bottom interest rates, faltering bank security and Friday's termination of the government's full guarantee on savings accounts?
BUSINESS
Mar 26, 2005

Seibu Railway aims to be relisted in a few years

Seibu Railway Co. hopes to go public again as early as 2008, according a final report by the scandal-tainted group's reform panel released Friday.
EDITORIALS
Mar 25, 2005

Begin the postal-reform debate

With the passage of the 2005 government budget Wednesday, the Diet effectively ended the first half of its 150-day regular session. The biggest issue in the second half is the proposed privatization of postal services -- the main pillar of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's reform initiative. To succeed,...
EDITORIALS
Mar 22, 2005

Iraq's Parliament convenes

Two years after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, and two and a half months after that country's historic elections, Iraq's Parliament held its inaugural session last week. Although the legislative session was more symbolic than substantive, the symbolism was important nonetheless. The convening of the...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Mar 22, 2005

What's the best purchase you have ever made?

Mie Kawano Travel agent, 28 My ferrets. I have three. One of them is an albino. They are so adorable. When they're little, they bite, but you can train them. I can take them for walks on a leash or sitting on my shoulders.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Mar 20, 2005

Training men in sex education is the key to unlock women-only cars

On the same day that now former Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Kazuyoshi Nakanishi was arrested for indecent assault in Roppongi there was a similarly themed news story buried in the back of the dailies that put his misdemeanor in perspective. Officials of JR East Japan announced that they are planning...
BASEBALL / MLB
Mar 19, 2005

Strained hamstring hampers Giants' Uehara

Koji Uehara is suffering from a strained right hamstring and has been told by doctors to refrain from pitching for a week, the Yomiuri Giants right-hander said on his official Web site Friday.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Mar 19, 2005

FIND gives hope to lost, depressed and suicidal

Yukio Saito pats the main staircase banister rail of the building that houses the Tokyo Lutheran Church in Iidabashi, explaining, "We are the same age, 68."
BUSINESS
Mar 18, 2005

1.9% rise in vehicle sales eyed in '05

Sales of cars, trucks and buses in Japan in fiscal 2005 are projected to rise 1.9 percent over the previous year to 5,935,000 vehicles, an industry body said Thursday.
COMMENTARY
Mar 18, 2005

China flaunts wish to control

HONG KONG -- At the very moment that the world is captivated with the promise of China rising economically, China itself has provided two vivid examples of the danger that it is plunging politically.
BUSINESS
Mar 17, 2005

Insurer Meiji Yasuda punishes 69 for fraudulent sales tactics

Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co. said Wednesday it has punished 69 executives and employees in connection with illegal sales practices and nonpayment of insurance money.
BUSINESS
Mar 17, 2005

Kanebo exits textiles after 116-year run

Kanebo Ltd., struggling under a state-backed rehabilitation program, will spin off its textile business and transfer it to a joint company to be established by Kanebo and dyeing and finishing company Seiren Co., the two companies said Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Mar 17, 2005

FSA may scrap exemptions on stock sale reporting rules

The Financial Services Agency is mulling another change to the Securities and Exchange Law that would yank exemptions on the reporting of major share transactions, FSA officials said Wednesday.

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