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BUSINESS
Jul 28, 2004

Panel looks to scrap NTT line fee by 2010

The 72,800 yen upfront fee charged to land-based telephone line subscribers should be phased out by fiscal 2010, a telecommunications ministry panel said in a report released Tuesday.
JAPAN
Jul 28, 2004

Nuclear fuel report just another coverup?

Revelations that the government apparently buried for a decade a report that says reprocessing spent atomic fuel is much more expensive than burying it is causing a political furor that industry analysts say may pull the plug on the nation's nuclear recycling policy.
BUSINESS
Jul 28, 2004

JAL sues rival ANA for 10 billion yen over patent infringement

Japan Airlines International Co. is suing the All Nippon Airways group for 10 billion yen, accusing it of violating a JAL patent on online corporate ticket bookings, company officials said Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Jul 28, 2004

Seiko Epson sees major profit rise

Seiko Epson Corp., the country's top maker of ink jet printers, said Tuesday its net profit jumped nearly three-fold to 17.61 billion yen during the April-June period thanks to reduced costs.
JAPAN
Jul 27, 2004

JETRO retiree delights in U.S. teacher visits

Former Japan External Trade Organization official Akira Moromi has supported for nearly 30 years a program that invites teachers from the United States to Japan in appreciation for educating children of Japanese company employees.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jul 27, 2004

Know the law

You might have noticed the dragnet in Japan these days.
COMMENTARY
Jul 27, 2004

Rumor, fear and innuendo fuel tensions

LOS ANGELES -- Anyone who knows anything about China knows that it's not just its current government but its people, too, who are ultraprotective and ultra-sensitive about the Taiwan issue.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Jul 26, 2004

Despite its luck, Japan must not shirk reform

In the July 11 House of Councilors election, the main opposition force -- the Democratic Party of Japan -- made big gains while the leader of the ruling coalition -- the Liberal Democratic Party -- fell short of its modest target of a one-seat gain. Nevertheless, the LDP-led coalition government still...
JAPAN
Jul 26, 2004

UFJ to enlist more outside directors

The UFJ financial group is considering increasing the number of outside directors, including those in charge of ensuring that the group's operations are in compliance with the law, according to group sources.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Jul 25, 2004

Cashing in on ideas

Thomas Edison's electricity, Alexander Graham Bell's telephone, the Wright Brothers' creaky biplane, H.G. Wells' time machine (OK, that last one hasn't happened yet), but through these world-changing discoveries, our daily lives have been made easier. Flick a switch and light banishes the darkness, pick...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jul 25, 2004

LDP to promote architect of failed election

It's a strange promotion.
EDITORIALS
Jul 25, 2004

The governor and the 'girlie men'

Say this much for California's governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger: He is never boring. The "Governator" proved that again recently when he said that opposition lawmakers campaigning against his budget proposals were "girlie men." The remark caused a furor among U.S. Democrats. It also reignited a more general...
BASEBALL / MLB
Jul 24, 2004

Yomiuri, Hanshin disagree over realignment

The Yomiuri Giants expressed stern opposition Friday to the initiative of archrivals Hanshin Tigers to maintain the current two-league system as a confrontation between two camps became even clearer over whether to realign Japanese professional baseball.
BUSINESS
Jul 24, 2004

Softbank told to prevent info leaks

The telecom ministry on Friday again urged Internet service provider Softbank BB Corp. to take better care to prevent customer information from being stolen or leaked, ministry officials said.
JAPAN
Jul 23, 2004

Independents to challenge governors

The incumbents in Wakayama and Yamaguchi will each go up against an independent in the Aug. 8 gubernatorial elections, with all four registering Thursday.
BUSINESS
Jul 21, 2004

Sony-Bertelsmann deal approved

BERLIN The European Commission has approved unconditionally a merger between the music units of Sony Corp. and Germany's Bertelsmann AG to create the world's second-largest music company, with a 25 percent market share, the two companies said Monday.
JAPAN
Jul 20, 2004

More Americans see Japan as reliable

A record 68 percent of Americans see Japan as a reliable partner, up 1 percentage point from 2003, according to a recent Foreign Ministry poll.
EDITORIALS
Jul 20, 2004

A murder in Moscow

The recent assassination of journalist Paul Klebnikov in Moscow has sent an unmistakable signal about President Vladimir Putin's Russia. Truth and transparency are under assault. The law has been subordinated to brute strength. The slaying of Mr. Klebnikov is the most naked manifestation of how things...
EDITORIALS
Jul 18, 2004

A little hit of sunshine

Forget that old squabble about which is smarter, dogs or cats. They're both smart. Look at them, lying there in the only patches of sunshine in the house, lazily hogging the beams as the sun shifts. It's almost as if they were addicted. "Well, of course we are," they would say if they could talk. Lying...
BUSINESS
Jul 17, 2004

Ministry to grant MMC 550 million yen tax break

The industry ministry said Friday it will help turn around struggling Mitsubishi Motors Corp. by granting it some 550 million yen in tax breaks.
COMMUNITY
Jul 17, 2004

Designing and touring Japanese gardens in U.K.

Robert Ketchell, a designer of Japanese gardens and a guide to gardens in Japan, is at full stretch when we first talk. He is off to meet Princess Anne in Spalding, on Lincolnshire's east coast, where she is due to visit a garden he and his business partner, Jacquie Blakeley, have created.
BUSINESS
Jul 16, 2004

MMC seeks 'beneficial' alliances

Struggling automaker Mitsubishi Motors Corp. is discussing alliances with automakers at home and abroad to reduce its reliance on DaimlerChrysler AG, according to MMC President Hideyasu Tagaya.
LIFE / Lifestyle / MATTER OF COURSE
Jul 15, 2004

Japan's kindergartens could serve families better

Procreation just ain't what it used to be.
JAPAN
Jul 14, 2004

FTC tells Microsoft to cut restrictive contract clause

The Fair Trade Commission slapped a warning against Microsoft Corp. on Tuesday, demanding that the U.S. software giant remove what it said was an unfair clause from contracts with Japanese personal computer makers.
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jul 13, 2004

The big squeeze

The news from Japan these days is untypically sunny. The economy is performing at its sharpest clip for 13 years, investment and profits are up and analysts are gingerly forecasting a sustained recovery.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 12, 2004

Poor LDP showing suggests Koizumi magic wearing thin

The setback suffered by the Liberal Democratic Party in Sunday's House of Councilors election indicates that Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's magical voter appeal is ebbing.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 12, 2004

Pension reform, SDF weigh on voters' minds

If anything, Sunday's House of Councilors election will probably be remembered for the clarity of the issues voters were being called on to judge.

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