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BUSINESS
Jun 8, 2006

Sales of Prius pass 500,000 mark

Toyota Motor Corp. said Wednesday that worldwide sales of the Prius hybrid have topped the half-million mark, with 504,700 vehicles sold by the end of April.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 4, 2006

France's weak incentive to earn income

LONDON -- France's chronic malaise is marked by periodic explosions of protest. The two most recent episodes -- the rioting and arson in French cities last autumn and the successful student campaign earlier this year against a new law governing young labor-market entrants -- seem to have little in common....
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 2, 2006

Serb tragedy needs epilogue

PRAGUE -- Serbia's long tragedy looks like it is coming to an end. The death of Slobodan Milosevic has just been followed by Montenegro's referendum on independence. Independence for Kosovo, too, is inching closer.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jun 2, 2006

Former Archer's crooked path

"I'm going be a strange hybrid of Mick Jagger and Johnny Cash, with a touch of Steve Forbert [singer-songwriter best known for his 1980 hit "Romeo's Tune"] and some animated bear whose name I can't remember. Oh yeah, and some hip-hop too -- the kids love that sh*t," jokes Eric Bachmann when asked what...
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Jun 1, 2006

Nakamura sidelined by arm pain

Orix Buffaloes infielder Norihiro Nakamura was removed from the active roster Wednesday as the pain in his left arm has not subsided since being hit by a pitch in a game on May 13.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jun 1, 2006

"Vu Dan Tan -- Tanorigami: Suitcases of a Pilgrim"

Art-U Room Closes in 11 days
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 1, 2006

The coming 'St. Putinsburg' summit

PRAGUE — St. Petersburg is a great place in early summer, when the "White Nights" bathe the city's imperial palaces and avenues. Small wonder, then, that Russian President Vladimir Putin likes to show off his hometown.
BUSINESS
May 31, 2006

Industrial output hits record high

Industrial production rose a seasonally adjusted 1.5 percent in April to set a record high, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said Tuesday.
EDITORIALS
May 30, 2006

The means to a sustainable end

The Cabinet has adopted the third Basic Environment Plan since the first one was approved in 1994. Based on a report by the Central Environment Council, the latest plan, a revision of the second plan (adopted in 2000), is titled "The Way to a New Rich Lifestyle in a Sustainable Society."
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 30, 2006

Japan antes up for World Bank research

The government will extend up to $2 million to the World Bank to help strengthen its research on key development issues, including agriculture and climate change.
EDITORIALS
May 27, 2006

Meetings fail to thaw chill

Foreign Minister Taro Aso held separate meetings with his South Korean and Chinese counterparts earlier this week -- the first such get-together in five months and one year, respectively. Although he managed to clinch agreements on some bilateral issues, Japan's relations with its closest neighbors remain...
BUSINESS
May 27, 2006

AIG insurer pair in Japan to merge

U.S. insurer American International Group Inc., will merge next year 2007 in a bid to reinforce their competitive edge, sources said Friday.
BUSINESS
May 27, 2006

CPI extends rise on 0.5% gain in April

The consumer price index, a closely watched indicator in connection with the Bank of Japan's monetary policy, rose 0.5 percent in April from a year earlier for the sixth straight monthly increase, the government said Friday, supporting the view that the economy is moving out of deflation.
BUSINESS
May 27, 2006

FSA hits Saikyo failure to report embezzlement

The Financial Services Agency slapped Saikyo Bank with a business-improvement order Friday for failing to report that employees had been embezzling from depositors' accounts, FSA officials said.
JAPAN
May 24, 2006

Danish director films 'most soothing' robot

A Danish director is making a documentary on Japan's therapeutic Paro robot, which looks like a baby harp seal, to show how "the world's most soothing robot" helps patients.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 23, 2006

Importer's rare tortoises a labor of love

Before he heads off to work, Masakazu Utsunomiya has a unique daily ritual of tender loving care -- he bathes and feeds the rare Burmese starred tortoises he keeps in his modest Tokyo apartment and ensures their tanks' temperature is just right.
COMMENTARY / World
May 19, 2006

Russian flirtation with the fascist threat

MOSCOW -- Today's Kremlin thinks that democracy was being built too quickly in Russia. The government does not say that it is against democracy, only that it is untimely and needs to be delayed -- a logic that manifests itself in most official decisions. Thus, at the beginning of the current decade,...
JAPAN
May 18, 2006

Chongryun, Mindan hold historic talks

The leaders of the pro-Seoul and pro-Pyongyang groups in Japan ended 60 years of hostilities Wednesday with a reconciliation meeting in Tokyo.
JAPAN
May 18, 2006

Opposition lawmakers lash out at conspiracy bill

Lawmakers, lawyers and citizen groups voiced opposition Wednesday to a proposed bill that would make conspiracy to commit a crime punishable for more than 600 offenses even if no crime is actually carried out.
BUSINESS
May 18, 2006

March industrial output up 0.2%

Industrial output grew a seasonally adjusted 0.2 percent in March and rose an unadjusted 1.6 percent in fiscal 2005, the government said Wednesday in leaving the data unchanged from a preliminary report.
JAPAN
May 16, 2006

Old books find new life with young

Defying conventional wisdom, more young Japanese are getting interested in secondhand books -- not only to read but also taking pleasure in selling them at flea markets -- thanks in part to an enterprising young woman who started selling used books on the Internet.
JAPAN
May 16, 2006

Crime reporting turns murky as cops clam up

Police are increasingly opting not to release names of crime victims, giving rise to fears that criminal cases will become opaque, facts will become obscure and the validity of evidence in doubt.
BUSINESS
May 16, 2006

April wholesale prices up 2.5%

Wholesale prices increased 2.5 percent in April from a year earlier for the 26th straight monthly rise, reflecting the upward trend in the prices of oil and nonferrous materials, the Bank of Japan said Monday.
Japan Times
LIFE / WEEK 3
May 14, 2006

Home and away

AUSTRALIA Respect brings harmony without being workaholic

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