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JAPAN
Jul 6, 2005

Cult leader loses murder appeal over false beliefs

The Supreme Court has dismissed the appeal of a 66-year-old cult leader who was sentenced to seven years in prison for murdering a sick man by attempting to cure him through supernatural means instead of proper medical treatment, according to the ruling made available Tuesday.
JAPAN
Jul 6, 2005

Trial opens over denial of secret accord with U.S.

A court battle opened Tuesday on a damages suit filed by a former Mainichi Shimbun reporter who claims his career was ruined after he was wrongly convicted for reporting on an alleged secret pact between Japan and the United States over the 1972 reversion of Okinawa.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jul 6, 2005

'Noises Off' finds the right director

While tragedy is universal, comedy tends to be far more culturally specific, and this is especially true with theater. When drama is transposed out of its vernacular, audiences can be expected to tune in more easily to a mournful melodrama or saga of self-destruction than to a humorous work with all...
JAPAN
Jul 5, 2005

Lawmaker's killer appeals to top court

A man sentenced to life in prison for murdering opposition lawmaker Koki Ishii has filed an appeal with to the Supreme Court, his lawyer said Monday.
BUSINESS
Jul 5, 2005

Yoshinoya sales surge, 'gyudon' or no

Yoshinoya D&C Co. said Monday that sales grew 9.6 percent in June from a year earlier, marking the first upturn since November 2002.
JAPAN
Jul 2, 2005

Forum mulls ways to make racial discrimination illegal here

Citing racial slurs by politicians and biased news reports playing up an increase in crimes committed by foreigners, participants in a Tokyo symposium called Thursday for a legal framework that would eradicate racial discrimination in Japan.
BUSINESS
Jul 2, 2005

MMC recalls Liberos with hazardous tailgate bolts

Mitsubishi Motors Corp. said Friday it is recalling about 209,000 Libero station wagons for free repairs due to defective mounting bolts in the tailgate that caused an injury last year.
BUSINESS
Jul 2, 2005

Tokyo CPI continues slide as prices of veggies, PCs fall

Consumer prices in Tokyo continued falling in June as vegetable prices plunged and deflation continued to dog telecommunications fees and computer prices, according to preliminary government statistics released Friday.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / THEN AND NOW
Jul 1, 2005

Walking the path of a legendary poet

The accompanying 1830s woodcut print is the image of the great haiku poet Matsuo Basho (1644-1694), rendered by Hasegawa Settan (1778-1843). Depicting a legendary scene in which the poet was inspired to pen one of his masterpieces, Basho is seated at his writing desk in a humble cottage thatched with...
EDITORIALS
Jul 1, 2005

Rescuing an ancient heritage

When colorful paintings were found on the ceiling and walls of the stone chamber of the Takamatsuzuka ancient mound in Asuka, Nara Prefecture, in March 1972, it caused a national sensation. The paintings, believed to date back about 1,300 years, stimulated intense public interest, creating an "archaeology...
BUSINESS
Jun 30, 2005

UFJ shareholders challenge but give nod to merger

Shareholders of UFJ Holdings Inc. and Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group Inc. approved on Wednesday their plan to merge in October, taking a big step closer to creating the world's largest banking group in terms of assets.
JAPAN
Jun 30, 2005

Sentences final for Green Cross pair in HIV fiasco

The Supreme Court has rejected an appeal filed by two ex-presidents of the defunct Green Cross Corp. against a lower court ruling in an HIV contamination debacle, finalizing their guilty sentences.
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Jun 30, 2005

Changing values pose problems for terminal care in Japan

Several years ago, I read cancer surgeon Fumio Yamazaki's unforgettable book titled "Dying in a Japanese Hospital." Through case studies of his patients, he describes the final moments in the lives of terminal cancer sufferers. Invariably, just as a patient is slipping away, doctors battle to resuscitate...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 29, 2005

Hayashi loses appeal over curry poisonings

OSAKA — Masumi Hayashi must hang for murdering four people and injuring 63 others with arsenic-laced curry at a Wakayama summer festival seven years ago, the Osaka High Court ruled Tuesday, upholding a lower court verdict.
COMMENTARY
Jun 27, 2005

Perceptions that defy amity

On a recent Korea Air flight from Narita to Inchon, South Korea, I was surprised when they showed images of air routes on the in-flight video system. The Tok-do islets in the Sea of Japan, the source of a Japan-South Korea territorial dispute, were shown as prominently as Tokyo and Seoul. The islets,...
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Jun 25, 2005

Agents continue making huge sums for doing very little work

LONDON -- The following story is, I promise, absolutely true, but you will understand why I have not used the names of the player, agent, club or manager concerned.
JAPAN
Jun 25, 2005

Shady cash stash puts METI in hot water

A probe into years of accounting fraud at Kanebo Ltd. has led to a secret stash of nearly 30 million yen collected over 20 years by Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry officials.
COMMENTARY / WASHINGTON UPDATE
Jun 25, 2005

No easy fix for reapportionment wrongs

WASHINGTON -- Among the issues that California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will take to a special referendum election next fall is that of reapportionment. Specifically, the Gubernator wants to change the way California draws its district lines for representation in the state legislature and in the Congress....
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Jun 23, 2005

China's growth sums just don't add up for the planet

China's 1.3 billion (and counting) citizens are poised to transform the global landscape dramatically, both economically and ecologically.
JAPAN
Jun 22, 2005

Ex-LTCB execs convicted of hiding loans lose appeal

The Tokyo High Court on Tuesday rejected an appeal by three former top executives of the now-defunct Long-Term Credit Bank of Japan who were convicted of window-dressing the bank's earnings reports.

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