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JAPAN
May 27, 2006

Taxpayers pay Diet partying tab

About 90 million yen in tax money earmarked for House of Representatives members' administrative research was spent on dining and wining by lawmakers and their staff in fiscal 2002 and 2003, the Lower House secretariat said Thursday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 27, 2006

Internships popular with companies, universities

The nation's universities and companies have taken a cue from the West and are increasing their participation in internship programs, which are being praised for not only motivating future workers but also for giving them a leg up in real-world job skills.
BUSINESS
May 27, 2006

External assets hit 181 trillion yen at end of 2005

The balance of Japan's net external assets stood at 180.7 trillion yen at the end of 2005, down 2.7 percent from a year earlier, declining for the first time in two years, the Finance Ministry said Friday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
May 25, 2006

Playing for his master

"I entered the world of bunraku by accident, without knowing anything about it," says shamisen player Tsuruzawa Enjiro, who has just received the prestigious stage name Tsuruzawa Enza (VI) previously held by his master.
BUSINESS
May 25, 2006

ANA to resume Narita-O'Hare service in the fall

All Nippon Airways Co. said Wednesday that it will resume flights between Tokyo and Chicago's O'Hare airport in October as part of its overseas expansion plan in the coming years.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 25, 2006

New Keidanren chief urges Asia diplomatic thaw

The new chairman of the Japan Business Federation (Nippon Keidanren) has urged the government to swiftly resolve the nation's conflict with its Asian neighbors over Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's repeated visits to Yasukuni Shrine.
BUSINESS
May 25, 2006

Sompo Japan president to resign amid scandals

Sompo Japan Insurance Inc. President Hiroshi Hirano announced Wednesday that he will become chairman in late June after being replaced by Managing Director Masatoshi Sato as the company deals with scandals that have drawn sanctions from the government.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 25, 2006

ChuoAoyama faces uncertain future as clients defect to rivals

More and more clients of major auditing firm ChuoAoyama PricewaterhouseCoopers are switching to rival outfits after the Financial Services Agency ordered ChuoAoyama to suspend its business for two months starting in July.
SOCCER / J. League
May 24, 2006

J. League promotes Onitake to chairman

The J. League decided Tuesday to appoint vice chairman Kenji Onitake to the post of chairman, taking over from Masaru Suzuki, who is stepping down from the helm of the Japanese professional soccer league at the expiration of his current tenure.
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
May 22, 2006

Japan keeps blowing smoke

This year's slogan adopted by the World Health Organization for No Tobacco Day (May 31) is "Tobacco: deadly in any form or disguise." Since the framework convention on tobacco control came into effect in February 2005, the antismoking movement has become an irreversible global trend.
Japan Times
LIFE / WEEK 3
May 21, 2006

Super-natural wine is flying off the shelves

Despite being everywhere -- in every part of our bodies and our daily lives -- chemicals have got a bad rep. Pollution, allergies, additives, colorings, flavorings, you name it, if it's bad for you, then "chemicals" are blamed.
JAPAN
May 20, 2006

Opus Dei revels in chance to explain itself

Inc., the film's distributor for Japan, is putting the film on 863 screens nationwide and hopes to make 10 billion yen at the box office, which translates into 8 million viewers. "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone," released in December 2002 in Japan, is currently the highest-grossing foreign...
BUSINESS
May 19, 2006

Sales slump fuels record Sanyo group loss

Struggling home appliance maker Sanyo Electric Co. reported a record group net loss of 205.6 billion yen for the business year that ended in March, due to falling sales and losses incurred in corporate restructuring, the company said Thursday.
BUSINESS
May 19, 2006

Japan, China remain deadlocked over how to resolve gas row

Japan and China clarified their respective positions but were unable Thursday to agree on how to resolve their dispute over natural gas drilling in the East China Sea, where the two sides disagree over their exclusive economic zone boundaries.

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?