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Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 18, 2006

Huser boss clams up before the Diet

Huser Ltd. President Susumu Ojima refused to answer most questions under oath Tuesday before a Diet committee in connection with the nationwide building safety scam in which his condominium development firm is a key player.
BUSINESS
Jan 18, 2006

Cold weather cools beer shipments

Shipments of beer and beerlike alcoholic beverages by the top five breweries fell 3.1 percent in 2005 for the first decline in two years due to the colder than usual winter, industry figures showed Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Jan 18, 2006

Livedoor raid stirs up fear of Net stocks

The Nikkei stock average fell below the 16,000 line Tuesday as worried investors sold off Internet stocks amid the dust kicked up by prosecutors' search of Livedoor Co. over suspected securities law violations.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Jan 17, 2006

Hiroshima adds ex-Sox prospect

The Hiroshima Carp agreed Monday to a one-year deal with pitcher Felix Diaz, a Dominican right-hander who played for the Charlotte Knights, the Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox, in 2005.
Japan Times
Reference / SO WHAT THE HECK IS THAT
Jan 17, 2006

Suicide

Dear Alice:
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Jan 16, 2006

Nagashima speaks to fans, students

Former Yomiuri Giants manager Shigeo Nagashima, who is on a long road to recovery from a stroke suffered almost two years ago, greeted and talked to baseball fans in his first public appearance since last summer on Sunday.
JAPAN
Jan 16, 2006

Japan to seek visit by Iran foreign minister

Japan plans to invite Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki to Tokyo late next month in hopes of persuading his nation to cease its nuclear program, according to sources in the Foreign Ministry.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Jan 15, 2006

Japan's 'Fields of Dreams' provide fans unique opportunities

Reader Matthew C. Fisk e-mailed this column with the following: "How do you rate the stadiums used sometimes for pro baseball games played in the smaller cities and towns? My family would like to attend a game at one of them and combine it with visiting an historic smaller city or town nearby."
JAPAN
Jan 13, 2006

Police huddle on North abductors

The National Police Agency held a meeting Thursday with officials of 10 prefectural headquarters to discuss strategies to investigate North Korea's abduction of two Japanese couples who have since been repatriated.
EDITORIALS
Jan 13, 2006

Mr. Chen back on the offensive

Hopes that Taiwan's president, Mr. Chen Shui-bian, might alter course and reach out to China were shattered last week. Mr. Chen's New Year address made plain that he remains as combative as ever, despite having lost the upper hand in cross-strait relations with Beijing in 2005. The president's determination...
CULTURE / Music
Jan 13, 2006

Ai Otsuka "Love Cook"

Good bubblegum pop is a bridge between childhood and teenagerdom. Based in a synthetic, brightly colored pre-teen world of nursery rhymes and cotton candy, it's also a metaphor for its audience's growing sexual maturity. When Ohio Express sang, "Yummy yummy yummy, I've got love in my tummy" we all knew...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 12, 2006

Okamoto debuts spermicide condoms

Top condom maker Okamoto Industries Inc. announced Wednesday it will start selling the country's first spermicide-coated condom Feb. 1, hoping to stimulate the flagging domestic prophylactics market.
COMMENTARY / WASHINGTON UPDATE
Jan 12, 2006

Democrats taking aim at House control

WASHINGTON -- The American political landscape continues to be dominated by U.S. President George W. Bush. He had his ups and downs in 2005, and while he has gained about seven points in the various polls since he hit bottom in late November, his approval ratings remain in the low 40s, according to various...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / NEW ART SEEN
Jan 12, 2006

WONDER SITE: Strong words in Shibuya fail to bring a crowd

In 2001, a peculiar contemporary-art space called Tokyo Wonder Site opened in a disused building in Bunkyo Ward in Northeast Tokyo. Supported by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, the project attracted a measure of initial interest, but never developed into anything like a hot spot for art. This is probably...
BASEBALL / MLB
Jan 11, 2006

Lasorda hopes Cuba makes it to World Baseball Classic

Cuba's exclusion from the World Baseball Classic would be tragic, and no one knows it more than WBC ambassador Tommy Lasorda.
MORE SPORTS
Jan 8, 2006

Tomita on bill for World Cup meet

Hiroyuki Tomita, who won the men's overall title at the world gymnastics championships last November, will participate in the World Cup Series international meet in France this March, the Japan Gymnastic Association said Friday.
JAPAN
Jan 8, 2006

Foreign visitors hit record number

The number of foreign visitors in 2005 hit a record 7.45 million, up 10.3 percent from the previous record of 6.76 million in 2004 and topping the 7 million mark for the first time ever, according to preliminary Justice Ministry figures.
JAPAN
Jan 8, 2006

Past bird flu infections of people feared

About 40 people in Ibaraki Prefecture linked to chicken farms are suspected of having been infected with the H5N2 strain of bird flu in the past, informed sources said Saturday.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Jan 7, 2006

Portsmouth set to get influx of cash from Russian investor

LONDON -- Imagine you won the lottery and suddenly had wealth beyond your wildest dreams.

Longform

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