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BUSINESS
Mar 29, 2006

Justification needed before tax hike: Abe

The government must cut expenditures and gain public acceptance before raising the 5 percent consumption tax, Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Mar 29, 2006

News rivals hit Yasukuni visits

Recent events in the nation's normally staid print media have surprised readers of the powerful Yomiuri Shimbun and Asahi Shimbun.
BUSINESS
Mar 29, 2006

Japan, U.S. begin technical talks on beef

Japan and the United States began a two-day technical meeting Tuesday in Tokyo to discuss Washington's request that Japan lift its import ban on American beef.
JAPAN
Mar 28, 2006

Lawyer hopes 'go-between' can skip Diet

A lawyer representing the alleged go-between who gave an e-mail suggesting shady financial links between Livedoor Co. founder Takafumi Horie and a son of Liberal Democratic Party Secretary General Tsutomu Takebe to an opposition lawmaker called Monday on the House of Representatives Disciplinary Committee...
JAPAN
Mar 28, 2006

Japan, ASEAN ink agreement on integration fund

Foreign Minister Taro Aso and Malaysian Ambassador to Japan Marzuki Mohammad Noor signed an agreement Monday for Japan to establish a fund to help promote the Association of Southeast Asian Nations' efforts toward integration.
JAPAN
Mar 28, 2006

Panel: If no spending cuts are taken, how about 22% sales tax by 2015?

The consumption tax will have to rise to 22 percent from the current 5 percent by fiscal 2015 if the government is to achieve a sound balance between tax revenues and outlays, unless major spending cuts are made, an advisory panel to the finance minister said Monday.
BUSINESS
Mar 28, 2006

CCC, Aioi Insurance set to tie up

Aioi Insurance Co. and Culture Convenience Club Co., the operator of Japan's largest video rental chain, Tsutaya, said Monday they have agreed to begin preparations to set up a joint casualty insurance firm with an eye to cashing in on Tsutaya's large customer base.
BUSINESS
Mar 28, 2006

Big firms' confidence off

Major companies became less confident about business conditions in the January-March quarter as manufacturers were hit by high oil prices, pushing the key confidence index down for the first time in four quarters, a government survey showed Monday.
JAPAN
Mar 28, 2006

Government still struggling to meet realignment deadline

The government still hopes to finalize plans to realign the U.S. military presence in Japan by the Friday deadline although it has yet to win consent from affected communities, Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe said Monday.
EDITORIALS
Mar 27, 2006

China and Russia ready to deal

Russian President Vladimir Putin visited China last week to kick off "the Year of Russia in China." The festivities, which Russia will reciprocate next year with "the Year of China," are sure to trigger the usual excited speculation about ties between the two continental giants.
COMMENTARY
Mar 27, 2006

No more tax money to U.S.

The administration of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has played down Japanese public sentiment against the U.S. military presence, believing that most people approve of it in general but object when their own community is affected.
MORE SPORTS
Mar 26, 2006

Skating wasn't part of Mom's original plan for Mao, Mai

All parents have dreams for their children.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Mar 26, 2006

Ambassador Schieffer still fond of baseball in role as diplomat

Over the years, several people have been called "baseball ambassadors" for their efforts in fostering friendly relations between Japan and the United
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 26, 2006

Yurikamome Line completes extension

A new branch of the Yurikamome Line has been finished and will officially open on Monday, Yurikamome Co. officials said Saturday.
EDITORIALS
Mar 26, 2006

A fair ruling in Britain

In most legal rulings, even a casual observer can see reasonable arguments on both sides. This is not surprising. If both sides didn't have reasonable arguments, there wouldn't be a dispute to begin with, or any need for a ruling. But a decision handed down by Britain's Law Lords last week backing a...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Mar 26, 2006

A new 'hero' for olden times

LIGHTNING IN THE VOID: The Authentic History of Miyamoto Musashi, by John Carroll. Tokyo: Printed Matter Press, 2006, 520 pp., 2,500 yen (paper). Any history calling itself "authentic" posits one that is inauthentic. Here the target is apparent. It is the "Miyamoto Musashi" of Eiji Yoshikawa, published...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Mar 26, 2006

TV Asahi's 'TV Tackle,' NHK's 'Itsuka Au Machi' and more

Since TV exposure is a plus for politicians regardless of what they say, they can be put on the spot without any real loss of popularity. In fact, being humiliated can work in their favor in terms of PR.
Japan Times
Features / JAPAN FASHION WEEK FALL/WINTER 06-07
Mar 26, 2006

Virtual retailers forge fortunes with fashion

There's a revolution going on in the Japanese fashion world -- but it is nowhere near the catwalks. The revolution is happening on the web.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Mar 26, 2006

Mystery and intrigue preserved in translation

MY NAME IS RED by Orhan Pamuk, translated by Erdag Goknar. London: Faber & Faber Ltd., 2002, 508 pp., £7.99 (paper). CROSSFIRE by Miyuki Miyabe, translated by Deborah Stuhr Iwabuchi and Anna Husson Isozaki. Tokyo: Kodansha International, 2005, 404 pp., 2,600 yen (cloth). "A city's intellect," soliloquizes...
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Mar 25, 2006

Birmingham players face scathing attack after blowout loss

LONDON -- A few years ago a Premiership player inquired how much he would be fined if he missed training. He was told it would cost him £5,000, which seemed like a good deal.
JAPAN
Mar 25, 2006

Hotline near for people who blow the whistle

3581-4989. The legislation, which cleared the Diet in June 2004, specifies that entities violating the law are barred from taking retaliatory action against those who unveil their misdeeds.
JAPAN
Mar 25, 2006

East Timor leader lauds Japan's aid toward peace

" for another year, Alkatiri said. Asked what lessons the international community can learn from the reconstruction of a country emerging from conflict like East Timor, Alkatiri said that encouraging the voluntary initiatives of the people is key to success.
EDITORIALS
Mar 24, 2006

Glory days for Japanese baseball

I n recent years, circumstances surrounding Japanese baseball suggested that its popularity was in decline and that soccer was drawing away many fans. However, Team Japan's 10-6 victory over Cuba this week to win the inaugural 2006 World Baseball Classic (WBC) is certainly enough to lift the fortunes...
BUSINESS
Mar 24, 2006

China hopes 'anime' fair will promote exchanges

Representatives from China's animation industry, visiting Tokyo for a trade fair, expressed hope Thursday that an international "anime" animation trade show scheduled for this summer in Shanghai will help promote cultural exchanges with Japan.
CULTURE / Music
Mar 24, 2006

Asian Kung-Fu Generation "Fanclub"

Asian Kung-Fu Generation are a phenomenon in Japanese alternative rock. With their regular, well-received festival appearances and skyrocketing record sales (2004's "Solfa" shifted over half a million) they are a role model for any indie rock band looking for life beyond the Tokyo "toilet circuit." ...
BUSINESS
Mar 24, 2006

Usen chief considering Livedoor integration

Usen Corp. President Yasuhide Uno said Thursday he is ready to consider integrating his firm's management with Livedoor Co., 12.74 percent of whose shares he bought from Fuji Television Network Inc.

Longform

Ayumi Matsuki, a priestess at Yoshiwara Shrine, shows off some "o-mamori" charms. She says visitors to the shrine have increased since the NHK drama “Unbound” began airing this month.
Tracing Tsutaya Juzaburo, Edo’s media maverick