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JAPAN
Dec 23, 2005

Population already contracting

Japan's population has started shrinking for the first time this year, health ministry data showed Thursday, presenting the government with pressing challenges on the social and economic front, including ensuring provision of social security services and securing the labor force.
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Dec 23, 2005

Kafka on the . . . wall

Scottish artist Jack McLean's exhibition of drawings "Kafka on the...," which runs through Dec. 31 at Artist Residency Tokyo (A.R.T.) Gallery in Tokyo, focuses on two Johnnie Walkers.
OLYMPICS
Dec 22, 2005

Igaya focused on 2016 bid

International Olympic Committee vice president Chiharu Igaya said there is a good chance for Japan to host the 2016 Games.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Dec 22, 2005

Elemental expressions

Art comes in many forms, but all those forms have in common their intimate dependence on light (something to bear in mind on this, the shortest day of the year). Without this miraculous form of energy you wouldn't know the difference between an Old Master canvas, an Abstract Expressionist work or an...
JAPAN
Dec 21, 2005

Dam denial faces appeal

The government will appeal a high court ruling that a dam project in what is now the city of Higashiomi, Shiga Prefecture, is illegal, official sources said Tuesday.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Dec 21, 2005

Soaking up surprises while out birding in the buff

Was it really just the other morning that I opened my eyes to behold a thick frost on the ground around me beside Lake Kussharo in the Akan National Park of eastern Hokkaido? It already seems an age ago.
BUSINESS
Dec 21, 2005

2006 budget draft reflects changing priorities

The Finance Ministry's fiscal 2006 draft budget reveals changing priorities. Here's a sample of items slated to get more funding compared with the current fiscal year, and items that would get less:
JAPAN
Dec 20, 2005

Hiroshima murder suspect had poor life, broken home in Peru

Jose Manuel Torres Yake, a 33-year-old Peruvian of Japanese descent arrested in the murder of a 7-year-old girl in Hiroshima in November, first came to Japan under an assumed name in April 2004.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Dec 20, 2005

How do you deal with missing Christmas dinner?

Katherine Stuart Teacher, 23 The other day, I went to a British pub with some friends and we ordered a turkey. We were all so excited that we ate it all, and then they brought another one and we ate that too. It was-all-you-can-eat. I think they made a loss on us.
EDITORIALS
Dec 19, 2005

Small step toward 'one East Asia'

The concept of an East Asian Community -- a broad regional grouping that would bring together countries in East Asia and other areas in economic, political, security and other fields of common interest -- took a formal step toward realization last Wednesday at a summit meeting in Kuala Lumpur. Leaders...
JAPAN
Dec 19, 2005

Aso takes conciliatory tone on Seoul

Japan will deal sincerely with issues from the past concerning South Korea and work to improve bilateral relations by looking to the future, Foreign Minister Taro Aso said Sunday.
JAPAN
Dec 18, 2005

Maehara raps Koizumi's policy toward U.S., Asia

Democratic Party of Japan leader Seiji Maehara said Saturday that Japan should place strong emphasis on its relations with other Asian countries, criticizing Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi for leaning too much on ties with the United States.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Dec 18, 2005

TBS's quiz show "Sekai Baribari Value" looks at being rich and female and more

Many of the topical words that dominated the media this year described certain kinds of women, like makeinu ("loser dogs" -- a term for unmarried women past 30 -- and cerebu, women who, for some reason or another, are loaded. TBS's guess-the-price quiz show "Sekai Baribari Value (World's Exciting Values)"...
EDITORIALS
Dec 18, 2005

Everyday marvels of design

Winter has a way of slowing things down. Animals hibernate. Ponds freeze over. And the human brain turns sluggish, resisting even repeated infusions of double mocha espresso. Then a funny thing happens. As the mind struggles to focus, elemental objects suddenly loom large. With the peculiar concentration...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Dec 18, 2005

Robotic journalists do their 'job' covering tragic deaths of girls

In a period of less than three weeks, three elementary school-age girls were recently murdered in different areas of Japan. The nature of the crimes guaranteed extensive coverage, but their occurrence in quick succession stretched the resources of the news media beyond its normal capabilities.
BUSINESS
Dec 17, 2005

2 trillion yen in tax increases to take effect in fiscal 2006

The ruling coalition approved over 2 trillion yen worth of tax increases Thursday to be implemented in fiscal 2006. The hikes include the elimina tion or reduction of tax breaks, a cigarette levy increase and higher tax rates on wine and so-called third-category beers.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Dec 17, 2005

Nine lives: meditating cats in paradise

Celebrity cat profile
JAPAN
Dec 16, 2005

Tax breaks may soon be pulled; hikes eyed

The ruling coalition Thursday recommended scrapping income, residential and corporate tax breaks and raising liquor and tobacco levies in its reform proposals for fiscal 2006, and agreed to discuss a possible consumption tax increase for fiscal 2007.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Dec 16, 2005

Dropping a line and seeing what hits

The Icelandic singer Emiliana Torrini is sitting in the Tokyo office of her Japanese record company, talking about an izakaya where she spent an evening. Torrini has a special affection for eateries since she grew up in a restaurant run by her Italian immigrant father in a small town outside Reykjavik....
JAPAN
Dec 16, 2005

Pair using Tamiflu die but state denies drug poses safety worry

The health ministry said Thursday that two men, one in his 50s and and the other in his 80s, died after taking Tamiflu, one after developing a serious skin disease and the other from kidney failure.
BUSINESS
Dec 16, 2005

Upturn pumps household assets to record 1.454 quadrillion yen

Assets held by Japanese households hit a record high 1.454 quadrillion yen as of Sept. 30 mainly due to income increases and rising share prices amid the economic upturn, the Bank of Japan said Thursday.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Dec 16, 2005

A few more before we go

It's always the same story: So many restaurants, so much great food, so little time. The Food File never has enough columns in a year to feature all of the excellent places we've enjoyed over the past 12 months. So, quickly, before we get sidetracked on pouring the mulled wine and carving the turkey,...
JAPAN
Dec 15, 2005

Ruling nixing Koreans' unpaid wages upheld

The Tokyo High Court on Wednesday rejected a damages suit over unpaid wages filed by the kin of four deceased South Koreans who were forced to work at a steel mill in northern Japan during the war, upholding a lower court ruling.
EDITORIALS
Dec 15, 2005

Mideast's democracy dilemma

The surprise showing of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt's national elections highlights the dilemma faced by democracy advocates in the West. The strong support for fundamentalist Islamic groups throughout the region directly challenges the assumption that free and open elections will lead to governments...

Longform

The byzantine process for converting a foreign driver’s license into a Japanese one entails mountains of paperwork and significant stamina — unless you're a lucky license holder from a country or region where these requirements are waived.
Driving in Japan isn’t hard. Getting the license is.