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COMMUNITY
Dec 20, 2005

Readers' Write Back

Last week's mock list of ways to deal with the NHK man caused some concern over at the broadcaster, which believed the article may have been taken seriously by some. We'd just like to clarify that we weren't in fact encouraging readers to break the law, and to share the thoughts of some readers who felt...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Dec 18, 2005

What did you read about Asia this year?

Donald Richie THE COLUMBIA ANTHOLOGY OF MODERN JAPANESE LITERATURE, edited by J. Thomas Rimer and Van C. Gessel (Columbia University Press) This new take on Japanese modern classics -- old standbys and lots of recent writing as well -- is big (864 pages and it's only the first volume). It includes examples...
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Dec 18, 2005

Sinister stats suggest southpaws should swap sides

I am very depressed by the news these days. But, believe me, it's not what you think. It's all because I'm left-handed, an extrovert and a writer of poetry.
JAPAN
Dec 17, 2005

Population now on track to start shrinking in 2006, not 2007: report

Japan's population will start shrinking next year and not in 2007 as was earlier projected and could be half of what it is now in a century, if the birthrate continues to decline at the current pace, according to a government report released Friday.
JAPAN
Dec 17, 2005

JH execs Uchida, Kaneko plead not guilty

A former vice president and a former board member of Japan Highway Public Corp. pleaded not guilty Friday to charges they were involved in rigging bids for steel bridge projects undertaken by the now-defunct government highway builder-operator.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Dec 16, 2005

Giants add Powell to roster

The Yomiuri Giants said Thursday they have signed right-hander Jeremy Powell, who played for the Orix Buffaloes in 2005 and has a 57-47 record in the past five seasons in Japan, to a two-year contract.
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
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.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / COUNTER CULTURE
Dec 16, 2005

Another jewel in the Cartier crown

Venerated as the royalty of jewelers and the jewelers of royalty, Cartier is by far the largest brand of its kind in the world. With its illustrious history and client list including countless kings, queens and princes, it is little wonder that the brand's double C logo and distinctive red packaging...
MORE SPORTS
Dec 15, 2005

Imano, Fukabori named to Asia team

Yasuharu Imano and Keiichiro Fukabori have been selected from the Japanese tour for next month's Royal Trophy team competition between Asia and Europe, the Japan Golf Tour Organization said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Dec 15, 2005

'Tankan' finds broad improvement in business confidence

Companies turned more optimistic in December amid improved exports and firm domestic consumption, demonstrating that the economy is continuing its gradual upswing, according to the Bank of Japan's "tankan" quarterly business survey released Wednesday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / NEW ART SEEN
Dec 15, 2005

The form of the infinite

Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote: "The sky is the daily bread of the eyes."
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 14, 2005

Policy recommendations for the East Asia Summit

SINGAPORE -- On Wednesday, representatives of 16 nations will gather in Kuala Lumpur for the inaugural session of the East Asia Summit (EAS). Participants to this meeting will comprise the 10 memers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations plus China, Japan and South Korea, as well as Australia,...
JAPAN
Dec 13, 2005

Ban on U.S. beef lifted, but don't expect import flood, just price turmoil

The government on Monday approved the resumption of U.S. beef imports, lifting a two-year ban that has been in place since the discovery of mad cow disease in what had been one of Japan's biggest sources of low-cost beef.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Dec 11, 2005

New Carp manager Brown excited about 2006 season

(This is a continuation of last week's column with our report about new Hiroshima Carp manager Marty Brown and his thoughts on the challenge of taking over at the helm of the Central League club which has been a second-division team for the past seven seasons.)
Japan Times
Features
Dec 11, 2005

Japan's new Wave

Japan and South Korea are like an old, bickering couple: Though they may want to part ways at times, their shared history and interdependency compel them to work things out. That, and they've got no place else to go.
EDITORIALS
Dec 11, 2005

Dreaming of a quiet Christmas

December and Christmas: Even in non-Christian Japan, the two go together as naturally as holly and ivy. In fact, December in Tokyo can sometimes seem almost as Christmassy as December in Rome. Christmas trees appear on street corners and in store windows. Garlands and wreaths, tinsel and red candles...
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Dec 9, 2005

Serafini, Franco set for Japan return, maybe not to Marines

Both Dan Serafini and Matt Franco will play in Japan next season, but they may not return to the Japan Series champion Chiba Lotte Marines, agent Myles Kahn said.
JAPAN
Dec 9, 2005

Over decade after accident, Monju may be reborn

channel 9 and through 26 public address towers set up inside the city limits," said Fumiyoshi Kato, an official in the municipal nuclear power safety section. The evacuation areas are mostly elementary schools and public halls. However, Kato said they do not contain much in the way of emergency supplies....
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Dec 9, 2005

Armchair critics get own online film festival

Fancy being the next Pauline Kael or Roger Ebert? International short film festival, Con-Can Movie Festival, is giving the perfect opportunity to budding film critics, and of course regular movie fans, by inviting the public to view films submitted by directors from all over the world. The films, all...
COMMENTARY
Dec 8, 2005

Crisis behind Arroyo, for now

MANILA -- Some observers of Philippine affairs view political crises in this country as a permanent phenomenon. Just the other day, I joined a group of foreign correspondents for a meeting with a visiting American reporter who has covered the Philippines since the late '60s. While this journalist, who...
COMMENTARY
Dec 8, 2005

Opportunities seized, missed

HONOLULU -- U.S. President George W. Bush, during his recent visit to Asia, seized the opportunity to reaffirm Washington's commitment to the promotion of democracy, free and fair trade, and political and especially religious freedom. But other opportunities were missed in terms of better defining America's...
BUSINESS
Dec 6, 2005

Capital spending up 9.6% for quarter

Capital spending grew 9.6 percent in the July-September quarter on an all-industry basis to 12.56 trillion yen for the 10th straight quarter of expansion, the Finance Ministry said Monday.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Dec 5, 2005

Privatization hurdles: Japan Post should compete with banks on level playing field

The government bills drafted to privatize the state-run postal services were finally enacted into laws in mid-October, but there will be two major challenges ahead as privatization is carried out.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Dec 4, 2005

Between life and death stands culture

FINAL DAYS: Japanese Culture and Choice at the End of Life, by Susan Orpett Long. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 2005, 288 pp., $45 (cloth). This book asks how the final days might be different for Japanese patients and for those in the United States. Both Japanese and Americans state that they...
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 4, 2005

HIV prevention programs need to grow

BANGKOK/MANILA -- In a region that is home to two-thirds of the world's population, an HIV prevalence rate of 0.4 percent -- significantly lower than sub-Sahara Africa -- translates into more than 8 million adults and children living with HIV. More than 1 million people were newly infected with HIV in...

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Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.