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BUSINESS
May 30, 2006

Seafood dealer obtains eco-label

A Tokyo-based seafood wholesaler has become the first business in Japan to be certified by a London-based conservation group as a supplier of seafood produced by sustainable fishing, officials of the group said Monday.
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
May 29, 2006

Creeping back toward thought control

NEW YORK -- Why are politicians so often regressive? Several years ago the Japanese government legally ritualized the singing of the national anthem and the raising of the flag. Now it is intent on changing a 60-year-old education law to codify patriotism.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
May 28, 2006

'Patriotism' a useful tool for the government to meddle in education

"I Am a Patriot" was a song released by "Little Steven" Van Zandt in 1984. In it, he sang that he loved his country because "my country is all I know." It's worth mentioning as the controversy over the use of "patriotism" in the revision of the Fundamental Law of Education continues to make headlines....
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
May 28, 2006

Look back on the Vietnam War in NHK's "The Time That Moved History" and more

More than 30 years after the end of the Vietnam War, Americans are still debating whether or not it was right to intervene in a civil conflict that itself was a product of someone else's (i.e., France) colonial adventure.
EDITORIALS
May 27, 2006

Meetings fail to thaw chill

Foreign Minister Taro Aso held separate meetings with his South Korean and Chinese counterparts earlier this week -- the first such get-together in five months and one year, respectively. Although he managed to clinch agreements on some bilateral issues, Japan's relations with its closest neighbors remain...
JAPAN
May 27, 2006

Law enacted to slim bureaucracy avoids 'amakudari,' DPJ charges

The Diet enacted key legislation Friday that lays out a timetable for Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's efforts to reform and slim down the government over the next several years.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 27, 2006

Corporate culture of deceit wreaks havoc on wealth and markets

Unethical conduct by corporate executives and employees -- ranging from outright fraud to excessive salaries and perks for CEOs -- can inflict much greater financial damage than deadly terrorist acts, visiting American experts warned in a recent symposium in Tokyo.
JAPAN
May 26, 2006

Canon exits film cameras amid digital dominance

Following in the footsteps of camera giants Nikon Corp. and Konika Minolta Holdings Inc., Canon Inc. will stop developing new film-based camera products because of the shrinking analogue market and dramatically growing digital demand, the company's president said Thursday.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
May 26, 2006

Inaba drives in three for Fighters to cut Giants down to size

Sure, let the big guy sit. And let the kid pitch too.
JAPAN
May 25, 2006

Education bill won't promote militarism: Koizumi

heavy importance on an education suitable to a new era and is aimed at nurturing admirable manpower for the benefit of Japan," he told a special parliamentary committee. The bill -- drafted by the ruling coalition and approved by the Cabinet on April 28 -- is a longtime goal of the conservatives, who...
JAPAN
May 24, 2006

Three firms hit for tax evasion

Chubu Electric Power Co. failed to declare about 7.6 billion yen in taxable income in the two-year period to March 2005, while Brother Industries Ltd. failed to declare about 2.2 billion yen in the two-year period to March 2004, tax agency sources said Tuesday.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
May 24, 2006

Schlegel's green tree frog

* Japanese name: Schlegel-aogaeru * Scientific name: Rhacophorus schlegelii * Description: Schlegel's green tree frog is a medium-sized tree frog, which at a few centimeters long still makes it smaller than most other frogs and toads. The back is green, although some frogs have small yellow spots on...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
May 24, 2006

A road to ancient history's ruin

Irish politician Dick Roche is in the business of government, and his two-decades-long career has touched on public administration, finance, transportation and economic planning and development.
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.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
May 23, 2006

Hanabi light, Kai series of pots and kettles, 60VISION bags, Sharp cordless phones

Anyone who follows this column regularly might accuse me of being a slave to all that is white -- and with a name like "Snow," that criticism does seem justified. So in order to get it all out of my system (at least for a few months), this month I'm covering all things white. There is a zen-like satisfaction...
COMMENTARY / World
May 22, 2006

The great ape debate unfolds in Europe

PRINCETON, New Jersey -- In his "History of European Morals," published in 1869, the Irish historian and philosopher W.E.H. Lecky wrote:
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
May 21, 2006

Will Japan's 'positive influence' persist as it didn't before?

Well, the news is out, and it's good news.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
May 21, 2006

Ishihara flies over the hurdles toward his own 2016 Olympic gold

Politicians often get elected because of promises they make. In his one term as governor of Tokyo, comedian Yukio Aoshima didn't accomplish anything noteworthy, but he did keep the one promise that got him elected: He canceled the World City Exposition that many constituents thought would be a waste...
JAPAN
May 20, 2006

Corporate social responsibility seen gaining favor in Japan, experts say

Growing awareness of corporate social responsibility was praised as favorable progress for Japan at a symposium in Tokyo earlier this week.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
May 20, 2006

Norma Diaz de Polski

Mention Argentina, and two stereotypes spring to mind: soccer and beef.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 20, 2006

New car-nav units show high-def TV

Makers of car navigation systems plan to release new products this summer that will show high-definition television broadcasts and provide more accurate traffic forecasts.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
May 19, 2006

Mount Koya -- Japan's holy retreat

The young priest Kukai made his perilous journey to China as a member of a Japanese diplomatic mission in 804. Records indicate that he was already a master at dealing with bureaucratic superiors, not only by securing a place on the mission in the first place, but by negotiating (in accomplished Chinese)...
CULTURE / Music
May 19, 2006

The Gary Burton Quartet Revisited

Jazz vibraphonist Gary Burton sounds like three musicians at once. In his hands, the vibes, which he plays with four mallets, have an astonishing range, reverberating like church bells, thumping like piano chords or coursing through melody lines as fast as a sax. His technique remains the high watermark...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / THE SECOND ROOM
May 19, 2006

Psychedelic radar 05.19

Friday, May 19
JAPAN
May 18, 2006

Diet passes bill to take foreigners' prints, pics

A bill requiring fingerprinting and photographing of foreigners upon entry to Japan was passed Wednesday as a way to prevent terrorism.

Longform

Totopa in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward was picked by consultants TTNE as the best sauna of the year.
Japan’s sauna movement: Relax, refresh, repeat