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JAPAN
Jan 20, 2006

Graffiti vandal's suspended prison term stands: top court

The Supreme Court has upheld a suspended prison term for a 27-year-old man who wrote graffiti on a public lavatory on grounds that caused damaged the building, legal sources said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Jan 20, 2006

Rakuten pushes ahead with bold move into finance

Rakuten Inc., one of the country's fastest growing Internet startups, said Thursday it has formed business alliances with three entities, as it works to expand its Internet shopping mall business into comprehensive financial services.
BUSINESS
Jan 20, 2006

Spending, output buoy economy

The economy remains on a recovery path bolstered by firm personal spending and a pickup in production, the government said Thursday in its monthly economic report, leaving its bullish assessment unchanged for the fifth straight month.
BUSINESS
Jan 20, 2006

Failures below 13,000 for first time since '92

The number of corporate bankruptcies fell below 13,000 in 2005 for the first time in 14 years, helped partly by a recovery in major companies' business sentiment, a credit research agency said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Jan 20, 2006

Yamato loses suit over Japan Post ties with Lawson

Yamato Transport Co. lost a court battle Thursday against Japan Post over the public corporation's allegedly unfair tieup with convenience store chain Lawson Inc.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 20, 2006

Prosecutors set to grill Livedoor execs

Prosecutors are poised to question top executives of Livedoor Co., including President Takafumi Horie, over alleged fraudulent practices apparently designed to expand the firm's business, investigative sources said Thursday.
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM MOSCOW
Jan 20, 2006

Even a child knows better

MOSCOW -- Occasionally, we all get wrong ideas about ourselves. A middle-aged person starts dressing like Leonardo di Caprio, a pizza deliveryman begins emulating "The Godfather," a school teacher turns herself into a Gestapo interrogator.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 20, 2006

'Latin America's Woody Allen'on Jewish life in Argentina

At 33, Daniel Burman already has five feature films to his name and he was a co-producer of the much-acclaimed "Motorcycle Diaries."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / THE SECOND ROOM
Jan 20, 2006

Psychedelic radar 01.20

Saturday, Jan. 21
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Jan 20, 2006

Half-price kabuki

Foreigners in Japan can now apply for first-class kabuki ticket seats at half price as part of the International Theatre Institute's Kabuki appreciation campaign in February. The performances take place Feb. 17-19 (4.30 p.m.) at Kabuki-za Theater in Ginza, Tokyo. The program features three kabuki plays,...
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Jan 20, 2006

Vienna-schooled musicianmarks special anniversary

Kotono Sakakura, who has studied cembalo for the last 10 years in Vienna, will give two concerts featuring an all-Mozart program on Jan. 27 and Feb. 1 in Tokyo. Born on Jan. 27, 1756, this year marks the 250th anniversary of the birth of the Austrian composer. Sakakura will play a replica of an original...
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Jan 20, 2006

Serfs up, say TIP

Written at a time when his country was faltering after the Crimean War but was still clinging to feudalism, Anton Chekhov's "The Cherry Orchard" examines a Russia in the midst of social transformation. Tokyo International Players aim to give fresh impetus to this ageless play, to be performed from Jan....
CULTURE / Music
Jan 20, 2006

Don Matsuo "O-re-ha-si-na-i-yo?"

Over a trippy, electronic beat on the title song, Don Matsuo sings "nobody knows my mind inside." The line speaks volumes about a musician who's spent the last decade, both in the Zoobombs and now as a solo artist, continually revamping his acclaimed music and songwriting process.
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Jan 20, 2006

Beating a different drum

Jinichi Hiranuma has an open-minded approach to taiko (Japanese drumming). As founder of the taiko troupe Tokyo Dageki Dan, Hiranuma brings a populist mind-set to this historic Japanese musical form, unafraid to throw pop and jazz elements into his arrangements. The distinctive sound can be heard firsthand...
CULTURE / Music
Jan 20, 2006

New Year Jazz Festival 2006

For 40 years, Shinjuku Pit Inn has offered the best in Tokyo jazz. From its obscure origins as a race-car-themed coffee shop, it has become perhaps the single most progressive jazz club in Asia. For its 40th anniversary, the club is offering two full days of jazz picked from among the many excellent...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Jan 20, 2006

Hitting the ski slopes in class

For city-dwelling snow lovers, winter can be an especially bleak time of year. Bare, gray streets feel all the colder without a dusting of white. Outdoor fun is limited -- no beach parties, no beer gardens, no leisurely walks in the park. The initial glow of the after-work pub grows dim and so does going...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jan 20, 2006

Cicada: That Mediterranean buzz

Readers of this column over the past seven years will be well aware of our abiding love of the food and wine of the western Mediterranean. Anyone who has eaten his or her way around Spain will understand. From the seafood of Galicia and the Basque coast to the sherry, tapas and superb hams of Andalucia,...
SUMO
Jan 19, 2006

Asa maintains after boxing Iwakiyama

Grand Champion Asashoryu overpowered Iwakiyama on Wednesday to share the lead with Hokutoriki and Tochiazuma at the New Year Grand Sumo Tournament.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Jan 19, 2006

Source: Ishii to rejoin Swallows

Japanese left-hander Kazuhisa Ishii is likely to return to the Yakult Swallows after spending four seasons in the major leagues, according to baseball sources.
JAPAN
Jan 19, 2006

Glitch postpones satellite launch

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency said Wednesday it has postponed the launch of a land-observation satellite, originally scheduled for Thursday, due to a technical glitch in the launch vehicle.
EDITORIALS
Jan 19, 2006

Labor offensive in for a thaw

This year's "spring labor offensive" seems likely to stage somewhat of a revival after a long moribund period in which labor-management negotiations for wage raises have been perfunctory. Reversing its long-standing policy of restraining wage raises, Nippon Keidanren (Japan Business Federation), the...

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A store clerk tries to cool things down in front of their shop by spraying a hose.
Is extreme weather changing the way Japan shops?