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JAPAN
Jan 13, 2006

Rumsfeld, top U.S. brass regret slaying

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JAPAN
Jan 13, 2006

Bird flu confab faces global pandemic fear

International talks jointly hosted by Japan and the World Health Organization opened Thursday in Tokyo to discuss how to contain a possible global pandemic sparked by the spread of bird flu among humans.
BUSINESS
Jan 13, 2006

Reduction in bank lending slowed to 0.1% in '05

Lending by Japanese banks fell 0.1 percent in 2005 after adjustment for special factors, marking the smallest drop since the Bank of Japan started tracking the data in 1999, the central bank said Thursday.
EDITORIALS
Jan 13, 2006

Mr. Chen back on the offensive

Hopes that Taiwan's president, Mr. Chen Shui-bian, might alter course and reach out to China were shattered last week. Mr. Chen's New Year address made plain that he remains as combative as ever, despite having lost the upper hand in cross-strait relations with Beijing in 2005. The president's determination...
BUSINESS
Jan 13, 2006

'Mr. Development' gets WB-IMF post

Japan's deputy vice finance minister for international affairs has been appointed executive secretary of the Development Committee, which advises the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, the Finance Ministry said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Jan 13, 2006

Consumer sentiment hits record

Consumer sentiment hit a record-high level in December amid the economic upturn, though pessimists still outnumber optimists, according to a Bank of Japan report released Thursday.
COMMENTARY
Jan 13, 2006

Chen shares independence dream anew

HONG KONG -- To the consternation of his political foes and the delight of his allies, Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian on New Year's Day delivered an address in which he made it clear that he was as determined as ever to press ahead for the de jure independence of Taiwan, a move that Beijing has promised...
JAPAN
Jan 13, 2006

Cram schools to gauge teacher ethics

A group of cram school operators said Thursday it will launch a screening system for teachers to gauge not only their skills but also their ethics.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 13, 2006

New Bridgestone chief picked for global savvy

Leading tire maker Bridgestone Corp. on Thursday picked the former head of its European operations as its president and chief executive.
BUSINESS
Jan 13, 2006

Marubeni in Taiwan airport rail deal

A Japanese consortium led by Marubeni Corp. signed a contract Thursday in Taiwan to build a railway system linking its capital and Chiang Kai-shek International Airport, the trading house said.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 13, 2006

Fed up with chanson

At a performance early in December at Tokyo's L'Institut Francais, two French singers -- Francoiz Breut and Jeanne Cherhal -- demonstrated different approaches to French pop for the new millennium.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Jan 13, 2006

Aichi Prefecture shows the glory of culture, industry -- past and present

Aichi Prefecture, internationally better known as the venue of the 2005 Aichi World Expo, which was successfully held for six months last year, is located near the center of Japan and has prospered as a corridor between the east, west, north and south with a long history.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / VINELAND
Jan 13, 2006

Perfect winter match: big reds and cassoulet

When the Imperial Palace moat begins to ice over, our thoughts invariably turn to the big red wines of southern France, and to the region's ultimate winter dish -- cassoulet.
CULTURE / Music
Jan 13, 2006

The Strokes "First Impressions of Earth"

When The Strokes first emerged from the N.Y. underground scene in 2001 they were hailed as the saviors of rock 'n' roll. It's no surprise that they were unable to live up to such expectations. Who could? Their second release, "Room on Fire" (2002), was an album arrested in development, with the same...
COMMENTARY
Jan 13, 2006

Gas as a weapon of choice

LONDON -- What did the Russians hope to achieve? Their threat two weeks ago, now happily averted, to cut off natural gas supplies to Ukraine unless it immediately paid four times the current contract price was bound from the start to backfire.
CULTURE / Music
Jan 13, 2006

Ai Otsuka "Love Cook"

Good bubblegum pop is a bridge between childhood and teenagerdom. Based in a synthetic, brightly colored pre-teen world of nursery rhymes and cotton candy, it's also a metaphor for its audience's growing sexual maturity. When Ohio Express sang, "Yummy yummy yummy, I've got love in my tummy" we all knew...
CULTURE / Music
Jan 13, 2006

Frank Morgan "Raising the Standard"

In 1955, Frank Morgan was promoted as "the new Bird," and like his idol Charlie Parker, his sax playing had a quickness and brilliant, hard tone that set him apart from other horn players. Unfortunately, also like Bird, he spiraled down into heroin addiction, and disappeared from jazz. Thirty years later,...
JAPAN
Jan 13, 2006

Mabuchi slaying duo face new charge

Tokyo police said Thursday they plan to serve fresh arrest warrants Friday on two men already accused of killing three people, on suspicion of murdering a dentist in Tokyo in 2002.
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Jan 13, 2006

Director reworks Russian epic with gender twist

Ten years ago, then aged 40, contemporary theater actor/director Hideki Noda was, even by his own standards, bold to write a play based on "Crime and Punishment," the lengthy 19th-century masterpiece by the Russian writer Feodor Dostoevski. His "Gansaku Tsumi to Batsu (Fake Crime and Punishment)" runs...
CULTURE / Music
Jan 13, 2006

The Gamban 5th Anniversary

Shibuya's finest and funnest import record store, Ganban, will celebrate five years of giving pop people exactly what they want with a special all-night party Jan. 13 at the Ageha complex at Studio Coast in Shin Kiba Tokyo. Given the amount of entertainment firepower that will be filling the three venues...
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Jan 13, 2006

Collaborating with a whiff of mischief

Leiko Ikemura and installation artist Are You Meaning Company are among the artists taking part in "From East to West," a group show featuring new or previously unseen works from 14 artists on the ShugoArts roster, a gallery housed in the new art center in Kiyosumi, eastern Tokyo. The show runs through...
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Jan 13, 2006

Berlin record label showcases computer-assisted sound design

Record label ~scape has been unearthing the latest underground sounds in futuristic dub, jazzy electronica and experimental hiphop since its founding in 1999 by Barbara Presisnger and musician, DJ, remixer and producer, Stefan Betke (otherwise known as Pole). The latter arrives in Japan at the end of...
MORE SPORTS
Jan 12, 2006

Miyazato to wear symbol for luck

Ai Miyazato hopes Japan's national symbol will bring her luck as she bids to retain the World Cup of Golf this month with playing partner Sakura Yokomine.
SUMO
Jan 12, 2006

Asashoryu, Kotooshu still on track after victories

Mongolian grand champion Asashoryu and newly promoted Bulgarian ozeki Kotooshu improved their records with comfortable wins at the New Year Grand Sumo Tournament on Wednesday.

Longform

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?