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BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Jan 6, 2006

Giants add ex-Marlin Dillon

The Yomiuri Giants on Thursday announced the acquisition of infielder Joe Dillon, who made his major league debut with the Florida Marlins in 2005. Dillon, 30, has signed a one-year contract worth 60 million yen and is scheduled to come to Japan in late January.
BUSINESS
Jan 6, 2006

TSE eyes information-sharing computer system for 2008

The Tokyo Stock Exchange plans to install a next-generation computer system as early as 2008 that will have stronger backup functions to cope with system failures and to allow higher transaction speed, Taizo Nishimuro, the bourse's chairman and president, said in a recent interview.
BUSINESS
Jan 6, 2006

Top execs upbeat about 2006

Hopes were high for Japan's economic resurgence at a New Year's party for corporate executives Thursday at a time when profits are rebounding, consumers are spending and stock prices are at five-year highs.
COMMENTARY
Jan 6, 2006

China eschews Soviet redux

China's rapid-force modernization is driving strategic events in East Asia. But China is no longer communist; nor does it represent the same kind of threat posed by the USSR when it possessed huge military power and stretched across Eurasia, threatening U.S. allies at both ends. Thus important differences...
JAPAN
Jan 6, 2006

Rokkasho tests break plutonium pledge, activists tell IAEA

OSAKA -- Antinuclear activists in Japan warned in a letter sent Thursday to the International Atomic Energy Agency that tests at the Rokkasho, Aomori Prefecture, reprocessing plant scheduled for early next month will violate the government's policy of holding no surplus plutonium.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 6, 2006

East Timor split by truth, justice and reconciliation

EAST TIMOR Swooping low over the azure Savu Sea, the pristine coastline and gnarly hills of Timor suddenly appear about two hours after takeoff from Bali. Before entering the spartan air terminal, visitors pass through a trailer where, upon arrival, $30 one-month visas are sold.
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Jan 6, 2006

Butoh troupe stages 'spiritual carnival'

Torifune Butoh Sha has been challenging audiences' perceptions of contemporary dance not only in Japan but in Europe and the United States since it was founded in 1991. Comprising around 30 enthusiasts including housewives, high school dropouts and government employees, the troupe was founded by butoh...
JAPAN
Jan 6, 2006

TB hospitalizations of homeless probed

The health ministry is probing allegations of human rights abuse carried out through the forced hospitalization of homeless people under the Tuberculosis Control Law, the ministry said Thursday.
CULTURE / Music
Jan 6, 2006

Mylo

Electronic dance musicians, especially those who work alone or in pairs, usually become distinctive by design, honing a certain habitual mood (Daft Punk's kiddie disco; The Orb's creepy sensuality) into a trademark sound.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 6, 2006

Jakarta can't spend a way to prosperity

UBUD, Indonesia -- Indonesia's chief economic minister, Boediono, along with Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati and Bank Indonesia Gov. Burhanuddin Abdullah are credible and competent bureaucrats. They put forth an action agenda of economic reforms designed to reinvigorate the local investment climate...
CULTURE / Music
Jan 6, 2006

Mono/World's End Girlfriend: "Palmless Prayer/ Mass Murder Refrain"

Since their inceptions, Japan's Mono and World's End Girlfriend have created moving, cinematic songs. Although their approaches differ -- Mono tends to fall into the realms of crashing post-rock while WED's music has a slightly more electronic and symphonic feel -- both craft mesmerizing, epic soundscapes...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / WALKING THE WARDS
Jan 6, 2006

Tokyo's 'Toontown' is game for a laugh

Outsiders often associate Adachi, Tokyo's northernmost ward, with the Aum Shinrikyo religious cult (still in residence), the recent Tobu Railway Co.'s Takenotsuka crossing accident that cost two women their lives, or the fact that the ward's alluvial ground makes it especially vulnerable if an earthquake...
JAPAN
Jan 6, 2006

Infecting cows with BSE may yield clue to early detection

Japanese scientists believe they may have successfully infected cattle with mad cow disease as part of an experiment aimed at early detection of the fatal bovine illness, a laboratory official said Thursday.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jan 6, 2006

Kanda Matsuya: pick your century of soba

New Year in Japan brings with it all manner of ritual and circumstance. Observing the first sunrise. The all-important hatsumode shrine visit. Receiving (and assessing) nenga greetings. Perhaps even the sipping of otoso, the medicinal-tasting sake that guarantees health throughout the next 12 months....
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Jan 6, 2006

Life on the American edge

"American Buffalo' was Chicago-born David Mamet's first Broadway play, debuting there in 1977 a year after it had picked up a prestigious Obie Award as Best New American Play.
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Jan 6, 2006

Wind orchestra to pay tribute to Albert Reed

The Siena Wind Orchestra will perform a memorial concert for Albert Reed on Jan. 22 at Yokohama Minato Mirai Hall, conducted by Seikyo Kim. New York-born Reed (1921-2005) was one of the most prolific and frequently performed composers, with over 250 published works for wind ensembles, chorus and chamber...
BUSINESS
Jan 6, 2006

Bic Camera to turn Sofmap into subsidiary for 2 billion yen

Bic Camera Co. will acquire an absolute majority of outstanding voting shares in Sofmap Co., an electric appliance retailer with strength in purchasing and selling used personal computers, for 2 billion yen next month, the two firms said Thursday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Jan 5, 2006

Franco stays, Serafini goes

Following a test of the open market, Matt Franco and Dan Serafini will wind up on different teams after helping the Chiba Lotte Marines win their first Japan Series in 31 years in 2005, said agent Myles Kahn.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 5, 2006

BTMU debut as world's top bank wasn't without a hitch

Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, the world's largest bank, formed through the merger of two major Japanese financial groups, opened for business Wednesday with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the company's Tokyo headquarters.
MORE SPORTS
Jan 5, 2006

Masuoka drops out of Dakar

Two-time champion Hiroshi Masuoka of Japan severely damaged his Pajero and was forced to retire after the fourth stage of the Dakar Rally on Tuesday.
EDITORIALS
Jan 5, 2006

Barriers to U.S. force relocation

An interim report for U.S. base relocation in Japan, prepared by the Japanese and U.S. governments last October, has met stiff opposition in various parts of the country affected by the relocation plans. As things stand now, prospects for a final agreement look uncertain at best.
JAPAN
Jan 5, 2006

Ishihara's Hinomaru order called legit

Prosecutors will not indict Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara and two others for ordering Tokyo public school teachers to stand before the Hinomaru flag and sing the national anthem at school ceremonies, sources said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Jan 5, 2006

December coldest to date

Last month was the coldest December on record in most parts of Japan as a series of powerful cold air masses moved over the country, according to a Meteorological Agency survey released 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?