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EDITORIALS
Aug 24, 2005

Salary reform for public servants

has recommended that the government reduce the annual salary of central government workers for fiscal 2005 by 0.1 percent, or 4,000 yen from the previous fiscal year's level, to bring it into closer alignment with the annual salary level for private-sector workers. More importantly, it has called for...
BUSINESS
Aug 24, 2005

Pet health, liability policy market finds insurers wagging their tails

Medical and liability insurance for pets is something most owners never consider, but the industry aims to change that.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 24, 2005

Vote on Koizumi's record, not postal reform, scholar says

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi may want to make his postal privatization quest the focal point of the Sept. 11 election, but economics professor Masaru Kaneko argues voters should instead cast their ballots based on how he has steered the economy and society.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 24, 2005

Suit denying pair's wartime beheading spree fails

The Tokyo District Court dismissed a lawsuit Tuesday filed by the relatives of two executed Japanese soldiers against two newspapers and a journalist over publications that said the two competed to be the first to behead 100 Chinese in 1937 during the advance on Nanjing.
JAPAN
Aug 24, 2005

Medical expenses rose to all-time high in 2003

Medical expenses paid to medical institutions hit an all-time high of 31.538 trillion yen in the fiscal year ended in March 2004, the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry said Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Aug 24, 2005

National universities generate 110 billion yen profit

All of Japan's 89 national universities except one posted a combined gross profit of about 110 billion yen in fiscal 2004, with Osaka University at the top pf the heap with 7.1 billion yen in earnings, the government said Tuesday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 24, 2005

JAXA looks to resume Aussie tests on rocket-borne unmanned SST model

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency will resume flight tests on a small unmanned plane as early as next month in its quest to develop a next-generation supersonic transport aircraft.
BUSINESS
Aug 24, 2005

Asset depreciation limit targeted

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry is lobbying for removal of the limit on corporate fixed-asset depreciation to help improve companies' international competitiveness, ministry officials said Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Aug 24, 2005

Mizuho outlines public funds repayment

The Mizuho Financial Group Inc. said Tuesday it will return 616.4 billion yen of the 1.466 trillion yen in public funds it received to replenish its capital by the end of this month, and that it planned to pay back the remaining 850 billion yen in the first half of fiscal 2006.
BUSINESS
Aug 24, 2005

Hitachi boosts Egypt pump service

Hitachi Ltd. said Tuesday it will provide water pumping station operation and maintenance services in Egypt for four years for about 1.8 billion yen.
JAPAN
Aug 24, 2005

LDP may eventually let postal rebels back in fold

The Liberal Democratic Party announced Tuesday night that Motoko Hirotsu, a certified public accountant, will run in the Saga No. 3 district in the upcoming House of Representatives election, taking on Kosuke Hori, a major opponent of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's postal privatization drive.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / NEW ART SEEN
Aug 24, 2005

The best from a bygone era

I was recently tempted to term the handsome old Bridgestone Museum as "the last of a dying breed." But that hardly seems appropriate any more, considering the Nihonbashi art space's ongoing evolution. Instead, the Bridgestone might be better described as "a survivor" -- and one of the best -- from a...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Aug 24, 2005

From two dancers, two princes

What do you expect from a danseur noble? Elegant posture, good looks, graceful manners, stunning technique or all of the above? Only a few dancers can fulfill all these requirements, but the two guest stars of Tokyo Ballet's recent production of "Sleeping Beauty," Mathieu Ganio and Manuel Legris, were...
BUSINESS
Aug 24, 2005

Gasoline price hit 12-year high of 129 yen in August

The average retail price of regular gasoline across Japan hit a 12-year high of 129 yen per liter, including tax, this month as crude oil prices soared to record levels, the Oil Information Center said Tuesday.
MORE SPORTS
Aug 23, 2005

Takahashi to run in Tokyo marathon

Sydney Olympic champion Naoko Takahashi will return to a competitive marathon race in Tokyo in November after an injury-caused two-year absence, her management office said Monday.
EDITORIALS
Aug 23, 2005

A blow to peace in Sri Lanka

The recent assassination of Mr. Lakshman Kadirgamar, foreign minister of Sri Lanka, is a blow to the fragile peace process in that country. Hard fought negotiations have yielded a tenuous ceasefire, yet a peace agreement remains beyond reach. Antagonism between ethnic groups has been matched by equally...
JAPAN
Aug 23, 2005

Bird flu detected at Ibaraki farm

Authorities have detected an outbreak of bird flu at a poultry farm in Ibaraki Prefecture, the agriculture ministry said Monday.
JAPAN
Aug 23, 2005

Japan Highway fires vice president

Japan Highway Public Corp. said Monday it has dismissed Vice President Michio Uchida for alleged involvement in rigging bids for bridge projects.
JAPAN
Aug 23, 2005

Phone bills, drop in adult smoking help teens quit

The percentage of junior high and high school students who smoke dropped sharply in fiscal 2004, apparently due to a decline in adult smokers and expensive cell phone bills, a health ministry research team said Monday.
JAPAN
Aug 23, 2005

Ishihara to produce movie on kamikaze

Toei Co. will begin shooting a film next year on the lives of young kamikaze suicide pilots in World War II with Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara as the executive producer and scriptwriter, the film producer said Monday.
BUSINESS
Aug 23, 2005

Square Enix ready to acquire Taito

In the latest move amid industrywide reorganization, Square Enix Co., the maker of the Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy video games, announced Monday it will acquire smaller rival Taito Corp. for 67 billion yen.

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?