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JAPAN / EXPLAINER
May 22, 2007

Opening the courts to ordinary citizens

In less than two years, when a new criminal trial system is introduced, citizens will be obliged to serve as "saibanin," or lay judges. The general public in some 80 countries around the world already plays a role in their nations' judicial systems, such as British- and American-style juries and the...
BUSINESS
May 22, 2007

Different roads to eco-friendly vehicles

Hybrids, plug-in hybrids, diesel-powered cars, vehicles running on ethanol and fuel-cell cars — these are among the major environment-friendly vehicles under development to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, a major cause of global warming.
Rugby
May 22, 2007

Suntory develops rugby talent

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — It was a bittersweet goodbye for Naoya Nomura and Takeshi Fujiwara, Suntory Sungoliath's two promising rookies who left the Wellington club team Western Subs last Friday after a two-month training session to return to their team in Japan.
EDITORIALS
May 22, 2007

ADB's struggle with success

The Asian Development Bank was founded four decades ago to help lift Asia out of poverty. At the time, per capita GDP in the region was less than $170; the 31 founding countries sought to create an institution that would help them gain access to scarce capital and speed their development.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 22, 2007

Toyota engineers reflect as Prius approaches 10th birthday

TOYOTA, Aichi Pref. — In January 1994, engineers at Toyota Motor Corp. gathered at the head office in Aichi Prefecture to brainstorm the car of the future.
JAPAN
May 22, 2007

Malaysian prime minister visiting

Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was set to arrive in Japan on Monday to meet Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, receive an honorary degree and deliver a speech on Asia's future.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WORDS TO LIVE BY
May 22, 2007

Haruko Iino

Haruko "Big Momma" Iino, an independent public relations consultant, became one of Japan's first female advertising account executives back in the 1980s. Even before working at advertising agencies Chuo Senko and Dentsu Eye, the now 63-year-old Iino had understood the potential of the luxury fashion...
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
May 22, 2007

All twisted up in Thai massage

"It's like doing yoga without the hard work," enthused my trendy friend, whose paradoxical nature — she's both lazy and obsessed with health — had led her to the latest popular massage to take Tokyo by storm: the traditional Thai massage.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: DESIGN
May 22, 2007

OVO, DateBlock, VAPE No. 1 NEO and DECO LAMP

Eggish timer
BUSINESS
May 22, 2007

SMFG reports 35.7% drop in net profit

The Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, one of Japan's three largest banking groups, reported Monday that group net profit dropped 35.7 percent to 441.4 billion yen in 2006 because of losses from consumer lending affiliate Promise Co. and weak banking operations.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
May 22, 2007

Home loans, PR

You can never leave P.J. would like to to share his story about home loans. He had no trouble getting a loan, but the problems came later.
LIFE / Language
May 22, 2007

Buzzwords trying to find own linguistic niche

Buzzwords belong in the category of catchwords and catch phrases. Like cliches — though not always as long-lived as cliches — they capture the imagination of a nation and are used in many contexts. In Japanese, buzzwords are called hayarikotoba and, as such, often do hayarisutari (pop into, then...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
May 22, 2007

Seeing from the Korean side

In February this year over 300 people attended the performing arts festival at a junior high school in Okayama. It was much the same as any other arts festival at any other junior high school in Japan; the students sang, danced, played music and performed skits for an audience made up of family and friends....
COMMENTARY / World
May 22, 2007

Strengthen India-Japan ties

Japan and India are two of the largest democracies in Asia, sharing a commitment to the rule of law and respect for human rights. Japan and India have continued to develop friendly relations founded on a long history of exchanges.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
May 22, 2007

Do you think the Japanese police are effective?

BUSINESS
May 22, 2007

NEC cuts mobile losses, logs profit

NEC Corp. became profitable again in the fiscal year through March, the electronics company said Monday, and projected earnings would triple this fiscal year on an expected recovery in its battery and cell phone operations.

Longform

Bear attacks have dominated Japanese news headlines in recent months, with 13 people so far having been killed by the animals.
Japan’s bears have been on their killing spree for more than 100 years