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EDITORIALS
Jun 10, 2006

Tragedy in a farming community

The investigation into the murder of a 7-year-old boy in a farming community in northern Honshu has taken a bizarre twist. A 33-year-old woman from the community was arrested and she initially admitted that she had abandoned the body of the boy near a river.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Jun 10, 2006

Overconfidence could sink England against Paraguay

MUNICH -- England will beat Paraguay in their World Cup opener on Saturday.
MORE SPORTS
Jun 10, 2006

Niida gives Takayama title shot

World Boxing Association minimumweight champion Yutaka Niida of Japan will take on compatriot Katsunari Takayama in September, his handlers said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Jun 10, 2006

Core machinery orders jumped 10.8% in April

Core private-sector machinery orders in April soared a seasonally adjusted 10.8 percent over the previous month to 1.140 trillion yen, the highest since August 2000, the government said Friday.
BUSINESS
Jun 10, 2006

METI's long-term plan aims for 2.2% annual growth

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said Friday it has finalized a strategy document that it believes will help Japan achieve real economic growth of 2.2 percent on average between fiscal 2004 and 2015.
BUSINESS
Jun 10, 2006

42 public works projects axed in '05

The government canceled 42 public works projects for being unnecessary or inefficient in fiscal 2005, up by 30 from the prior year, for a total of 840 billion yen, according to a government white paper released Friday.
COMMENTARY
Jun 10, 2006

China's buildup is no wonder

LOS ANGELES -- There has been an unsettling discordance about U.S. policy toward China that was brought home anew by Donald Rumsfeld, recently at the annual IISS Asia Security Summit in Singapore. Why this discredited man with his failed Iraqi policies remains U.S. secretary of defense is a profound...
BUSINESS
Jun 10, 2006

REIT value swells 63% to surpass 4 trillion yen

The aggregate value of land owned by real estate investment trusts totaled 4.03 trillion yen at the end of March, up a sharp 63 percent from a year earlier, attesting to the solid growth of the REIT market, the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry reported Friday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 10, 2006

Dream Technologies' revival tied to Murakami

Late last October, while everyone was watching Rakuten Inc. make a surprise bid to integrate with Tokyo Broadcasting System Inc., Yoshiaki Murakami launched a new investment plan.
BUSINESS
Jun 10, 2006

Ministry wants NTT to cut rivals' fiber-optic access fees

The Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry will urge NTT Corp. to cut the fees it charges other telecommunications companies for use of its fiber-optic lines by fiscal 2008, ministry sources said Friday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 10, 2006

OECD's Tanaka tabbed as IEA chief

The government has recommended Nobuo Tanaka, a director at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, to succeed Claude Mandil as executive director of the International Energy Agency, said Toshihiro Nikai, minister of Economy, Trade and Industry.
BUSINESS
Jun 10, 2006

Law to make stores cut back on bags

The Diet enacted a revised law Friday that gives the government the authority to order supermarkets and other retailers to cut their use of shopping bags if the businesses' own efforts are deemed insufficient.
JAPAN
Jun 10, 2006

Obituary: Kaoru Okano

Kaoru Okano, a former president of Meiji University, died of cancer Wednesday, his family said Thursday. He was 76.
BUSINESS
Jun 10, 2006

MUFJ debt from fund injection cleared

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. completed repayment Friday of the public funds that the government funneled into its capital base in the late 1990s, becoming the first to do so among the nation's three megabank groups, Deposit Insurance Corp. said.
JAPAN
Jun 10, 2006

Teachers get warning over anthem

The Tokyo metropolitan board of education issued a stern warning to seven teachers at public high schools Friday, saying they did not properly instruct their students to stand during the national anthem when it was played at school ceremonies this year.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jun 10, 2006

Being one with nature is ducky

The other morning I noticed some marine ducks out in the port quacking away. "Ohayo!" I yelled to them from my window. They looked at me and, much to my surprise, started swimming in my direction. Figuring they must be hungry, I went out and served them a slice of bread. And this is how I inadvertently...
BUSINESS
Jun 10, 2006

Nonpermanent workers' training shortfalls hit

Part-time and contract workers in the manufacturing sector get less training than their permanent, full-time colleagues, raising concern that young people may not be gaining enough skills, according to a government report.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 10, 2006

Intolerance to the arts is growing in India

MADRAS, India -- The recent anger against director Ron Howard's latest film, "The Da Vinci Code," reminds us that intolerance against artistic freedom is growing in a world that we thought was past caring about such issues.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Jun 10, 2006

Stephen Salyer

The headquarters of the Salzburg Seminar are in Salzburg, Austria. Many of its year-round meetings take place in the 18th century castle Schloss Leopoldskron, known to moviegoers for its impressive presence in "The Sound of Music." "It is a very beautiful place," said Stephen Salyer, the Salzburg Seminar...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jun 10, 2006

Scholar offers illumination on the 'Lotus Sutra'

Gene Reeves, who sounds like he might be an American cowboy but is in fact an internationally respected Buddhist scholar of the highest order, also ranks physically impressive: as tall as he is broad, with a fulsome beard used to going its own way.
SOCCER / World cup
Jun 9, 2006

Fans' 'Bonn' voyage builds before kickoff

Japan fans staying in Bonn unable to head to Munich for the opening game of the World Cup between Germany and Costa Rica on Friday won't be missing out on the carnival atmosphere.
EDITORIALS
Jun 9, 2006

Defense of the nonnuclear option

The nuclear genie cannot be put back in the bottle; the knowledge that yielded the nuclear bomb cannot be unlearned. That does not mean the world must merely accept the existence of such weapons of mass destruction (WMD), however. Rather, it requires more vigilance in halting their spread and more creative...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 9, 2006

BOJ member Suda wants public to know finance

Miyako Suda doesn't think of her job on the Bank of Japan's Policy Board as only talking to economists and crunching numbers.
BUSINESS
Jun 9, 2006

Mizuho Corporate to cut prime rate

Mizuho Corporate Bank said Thursday it will reverse course and lower its long-term prime lending rate by 0.05 percentage point to 2.45 percent per annum in line with the recent slide in market rates.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji