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SOCCER / World cup
Dec 17, 2004

Germany whips Japan

YOKOHAMA -- Bayern Munich midfielder Michael Ballack gave the 61,805 fans who braved the cold at Yokohama International Stadium on Thursday, something to remember as Germany beat Japan 3-0 in the home team's last game of a busy 2004.
JAPAN
Dec 17, 2004

JR Tokai rapped over snub for disabled

The Justice Ministry has told Central Japan Railway Co. (JR Tokai) that it should allow access to its stations by disabled people who use electric carts, officials said Thursday.
JAPAN
Dec 17, 2004

Imperial Couple to mark Kobe quake

Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko will visit Kobe in January to mark the 10th anniversary of the 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake.
BASEBALL / MLB
Dec 17, 2004

Giants give Nishi deadline to re-sign

The Yomiuri Giants demanded Wednesday that free-agent infielder Toshihisa Nishi decide by Monday whether to re-sign with the Central League team or pursue a career in the major leagues, club representative Hidetoshi Kiyotake said.
JAPAN
Dec 17, 2004

UFJ chief quizzed over probe block

Prosecutors apparently have questioned UFJ Bank President Takamune Okihara over the bank's obstruction of government inspections in 2003 by allegedly hiding vital documents, investigative sources said Thursday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 17, 2004

Miyake Island prepares for homecoming

MIYAKE ISLAND -- The white skeletal trunks of dead trees and hulks of cars rusted away by volcanic gas that line the roads here give visitors the impression that this is no man's land.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / COUNTER CULTURE
Dec 17, 2004

Delicatessens delight Tokyo

Everyone hankers after a little luxury in their life and in food-fixated Japan the latest in retail therapy is splashing out on fancy imported snacks or take-home dishes prepared by expert chefs.
EDITORIALS
Dec 17, 2004

Better ways to share tax money

...
BUSINESS
Dec 17, 2004

JR asked to foot bill for bullet train projects

The government and ruling bloc Thursday urged Japan Railway group to shoulder some of the construction costs for new bullet train projects, government officials said.
JAPAN
Dec 17, 2004

Pyongyang rejects findings of DNA test on remains

Pyongyang has officially rejected Tokyo's recent declaration that the cremated remains Japanese officials brought back from the North are not those of abductee Megumi Yokota, senior Japanese officials said Thursday.
CULTURE / Art
Dec 17, 2004

Finnish yuletide

Illuminated ornaments designed by Finnish designers are on display for the Christmas season in Shinjuku Park Tower in Tokyo.
CULTURE / Books / THE BOOK REPORT
Dec 17, 2004

Book Trade Booms in 2004

2004 was a prosperous year for the Japanese book trade with revenues exceeding the previous year's figures for the first time in seven years. Despite many small bookstores going out of business, innovative marketing from publishers and book retailers produced several million-sellers.
BUSINESS
Dec 17, 2004

State may downgrade economy

The government will probably downgrade the economy in its December report, making it clear things are slowing down, sources at the Cabinet Office said Thursday.
MORE SPORTS
Dec 17, 2004

FIBA likes Japan's plan for 2006 world championships

Top executives from FIBA, basketball's world governing body, recently visited Japan for a site inspection tour of the five cities and venues that will host games here during the 2006 world championships.
BUSINESS
Dec 17, 2004

Individual financial assets up for fifth straight quarter

The outstanding balance of individual financial assets held by households at the end of September rose 1.4 percent from a year earlier to 1.411 quadrillion yen for the fifth consecutive quarterly increase, the Bank of Japan said Thursday.
COMMUNITY
Dec 17, 2004

Ceremonial tea whisks

Tea whisks for powdered green-tea making are indispensible in the tea ceremony. On Dec. 23, a Buddhist service will be held to honor tea whisks at Ikegami Honmon-ji Temple in Tokyo.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 17, 2004

Tokyo to grant Lee entry by year's end

Japan said Thursday it will issue an entry visa to former Taiwanese President Lee Teng-hui for a private trip by the end of the month, in a move that could further aggravate its already strained relationship with China.
JAPAN
Dec 17, 2004

'04 traffic deaths estimated at 7,000

The number of traffic accident deaths this year is expected to be about 7,000, marking the second straight year for this figure to come in below 8,000, the National Police Agency said Thursday.
MORE SPORTS
Dec 17, 2004

Yanagimoto to stay on as manager

The Japan Volleyball Association said Thursday that Shoichi Yanagimoto will remain as manager of the women's national team despite his earlier decision to step down.
JAPAN
Dec 17, 2004

'Rotten eggs' to plague Miyake returnees

MIYAKE ISLAND -- The air reeked in the Miike district one morning last week as Mount Oyama spewed sulfur dioxide -- an event that has continued since its eruptions started in July 2000.
MORE SPORTS
Dec 17, 2004

Suzuki out 2 months after surgery

Japanese judoka Keiji Suzuki, who won the over 100-kg gold medal at the Athens Olympics, has undergone surgery on his left elbow and will be sidelined for about two months, Japan national coach Hitoshi Saito said Thursday.
CULTURE / Stage
Dec 17, 2004

Realm of the senses

At the International House of Japan in Tokyo's Roppongi on the night of Dec. 22, Laure Drogoul, a sculptor and performance artist presently in Japan on a U.S.-Japan Creative Artists' Fellowship, is working on a public art project called "Olfactory Factory," collecting and mapping the smells of Tokyo...
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 17, 2004

The next move for Taiwan

Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian has stepped down from the leadership of his Democratic Progressive Party after the DPP and its more radical allies failed to gain a majority in the Dec. 11 parliamentary elections.

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?