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COMMENTARY / World
Sep 3, 2006

Merkel's reforms drift toward dead end

MUNICH -- A year ago, Angela Merkel, Germany's charming new chancellor, was in the final phase of her election campaign. The incumbent, Gerhard Schroeder, lagged so far behind her Christian Democrats (CDU) in public opinion polls that she thought she would win a landslide victory and could therefore...
EDITORIALS
Sep 3, 2006

Lessons from a paper chase

by Oji Paper Co., Japan's largest paper producer, for Hokuetsu Paper Mills Ltd., the nation's sixth-largest paper maker, was Japan's first-ever hostile TOB mounted by a major company against a domestic rival. The bid eventually failed as Oji President Kazuhisa Shinoda admitted Aug. 29 that the deal was...
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Sep 3, 2006

Toeing the line may take a name-change for the LDP

It's September, and Japan is in the grips of selection fever. This month Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi steps down, and the ever-ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) will choose a new president. To all intents and purposes, due to the party's parliamentary dominance, selection of an LDP leader is...
JAPAN
Sep 3, 2006

Yoshinoya to have a 'gyudon' day

Yoshinoya D&C Co. will resume sales of "gyudon" beef-on-rice dishes for the first time in 19 months -- for one day only -- around Sept. 18, company sources said Saturday.
JAPAN
Sep 3, 2006

Crime victims may get voice in parole decisions

The Justice Ministry plans to launch a system in October 2007 that would allow crime victims to express their opinion on whether the perpetrators should be released on parole, government sources said Saturday.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Sep 3, 2006

Japanese beauty doesn't come easily

BEAUTY UP: Exploring Contemporary Japanese Body Aesthetics, by Laura Miller. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2006, 256 pp., $21.95 (paper). Beauty is big business. In Japan there are more people working in the beauty business than there are in wedding and funeral services, auto repair and software...
BASKETBALL
Sep 2, 2006

Challenge sets tone for Greece

SAITAMA -- There was a seminal moment in Greece's victory over the United States in their semifinal game at the FIBA World Championship that would have defied belief in years past.
MORE SPORTS
Sep 2, 2006

Noguchi injured in Berlin runup

Athens Olympic champion Mizuki Noguchi has picked up an ankle injury threatening her plan to run in the Berlin Marathon later this month, her coach said Friday.
BASKETBALL
Sep 2, 2006

Spain slams door on loaded Argentina

SAITAMA -- Manu Ginobili had a chance Friday night to send Argentina into the final of the FIBA World Championship, but as the clock ticked down the NBA star found the door closed by the smothering defense of Spain and the Olympic champions saw their title hopes evaporate with a 75-74 defeat.
BASKETBALL
Sep 2, 2006

U.S. must tweak formula for Olympics

SAITAMA -- Coach K said it was a disappointing loss, but the Americans began a long journey with the setback.
MORE SPORTS
Sep 2, 2006

Kameda rematch set for Oct. 18

The scheduled rematch of the controversial WBA light flyweight title fight between Japanese teenager Koki Kameda and Venezuelan Juan Landaeta will take place in Tokyo on Oct. 18, Kameda's Kyoei Gym said Thursday.
BASKETBALL
Sep 2, 2006

Hot-shooting Greeks upset USA

SAITAMA -- There's jubilation in Athens. There's disappointment in America.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Sep 2, 2006

Keane-McCarthy antipathy makes for intriguing matchup

LONDON -- Circle the date in your diary -- Nov. 25, Wolves vs. Sunderland.
JAPAN
Sep 2, 2006

Mitutoyo tied to Iran, North nuclear quests

Mitutoyo Corp., a precision instrument maker at the center of an export scam linked to weapons of mass destruction, has exported some 10,000 sensitive devices, most of them illegally, since around 1995 and in the process may have helped North Korea and Iran go nuclear, investigative sources said.
JAPAN
Sep 2, 2006

Bill eyed to make NHK fees mandatory

The government plans to introduce a bill next year to require all television viewers to pay fees to NHK, Internal Affairs and Communications Minister Heizo Takenaka said Friday.
JAPAN
Sep 2, 2006

Truck theft exposes Nike customers

Sports gear maker Nike Japan Corp. has lost magnetic tapes containing personal data on its customers in the theft of a truckload of its products in Tokyo in August, police sources said Friday.
JAPAN
Sep 2, 2006

Many pairs fancy sex selection over nature's course

As Princess Kiko prepares to have her third child, the nation is focused on whether the Imperial family will have its first male born in 41 years.
JAPAN
Sep 2, 2006

Abe declares bid for LDP helm

and Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki face delegates Friday at a Liberal Democratic Party chapter convention in Hiroshima. KYODO PHOTO
JAPAN
Sep 2, 2006

Majority in survey favor English for elementary kids

Opinions are divided over whether English language lessons should be mandatory at elementary schools, according to a recent survey by the education ministry.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 2, 2006

Imperial rivalries are grist for media mill

Harumi Kobayashi has been an enthusiastic admirer of the Imperial family for more than a decade. She has followed the royals around the country, greeted them and taken their pictures. In fact, she has become such a familiar face at Imperial events that some members of the family respond specifically...
JAPAN
Sep 2, 2006

Japan to do nothing for now in Iranian nuclear standoff: Aso

Japan will observe for now the current developments in the Iranian nuclear standoff and put off any decision on whether to impose sanctions before a meeting next week between Iranian and European negotiators, Foreign Minister Taro Aso said Friday.

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