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BUSINESS
Aug 25, 2004

Land ministry ready to ask for 16% spending increase

The land ministry Tuesday compiled its budget request for fiscal 2005, featuring a 16 percent increase in overall outlays and an expansion in tax revenue allocated to local governments to boost their autonomy, government sources said.
BUSINESS
Aug 25, 2004

Koizumi blasts postal reform foes

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi expressed strong dissatisfaction Tuesday over continued opposition within his Liberal Democratic Party to privatizing postal services, saying it's "a done deal."
BUSINESS
Aug 25, 2004

SMFG tries to lure UFJ with deal to merge as equals

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. announced Tuesday that it has offered UFJ Holdings Inc. a deal for the two banks to merge on an equal basis, in its latest attempt to woo UFJ away from rival Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group Inc.
COMMENTARY
Aug 25, 2004

World faces another humanitarian crisis

LONDON -- While politicians and diplomats discuss what to do, many people of Sudan's Darfur region have been forced from their homes, terrorized, tortured and murdered by members of the armed Janjaweed Arab militia, who frequently rape the women they capture. The militia has apparently been aided and...
JAPAN
Aug 24, 2004

Medical practice patents elude amid debate on ethics, costs

Government debate since late last year on whether to introduce a patent system for new types of medical practice, including regenerative medicine, has been deadlocked due to ethical questions and possible sharp increases in medical expenses.
JAPAN
Aug 24, 2004

Shootout with cops earns 15 years in prison

A 59-year-old man was sentenced Monday to 15 years in prison for shooting and wounding two police officers in a standoff at his Tokyo apartment after a quarrel with his wife.
JAPAN
Aug 24, 2004

Parents lose suit over son's death in garbage truck

The Hachioji branch of the Tokyo District Court on Monday rejected a civil lawsuit filed by the parents of a 12-year-old boy who was crushed to death when a municipal garbage truck collected the trash container he was in.
EDITORIALS
Aug 24, 2004

Japan's changing labor structure

Japan's employment situation is improving thanks to the economy's recovery, which in part has been fueled by corporate efforts to deal with changing economic realities. To reduce personnel expenses, companies have been increasingly turning to the recruitment of cheaper "nonregular employees," such as...
JAPAN
Aug 24, 2004

Bomber drops appeal; 20-year prison term stands

A 20-year prison sentence for a former militant over a series of bombings in the 1970s became effective earlier this month after the woman dropped her appeal with the Supreme Court, one of her lawyers said Monday.
JAPAN
Aug 24, 2004

Typhoon heads toward Okinawa isles

A powerful typhoon gathered strength Monday afternoon, bringing strong winds to Miyako and Ishigaki islands in Okinawa, the Meteorological Agency said.
BUSINESS
Aug 24, 2004

Daiei chief set to quit after rehab talks end

Daiei Inc. President Kunio Takagi has decided to step down after ongoing rehabilitation talks between the ailing retailer and its three main banks are completed, informed sources said Monday.
JAPAN
Aug 24, 2004

Radioactive material found at university

About 1,100 bottles containing liquid radioactive material have been found unattended on the campus of the University of Tokushima, the education ministry said Monday, warning the university to improve its control of hazardous materials.
BUSINESS
Aug 24, 2004

Taiwanese firms blamed for decline in tuna catch

Japan's coastal tuna catch has decreased sharply, apparently due to overfishing in the Pacific by Taiwanese fishing companies using large vessels in violation of a regional conservation agreement, the Fisheries Agency and other sources said.
JAPAN
Aug 24, 2004

Shootout with cops earns 15 years in prison

A 59-year-old man was sentenced Monday to 15 years in prison for shooting and wounding two police officers in a standoff at his Tokyo apartment after a quarrel with his wife.
BUSINESS
Aug 24, 2004

Dentsu profit up in first quarter

Dentsu Inc. said Monday that its group operating profit in the April-June quarter jumped 90.3 percent from a year earlier to 10.18 billion yen.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Aug 24, 2004

Pension system a riddle wrapped in an enigma

Help, police! For foreigners staying in Japan for more than three and less than 25 years, there is only one word for the Japanese pension system -- ROBBERY! -- Bhupesh
JAPAN
Aug 24, 2004

Parents lose suit over son's death in garbage truck

The Hachioji branch of the Tokyo District Court on Monday rejected a civil lawsuit filed by the parents of a 12-year-old boy who was crushed to death when a municipal garbage truck collected the trash container he was in.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Aug 24, 2004

Question to Japanese in Australia: Will you ever go home?

Yumi Sugiyama Retail worker I have no desire to return because Japanese society is very square. Here, everything is more free. We can get Japanese food here, but it's not the same. I miss deep baths.

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?