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EDITORIALS
Apr 29, 2006

Responsible decision on relief

Kubota Corp., a major machinery maker, has established its own relief system for sufferers of asbestos-linked diseases who were not employees. This system, which offers "relief money" ranging from 25 million yen to 46 million yen each, covers residents around the company's asbestos-contaminated factory...
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Apr 29, 2006

English media get what they deserve if Big Phil takes charge

LONDON -- Having done much to press the Football Association's hand in forcing it to tell Sven-Goran Eriksson that he will not be the England head coach after the World Cup finals, the English football media found themselves in a pickle.
JAPAN
Apr 29, 2006

Tokyo submits bid for 2016 Olympics

Mindful of the boom created by the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government on Friday submitted to the Japan Olympic Committee its candidacy to host the 2016 Games.
BUSINESS
Apr 29, 2006

BOJ keeps stance unchanged to steady recovery

Reflecting continued concern about the fragility of the country's economic recovery, the Bank of Japan announced Friday it was maintaining its low interest rate monetary policy.
BUSINESS
Apr 29, 2006

Core CPI shows first growth in eight years

Japan's core consumer price index rose 0.1 percent in fiscal 2005 from the previous year for the first increase in eight years, the government said Friday.
BUSINESS
Apr 29, 2006

EU-Japan ties have big potential to move on to a new dimension

Japan and the European Union need to expand cooperation on multiple fronts, including security, energy and technological innovations, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said at a recent seminar in Tokyo.
JAPAN
Apr 29, 2006

Aso pitches for creation of 'Nobel Prize' for foreign 'manga' artists

Nobel Prize for up-and-coming non-Japanese comic-strip artists as a way to boost the country's diplomacy. "I would like Japan, as the origin of manga, to give these rising artists an award equivalent to the Nobel Prize," Aso said. "In that way, they would feel a connection with Japan."
BUSINESS
Apr 29, 2006

Son named president at Vodafone

Mobile phone company Vodafone K.K. selected Softbank Corp. President Masayoshi Son as its new president at an extraordinary shareholders' meeting Friday.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 29, 2006

May Day madness in Europe

MUNICH -- May 1, 2006, is a crucial date for Europe, for it is the deadline for implementing the European Union's directive on freedom of movement into national law. Most countries have already changed their immigration laws, or have promised to do so before the deadline. Only Belgium, Italy, Finland...
BUSINESS
Apr 29, 2006

Matsushita, Toshiba show strong annual results

Major consumer electronics firms Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. and Toshiba Corp. posted strong financial results Friday for fiscal 2005 despite a wide difference in the performances of their flat-panel display businesses.
BUSINESS
Apr 29, 2006

Civil servant pension cut in works

The government announced a plan Friday to equalize the pension schemes for company employees and civil servants that will include a 10 percent cut in the pensions of some government employees.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Apr 29, 2006

A boom time for Japanese electronics

Recently the day that my wife had long been predicting finally arrived -- sort of.
BUSINESS
Apr 29, 2006

ANA's sales and operating profit soar; net profit falls

All Nippon Airways Co. reported Friday record-high consolidated pretax profit, operating profit and sales for fiscal 2005, thanks to strong demand for domestic air travel, which more than offset the impact of higher fuel prices.
BUSINESS
Apr 29, 2006

Jobless rate at seven-year low of 4.3%

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate averaged 4.3 percent in fiscal 2005, down 0.3 percentage point from fiscal 2004 and the lowest in seven years, the government said Friday.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Apr 29, 2006

Purification process is painful

I'm pretty sure Shiraishi Island was once inhabited by giants. When you look at all the boulders perched in precarious spots around the island, and piled up in certain formations, you would swear someone was saving them for ammunition.
JAPAN
Apr 29, 2006

Koizumi issues official Minamata apology

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Friday issued the first formal apology by a prime minister for the state's failure to deal properly with Minamata disease, one of the worst pollution-caused maladies and one that erupted during the nation's speedy economic growth of the 1950s.
JAPAN
Apr 29, 2006

Ex-World Bank head, Nicklaus spring honorees

The government said Friday it will release a list of 4,096 recipients of the spring decorations, including former World Bank chief James Wolfensohn and U.S. golf legend Jack Nicklaus.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Apr 29, 2006

Nisei bears witness to 'looking like the enemy'

Mary Matsuda Gruenewald was 17 when her life fell to pieces, shattered by the U.S. policy of interning Japanese-Americans after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Apr 29, 2006

Elizabeth Oliver

"In June this year, 10 ARK dogs will go to find new homes through the famous Battersea Dogs Home in London. Although in the past ARK has sent individual dogs abroad for rehousing, this is the first time so many Japanese dogs have been sent from a shelter in Japan to find homes in another country. Why...
BUSINESS
Apr 29, 2006

Brisk demand for gadgets helps boost industrial output 1.6%

National industrial production rose an unadjusted 1.6 percent in fiscal 2005 for the fourth consecutive year of growth, supported by brisk demand for electronic devices and transportation equipment, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said in a preliminary report Friday.
BUSINESS
Apr 29, 2006

Howa Bank eyes public funds to boost capital

Howa Bank, a second-tier regional bank based in Oita Prefecture, said Friday it is considering applying to the Financial Services Agency for an injection of public funds to strengthen its depleted capital.
SOCCER / World cup
Apr 28, 2006

Zico dismisses link with South Africa

Japan coach Zico slammed a newspaper report linking him with the South African national team job, but said he is still weighing up a coaching career in Europe.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Apr 28, 2006

Lefty Yamakita moves to Yokohama in 1-for-2 trade

Lotte Marines lefty Shigetoshi Yamakita will move to the Yokohama BayStars in a 1-for-2 trade for right-hander Ryotaro Doi and outfielder Ryusuke Minami, officials of both clubs said Thursday.

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’