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COMMENTARY / World
Jul 21, 2006

Double trouble for Poles used to benefits

WARSAW -- Much of the world seems fascinated by the fact that Poland is now governed by identical twins who first became famous as child movie actors: President Lech Kaczynski, and Jaroslaw Kaczynski, whom Lech appointed to the post of prime minister earlier this month. They are indeed intriguing, but...
JAPAN
Jul 21, 2006

Fraud allegations spur police raids of Aum locations

Police on Thursday raided the home of a former Aum Shinrikyo member in Koshigaya, Saitama Prefecture, and related places on suspicion that the man and another ex-cultist had fraudulently opened a bank account to evade taxes and to support their condemned guru's family on the sly.
CULTURE / Music
Jul 21, 2006

Greg Graffin "Cold As The Clay"

Having spent 26 years (and counting) fronting California punk act Bad Religion, Greg Graffin has earned the right to branch out. "Cold As The Clay" marks his second solo recording, and the first to be credited to his own name. A mix of time-honored and modern Americana, on "Cold As," Graffin, like many...
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Jul 21, 2006

Refuge through film

Starting one month after World Refugee Day (June 20), the U.N. Refugee Agency presents for the first time in Japan the Refugee Film Festival running through July 27.
BUSINESS
Jul 21, 2006

McDonald's plans tandoori on pita

McDonald's Co. (Japan) said Thursday it will introduce two health-conscious pita bread sandwiches at its outlets nationwide in a three-week campaign beginning Aug. 4.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jul 21, 2006

Unagi slips into a more refined mode

The dog days of summer will soon be upon us, and panting hard on their heels comes the annual unagi feeding frenzy. Across the length and breadth of the country, vast numbers of slithering eels will be slaughtered, filleted, broiled and basted, all in the name of hallowed tradition.
SOCCER
Jul 20, 2006

Japan gets bye for qualifiers

Japan has received a bye into the second round of qualifiers for the soccer tournament of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, which features three qualifiers from Asia in addition to host China, Japanese soccer officials said Wednesday. According to the qualifying schedule set by the Asian Football Confederation,...
JAPAN
Jul 20, 2006

Defense expert set to head academy

A former member of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's advisory body on security issues will be the next president of the National Defense Academy, government sources said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Jul 20, 2006

Antarctic pioneer releases historic footage of aurora

An early participant in Japan's Antarctic expeditions said Wednesday that a 16-mm film of the aurora australis he has kept for nearly 50 years will be shown publicly from Friday.
JAPAN
Jul 20, 2006

JCP axes Akahata Moscow bureau

The Japanese Communist Party will soon close its newspaper's Moscow bureau, which it established in 1960, JCP public relations officials said.
JAPAN
Jul 20, 2006

Abe set to launch nationwide swing to appeal to public

Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe will begin a series of visits across Japan next week to discuss measures to provide a second chance to people whose businesses or careers have failed, although the exercise is largely being as a precampaign ahead of the Liberal Democratic Party presidential election...
EDITORIALS
Jul 20, 2006

Warning North Korea

The United Nations Security Council resolution condemning North Korea's July 5 multiple missile test-firings may lack strong teeth, but it serves as a stern warning from the international community to the reclusive country. While the contents of the resolution fell short of what Japan originally wanted...
JAPAN
Jul 20, 2006

Trust banks sue Seibu over delisting

Seibu Holdings Inc. said Wednesday its subsidiaries Seibu Railway Co. and Prince Hotels Inc. have been sued by five trust banks over the railway's delisting as punishment for falsifying financial statements.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 20, 2006

Happiness, money and giving it away

PRINCETON, New Jersey -- Would you be happier if you were richer? Many people believe that they would be. But research conducted over many years suggests that greater wealth implies greater happiness only at quite low levels of income. People in the United States, for example, are, on average, richer...
BUSINESS
Jul 20, 2006

No mention of deflation in July economic report

The government signaled Wednesday the economy is definitely moving forward, dropping the word "deflation" from its monthly economic report for the first time in five years.
COMMENTARY
Jul 20, 2006

Good people, poor leaders

NEW YORK -- So bad has been recent publicity for the United States and its foreign policies that the visitor arriving in the U.S. nowadays has come to expect a grim reception and a nation of inward-turning people who care nothing for the world beyond America's shores.
BUSINESS
Jul 20, 2006

Komeito exec ties tax hike to welfare

Chikara Sakaguchi, deputy head of New Komeito, indicated Wednesday that the consumption tax might be raised, provided the revenue is dedicated to maintaining quality of social security services.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jul 20, 2006

Artist as inventor

You, like many, might be satisfied with just dreaming of flying. But for inventor/artist Kazuhiko Hachiya, such an idea is hardly in the realm of fantasy -- he thinks that if people want to fly, he should find a way of making it possible.
JAPAN
Jul 20, 2006

Paloma hit for killer heaters

Paloma Industries Ltd. has issued a recall for some 260,000 gas water heaters made between 1980 and 1989 after they were linked to 20 carbon monoxide deaths since that time and the president was summoned Wednesday to the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry and told to speed up the firm's probe into...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 20, 2006

Korean-Japanese bridges the gap for movie crew

Born in 1978 as a third-generation Korean in Japan, Chung Ji Hye used to hesitate about revealing her family background to her friends.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jul 20, 2006

First Ikebukuro International Art Festival

Ikebukuro Closes in 18 days

Longform

Once smoky, male-dominated spaces, today's net cafes, like Kaikatsu Club, are working to make their operations more attractive to women customers.
The second life of Japan's net cafes