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JAPAN
Jul 15, 2004

Mideast talks end with cry for help

Israeli and Palestinian representatives on Wednesday called on the international community to help them create peace in the Middle East, wrapping up a three-day confidence-building meeting on the Middle East hosted by the Foreign Ministry.
BUSINESS
Jul 15, 2004

Corporate bankruptcies down 19.3% in first half

The number of corporate bankruptcies during the January-June period of 2004 dropped 19.3 percent from a year earlier to 7,253, underlining a continued declining trend in the number of failures, a private-sector credit research agency said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Jul 15, 2004

Mitsubishi hit by more truck defects

Seven more cases of cracked clutch housings have been found in large vehicles made by Mitsubishi Motors Corp. and its spun-off maker, Mitsubishi Fuso Truck & Bus Corp., since a recall was announced in May, it was learned Wednesday.
EDITORIALS
Jul 15, 2004

AIDS can be beaten

AIDS has become the worst pandemic in human history, eclipsing even the Black Death of the 14th century. Unlike the plague, AIDS often kills the descendants of victims who have passed on. There is no excuse for the failure to tackle this scourge; there is ample evidence of effective ways to respond to...
BUSINESS
Jul 15, 2004

Airlines see rise in overseas travel

Some 842,000 reservations for international flights have been made with Japanese airlines for the month through Aug. 15, up 22.7 percent from a year earlier, the airlines said Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Jul 15, 2004

Currency official happy with recent movements

The nation's new top currency official said Wednesday that recent foreign exchange movements are "more natural and healthier" than those of last year, indicating the government is content with current exchange rates between the yen and U.S. dollar.
JAPAN
Jul 15, 2004

Struggling UFJ pursues merger deal with MTFG

Ailing UFJ Holdings Inc. on Wednesday asked rival Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group Inc. to merge with it in a deal that would create the world's biggest banking group, with 190 trillion yen in assets.
JAPAN
Jul 15, 2004

Ministry breathes sigh of relief on Soga reunion costs

Foreign Ministry officials are breathing easier now that it appears that arranging repatriated abductee Hitomi Soga's family reunion in Jakarta may not be as costly as initially thought.
BUSINESS
Jul 15, 2004

Tokyo department stores report 3.4% decline in sales

Department stores in Tokyo's 23 wards logged sales of 932.49 billion yen in the January-June period, down 3.4 percent from a year earlier.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 15, 2004

Four-year term sought for Suzuki

Prosecutors demanded a four-year prison term and 11 million yen fine Wednesday for former House of Representatives member Muneo Suzuki for allegedly accepting 11 million yen in bribes from two Hokkaido companies.
LIFE / Lifestyle / MATTER OF COURSE
Jul 15, 2004

Japan's kindergartens could serve families better

Procreation just ain't what it used to be.
BUSINESS
Jul 15, 2004

Bank of China deal widens JCB credit card business

JCB Co. has signed a deal with the Bank of China to jointly issue credit cards in China, becoming the first Japanese company to enter the Chinese credit card business, company officials said Wednesday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 15, 2004

Forces pact should underscore Japanese lack of rights: lawyer

Attorney Annette Eddie-Callagain has had to defend people subjected to closed-door interrogations, limited access to lawyers and lengthy detention during which they are pressured to confess.
JAPAN
Jul 15, 2004

U.S. presence in grillings unfair scrutiny?

In late May, a 24-year-old U.S. Navy sailor at the Yokosuka Navy Base in Kanagawa Prefecture was arrested for drunk driving after bumping his car into another outside the base, slightly injuring a child inside the vehicle that was hit.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 15, 2004

SDF aid mission mars Japan's peace image, Arab interviewees say in film

The deployment of Self-Defense Forces troops to Iraq on a humanitarian mission puzzles Arabs because it runs counter to their long-held image of a peaceful Japan, according to a documentary film based on eight interviews with people in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt.
COMMENTARY
Jul 15, 2004

Prepare for post-Koizumi era

HONOLULU -- Prime Minister Koizumi Junichiro took a beating in last Sunday's Upper House elections. While his Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) lost seats, the real blow seems to be the prime minister's loss of rapport with voters. The magic is gone, and that means his leverage within the party is shrinking....
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Jul 15, 2004

'Hideous alien' had an exotic past

Sometimes accidentally, sometimes to order, we humans transport a bewildering array of species about the world. Many of them wither under the regimens of their new environments; alas, some thrive to the detriment of the locals.
BASEBALL / MLB
Jul 15, 2004

Cubans edge Japan 6-5

Designated-hitter Eriel Sanchez drove in the winning run in the seventh inning Wednesday as Cuba edged Japan 6-5 in a tuneup game for the Athens Olympics.
JAPAN
Jul 15, 2004

26 teens held in pot-related busts

Tokyo police said Wednesday they have arrested nine teenagers, including high school students, in Saitama Prefecture for allegedly committing several thefts and burglaries to buy marijuana.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jul 15, 2004

High-flying names a far cry from good old days

Like people elsewhere in the world, the Japanese have a fondness for the good old days. My great-grandfather's "good old days" were the 1920s, a time when there were public rose gardens in Hongo, with bushes imported directly from Kew Gardens in London. That was a time when rickshaws pulled up alongside...
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / NAME OF THE GAME
Jul 15, 2004

A hero's work is never done

In "Spider-Man 2" the movie, Peter Parker is constantly late for work, science class and get-togethers. In "Spider-Man 2" the game, we find out why.
JAPAN
Jul 15, 2004

Human embryo cloning should be allowed: panel

A government advisory panel has recommended that Japan allow researchers to produce cloned human embryos for basic research and create guidelines for their production and use.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jul 14, 2004

Little House on the Pavement

Once Upon a Time in the Midlands Rating: * * * (out of 5) Director: Shane Meadows Running time: 104 minutes Language: English Currently showing [See Japan Times movie listings] A woman is caught between her bad-boy, rock 'n' roll ex-husband and the sweet, adoring current lover in "Once...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jul 14, 2004

Remembering the good old future

Steamboy Rating: * * * * (out of 5) Director: Katsuhiro Otomo Running time: 126 minutes Language: English Opens July 17 [See Japan Times movie listings] I am old enough to remember when the future looked fun. As a kid I was an eager reader of Jules Verne, whose futuristic novels, written...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jul 14, 2004

The master behind the otaku

Some directors joke their way through press conferences (Takeshi Kitano), while others seem to revel in the attention (the late Akira Kurosawa), but few looked as ill at ease as Katsuhiro Otomo, appearing before the media at Roppongi Hills in early June to promote "Steamboy." Nervously blinking as though...
CULTURE / Film
Jul 14, 2004

A 'Steamboy' timeline

1995 After enjoying international success with his debut feature "Akira" (1988), Katsuhiro Otomo comes up with the idea for his second feature, "Steamboy," from an animated short, "Cannon Fodder." One of three segments in his 1995 animation omnibus "Memories," "Cannon Fodder" tells an Orwellian tale,...

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?