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BUSINESS
May 18, 2006

Bilateral beef talks resume

Japan and the United States started two days of talks Wednesday in Tokyo to discuss terms for resuming imports of U.S. beef.
BUSINESS
May 18, 2006

U.S. refuses to buy back beef

The Japan Meat Traders Association said Wednesday the U.S. government has refused to buy back 1.4 billion yen worth of American beef that was imported but got stuck in customs because banned material was found in one shipment.
BUSINESS
May 18, 2006

Cell firms push portable numbers

Three leading mobile phone carriers said Wednesday that subscribers will be able to keep their phone numbers by visiting their shops when they switch to another carrier.
BUSINESS
May 18, 2006

Honda to build three new plants

Honda Motor Co. announced business expansion plans Wednesday that include construction of a new factory in Japan and two more in North America by 2010 to meet increasing demand for its vehicles.
SUMO
May 17, 2006

Three tied for Summer Basho lead

Mongolian ozeki Hakuho overpowered Kotomitsuki Tuesday to remain in a share of the lead with ozeki Chiyotaikai and sekiwake Miyabiyama at the Summer Grand Sumo Tournament in Tokyo.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
May 17, 2006

Lee lifts Giants past Hawks

Lee Seung Yeop hit a tiebreaking two-run homer to save the day in the seventh inning Tuesday, helping lift the Yomiuri Giants to a 7-3 rout over the Softbank Hawks to snap a three-game losing skid in interleague play.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
May 17, 2006

Barcelona-Arsenal final puts two great stars on a grand stage

PARIS -- There are signs around the Nou Camp reminding everyone that Barcelona is "more than a club." There should also be signs in Catalonia to say that Ronaldinho is "more than a player."
SPORTS / E-LIST
May 17, 2006

A WBC curse for Matsui?

No one should hate Hideki Matsui. Save that for the New York Yankees as a whole and for George Steinbrenner, who can be a decent guy if you're a schoolkid from Iowa. But for the part of the world not obsessed with the Bronx Bombers, it is a little bit easier.
EDITORIALS
May 17, 2006

Revising the Organ Transplant Law

The Organ Transplant Law went into effect in 1997. Between February 1999 and March 2006, organs from 44 brain-dead people were used for 167 transplants, which involved hearts, lungs, livers, pancreases, kidneys and small intestines. But the number is extremely small compared with the United States, where...
JAPAN
May 17, 2006

Aso says change needed in war-dead system

Foreign Minister Taro Aso said Tuesday he sees problems in the current method of honoring the war dead at Yasukuni Shrine and suggested that having a single religious institution in charge of the system needs changing.
COMMENTARY
May 17, 2006

Taro Aso has a history problem with Australia

When Foreign Minister Taro Aso visited Australia recently, did he know that the father of the Australian foreign minister, Alexander Downer, had been a Japanese prisoner of war in the notorious Changi jail in Singapore? And if Alexander Downer Sr. had been sent to a certain camp in Kyushu, as some 200...
JAPAN
May 17, 2006

Egypt says thanks for new yen loan

Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit on Tuesday thanked Prime Minister Koizumi for Japan's agreement to provide yen loans up to 34.8 billion yen for a new museum project, a Foreign Ministry official said.
JAPAN
May 17, 2006

FTC searches contractors tied to defense bid-rigging

The Fair Trade Commission searched about 10 major contractors Tuesday for evidence that they rigged bids to get construction contracts from the Defense Facilities Administration Agency, sources said.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
May 17, 2006

Mud, mud, glorious mud

Loss: That sense of deep detachment when a loved one has departed; the bewilderment and displacement at finding something or somewhere treasured to have gone; the confusion of returning to one's childhood haunts only to find them changed beyond recognition. We have, no doubt, all felt these loses, but...
BUSINESS
May 17, 2006

Beer wannabes' share up before tax

Shipments of beer from the country's five top brewers in April made up less than half the market for beer and beerlike drinks for the first time ever, due partly to stronger demand for cheaper nonmalt drinks, called "third-category beer," industry figures showed Tuesday.
JAPAN
May 17, 2006

Diet begins debate on education law

The Diet began debating a bill Tuesday that would revise the postwar basic education law for the first time ever, emphasizing the importance of public spirit and tradition as well as seeking to instill a sense of patriotism.
JAPAN
May 17, 2006

Radioactive water leaks at Mihama

About 400 liters of coolant water containing radioactive material leaked from a nonactive reactor at the Mihama nuclear power plant in Fukui Prefecture, but there was no danger of radiation escaping from the plant, its operator said Tuesday.
COMMENTARY / World
May 17, 2006

An 'OPEC' with nuclear weapons?

LONDON -- When I was in Moscow a few months ago I got into an argument with a retired high-level NATO official.
JAPAN
May 17, 2006

Bid to address Congress has Yasukuni proviso

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's contentious visits to Yasukuni Shrine are a matter of religious freedom, the government said Tuesday, rejecting criticism leveled by a powerful U.S. congressman.
BUSINESS
May 17, 2006

70% of small firms hurt by rising oil prices, METI says

A hastily arranged government survey has found that 71.4 percent of about 1,500 small businesses have seen their earnings hurt by soaring oil prices, up from 65.6 percent in January, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said Tuesday.
JAPAN
May 17, 2006

Reduce NHK channels, reorganize NTT: panel

An advisory panel to communications minister Heizo Takenaka proposed Tuesday that NHK user fees be lowered by reducing the number of the public broadcaster's channels.
BUSINESS
May 17, 2006

Aiful reports 13% fall in profit for '05

Troubled Aiful Corp. reported Tuesday that its net profit for fiscal 2005 dropped 13.1 percent to 65.827 billion yen on a consolidated basis due to a rise in customer demands that excess interest on loans be returned.
BUSINESS
May 17, 2006

Japan, U.S. to talk beef Wednesday

Japan and the United States will start working-level talks Wednesday in Tokyo to discuss the U.S. request for Japan to lift the ban on American beef, farm minister Shoichi Nakagawa said Tuesday.

Longform

An illustration features the Japanese signs for "ganbare" (good luck) and the Deaflympics, which will be held between Nov. 15 and 26.
A century of Deaf sport finds its moment in Tokyo