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Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / ON THE BOOK TRAIL
Feb 7, 2006

"Firebird," "Thor's Wedding Day"

"Firebird," Susan Gates, Puffin; 2005; 212pp.
LIFE / Language
Feb 7, 2006

Practical reasons for praising entrance exams

On Saturday, Jan. 21, history was made. And I was a part of it by simply taking a 30-minute listening test. It was the first time that the unified university entrance exams, prepared by MEXT's National Center for University Entrance Examinations, had included listening comprehension. This may very well...
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Feb 7, 2006

Guarantors and leaving the country

Guarantor Is there an organization in Japan that serves as a guarantor for foreigners in Japan who want to rent apartments?
Rugby
Feb 6, 2006

Toshiba Fuchu wins 2nd straight Microsoft Cup

Toshiba Fuchu scored four tries in the first half and went on to beat Suntory 33-18 in the Microsoft Cup final on Sunday, completing a league and cup double for the second straight year.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Feb 6, 2006

Source: Saito to sign with Dodgers

Japanese right-handed pitcher Takashi Saito is likely to sign a minor league contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers shortly, baseball sources said Sunday.
JAPAN
Feb 6, 2006

Police agency seeking to outlaw powerful air guns

The National Police Agency will ask lawmakers to ban air guns that have been retooled to give them killing power, NPA officials said Sunday.
JAPAN
Feb 6, 2006

Health ministry to set specific nonsmoking goal

The health ministry has decided to set a numerical target to lower the ratio of smokers as part of a national health campaign, officials said Sunday.
MORE SPORTS
Feb 6, 2006

Dementieva batters Hingis at Pan Pacific

Russia's Elena Dementieva ended Martina Hingis' bid for a first singles title in her comeback with a crushing 6-2, 6-0 win in the Pan Pacific Open on Sunday.
JAPAN
Feb 6, 2006

Feeling faint, Empress cancels trip

Empress Michiko has canceled a visit to an Imperial villa in Hayama, Kanagawa Prefecture, after feeling faint, the Imperial Household Agency said Sunday.
JAPAN
Feb 6, 2006

Record snowfall in Niigata town

The amount of snow in Tsunan, Niigata Prefecture, surpassed 4 meters on Sunday for the first time since the Meteorological Agency started observations in the city in 1989, officials said.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Feb 6, 2006

To improve Japan's finances, reform drive must stay alive

In fiscal 2006, the government will issue under 30 trillion yen in bonds for the first time in eight years, leaving the nation 11.2 trillion yen short of achieving a primary balance -- the condition where expenditures, excluding interest payments and debt redemptions, are covered by revenues excluding...
SUMO
Feb 6, 2006

Asashoryu wins one-day tournament

Yokozuna Asashoryu, whose record streak of winning seven Grand Sumo Tournaments snapped last month, beat foreign rivals in succession to win a mini one-day tourney on Sunday.
EDITORIALS
Feb 6, 2006

Pinch of censorship vs. pile of trouble

There's a good reason why censorship sparks so many squabbles, as developments in both China and the Muslim world this past week have reminded us. It's a slippery concept. We who favor openness and transparency think we know exactly where we stand on censorship: We think it's bad. Right? Freedom of speech...
COMMENTARY
Feb 6, 2006

Containing a growing divide

The growing economic gap in Japanese society under Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's reform policy is emerging as a major national political issue. Critics in the opposition camp as well as the ruling coalition charge that deregulation and intensified competition have divided society into winners and...
MORE SPORTS
Feb 5, 2006

Hingis surprises Sharapova in semis

Wild card Martina Hingis crushed top seed Maria Sharapova 6-3, 6-1 Saturday to advance to the final of the Pan Pacific Open, where she will face Russia's Elena Dementieva.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Feb 5, 2006

Souness doomed to fail with Magpies

DETROIT -- There are some things in football that seem so obviously destined to go wrong you wonder why they happen in the first place.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Feb 5, 2006

How will Valentine, Hillman and Brown fare in 2006?

One-fourth of the 12 Japanese pro baseball teams in 2006 will be led by American managers. Their performances this season may dictate whether the recent trend for the Central and Pacific Leagues to hire foreign kantoku will continue or if the clubs will return to putting native Japanese in charge.
JAPAN
Feb 5, 2006

Senior official confirms Iraq pullout within months

A high-ranking government official confirmed for the first time in public Saturday that Japanese ground troops will be pulled out of southern Iraq within the next several months.

Longform

Juzo Itami’s “Tampopo” was released Nov. 23, 1985, and though it wasn’t a hit at the time, it has gained a cult following in the years since.
Eat, slurp, love: 'Tampopo' turns 40