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JAPAN
Jul 15, 2006

Bridge bid-riggers face fines, prison

Prosecutors on Friday asked the Tokyo High Court to fine 23 bridge builders and imprison eight former senior officials accused of rigging bids for bridge construction projects financed by the now-defunct Japan Highway Public Corp. and by the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry.
JAPAN
Jul 14, 2006

Ex 'All Star' admits drug-use guilt

A former member of the rock group Southern All Stars pleaded guilty Thursday to using stimulant drugs and marijuana during his first trial session before the Yokohama District Court.
JAPAN
Jul 14, 2006

Japan yields to resolution by China, Russia

In an apparent compromise to China and Russia, Japan intends to draw up a U.N. draft resolution that condemns North Korea's July 5 missile test-launches but may not include strong measures such as sanctions, which Tokyo had earlier pushed, several government officials said Thursday.
EDITORIALS
Jul 14, 2006

Moral boost for Mr. Putin

Russia's most wanted man is dead. Shamil Basayev, the leader of Chechen rebels who has masterminded acts of terror that have claimed hundreds of lives, was killed this week in an explosion. His death is a victory for the government of Russian President Vladimir Putin and a blow to the cause Basayev headed;...
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 12, 2006

Look deeply into Putin's eyes

LONDON — As the leaders of the G7 countries meet in St. Petersburg this week I hope they will have another look into the eyes of Russian President Vladimir Putin. It is five years since U.S. President George W. Bush looked into those eyes and claimed to be able to see Putin's soul, which he found to...
JAPAN
Jul 12, 2006

Mizutani gave millions to North-linked NGO

." In spring 2003, the secretary general introduced the ex-chairman to a man identified as a member of a North Korean panel on foreign economic cooperation, the sources said.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 11, 2006

Diet member dorms to be razed, sites sold

Two public dormitories for House of Representatives members on prime land in Tokyo will be demolished under Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's drive to dispose of government assets for fiscal reconstruction.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jul 11, 2006

A way forward?

Last month, Diet member and Senior Vice Minister of Justice Taro Kono publicized a new action plan for immigration.
EDITORIALS
Jul 11, 2006

Japanese icon to leave the field

Mr. Hidetoshi Nakata, a key playmaker for Japan's national soccer team, has announced that he will retire from the sport as a professional. This international midfielder and national superstar has contributed much to the upsurge in popularity of soccer among Japanese since the mid-1990s.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WORDS TO LIVE BY
Jul 11, 2006

Yoshiko Sakurai

Yoshiko Sakurai, 60, is known as Japan's bravest and most responsible journalist. Her in-depth investigations have unnerved members of the establishment for decades. After 16 years as the nation's top newscaster, she quit television in 1996 to dedicate herself to writing. Sakurai has published more than...
SOCCER
Jul 8, 2006

Ogasawara tops J. League voting

Kashima Antlers midfielder Mitsuo Ogasawara, a member of Japan's World Cup squad, collected a record 521,862 votes to lead the list of players selected for the upcoming All-Star match released Friday by the J. League.
JAPAN
Jul 7, 2006

Unions, business halt panel's attempts to change labor law

A government advisory body discussing changes to working hours and an increase in overtime pay has become bogged down in opposition from both companies and labor groups.
EDITORIALS
Jul 6, 2006

Best laid plans of parents

The arrest June 22 of a high-school student on suspicion of arson and murder in connection with a fire at his home that killed his stepmother, half brother and half sister highlights the straits in which many students preparing for entrance exams may find themselves. The incident serves as a warning...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 5, 2006

GSDF not affected by reported Samawah blasts: Nukaga

Troops from the Ground Self-Defense Force preparing to pull out of the southern Iraq city of Samawah were not affected by explosions reported in the city, Defense Agency Director General Fukushiro Nukaga said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Jul 4, 2006

Yakuza held over intimidation attack

An underworld figure has been arrested on suspicion of stabbing the son of nonfiction writer Atsushi Mizoguchi in Tokyo in January because of an article he wrote on a crime syndicate, police said Monday.
JAPAN
Jul 4, 2006

Japan seeks UNSC action if Iran snubs incentives

Japan plans to call for the U.N. Security Council to discuss imposing sanctions on Iran if Tehran does not promptly respond to the incentives package presented by six countries for resolving the nation's nuclear standoff, according to Japanese government sources.
JAPAN
Jul 4, 2006

Exec allegedly paid to stop probe

complaints about the taxation probe, but I was not asked to do anything specific and did not do anything," Tanaka was quoted by his office as saying. "I understand the donation was made as a token of congratulation on my victory in the general election" in September. Meanwhile, Sugiyama also denied the...
JAPAN
Jul 3, 2006

TV sky diver lands at royal home

A comedian who was sky diving as part of a television quiz program and his instructor were blown off course by strong winds Sunday afternoon and landed within the Akasaka Goyochi residential quarters of Crown Prince Naruhito and Crown Princess Masako in Minato Ward, police said.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Jul 2, 2006

Desperate Giants bring in Japan veteran Arias from Mexico

Not sure what to make of the Yomiuri Giants signing infielder George Arias just three days prior to the June 30 Japan pro baseball deadline for acquiring new foreign players.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jul 2, 2006

Consternation characterizes response to Zico's World Cup flops

Though it may not be any consolation to local soccer fans, the Japanese team won the Humanoid Division in the RoboCup soccer competition that took place in Bremen on June 14-20.
BUSINESS
Jul 1, 2006

BOJ execs shouldn't invest in private funds: panel head

A Bank of Japan advisory panel will recommend that the central bank ban its executives from investing in privately placed funds, including the scandal-tainted Murakami fund, the panel chairman said Friday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / JAZZNICITY
Jun 30, 2006

Playing to projected light

A member of Sun Ra's Arkestra from 1958, Marshall Allen was there at the inception of the avant-garde jazz scene in the 1960s. Sun Ra, who died in 1993 -- or was transported to another planet, as the eccentric artist always insisted would happen -- led one of the most experimental, and controversial...
JAPAN
Jun 30, 2006

Fukui holding $120,000 worth of time deposits

Financial assets disclosed earlier this week by Bank of Japan Gov. Toshihiko Fukui included $120,000 in time deposits, Diet officials said Thursday.
SOCCER / World cup
Jun 29, 2006

Records far from Ronaldo's thoughts

DORTMUND, Germany -- Ronaldo may have broken Gerd Mueller's long-standing World Cup goals record on Tuesday, but the Brazilian said he hadn't given it much thought.
COMMENTARY
Jun 29, 2006

A wise man's vision of Pax Asia Pacifica

HONOLULU -- "Are the United States and East Asia ready for the creation of a 'Pax Asia Pacifica' as a logical successor to the 'Pax Americana,' which has provided peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region for decades?" This question was foremost on former Philippine President Fidel Ramos' mind when...
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 29, 2006

WTO: a call for 'enlightened negotiators'

The current multilateral trade negotiations under the auspices of the World Trade Organization (WTO) are approaching the moment of truth. The major gridlock among key players, such as Japan, the United States, the European Union and Brazil seems, however, difficult to be unlocked at the series of ministerial...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 29, 2006

Budget cuts win grudging, qualified OK

The government and the ruling coalition have finally agreed on spending cuts -- at least 11.4 trillion yen over the next five years -- but only after overriding the objections of top Liberal Democratic Party executives in the House of Councilors.

Longform

Totopa in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward was picked by consultants TTNE as the best sauna of the year.
Japan’s sauna movement: Relax, refresh, repeat