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JAPAN
Dec 13, 2005

Ban on U.S. beef lifted, but don't expect import flood, just price turmoil

The government on Monday approved the resumption of U.S. beef imports, lifting a two-year ban that has been in place since the discovery of mad cow disease in what had been one of Japan's biggest sources of low-cost beef.
JAPAN
Dec 13, 2005

Panel calls for ban on asbestos use in buildings

An infrastructure ministry task force called Monday for revising the Building Standard Law to impose an outright ban on the use of construction materials containing asbestos in new buildings.
JAPAN
Dec 13, 2005

J-Com to cost 912,000 yen a 'share'

Japan Securities Clearing Corp. said Monday it will force Mizuho Securities Co. to settle its erroneous sell order involving J-Com Co. stock by paying 912,000 yen in cash apiece instead of delivering actual shares.
JAPAN
Dec 13, 2005

Bankruptcy OK'd in fake-data scam

The Tokyo District Court on Monday accepted a bankruptcy petition filed by a building design office involved in the designing of several hotels whose quake-proof specifications were falsified by a disgraced architect, the design office said.
JAPAN
Dec 13, 2005

DPJ's Goto to resign from Diet

In another political blow to the nation's largest opposition party, veteran lawmaker Masanori Goto of the Democratic Party of Japan said Monday he will resign after two key aides admitted earlier in the day to illegally paying campaign workers in the Sept. 11 general election.
COMMUNITY
Dec 13, 2005

Same-sex, wills and pensions

Same-sex marriage Reader W. offers some very interesting information on the topic of same-sex marriage in Japan.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / ASEAN-JAPAN SYMPOSIUM
Dec 13, 2005

Japan can help ASEAN integration

See related story: Political power plays cloud East Asian economic community vision
COMMENTARY
Dec 13, 2005

Keys to the LDP's viability

The Liberal Democratic Party has ruled Japan since it was established in 1955 -- except for 11 months in 1993 and 1994. Last month it celebrated the 50th anniversary of its founding.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Dec 13, 2005

What is your purpose of studying Japanese?

Stuart Kirby Teacher, 30 My main reason for studying Japanese is to understand my karate sensei when he's yelling at me, and, obviously, if you're going to live here a while, then you're missing out on a lot by not studying Japanese.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / ASEAN-JAPAN SYMPOSIUM
Dec 13, 2005

Political power plays cloud East Asian economic community vision

See main story: Japan can help ASEAN integration
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WORDS TO LIVE BY
Dec 13, 2005

Ritsuko "Ritzie" Kojima

Ritsuko "Ritzie" Kojima, 53, has worked as a hospital social worker and interpreter. Ten years ago, she quit her hospital job so she could take care of her ailing mother and her own family. A mother of three sons, she's a great chef who loves throwing big parties at her home in Kumamoto Prefecture in...
BUSINESS
Dec 13, 2005

Current account surplus up 2.6%

The current account surplus grew 2.6 percent in October from a year earlier to a preliminary 1.377 trillion yen, the Finance Ministry said Monday.
JAPAN
Dec 13, 2005

Panel to combat epidemics induced by global warming

The Environment Ministry will set up a special advisory panel to look into diseases that may become epidemics in the near future as temperatures rise in Japan due to global warming, according to ministry officials.
JAPAN
Dec 13, 2005

Japan, Japanese abroad still targets for terrorism: police

Japan and Japanese nationals overseas could still be the targets of terrorism as the al-Qaida terrorist network continues to condemn nations that supported the use of force against Iraq in 2003 and to call for "jihad," or holy war, the National Police Agency said Tuesday in an annual report on security....
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Dec 13, 2005

Sweetness counts for women in search of geeks

First of all, they're not called otaku anymore but go by the much snazzier name of Akiba-kei. With this recasting, it looks like Japan's muscle-less, girlfriend-less, PC/iPod obsessed class of bespectacled oddballs have moved en masse into the cultural mainstream.
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Dec 13, 2005

The NHK man cometh

NHK, Japan's beleaguered national broadcaster, is facing revenue losses of around 50 billion yen yen for this fiscal year as a result, it says, of people refusing to pay their subscription fees.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 13, 2005

Japan-China feud clouds EAS launch

SINGAPORE -- The East Asia Summit gets under way in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday under Malaysia's chairmanship. The EAS will be held concurrentl with the summits of the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the ASEAN-Plus-Three (Japan, China, South Korea) grouping.
BUSINESS
Dec 13, 2005

Shipments in beer sector dip 3.5%

Shipments of beer and beerlike alcoholic beverages by the nation's top five producers in November fell 3.5 percent year-on-year for the first drop in four months, industry figures showed Monday.
MORE SPORTS
Dec 11, 2005

FIFA pins hopes on six-team event

FIFA is keeping its fingers crossed that the Club World Championship captures the imagination of fans in Japan and around the world when it kicks off on Sunday.

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