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EDITORIALS
Feb 26, 2005

Moment of reckoning for the alliance

When U.S. President George W. Bush began his second term, he said fixing relations with Europe would top his diplomatic agenda. A fence-mending trip to Europe has revealed how hard that will be. Both the United States and Europe must decide the purpose of their relationship and whether the trans-Atlantic...
BUSINESS
Feb 26, 2005

Sankyo, Daiichi Pharmaceutical to merge in October

Sankyo Co. and Daiichi Pharmaceutical Co. said Friday they have reached a basic agreement to integrate their business operations in October, creating Japan's second-largest drugmaker.
BUSINESS
Feb 26, 2005

Mad cow panel prodded to reach decision on tests

Farm minister Yoshinobu Shimamura urged a government panel Friday to draw a conclusion quickly on whether to terminate the blanket testing for mad cow disease, in order to lift Japan's 14-month-old import ban on U.S. beef.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 26, 2005

Disaster poses Yudhoyono's biggest test

SINGAPORE -- Two months after a tsunami ravaged Aceh and parts of North Sumatra province, a joke making the rounds in Jakarta says the initials of In- donesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Vice President Jusuf Kalla, or SBY-JK, stand for Sudah banyak yang jadi korban ("Never have there been...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Feb 26, 2005

Insurers race to get into medical policies as population ages

The risk of getting sick may soon be more important than the risk of dying, according to the life insurance industry.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Feb 26, 2005

The woes of the misunderstood 'gaijin'

I've been a nonnative speaker of Japanese for 12 years now. I'll go weeks without speaking a word of English, since where I live, I'm the only "gaijin." But after several years of consistent hard work, I have trained the 700 people on my island to understand my gaijin Japanese. We are almost at the point...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Feb 26, 2005

Srcwenig anorud wtih the ruels

"I hvae jsut had a rvelaiton," I tlel my wfie, tihs tmie not in our Tkoyo hmoe, but in "Colmun Lnad," wehre the cnovnetinos of dilaog can be bnet at wlil.
BUSINESS
Feb 26, 2005

Allies moving to sell stakes in NBS to Fuji TV

Tokyo Electric Power Co., Kodansha Ltd. and Mitsubishi Electric Corp. have applied to sell their shares in Nippon Broadcasting System Inc. to Fuji Television Network Inc. to support the network's takeover bid for the radio broadcaster, officials of the three firms said separately Friday.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Feb 26, 2005

Jack Merluzzi

Tokyo's international theater people refer to Jack Merluzzi as the man with a million voices. "I will do any voice," he said. "I believe I can do any voice." In normal circumstances he is remarkably quiet about his unusual skill, using it to advantage only when the occasion calls for it. Most of those...
BUSINESS
Feb 26, 2005

SMFG officially exits quest for UFJ merger

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. announced Friday it had given up its controversial attempt to merge with UFJ Holdings Inc., giving in to rival Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group Inc.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Feb 26, 2005

Special Olympics bridges Japan, Arab nations

Madeleine Jalil Umewaka, of MJU public relations, was at Narita Airport early Wednesday morning. She was there to welcome the Special Olympics team of 12 athletes from her native Lebanon, and travel with them to Iida in Nagano Prefecture.
BUSINESS
Feb 26, 2005

FSA suspends Meiji Yasuda Life

The Financial Services Agency ordered Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co. on Friday to suspend part of its life insurance solicitation business for two weeks due to illegal sales practices, FSA officials said.
BUSINESS
Feb 25, 2005

Top three automakers hiked output in January

Japan's top three automakers -- Toyota, Nissan and Honda -- boosted global output in January due to strong sales in overseas and domestic markets, but Mazda and Mitsubishi Motors trimmed production, the companies said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Feb 25, 2005

Ito deems banks ready for end of unlimited deposit insurance

Japanese banks nationwide are prepared for April 1, when the government will remove its full guarantee on ordinary bank accounts, according to Tatsuya Ito, state minister in charge of financial services.
EDITORIALS
Feb 25, 2005

Mr. Thaksin can't relax

Thailand's Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra won a landslide victory in parliamentary elections held earlier this month. That win followed a completion of a full term in office, a historic accomplishment in its own right. Yet victory has not ended Mr. Thaksin's worries. Violence in the country's southern...
COMMENTARY
Feb 25, 2005

Spots on Russia's shiny orb

MOSCOW -- By normal standards Russia should be a happy and contented country. Moscow is awash with money, mostly flowing in from the giant energy sector and hugely boosted by the doubling in oil prices the past year. Shops and restaurants are booming. Cinemas and theaters are multiplying and play to...
BUSINESS
Feb 25, 2005

Japan, Belgium nix double premiums

Japan and Belgium signed a pact Thursday ending the double payment of social security premiums by their citizens.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Feb 25, 2005

Historic port city famous for fugu

Located at the western end of Honshu, Shimonoseki is one of those places that people tend to travel through rather than travel to. With Kyushu only 700 meters away across the Kanmon Strait, Shimonoseki is the main access point to that island, and as visa-run veterans are aware, the Korean port of Pusan...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / BEST BAR NONE
Feb 25, 2005

A reason to be happy: Spike Bar in Shibuya

Shibuya is now headquarters for Tokyo's cool party crowd. In the last six years or so, countless little bars have set up shop and made themselves part of the night circuit around the station. Whether along Miyamasuzaka toward Aoyama, up Dogenzaka toward Daikanyama or south along the Yamanote tracks toward...
Rugby
Feb 24, 2005

IRB chairman points the way forward for Japanese rugby

When Dr. Syd Millar talks rugby, people generally stop and listen.
MORE SPORTS
Feb 24, 2005

Kato, Okazaki named to speedskating team

Men's speedskater Joji Kato and women's speedskater Tomomi Okazaki are among the athletes who will represent Japan at the world single distance championships next month, the Japan Skating Federation said Wednesday.
SUMO
Feb 24, 2005

Futagoyama waging battle against cancer

Sumo stablemaster Futagoyama is waging a battle with mouth cancer, his son and former grand champion Takanohana revealed Wednesday.
MORE SPORTS
Feb 24, 2005

Satoya, Uemura head Japan squad

Moguls skiers Tae Satoya and Aiko Uemura head the list of Japanese representatives for next month's Freestyle Skiing World Championships, which was released by the Ski Association of Japan on Wednesday.

Longform

Once smoky, male-dominated spaces, today's net cafes, like Kaikatsu Club, are working to make their operations more attractive to women customers.
The second life of Japan's net cafes