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BUSINESS
Nov 10, 2004

Itochu doubles first-half net profit

Itochu Corp. said Tuesday its group net profit in the April-September first half rose 130.3 percent over a year earlier to 44.14 billion yen on 4.60 trillion in sales, down 1.5 percent.
BUSINESS
Nov 10, 2004

Key money supply gauge up 2.1%

Japan's most closely watched gauge of money supply grew 2.1 percent in October from a year before following a revised 2.0 percent rise in September, the Bank of Japan said Tuesday in a preliminary report.
JAPAN
Nov 10, 2004

Ex-UFJ execs facing arrest over Banking Law violations

Prosecutors were poised to arrest three former executives of UFJ Bank for allegedly obstructing a government inspection by destroying and altering documents in violation of the Banking Law, investigative sources said Tuesday.
CULTURE / Stage
Nov 10, 2004

Shakespeare's lovers seduce audiences

"The most wooden performances ever," wrote one London critic of the latest Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) production. "Superb!"
Japan Times
BUSINESS / INDUSTRY TRENDS
Nov 10, 2004

Battery makers hoping to spark new interest

Dry-cell batteries have always been a relatively low-profile affair, with most consumers paying little attention to which brand they use for their flashlights or remote control devices.
BUSINESS
Nov 10, 2004

'Economy watchers' index off again

Business confidence of workers with jobs sensitive to economic trends worsened in October for the third straight month as typhoons pushed up retail prices, which in turn dampened consumer sentiment, the government said Tuesday.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Nov 10, 2004

Ishii, Otsuka do their best to fill shoes of Japan's biggest stars

The organizers of the Major League Baseball All-Star show currently touring Japan were not able to convince Ichiro Suzuki of the Seattle Mariners or Hideki Matsui of the New York Yankees to play in this year's Nichibei yakyu, but the appearance of Japanese pitchers Kazuhisa Ishii and Akinori Otsuka has...
BUSINESS
Nov 10, 2004

Mazda boosts profit on European sales, cost cuts

Mazda Motor Corp. said Tuesday its net profit soared 68 percent in the fiscal first half from a year earlier thanks to brisk sales in Europe and vigorous cost-reduction efforts.
BUSINESS
Nov 10, 2004

Toshiba sues ex-partner Hynix over patent infringement case

Toshiba Corp. said Tuesday it has filed patent infringement lawsuits against South Korea's Hynix Semiconductor Inc. both in Japan and the United States, claiming it has violated Toshiba's flash memory patents.
JAPAN
Nov 10, 2004

Quake costs JR East at least 2 billion yen

East Japan Railway Co. said Tuesday it lost 2.1 billion yen in revenue in the nine days following the powerful earthquakes that struck Niigata Prefecture on Oct. 23.
COMMENTARY
Nov 10, 2004

Dealing with the nuclear-threat hydra

LONDON -- The U.S. government has named Iran and North Korea as rogue states. Iran is accused of seeking to develop nuclear weapons and breaching the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT). North Korea may already have a few nuclear devices and has announced its withdrawal from the NPT. The two states...
BUSINESS
Nov 10, 2004

Yamato Transport reports 158.8% rise in net profit

Yamato Transport Co. said Tuesday it posted a group net profit of 16.56 billion yen in the first half of fiscal 2004, up 158.8 percent over a year earlier.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / CERAMIC SCENE
Nov 10, 2004

A journey through a landscape of clay

Kyoto ceramic artist Shin Fujihira creates works imbued with a childlike glee and an overflow of intelligent -- rather than intellectual -- energy that it's impossible not to fall in love with. The man, as a favorite singer of mine says, "has sharpened his sense of wonder" to the point of supreme refinement....
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 10, 2004

Suffrage for foreigners gains momentum

After nearly a decade on the back burner, the issue of granting suffrage to foreigners in local-level elections has gained renewed interest due to recent moves by lawmakers.
BUSINESS
Nov 10, 2004

Izuhakone Railway chief bows out over falsified financial statements

Izuhakone Railway Co. President Teruni Serizawa stepped down Tuesday to take the blame for falsified financial statements that had inflated the number of individual shareholders in the firm.
JAPAN
Nov 10, 2004

Koizumi backs U.S.-led offensive against Fallujah insurgents

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Tuesday threw his weight behind the U.S.-led offensive in Iraq against insurgents in Fallujah.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 9, 2004

JT ups warnings on cigarette packs

Japan Tobacco Inc. will start printing larger health warnings on the packages of some of its cigarette brands later this month in preparation for stricter labeling regulations that kick in at the end of June.
SOCCER / J. League
Nov 9, 2004

JFA planning charity game to help quake victims

The Japan Football Association said Monday that J. League first-division side Albirex Niigata and a select group of current and former Japan internationals are set to play a friendly match for earthquake victims in Niigata next month.
JAPAN
Nov 9, 2004

Japan rejects shark conservation pact

The government will reject an international agreement to limit trade in great white sharks that was reached last month at a wildlife conservation conference in Bangkok, government sources said Monday.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Nov 9, 2004

Ichiba accepts offer from Rakuten Eagles

Yasuhiro Ichiba of Meiji University, who accepted money from pro baseball clubs in violation of draft eligibility rules, has accepted an offer by the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles to acquire him in a pre-draft arrangement, Takahiro Beppu, former general manager of the university's baseball team, said...
JAPAN
Nov 9, 2004

Koizumi says troops in Iraq are still in a 'noncombat zone'

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said Monday he still considers the southern Iraqi region around the city of Samawah a "noncombat zone," despite the Iraqi government declaring a state of emergency for most of the nation.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 9, 2004

10 hurt as more earthquakes hit Niigata

A powerful earthquake registering a magnitude of 5.9 struck Niigata Prefecture on Monday, injuring at least 10 people.
JAPAN
Nov 9, 2004

Romania, Japan eye emissions trading deal

Japan is negotiating with Romania on facilitating emissions trading of greenhouse gases under the Kyoto Protocol, which enters into force in February, officials said Monday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 9, 2004

Peru cash crop quest bears fruit

It was more than 20 years ago that Takayuki Suzuki packed his bags and moved to Peru.
JAPAN
Nov 9, 2004

Defense strategists look to China's attack threat

As part of efforts to revamp the national defense strategy, Defense Agency officials have established three scenarios in which China attacks Japan.

Longform

The byzantine process for converting a foreign driver’s license into a Japanese one entails mountains of paperwork and significant stamina — unless you're a lucky license holder from a country or region where these requirements are waived.
Driving in Japan isn’t hard. Getting the license is.