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JAPAN
Oct 31, 2004

NHK union to demand president's resignation over scandals

An NHK union will demand the resignation of President Katsuji Ebisawa to take responsibility for worsened business conditions due to scandals including alleged embezzlement by a former chief producer, members said Saturday.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Oct 31, 2004

Playtime pioneer

On a cloudy morning a couple of weeks ago, 26 noisy 3-year-olds at the Kamimeguro Nursery in Tokyo's Meguro Ward were cheerfully throwing themselves into their exercise class in the hall. One after another, the little boys and girls challenged themselves to leap a vaulting horse, jump a rubber rope,...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Oct 31, 2004

Daylight robbery -- and we accept it

Last February, the Tokyo municipal government adopted a policy to discourage key money reikin and lease renewal fees koshinryo in rental agreements. The policy is long overdue since key money and renewal fees are tenant-gouging practices sanctioned by nothing more than habit.
JAPAN
Oct 30, 2004

Hosoda scrambles to defend Emperor's comment

Emperor Akihito did not violate the Constitution when he said teachers and students should not be forced to sing the national anthem and pay homage to the flag, the top government spokesman said Friday.
BUSINESS
Oct 30, 2004

No change in sight for ultraeasy monetary policy, maintains Fukui

Bank of Japan Gov. Toshihiko Fukui said Friday it is too early for the central bank to reverse its ultraeasy monetary policy, despite its forecast that closely watched consumer prices will edge up slightly in fiscal 2005.
JAPAN
Oct 29, 2004

Emperor does not support compulsory anthem policy

Emperor Akihito said Thursday that he prefers teachers and students not be forced to sing the "Kimigayo" national anthem and pay respect to the Hinomaru national at school ceremonies.
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Oct 28, 2004

Mavs may lose out over Dampier's knees

NEW YORK -- Losing Erick Dampier to the Mavericks might look as if it's minimized the Knicks' odds of accomplishing something meaningful this season and maximized Dallas' chances of winning the West, but there's a little-known overcast medical fact about him that might diminish New Yorkers' depression....
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 28, 2004

Bleak outlook for Myanmar democracy

After days of speculation over the fate of Myanmar Prime Minister Gen. Khin Nyunt, the country's official media announced that he was permitted to retire for health reasons. The reasons given were usual for someone who had been removed from the inner circle.
JAPAN
Oct 27, 2004

Importing abortion drug to be banned

The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry will ban individuals from importing an abortion drug without a doctor's prescription.
JAPAN
Oct 26, 2004

NTT East offers emergency voice mail for quake victims

The automatic response when hearing that a natural disaster has struck is to call loved ones in the area to see if they are all right.
EDITORIALS
Oct 26, 2004

Troubling signs in Myanmar

A shakeup in Yangon has refocused international attention on the reclusive regime in Myanmar. The ousting of Prime Minister Khin Nyunt bodes ill for hopes of democratic reform in the country and will increase tension between Myanmar and ASEAN, and between ASEAN and the West. Concerned governments need...
COMMENTARY
Oct 25, 2004

ODA looks wasted on China

This year Japan marks the 50th anniversary of the official development assistance program it launched after getting out of the postwar economic chaos. The Foreign Ministry's 2004 white paper on ODA boasts that Japan, now one of the world's largest ODA providers, has made major contributions to the economic...
JAPAN
Oct 23, 2004

Democrats, Republicans vie for Japan votes

OSAKA -- With less than two weeks to go until U.S. voters go to the polls to choose between incumbent President George W. Bush and Sen. John Kerry, representatives of the Republican and Democratic parties in Japan are doing their best to round up very vote.
EDITORIALS
Oct 23, 2004

Middling marks for new Cabinet

During the days of all-inclusive Budget Committee debates in both Houses of the Diet this week, opposition parties focused on the issue of "politics and money," particularly on the donation scandal involving the Liberal Democratic Party's largest faction. The debates produced one positive result: The...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 23, 2004

Ministers visit regions bludgeoned by typhoon

Several government inspection teams led by ministers and vice ministers went on a day trip Friday to inspect areas hit hard by powerful Typhoon Tokage.
BUSINESS
Oct 23, 2004

Japan OKs imports of Chinese nori

Japan will allow imports of Chinese nori beginning next fiscal year, Yoshinobu Shimamura, minister of agriculture, forestry and fisheries, said Friday.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Oct 23, 2004

Do you qualify for O-baa-chan Club?

I do believe that I am the youngest member to enter the O-baa-chan Club, an inner circle of old ladies who keep Japan under their thumbs. I'm not exactly sure why or how I gained entry, but apparently the fact that I live in the countryside and have a vegetable garden was enough to convince everyone...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Oct 23, 2004

Winning and losing the compliment game

My, I'm impressed with the way you read. Your eyes just sail across the text like a clipper ship backed by fair winds and bound for a friendly port. Even when you blink, you don't slow down. Even when I type challenging words like "panegyric" or "ibetyourbreathcouldkillahorse," you barely pause on the...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 22, 2004

Cruelest typhoon in 25 years kills 67

Typhoon Tokage left at least 67 people dead, 21 missing and more than 350 injured as it cleared Japan on Thursday morning after wreaking the worst carnage by a typhoon in 25 years.
BUSINESS
Oct 21, 2004

Struggling Daiei expected to appoint managing director as next president

Ailing retail giant Daiei Inc. is likely to name Managing Director Toshio Hasumi as the successor to Kunio Takagi, who will step down as president Friday to take responsibility for the firm's financial problems, informed sources said Wednesday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 21, 2004

Empress seeks help for Princess

Empress Michiko marked her 70th birthday Wednesday by urging palace officials to help her troubled daughter-in-law to recover from a stress-related illness.
JAPAN
Oct 20, 2004

LDP foes of foreign suffrage meet

A group of Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers said Tuesday they will continue efforts to block Diet debate on a bill aimed at giving foreign residents voting rights in local elections, claiming the move to be unconstitutional.
JAPAN
Oct 20, 2004

Takebe, 78 other lawmakers visit Yasukuni for fall festival

Seventy-nine lawmakers, including Liberal Democratic Party Secretary General Tsutomu Takebe, visited Yasukuni Shrine on Tuesday for its annual fall festival.
COMMENTARY
Oct 20, 2004

Help wanted for promoting democrac

MANILA -- A myriad of organizations from North America and Europe operate in various parts of the world with the objective of advancing democratic governance. While their strategies may differ, these "democracy-assistance foundations" hold the common belief that promoting democracy essentially promotes...
JAPAN
Oct 20, 2004

Alleged smugglers held over theft of Harley-Davidson

Seven men have been arrested for stealing a Harley-Davidson motorcycle in Tokyo last week, police said Tuesday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 20, 2004

Daiei: from rags to riches back to rags

Daiei Inc. has grabbed the public's attention in recent months with its dramatic struggle to survive, culminating last week with President Kunio Takagi's resignation after being forced to seek help from the Industrial Revitalization Corp. of Japan.
JAPAN
Oct 18, 2004

Ex-health minister received dubious dental donation

Former lawmaker Yukihiro Yoshida, under indictment in a money scandal involving the Japan Dental Association, allegedly brokered a donation of 3 million yen by the dentists lobby to former health minister Chikara Sakaguchi in November 2002, sources related to the case said Sunday.
Features
Oct 17, 2004

In another language of crime and detection

Qiu Xiaolong, 51, says his first encounter with mystery fiction occurred around age 14 or 15, when he read Sherlock Holmes stories during the Cultural Revolution. "Of course I read the book by stealth at the time," he recalls. Japanese mystery films shown in China years later provided another source...

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