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JAPAN
Jan 29, 2004

Court slaps 10.7 billion yen tax bill on publisher

Publisher Obunsha Holding Co. should pay 10.7 billion yen in taxes for profits it made in 1995 by selling TV Asahi shares through a Dutch subsidiary, the Tokyo High Court ruled Wednesday, overturning a lower court nullification of the levy.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 28, 2004

Good win in the gambling genre

The Good Thief Rating: * * * 1/2 (out of 5) Director: Neil Jordan Running time: 104 minutes Language: English Opens Jan. 31 [See Japan Times movie listings] Gambler flicks can be a pretty predictable lot, and it's all too easy to adhere to formula and end up with an entirely forgettable...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 28, 2004

A lesson on how to waste one's life

Pinero Rating: * * (out of 5) Director: Leon Ichaso Running time: 103 minutes Language: English Opens Jan. 31 [See Japan Times movie listings] One pitfall of artist biopics is the genre's tendency to select those artists whose lives were of the wrecked and splashy variety. It's extremely...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 28, 2004

On a not-so-sentimental journey to 1947

Born in Osaka in 1958, Junji Sakamoto has set many of his 13 feature films, including his award-winning 1989 debut "Dotsuitarunen," in his native Kansai. He arrived for our interview at the Takanawa Prince Hotel looking dapper in a retro-style suit that he later told me had been worn by an actor friend...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 28, 2004

Child abuse breeds excuses, finger-pointing

School officials only reported the "possibility of abuse" and failed to take further action, the local child consultation center did not take the alert seriously and believed the case was one of truancy, while neighbors tuned out what they suspected was happening.
JAPAN
Jan 28, 2004

Kyodo moves reporters over terror threat in Iraq

The government has obtained information that lodgings used by Japanese wire agency Kyodo News in the southern Iraqi city of Samawah could be targeted by terrorists or insurgents, sources said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Jan 28, 2004

Man paralyzed by cop wins redress

The Tokyo District Court ordered the Tokyo Metropolitan Government on Tuesday to pay 6.3 million yen in damages to a Chinese man who was wrongfully shot by a police officer in January 2002 and partially paralyzed.
EDITORIALS
Jan 28, 2004

Come clean on Iraq

Recent admissions by top U.S. officials that Iraq might not have had weapons of mass destruction, or WMD, demand an explanation. Questions must be answered and the damage done to both U.N. and U.S. credibility must be repaired.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 28, 2004

Koga to quit DPJ over false claims

Democratic Party of Japan lawmaker Junichiro Koga told party executives Tuesday he will leave the party but vowed not to resign his Diet seat for making false claims about his academic background.
BUSINESS
Jan 28, 2004

10 million yen limit on postal savings to be enforced

The government plans to take the unprecedented step of forcing depositors to observe the 10 million yen legal limit on postal savings, government sources said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Jan 28, 2004

Experts say act now, stop Pyongyang

Japan, South Korea and the U.S. should swiftly map out a game plan aimed at freezing North Korea's nuclear activities, a senior researcher at a British military think tank said Tuesday in Tokyo.
JAPAN
Jan 28, 2004

Koga latest addition to politicians with bogus backgrounds

House of Representatives member Junichiro Koga acknowledged Tuesday that the academic record he presented when he announced his candidacy in November's general election was false.
JAPAN
Jan 28, 2004

Plan for privately funded prison unveiled

The Justice Ministry unveiled plans Tuesday for the country's first prison built and operated in large part with private-sector funds and expertise.
BUSINESS
Jan 28, 2004

ATM glitch solved, NTT Data says

NTT Data Corp., the developer of the nationwide online automated teller machine network that malfunctioned Monday, said the system has resumed normal operations.
JAPAN
Jan 28, 2004

Two Tokyo teens held for dealing Ecstasy

Police said Tuesday they have arrested two teenage boys for allegedly selling Ecstasy to a female high school student in Tokyo.
JAPAN
Jan 28, 2004

Japan criticized over detainees' deportations

Amnesty International criticized Japan on Tuesday for violating international standards by forcefully deporting detained foreigners against their will, including some undergoing medical treatment or preparing to appeal their refugee status.
BUSINESS
Jan 28, 2004

Mos Food to suspend sales of U.S. beef

Fast-food chain operator Mos Food Services Inc. said Tuesday it will suspend sales of burgers made with U.S. beef after each shop's current inventory runs out, possibly beginning in February.
BUSINESS
Jan 28, 2004

FSA to launch probe into major bank loans

The Financial Services Agency will conduct special inspections of major banks to assess their loans to big borrowers, Financial Services Minister Heizo Takenaka said Tuesday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / NEW ART SEEN
Jan 28, 2004

A love/hate relationship set in concrete

In the classic 1971 British action film "Get Carter," Michael Caine plays a small-time criminal who avenges the death of his brother by tossing one of the gangsters responsible (played by Brian Mosely) off the top of a multistory car park in the gritty northeast England town of Gateshead. From what I...
BUSINESS
Jan 28, 2004

U.S. recruiting firm to enter Japan

Fuji Staff Inc., a midsize manpower agency, said Tuesday it has agreed on a business tieup with Management Recruiters International Inc. of the U.S.
JAPAN
Jan 28, 2004

Families of slain diplomats to receive special pensions

The government will provide special pensions to the families of the two diplomats assassinated in Iraq in November while en route to a conference on reconstruction work, according to government sources.
JAPAN
Jan 28, 2004

Net denizens debate conflict prevention

An ongoing nine-day online symposium on conflict prevention has generated a number of Internet-based discussions among participants from more than 35 countries.
BUSINESS
Jan 28, 2004

Regional economies earn second straight upgrade

The Finance Ministry on Tuesday upgraded its quarterly assessment of the nation's regional economies for the second time in a row.
JAPAN
Jan 28, 2004

Arthritis drug tied to five deaths

Five patients who used Aventis Pharma Ltd.'s Arava rheumatoid arthritis drug have died of pneumonia over the past four months since the drug was launched in Japan, the pharmaceutical company said Tuesday.
CULTURE / Music
Jan 28, 2004

A new home for TSO

The Tokyo Symphony Orchestra is moving to a new home -- in Kawasaki. On Jan. 20, the government of Kawasaki City, which is adjacent to Tokyo across the Tama River, unveiled a new symphony hall designed by Matsuda-Hirata Design Office. The hall will not only serve as the orchestra's base, but also stage...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jan 28, 2004

Nothing lost in Johnnys R+J translation

Since Shakespeare got through the notoriously long wait for foreigners at Japanese immigration and started to settle down and assimilate the local culture, what sort of changes have been wrought on him by his extended sojourn on these shores?

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past