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JAPAN
Dec 12, 2003

Duskin exec handed suspended term

A former Duskin Co. executive was handed a suspended two-year prison term Thursday for misappropriating about 180 million yen of the Osaka-based major cleaning equipment rental firm.
JAPAN
Dec 12, 2003

EU again calls for end to press clubs

The war of words over Japan's press club system continued Thursday, with the European Union delegation here defending the EU's wish to see the system abolished.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Dec 12, 2003

Everton's 'Roonaldo' having growing pains

LONDON -- From having the world at his feet Wayne Rooney is now the recipient of boots up the backside as the Everton striker attempts to fulfill the potential he showed last season.
JAPAN
Dec 12, 2003

Rules of engagement set for GSDF

The Defense Agency has compiled limited attack-response rules of engagement for Iraq-bound personnel of the Ground Self Defense Force, who have no combat experience.
BUSINESS
Dec 12, 2003

Mobile phone shipments rise 30%

Domestic shipments of mobile phones, including personal handy-phone system equipment, grew 30.2 percent in October from a year earlier to 4.11 million units, up for the 12th consecutive month.
BUSINESS
Dec 12, 2003

Skymark enters black-ink territory

Skymark Airlines Co. said Thursday it will probably report a net profit of 470 million yen for the second half of the business year that ended Oct. 31, marking a first-ever profit since it started operating in 1996.
BASEBALL / MLB
Dec 12, 2003

Giants trade Iriki for the Fighters' Ide

The Yomiuri Giants of the Central League sent right-hander Yusaku Iriki to the Nippon Ham Fighters of the Pacific League for outfielder Tatsuya Ide on a one-for-one trade deal, officials of the two clubs said Thursday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 12, 2003

Climber's next ascent: the Upper House

Ken Noguchi, who in 1999 became the world's youngest person to conquer the highest peaks on seven continents, is contemplating running in the next House of Councilors election on the Liberal Democratic Party ticket, according to party lawmakers.
BUSINESS
Dec 12, 2003

Local governments to get 420 billion yen tax windfall

The central government will empower local governments to collect 420 billion yen in taxes in fiscal 2004 to help cover a 1 trillion yen cut in subsidies that will be implemented the same year.
JAPAN
Dec 12, 2003

Japan, ASEAN leaders agree to boost ties

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and the leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations agreed Thursday to expand security, political and economic ties.
BUSINESS
Dec 12, 2003

Households spend less on home tutors, piano lessons

Japanese households cut spending on home tutors and enrichment lessons for children in fiscal 2002 while spending more on cram schools.
JAPAN
Dec 12, 2003

Japan plays it cool over Taiwan flap

Japan stood on the sidelines Thursday over U.S. President George W. Bush's blunt statement opposing Taiwan's move to hold a referendum critical of China's military threat.
JAPAN
Dec 12, 2003

Japan, ASEAN trio plan FTA talks but hurdles seen

Japan formally agreed Thursday to enter government-level negotiations on bilateral free-trade agreements with Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines, raising its tally of ongoing FTA talks to five.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Dec 12, 2003

'Land of Fire' with history burning in its mokkosu heart

Few things puff up local pride like a local hero. Sendai dotes on its "One-Eyed Dragon," warrior Date Masamune. Kagoshima loves its plump 19th-century rebel Saigo Takamori. And Kumamoto adores its old daimyo lord Kato Kiyomasa.
BUSINESS
Dec 12, 2003

Yield cuts expected to incite most policyholders

A recent poll found that more than 50 percent of insurance policyholders are likely to cancel their contracts, change the terms or complain at meetings if insurers cut their promised yields.
BUSINESS
Dec 12, 2003

Regional bank bailout plan gets LDP nod

The Liberal Democratic Party approved a plan Thursday that will give the government greater freedom to inject public funds into troubled regional banks and credit unions.
JAPAN
Dec 12, 2003

Sex offenders facing harsher punishment

Justice Ministry is eyeing a drastic Penal Code amendment that would see rapists and other sex offenders punished more severely, ministry officials said Thursday.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 12, 2003

Diplomats died trying to make a difference

WASHINGTON -- I learned of Katsuhiko Oku's death last week; a caller from Baghdad told me that "Katsu" had been shot on a highway together with his younger colleague, fellow Japanese diplomat Masamori Inoue.
JAPAN
Dec 12, 2003

Rape allegation heaps misery on SDP

The Social Democratic Party found itself in further turmoil Thursday as a former state-paid secretary to party lawmaker Tomoko Abe was accused of raping a woman on several occasions last year.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Dec 12, 2003

The Oak Door: Steak a claim to heavyweight dining

The first thing you see as you enter The Oak Door is the bar, surrounded on three sides by sleek, glass-fronted wine racks packed with boutique New World wines. The second thing that grabs your eye is the warm, flickering glow emanating from the bank of wood-fired ovens by the kitchen, and the white-clad...
JAPAN
Dec 11, 2003

Paramedics' use of defibrillators up

A legal revision allowing speedier defibrillation use has resulted in a 3.36 percentage point rise in the procedure, the outline of an annual Fire and Disaster Management Agency report showed Wednesday.
JAPAN
Dec 11, 2003

Yakuza connected to embezzlement of Minami stock

Police on Wednesday raided yakuza offices in Tokyo and Fukuoka to look for evidence that more than half of some 2.8 billion yen worth of client stocks embezzled by the former president of the now defunct Minami Securities Co. had been transferred to the underworld.

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