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JAPAN
Jun 22, 2005

Alternate to Yasukuni won't stop future visits

Building a new national memorial for the nation's war dead would not keep prime ministers from visiting Yasukuni Shrine, the government's top spokesman said Tuesday.
COMMUNITY
Jun 21, 2005

Should we hunt whales?

The pro-whaling position anguishes those nations that resent Japan's apparent cruelty.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Jun 21, 2005

Are you for or against whaling?

Yuka Saito Finance, 23 Anti, because I don't think we need whale to eat. I've never eaten whale, but I've heard that it doesn't taste too good. There are lots of other things that we can eat besides whale, I think.
JAPAN
Jun 20, 2005

U.S. data breach may hit NICOS

Private information on some 6,500 customers of credit cards issued in Japan by Nippon Shinpan Co. may have been exposed to fraud in connection with a security breach in the United States involving MasterCard International Inc., company officials said Sunday.
EDITORIALS
Jun 19, 2005

Inevitable need to be ready

Due to the geographic and geological characteristics of the Japanese archipelago, middle- to large-scale natural disasters can strike at any time. While military conflicts or terrorism may be thwarted through human efforts, typhoons and earthquakes are unstoppable, affecting all those residing in this...
BUSINESS
Jun 18, 2005

Mitsubishi, Lucite make resin tieup

Mitsubishi Rayon Co. said Friday it has agreed with Lucite International of Britain to build new factories to produce methyl methacrylate monomers, in the United States and Singapore for mutual supply to meet growing demand.
EDITORIALS
Jun 18, 2005

New era of bank card security

Bank deposit safety in Japan is threatened increasingly by people using forged or stolen cards to make illegal withdrawals. Now, members of the Diet are preparing to introduce a bill that would require all financial institutions -- including commercial banks, post offices and credit unions -- to compensate...
JAPAN
Jun 17, 2005

NPO chief, cohorts held over investment swindle

Police arrested the former head of a Tokyo nonprofit organization Thursday on suspicion of swindling group members through an investment scheme.
JAPAN
Jun 17, 2005

New regulation to help detoxify appliances

A new Environment Ministry regulation to take effect next year may virtually ban the use of lead, mercury and four other harmful substances in large home appliances and personal computers, according to ministry officials.
BUSINESS
Jun 17, 2005

NPA goes online to curb Net crime

The National Police Agency launched a Web site Thursday that will offer automatic answers to questions about Internet-related crimes, including online auction fraud, fraudulent online billing and so-called phishing.
JAPAN
Jun 16, 2005

Ministry explains texts to end 'misunderstandings'

The Foreign Ministry has posted English information on its Web site on Japan's textbook screening process, hoping to clear up "misunderstandings" abroad, a ministry spokesman said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Jun 16, 2005

JAL jet landing at Haneda loses nose gear wheels

The two nose gear wheels on a Japan Airlines Corp. jetliner broke off during landing Wednesday at Tokyo's Haneda airport, the airline said.
BUSINESS / U.S. BUSINESS SCHOOL SYMPOSIUM
Jun 16, 2005

Financial innovations should preserve market discipline and trust

The country's reforms in the financial sector have had mixed results so far, with progress on the domestic front lagging behind Japan's growing contribution to Asian financial stability, according to Charles Calomiris, a Columbia Business School professor.
BUSINESS
Jun 16, 2005

Solution to bank-card crimes eludes legislators

The ruling coalition's bill on bank-card crimes offers a quick and effective solution to what has become society's largest problem in recent years, according to Yoichiro Esaki, head of the Liberal Democratic Party subcommittee dealing with the issue.
Japan Times
Features
Jun 12, 2005

Traders take lead in local initiatives

On a recent showery Tuesday afternoon, about 15 people assembled in a shopping district near Waseda University in Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo. When the rain eased up, they armed themselves with working gloves, waste pickers and plastic bags. Then, together, they set off on their mission to clean up the neighborhood's...
JAPAN
Jun 12, 2005

Man to sue TV Asahi over report he smuggled guns

A Japanese man now serving a 15-month sentence in the United States will seek 5 million yen in damages from TV Asahi for defamation for airing a report that he was illegally selling guns.
COMMENTARY
Jun 11, 2005

Slots, cops, and deception

LAS VEGAS -- The Japanese have been kicking around the idea of building American-style casinos in Japan for four years now. The Parliament Committee on Casinos with 100 Diet members has been gathering information on casinos, and Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara has been a major proponent of the idea. In...
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 11, 2005

Indian growth must co-opt the bypassed

MANILA -- India is a paradox. The successes of a select group of sectors -- from information technology to industr and services -- are creating an urban elite showcased as the builders of a modern and vibrant country on the cusp of joining the major economic powers of the world.
BUSINESS
Jun 11, 2005

New law to make firms report greenhouse gas emissions

The Diet passed a bill Friday to revise the current antiglobal-warming promotion law so that about 8,000 firms will have to report emissions of six greenhouse gases.
EDITORIALS
Jun 10, 2005

The real state of the economy

Japanese corporations, by and large, chalked up their biggest profit gains ever in the financial year ended March 31, breaking previous records for the third straight year. But numbers can be misleading. Earnings statistics indicate economic movements and trends but do not necessarily tell what these...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Jun 9, 2005

Four-lined rat snake

* Japanese name: Shimahebi * Scientific name: Elaphe quadrivirgata * Description: Unfortunately, despite the name, this snake does not always have four lines running down its length. Often it has black lines running down a light-brown body (as in the photo), or sometimes lighter, dashed lines that...
EDITORIALS
Jun 9, 2005

Life support for the pension system

There is widespread concern among Japanese that the nation's pension system is in disarray. The biggest issue is the decline in the rate of premium payers. In fiscal 2003, as many as 36.6 percent of the people registered in the kokumin nenkin (people's pension) system, a plan intended mainly for self-employed...
JAPAN
Jun 8, 2005

IC 'gaijin' card shares personal info

All foreigners staying in Japan for more than 90 days may have to carry identification cards equipped with integrated circuit chips, members of the Liberal Democratic Party said Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Jun 8, 2005

Oki Data hopes tieup lifts China sales

Oki Data Corp. said Tuesday it has tied up with a Chinese firm in a bid to expand its sales of light-emitting diode color printers in China.
JAPAN
Jun 8, 2005

Controversial Tokyo vice governor to quit

The Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly on Tuesday endorsed the resignation of Vice Gov. Takeo Hamauzu, under fire from assembly members for controlling metropolitan government operations.
JAPAN
Jun 7, 2005

Quarterly capital spending up 7.4% to four-year high

Capital spending by companies grew 7.4 percent in the January-March quarter from a year earlier to 13.697 trillion yen, the highest level in nearly four years, the Finance Ministry said Monday.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jun 7, 2005

Have you heard the one about . . ?

'And then, when he saw the other side of the car, where his date had been sitting not 15 minutes earlier, on the door handle, hung . . . a bloody . . . HOOK!"

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