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BUSINESS
Jan 23, 2009

BOJ to spend ¥3 trillion on CP, mull buying bonds

The Bank of Japan said Thursday it will purchase up to ¥3 trillion worth of commercial paper from financial institutions, and investigate ways to implement outright purchases of corporate bonds to facilitate corporate financing.
OLYMPICS
Jan 23, 2009

Roads getting safer

Traffic accidents in Japan claimed 5,155 lives in 2008, down 589 from the previous year and marking the eighth straight year of decline. The number of annual traffic deaths is now about 30 percent of the record set in 1970 when 16,765 people died. This news is most welcome, but police, drivers and pedestrians...
BUSINESS
Jan 23, 2009

Sony warns markets of ¥260 billion loss, opts to shut TV plant

Sony Corp. said Thursday that it expects to report a record ¥260 billion group operating loss for the business year ending March 31 as plummeting global demand and the yen's surge against the dollar wreaked havoc on sales.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 23, 2009

'Kansen Retto'

Disaster movies became big in both Hollywood and Japan in the 1970s — an era of soaring gas prices, volatile exchange rates and a failed Republican presidency. Now, with history repeating itself (in spades), this much-derided genre is booming again.
JAPAN
Jan 22, 2009

Congratulatory Aso requests early meeting

The government congratulated new U.S. President Barack Obama Wednesday and was quick to request an early meeting with him.
JAPAN
Jan 22, 2009

Sasebo holds nuclear leak drill without U.S.

NAGASAKI (Kyodo) The city of Sasebo, Nagasaki Prefecture, conducted its seventh drill to deal with a possible radioactive leak from a U.S. submarine Wednesday, but U.S. forces declined to take part, as in previous drills.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 21, 2009

U.S. chance to make fresh start in the Muslim world

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — President Barack Obama was the world's favored candidate in what was America's first global election. The key question is how the Obama administration will tap this rare good will to re-establish U.S. credibility and repair its reputation. How Obama manages issues in the Muslim world...
BUSINESS
Jan 21, 2009

Toyota names president from founder's family

Toyota Motor Corp. said Tuesday that Executive Vice President Akio Toyoda, a member of the founder's family, will be promoted to president in June to lead Japan's biggest automaker amid the global economic turmoil.
BUSINESS
Jan 21, 2009

Tokyo talks aim to revive oil, gas investment

Energy and trade ministers from Japan, India, Saudi Arabia and 17 other Asian and Middle Eastern nations will gather in Tokyo in April for talks on reviving investment in oil and gas projects after crude prices tumbled.
JAPAN
Jan 20, 2009

Diet gets biggest budget ever

The government on Monday submitted to the Diet an ¥88 trillion budget for fiscal 2009 — the biggest initial budget in history — to stimulate the sagging economy.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jan 20, 2009

'Exam hell' now not so hot

The annual university entrance examination season kicked off Saturday and Sunday as some 540,000 high school students and graduates nationwide took the standardized National Center Test for University Admissions.
JAPAN
Jan 19, 2009

LDP pledges to unite behind Aso

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party held its annual convention Sunday to gear up for the upcoming Lower House general election, vowing to unite under Prime Minister Taro Aso and win one of the toughest battles it has ever faced.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 19, 2009

In vitro fertilization stands test of 30 years

MELBOURNE, Australia — Louise Brown, the first person to be conceived outside a human body, turned 30 last year. The birth of a "test-tube baby," as the headlines described in vitro fertilization, was highly controversial at the time.
Japan Times
JAPAN / WEEK 3
Jan 18, 2009

The Imperials are well connected

The posting of Queen Elizabeth II's Christmas Message on YouTube last year made news around the world. Less well known is the fact that Japan's Imperial family has been offering videos among other entertaining content on their Web site for the last five years. Admittedly, RealVideo, Quicktime and Windows...
JAPAN / History / JAPAN TIMES GONE BY
Jan 18, 2009

Mail to Siberia, acension in Manchoukuo, conserving whales and freeing Toyotas

100 YEARS AGO
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Jan 18, 2009

Karori: A wildlife sanctuary for our times

A new year has begun, signs of change abound, and this column has migrated to a new page. The economic crises of 2008 are still with us and the nightmare of global climate shock is not one that we can awaken from. But among all this there are signs of hope.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WEEK 3
Jan 18, 2009

New Year's videos show the Imperials are well connected

The posting of Queen Elizabeth II's Christmas Message on YouTube last year made news around the world. Less well known is the fact that Japan's Imperial family has been offering videos among other entertaining content on their Web site for the last five years. Admittedly, RealVideo, Quicktime and Windows...
BUSINESS
Jan 17, 2009

Fuji Heavy forecasts first loss in 15 years on recession, strong yen

Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd., the maker of Subaru-brand cars, said Friday it forecasts the first loss in 15 years, as the global recession decimates demand for new cars and a strong yen erodes overseas sales.
COMMENTARY
Jan 16, 2009

Right place for a command of composure

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — Dennis Blair, the man who is to become the new U.S. director of national intelligence, distinguished himself as chief of the U.S. military's Pacific Command, an important fact behind his appointment by President-elect Barack Obama. He will oversee all U.S. intelligence organizations....
JAPAN
Jan 16, 2009

Islands row must be resolved: Russian envoy

Japan and Russia can and must resolve their territorial dispute and forge a peace treaty to ensure bilateral and regional prosperity, the speaker of the Russian Council said Thursday in Tokyo.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jan 16, 2009

Japanese wine: unadulterated and ready to go abroad

The image most people have of Japanese wine is of the ¥500 plonk sitting next to the synthetic beer and sickly sweet chu-hi cocktails on the shelves of their local convenience store; of the cheap and decidedly dismal stuff of lost weekends and discarded personal dignity.
BUSINESS
Jan 16, 2009

Wholesale inflation slows on energy, commodities deflation

Wholesale inflation slowed for a third month as the global recession lowered the cost of oil and commodities, adding to the threat of a return of deflation later this year.
EDITORIALS
Jan 15, 2009

Absurd insistence on handouts

The fiscal 2008 second supplementary budget, which includes a ¥2 trillion cash handout to households, and related bills passed the Lower House Tuesday with majority support of the ruling parties. The supplementary budget includes support for small businesses and regional economies as well. But at a...

Longform

Ichiro Suzuki, one of the most iconic players in NPB and MLB history, was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame with 99.7% of the vote.
With Hall of Fame induction, Ichiro makes himself heard loud and clear