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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...
JAPAN
Jan 15, 2009

46 Hanshin quake survivors died solitary deaths in public housing in 2008

KOBE (Kyodo) Forty-six survivors of the 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake died alone last year in the public housing complexes set up after the disaster in Hyogo Prefecture, data compiled by Kyodo News showed Wednesday.
JAPAN
Jan 14, 2009

Watanabe resigns from LDP, cites rejected reform proposals

Making good on his threats, former administrative reform minister Yoshimi Watanabe resigned Tuesday from the Liberal Democratic Party.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jan 13, 2009

Graduate job search in full swing, despite recession

Each year, the cherry blossoms of April are accompanied by the nervous march of over 400,000 fresh-faced graduates on their way to their new jobs.
BASKETBALL
Jan 12, 2009

Parker, Kawazura combine to lead Fukuoka to OT victory over Shiga

Michael Parker handled the heavy-duty offensive workload, scoring 44 points, and teammate Tsuyoshi Kawazura reminded us that quality is just as important as quantity in sports.
Japan Times
LIFE
Jan 11, 2009

Asia University for Women: magic in the making

Perhaps it is only fitting in this time of dismal economic news that Bangladesh, a country known principally for natural disasters and human misery, provides an inspiring and uplifting story to relieve the gathering gloom.
BUSINESS
Jan 10, 2009

Foreign investors may receive exemption from capital gains tax

Japan may scrap a 40 percent capital gains tax for most foreign investors, a move the government expects could spur Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds and private equity firms such as Carlyle Group to pump ¥10 trillion into its sagging markets.
EDITORIALS
Jan 9, 2009

Emperor's spirit of peace

Twenty years ago on Jan. 7, 1989, the Emperor ascended to the Chrysanthemum Throne immediately after the death of his father, the Emperor Showa. This year, the 20th anniversary of the Emperor's enthronement will be followed on April 10 by the 50th anniversary of his marriage with the Empress. We pray...
JAPAN
Jan 9, 2009

Somali kidnappers release Japan doctor, Dutch nurse

Somali kidnappers have freed a Japanese doctor and a Dutch nurse after holding them in captivity for more than three months, the Foreign Ministry said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Jan 9, 2009

Toyota cut output and now takes aim at pay

Toyota Motor Corp. said Thursday it is negotiating with its workers in Japan to slash salaries as it stops production to adjust to slumping global demand.
JAPAN
Jan 8, 2009

Osaka school mobile ban resonates

OSAKA — Each morning, Hisako Kuroda sends her sons, Kenichi, 11, and Jun, 8, off to elementary school in Osaka. The kids depart with their textbooks and homework. But one item they are not carrying is a cell phone.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 7, 2009

Managing fads, frenzies and finance markets

BARCELONA — The financial crisis, credit crunch and ensuing economic downturn have severely damaged the credibility of financial markets, institutions and traders. More and more people are claiming that markets are characterized by irrationality, bubbles, fads and frenzies, and that economic actors...
BUSINESS
Jan 7, 2009

Work-sharing could protect jobs: Mitarai

Big business needs to take every measure possible to improve the rapidly deteriorating employment conditions, and work-sharing is an option that should be considered, Japan Business Federation (Nippon Keidanren) Chairman Fujio Mitarai said Tuesday.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jan 6, 2009

Lessons from when the bubble burst

With the current global financial crisis, there is much talk in the international economic communities about how to prevent the kind of prolonged slump that hit Japan after the end of the bubble economy years.
COMMENTARY
Jan 6, 2009

Prophet of world-culture clashes is dead

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — A giant died early last week. His name was Samuel Huntington, a Harvard professor whose gigantism was intellectual. His ideas left huge footprints on our intellectual landscape, the way giant storms impact the Earth. Minds were shaken, sometimes stirred, and never left untouched....

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