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BUSINESS
May 25, 2006

Sompo Japan president to resign amid scandals

Sompo Japan Insurance Inc. President Hiroshi Hirano announced Wednesday that he will become chairman in late June after being replaced by Managing Director Masatoshi Sato as the company deals with scandals that have drawn sanctions from the government.
SUMO
May 24, 2006

F2 is born -- you read it here first!

F2! F2! F2! Rather a strange way to start an article on the recently completed Natsu Basho but as the dust continues to settle and as sumo fans around the world slowly adjust to life after the tournament, I for one believe the man with the Emperor's Cup now sat proudly on his sideboard is increasingly...
COMMENTARY / World
May 23, 2006

Guard against obsolescence

NEW HAVEN, Connecticut -- As a college professor, I hear a lot of career concerns. As my students prepare to enter working lives that will last 50 years or more, practically all of them try to be futurists in choosing the skills in which to invest. If they pick an occupation that declines in the next...
COMMENTARY / World
May 22, 2006

The great ape debate unfolds in Europe

PRINCETON, New Jersey -- In his "History of European Morals," published in 1869, the Irish historian and philosopher W.E.H. Lecky wrote:
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
May 21, 2006

Henry says money not reason he chose to stay with Gunners

LONDON -- According to Thierry Henry, he had not thought about signing a new contract with Arsenal before last Wednesday's Champions League final defeat by Barcelona. The match over, Henry said he would start to think about his future.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
May 21, 2006

Will Japan's 'positive influence' persist as it didn't before?

Well, the news is out, and it's good news.
Japan Times
LIFE / WEEK 3
May 21, 2006

Hopes and fears fuel soccer fans' far-flung parties

Walking up Gaien-Higashi Dori, the road that begins at Tokyo Tower and cuts through the Roppongi entertainment district, at 7 in the morning last Saturday there was more than the usual bags of garbage being torn at by crows, bleary-eyed hosts and hostesses knocking off work, or resting ticket touts and...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
May 20, 2006

How sweet it is -- or isn't

My wife bakes in flurries and when the storm hits hardest, our kitchen becomes a virtual hurricane of flour and dough, not to mention Category 5 aromas.
COMMENTARY
May 19, 2006

Pride in a Yankee apology

LOS ANGELES -- In the sports-happy, internationally oblivious country of the United States, probably more people know who Hideki Matsui is than who Junichiro Koizumi is.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 18, 2006

"Wide Eyed Theatre: Shita No Shita"

La Deco, Shibuya Fridays (8 p.m.), Saturdays (3 and 8 p.m.) and Sundays (3 p.m.) till May 28
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
May 17, 2006

Barcelona-Arsenal final puts two great stars on a grand stage

PARIS -- There are signs around the Nou Camp reminding everyone that Barcelona is "more than a club." There should also be signs in Catalonia to say that Ronaldinho is "more than a player."
EDITORIALS
May 16, 2006

HIV toll rising in Japan

In the 23 years since the HIV virus was discovered, AIDS has become recognized as a "disease of the poor," one that is "incurable" but "100 percent preventable," in the words of its co-discoverer, Professor Luc Montagnier, president of the World Foundation for AIDS Research and Prevention. While over...
LIFE / Language
May 16, 2006

Baseball scoreless in language bout with sumo

When describing efforts by foreigners to gain a foothold in Japan, author/commentator and former president of ASI Market Research (Japan), Inc., George Fields, liked to apply the analogy of pro baseball players and sumo wrestlers. The former, for reasons we shall see, were held up as outsiders who forever...
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
May 16, 2006

Second-class citizens

Rogelio Buscio's shoes were missing. It was the evening of July 27, 2005, and 30-year old Filipino Bucio was getting ready to leave the dormitory he shared with other Sanjo Metal Company Ltd. trainees to start his evening shift. He looked everywhere, asked everyone. Nobody was giving up the shoes.
EDITORIALS
May 15, 2006

Apolitical support to Africa

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi recently visited Ethiopia and Ghana to underscore Japan's continuing efforts to help Africa fight AIDS and other diseases, eliminate poverty and solve conflicts. His visit to sub-Saharan Africa was the first by a Japanese leader since Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori went...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
May 14, 2006

The interleague season: Japanese baseball's 'wild card'

Japan pro baseball does not have a "wild card" team that gets into postseason playoffs as do the American and National Leagues, but the koryu-sen (interleague) period that got under way May 9 may be considered the Japanese version of a wild card in the sense that anything can happen.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
May 14, 2006

Fuji TV's "Attention Please," Nihon TV's "Kin no A-sama X Gin no B-sama" and more

In the 1960s the most coveted job for women in Japan was that of a Japan Airlines flight attendant, which was considered both prestigious and a sure way of meeting rich and famous marriage prospects. Though more and more prestigious occupations have opened up for Japanese women since then, a certain...
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
May 13, 2006

Success stories cap memorable season for Premier League

LONDON -- After a couple of disappointing high-profile matches, those who rarely attend football games but love to put the boot into the national sport were almost at grievous bodily harm level with their attacks.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
May 13, 2006

Shin Maeda

In 1937 Spanish artist Pablo Picasso immortalized Guernica, symbol of the Basque nation, which suffered ruthless bombing during the Spanish civil war. For the Spanish pavilion in the Paris Exposition, Picasso produced a large black-and-white mural that protested the destruction of Guernica. It was said...
EDITORIALS
May 12, 2006

Messy energy politics

Two decades ago, Europe and the Soviet Union first pondered a long-term energy-based relationship, one in which the Soviets would use their considerable energy reserves to fuel European economies. The prospect of European reliance on Soviet supplies triggered concern in the United States and some European...
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
May 12, 2006

Designing for life

Asia's biggest art event, Design Festa, returns for its spring installment to Tokyo Big Sight on May 20-21 when it hopes to attract 60,000 people to its 2,600 booths. Approximately 6,000 exhibitors from around the world will be participating in Design Festa Vol. 23, showing off everything from flower...
EDITORIALS
May 11, 2006

Conspiring on a weak bill

The ruling and opposition parties are waging a battle in the Lower House's Judicial Affairs Committee over a bill that would introduce the "crime of conspiracy." The crux of the proposal is that one would be punished for joining others to plan a crime even if the crime was not actually carried out or...
JAPAN
May 11, 2006

Transsexuals gain freedoms but still face barriers

To most people, Takafumi Fujio -- with cropped hair, thick arms and deep voice -- is a typical, middle-aged salaryman. But until four years ago, when the food company worker started on a range of hormonal treatments, he was a woman, a housewife and mother of two.
COMMENTARY / World
May 11, 2006

A power to resist the currents of history

One cold morning in December 1941, I was running through the frozen streets of Tokyo during the predawn hours, delivering newspapers. I saw this as my way to contribute to the family finances. I was 13 at the time, my father was bedridden with rheumatism, and my four elder brothers had been sent off...
JAPAN
May 11, 2006

Horie to plead not guilty, lawyers say

Former Livedoor Co. President Takafumi Horie will plead not guilty to securities law violations, his lawyers told the Tokyo District Court during pretrial proceedings Wednesday.
COMMENTARY / World
May 11, 2006

While Hamas is snubbed, kids starve

NEW YORK -- The decision by the United States, the European Union and Canada to cut financial assistance to Hamas, the winner of the recent Palestinian elections, not only disrespects the results of a clean and democratic electoral process; more ominously, it will further harm Palestinian children, already...
BUSINESS
May 10, 2006

Matchmakers to get official image boost in bid to curb falling birthrate

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry wants to improve the image of matchmaking firms in an effort to promote marriage and reverse the declining birthrate, according to ministry officials.
JAPAN
May 9, 2006

Obituary: Banri Namikawa

Banri Namikawa, a photographer who documented the diverse cultures along the Silk Road and other cultural heritage sites, died Sunday of lung cancer at a hospital in Kanagawa Prefecture, his family said. He was 74.

Longform

After pandemic-era border regulations eased, Indian migrants began returning to Japan. Their population now stands at more than 50,000 across the country.
How remote work is rewriting the migrant experience in Japan