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BUSINESS
May 9, 2009

Toyota expects ¥850 billion loss

Toyota Motor Corp. said Friday it expects a ¥850 billion group operating loss and a ¥550 billion net loss for the year ending next March — its biggest losses ever and its second straight year of red ink — as the global economy shrinks and the yen muscles up against other currencies.
BUSINESS
May 9, 2009

Geithner bets U.S. banks can avert 'lost decade'

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is betting that U.S. banks can do something their Japanese counterparts were unable to accomplish in Japan's "lost decade" of the 1990s: earn their way out of trouble.
BUSINESS
May 8, 2009

Hitachi hikes loss forecast by ¥88 billion

Hitachi Ltd. said Thursday it expects a record group net loss of ¥788 billion for the business year that ended in March, worse than its previous forecast of ¥700 billion.
BUSINESS
May 8, 2009

Nissan, Penske said eyeing Saturn venture

Nissan Motor Co. may join a venture with U.S. retailer Penske Automotive Group Inc. and General Motors Corp.'s Saturn car brand, two sources said.
SOCCER / J. League
May 6, 2009

Escudero lifts Reds to hard-earned victory over Reysol

Urawa Reds dug deep to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat and jumped back to the top of the J. League with a 3-2 win over Kashiwa Reysol on Tuesday.
EDITORIALS
May 5, 2009

Tuberculosis remains a threat

Tuberculosis (TB) was once dreaded in Japan, with fatalities reaching a peak of 171,474 in 1943. Recent news about new TB cases, including a midwife in Takatsuki, Osaka Prefecture, and Ms. Haruka Minowa of the popular female comic duo Harisenbon, has reminded people and medical professionals that TB...
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
May 5, 2009

Go with the flow at classic 'sento'

Not simply as a means to get clean, "sento," or public baths, have traditionally been places where communication flowed. Bathing and chatting together with one's friends and neighbors in the buff exemplifies the off-guardedness of the most informal relationships.
COMMENTARY
May 5, 2009

Cannes set to sparkle in a depressing year

The Cannes Film Festival will unreel May 13, although the global recession has damped business at the picturesque French seaside resort renowned for its rich playboys and beautiful women.
COMMUNITY / Issues / JUST BE CAUSE
May 5, 2009

Fujimori gets his; Japan left shamed

News item: Alberto Fujimori, former president of Peru, was sentenced last month to 25 years in prison by a Peruvian court for connections to death squads.
JAPAN
May 4, 2009

Experts say Japan can handle flu

While Japan has yet to see a confirmed case of swine flu, experts believe it won't be long before someone will be infected.
JAPAN
May 4, 2009

Woman's body found after sons stabbed

NAGOYA (Kyodo) Police found the body of a 57-year-old woman Sunday at her home in Kanie, Aichi Prefecture, after her two sons were stabbed the previous day, police said.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
May 3, 2009

SMAP star Kusanagi causes naked rage among media

Between the time the media first heard the news that SMAP member Tsuyoshi Kusanagi had been arrested for public indecency and his press conference the next day, there was a frisson of titillating anticipation over what the scandal might reveal and how Kusanagi would emerge from it. Even now, speculation...
COMMENTARY / World
May 3, 2009

Peaceful nuclear hazards are bad enough

LUCKNOW, India — In the early hours of April 26, 1986, the world experienced one of its worst nuclear disasters. Reactor No. 4 of Chernobyl power station, near Pripyat in Ukraine, exploded. Two explosions blew the dome-shaped roof off the reactor, causing its contents to erupt out.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 2, 2009

Ueno looks to shoebills as saviors

Shoebills, native to Africa, were first brought to Tokyo's Ueno Zoo in 2002. Although they resemble Big Bird of "Sesame Street" fame, with their exaggerated beaks and chopstick legs, their eyes are anything but friendly.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
May 2, 2009

Creating a catalyst for self-reflection

"One of the hardest missions for people is to face themselves in the mirror, to criticize themselves, to ask themselves really basic questions," says ex-Israeli soldier Avichay Sharon. "No one wants to touch sensitive nerves, no one wants to go underneath, scratch underneath within himself." Sharon is...
BUSINESS
May 2, 2009

March jobless rate hit four-year high

The nationwide jobless rate jumped to its highest in more than four years in March while household spending continued to slide, underscoring the ongoing pain being inflicted on the world's second-biggest economy. Prices also fell, fueling deflation worries.
BUSINESS
May 2, 2009

Chrysler Chapter 11 threatens Nissan vehicle supply deal

Nissan Motor Co. will review its vehicle supply agreement with Chrysler LLC following the U.S. company's bankruptcy filing.
JAPAN
May 2, 2009

Power struggle rages in North over Kim's heir

As succession speculation abounds amid reports of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il's deteriorating health, a recently obtained confidential report has shed new light on a power struggle taking place in the reclusive state.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
May 1, 2009

Expect a heavenly performance

T he Vienna Boys' Choir, dubbed as having "the voices of angels," is set to bring its pitch-perfect sound to Japan between now and mid-June.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / NPB NOTEBOOK
May 1, 2009

Valentine optimistic as pitchers find form

Chiba Lotte Marines pitcher Hiroyuki Kobayashi didn't come out of Tuesday's game against the Orix Buffaloes with a win, but he should've gained a lot of confidence.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 1, 2009

So what then was 1968 all about?

For over a decade, artist-in- residence programs have been held by myriad organizations throughout Japan, all with roughly the same objective: to provide a unique and mutually enlightening experience for the both visiting artist and host. One of the latest residencies held at Tokyo Wonder Site might...

Longform

Bear attacks have dominated Japanese news headlines in recent months, with 13 people so far having been killed by the animals.
Japan’s bears have been on their killing spree for more than 100 years