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JAPAN
Sep 30, 2008

Gagloev says he threw sumo bouts

Former sumo wrestler Soslan Aleksandrovich Gagloev, who was fired by the Japan Sumo Association for possessing marijuana in August, said he was forced to take bribes to throw matches during competition.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 30, 2008

Foreign automakers race to set up in Thailand

AYUTTHAYA, Thailand — Empty of machinery, the new high-ceilinged, white-walled Honda assembly plant here is cavernous. By late October, though, the building will be humming with life when production begins. It's all part of the carmaker's plan for Thailand to play a bigger role in its global strategy....
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Sep 30, 2008

Is Hayao Miyazaki Japan's greatest film director?

How great is Hayao Miyazaki? Domestically, three of his movies are among the top five money-earners: His "Spirited Away" from 2001 outstrips even "Titanic" and "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone." Globally, his movies are the darlings of international film festivals. "Spirited Away" took the Golden...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 30, 2008

Kaneko vows no controversy

Newly appointed transport minister Kazuyoshi Kaneko stressed Monday he isn't like his predecessor, Nariaki Nakayama, who was forced to resign following a series of gaffes.
EDITORIALS
Sep 28, 2008

Knowing your 'carbon footprint'

Just when you thought every marketing ploy possible had been used to lure Japanese consumers, Sapporo Breweries is leading the way with a new one — carbon footprint information. Cans of Sapporo's Black Label beer will provide information on the amount of CO2 emitted in producing each can. Many people...
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Sep 28, 2008

Ups and downs on Japan's property ladder

Foreigners and the Japanese property market — the two sound like unlikely bedfellows, but in recent years their "liaisons" have been the focus of much media attention — and not all of it positive.
BASKETBALL / HOOP SCOOP
Sep 28, 2008

Fanfare greets Tabuse in return

UTSUNOMIYA, Tochigi Pref. — For 40 minutes of action, all eyes focused on him. Pride, curiosity and excitement characterized the occasion.
BUSINESS
Sep 27, 2008

Inflation stays at 2.4% for a second month

Consumer price inflation exceeded 2 percent for a second month as companies passed on costs of food and other daily necessities.
BUSINESS
Sep 26, 2008

Economists split over Nakagawa's dual financial duties

Prime Minister Taro Aso's appointment of Shoichi Nakagawa to head both the Finance Ministry and the Financial Services Agency drew mixed reactions Thursday as economists wondered whether the move will help Japan cope with global turmoil or compromise the FSA's regulatory role.
JAPAN
Sep 26, 2008

Koizumi to exit political stage

Former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, one of the most popular and influential politicians in the nation, expressed his intention Thursday to retire from politics once his current term in the Lower House ends.
JAPAN
Sep 25, 2008

Aso gets quick start, names new Cabinet

Hawkish Liberal Democratic Party President Taro Aso was elected prime minister Wednesday and immediately formed his new Cabinet.
JAPAN
Sep 25, 2008

Young mom the star of Aso's old-boy team

Prime Minister Taro Aso probably found it hard not to include Yuko Obuchi in his Cabinet lineup. Not only does the popular female representative bring youth to the group, she inherits a solid constituency from her late father, former Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi, who died after suffering a stroke at the...
JAPAN
Sep 25, 2008

Aso team likened to school classroom

Prime Minister Taro Aso's Cabinet lineup may look a bit subdued, but there's good reason for that: He deliberately picked low-profile politicians instead of factional bigwigs so he can lead them around like a "school teacher," experts said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Sep 25, 2008

Nakasone, Hamada face tough issues right away

Prime Minister Taro Aso filled the key foreign and defense portfolios with hereditary Diet members, perhaps in the hope their prominent family names will serve the Liberal Democratic Party well in the looming Lower House election.
JAPAN
Sep 23, 2008

Aso elected LDP leader in landslide

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party chose Taro Aso as its 23rd president Monday, hoping to regain public popularity and win the next general election.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 23, 2008

Passing supplementary budget may take priority over snap election

Newly elected Liberal Democratic Party President Taro Aso vowed Monday to do his utmost to solve problems that range from revitalizing the economy to improving the health care system.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Sep 23, 2008

Anything, any time, anywhere

Unlike most other countries, Japan is dotted with thousands of vending machines that allow consumers to buy a wide range of products at any time of the day or night, eliminating the need for inconvenient trips to the store.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 22, 2008

Time for 'people power' in the Caucasus

PRAGUE — For the past month, women in Georgia who were displaced from Abkhazia during the 1993 conflict have witnessed history moving backward; everything they lived through 15 years ago is repeating itself. These women are now hosting a new flood of displaced civilians from Abkhazia and South Ossetia...
SOCCER
Sep 22, 2008

Arsenal goes top as Reds stumble

LONDON (AP) Arsenal beat Bolton 3-1 to jump to the top of the Premier League on Saturday after Liverpool was held 0-0 at home by Stoke.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 21, 2008

Koike's campaign stands for change, not just top job

Even as a long shot candidate for prime minister, Yuriko Koike is making waves in Japan, where women in high places remain rare.
MORE SPORTS / ICE TIME
Sep 21, 2008

Mao aims to defend world title; Oda returns

The 2007-08 skating season got off to a figurative early start with the holding of the NHK Trophy news conference in Tokyo on Sept 8.
JAPAN / History / JAPAN TIMES GONE BY
Sep 21, 2008

Baseball, brothels and unwelcome photographs

100 YEARS AGO
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Sep 21, 2008

Koizumi branded the bad boy in latest food scandal

Most of the recent food-related scandals were motivated by pure greed, so they were easy to understand. The current scandal involving inedible imported rice bought from the government and sold as edible rice is more complicated and raises some questions. How do the governments of the countries that produced...

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