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BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Jun 6, 2007

Putting LeBron's big night in perspective

NEW YORK — While much has been said, written and pantomimed about LeBron James' 48-point, nine-rebound, seven-assist, two-steal platinum presentation in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals, trying to rank it in NBA playoff history tends to devalue so many other Herculean feats . . . those that...
JAPAN
Jun 6, 2007

Australia mulls missile defense cooperation with Japan, U.S.

Australia is studying whether to participate in a joint missile defense system with Japan and the United States, partly as a bulwark against regional threats such as nuclear-armed North Korea, its defense minister said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Jun 6, 2007

Nakayama considers Upper House

Kyoko Nakayama, a special adviser to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on the abduction issue, said Tuesday she is considering running for a seat in the House of Councilors on the ruling Liberal Democratic Party ticket.
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
Jun 6, 2007

Cell phones put you on a diet, find your celebrity look-alike

T wo obsessions in Japan — celeb rities and the cell phone — go to gether like sushi and soy sauce. Magic has taken this unholy alliance a step further with a new service dubbed "Face Check" (Kaochecki). This rather literally named offering is intended to tell you what celebrities you look like....
Japan Times
BUSINESS / EAST ASIA SYMPOSIUM
Jun 4, 2007

U.S. presidential election casts long shadow

See related stories: Take your partners for economic integration Sustained economic growth is a question of balance for China
JAPAN
Jun 2, 2007

Ex-farm bureaucrat takes helm at ministry

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has appointed a 48-year-old agriculture policy expert in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and a former farm ministry bureaucrat as the new farm minister to replace Toshikatsu Matsuoka, who committed suicide Monday.
BUSINESS
Jun 1, 2007

Stage now set for Hoya's Pentax tender offer in June

Hoya Corp. announced Thursday that it will launch a tender offer for Pentax Corp. as early as June 4 in an attempt to turn the camera maker into a wholly owned subsidiary, ending a two-month takeover battle that caused Pentax to replace its president.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 31, 2007

Photography now

The borderline between photojournalism and travel photography is hard to define.
JAPAN
May 29, 2007

Embattled farm minister kills himself at residence

Farm minister Toshikatsu Matsuoka, embroiled in a political funds scandal, committed suicide Monday at his residence in Tokyo's Akasaka district.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
May 29, 2007

Aso Mining's POW labor: the evidence

One year after media reports that Aso Mining used 300 Allied prisoners of war for forced labor in 1945, Foreign Minister Taro Aso is refusing to confirm that POWs dug coal for his family's firm — and even challenging reporters to produce evidence.
COMMENTARY
May 28, 2007

Apathetic clouds of smoke

Two years after the World Health Organization's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) took effect, many countries are coordinating efforts to curb tobacco use.
BUSINESS / THE VIEW FROM EUROPE
May 28, 2007

Russian car boom catches eye of Japan, Germany

Look at any atlas, and it is plain to see that what is separating Germany from Japan is the world's largest country, Russia. As a land mass, it is indeed a behemoth, spanning over 10,000 km and eleven time zones.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
May 27, 2007

MLB should eliminate 'rookie' label for Japanese veterans

Last week an Associated Press photo appeared in these pages with a caption that began, "Boston Red Sox rookie hurler Daisuke Matsuzaka . . . "
BASKETBALL
May 26, 2007

Orimo joins new team

Takehiko Orimo and Ryota Sakurai will move to the Rera Kamuy Hokkaido of the Japan Basketball Association-led new league, the club announced Friday.
BUSINESS
May 26, 2007

SLR pioneer missed jump to digital

As the first Japanese company to commercialize a single-lens reflex camera for 35mm film, Pentax Corp. has a storied history. But that history may have prevented it from advancing into the digital age and delayed a crucial decision to be absorbed by Hoya Corp. for its own survival.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
May 26, 2007

In the darkness of our times

One night after visiting friends, I hopped on the local bus for a ride home. At the very first stop, the other passengers — a cane-clutching obaasan and a mother with her pre-schooler — stepped off, leaving me all alone as the bus barreled through the dark.
EDITORIALS
May 25, 2007

Juvenile Law revision

A bill to revise the Juvenile Law, which passed the Lower House with the backing of the Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito, is now in the Upper House. The bill is designed to provide harsher treatment of juvenile offenders. Lawmakers must question whether such a move will really help to prevent juvenile...
BUSINESS
May 25, 2007

Fujiya descends into 8 billion yen net loss

Fujiya Co. announced Thursday it posted a whopping net loss of 8 billion yen in the 2006 business year, down from a 1.8 billion yen loss the year before, after being hit by a sanitation scandal that forced the famous confectioner to suspend operations in about 890 shops and restaurants nationwide.
BUSINESS
May 24, 2007

Nonlife insurers take revenue hit

Six major domestic nonlife insurers on Wednesday reported mixed financial results for the business year to March 31 as earnings were affected by revelations of an industrywide failure to pay legitimate claims and payouts for typhoon damage.

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