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Japan Times
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Jan 11, 2008

Erratic HeatDevils struggling to find formula for return to playoffs

The Oita HeatDevils have played 16 basketball games this season. In that time, they've proven one thing: They are as unpredictable as the presidential election polls in the United States.
JAPAN
Jan 11, 2008

MSDF bill step closer to ruling bloc's ultimate OK

An opposition-controlled Upper House panel Thursday rejected a special antiterrorism bill to enable the Maritime Self-Defense Force to resume its refueling operations in the Indian Ocean, in a last-minute bid to block its expected passage Friday in the ruling bloc-dominated Lower House.
BUSINESS
Jan 11, 2008

Matsushita, and its products, to only go by Panasonic name

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. announced Thursday it will rename itself Panasonic Corp. and end the National brand so that its products will be exclusively referred to as Panasonic.
JAPAN
Jan 11, 2008

Illness, not policies, ended my time in office: Abe

The abrupt and, at the time, inexplicable resignation of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in September stunned the nation, prompting criticism that he was an irresponsible and immature politician who couldn't even offer a convincing explanation as to why he quit the nation's top post.
BUSINESS
Jan 11, 2008

Economy to slow down for awhile: Muto

The economy will keep slowing "for the time being" as the country's cycle of profits feeding into wages and consumer spending weakens temporarily, Bank of Japan Deputy Gov. Toshiro Muto said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Jan 9, 2008

Sharp to bring forward expansion of LCD plant

Sharp Corp. will increase in July the liquid crystal display production capacity of its Kameyama No. 2 plant in Mie Prefecture to 90,000 sheets a month from the current 60,000 to cope with growing demand, President Mikio Katayama said Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Jan 9, 2008

Old Sony site to be office complex

Home builder Sekisui House Ltd. said Tuesday it will develop land formerly owned by Sony Corp. in Tokyo into an office and residential complex.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital
Jan 9, 2008

At home with Dr. Nakamatsu: Japan's most eccentric inventor

The declining birthrate is a well-known issue in Japan, but for renowned inventor Dr. Yoshiro Nakamatsu, it is merely another challenge. Two weeks ago at a press conference in Tokyo, Nakamats, who prefers to drop the "u" from his name, unveiled a new bottle of Love Jet, a product first introduced nearly...
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jan 8, 2008

An up-close view of Mount Fuji

Mount Fuji is the most beloved mountain in Japan — an honor it has held since the dawn of history.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 8, 2008

Biz leaders bullish on economy

Brushing aside growing pessimism on the prospects for the Japanese and global economies, the nation's top business leader said Monday he expects Japan to pick up steam in the second quarter on the back on strong overseas demand in developing countries.
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jan 8, 2008

Following in our fingerprints

It was a quarter of a century ago on an autumn day in 1982 that I decided to engage in a small act of civil disobedience by refusing to give my fingerprint. Little did I realize I was stepping into a decades-long controversy that would be both an education and a circus.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jan 6, 2008

Politicians, dogs and bowels mix it up in our annual media awards

Media Personality of the Year: Hideo Higashikokubaru.
JAPAN
Jan 5, 2008

Fukuda: No midmonth reshuffling of Cabinet

Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda dismissed speculation Friday that he would reshuffle his Cabinet before the Diet opens later this month to shore up his poor public approval ratings.
JAPAN
Jan 5, 2008

Scientists hope frozen mammoth will shed light on climate change

The frozen carcass of a 37,500-year-old baby mammoth undergoing tests in Japan could finally explain why the beasts were driven to extinction — and shed light on the history of global climate change, scientists said Friday.
EDITORIALS
Jan 4, 2008

Few dare call it 'coercion'

The dispute over the screening of high school history textbooks to be used from April has come down to whether the Imperial Japanese armed forces used "coercion" in the mass suicides of local residents during the Battle of Okinawa in 1945. During the process of the first screening, whose results were...
COMMENTARY
Jan 4, 2008

Global 'war' waged in vain

LONDON — The tragic killing of Benazir Bhutto in Pakistan has sent a raft of shock-wave messages round the world. Most of these have been carefully and lengthily noted and analyzed — such as the concern that Pakistan, labeled a frontline state in the fight against terrorism, could now collapse into...
COMMENTARY
Jan 3, 2008

The military is the problem

NEW DELHI — After having fretted over a rising prodemocracy tide, Pakistan's ruling military can expect to be the main gainer from former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto's killing at the very public park where the 1951 assassination of the country's first prime minister, Liaquat Ali Khan, helped smother...
JAPAN / Q&A
Jan 3, 2008

G8 summit to showcase environment technologies

Known for its cool summers and snowy winters, Hokkaido, the venue of the Group of Eight summit in July, is blessed with a rich natural environment and vast landscapes. It is a popular destination for nature lovers and people looking for outdoor activities such as skiing and rafting.
JAPAN
Jan 1, 2008

'07 political storm really the calm before '08?

Last year was full of political turmoil — from scandals and arrests to suicide and a divided Diet — but there is no time to rest because 2008 may turn out to be a historical turning point if there is a general election, depending on which side wins, analysts say.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 1, 2008

Japan stumbles its way toward a two-party system

2007 was a politically significant year. It is stirring to see how much the political terrain has changed from the beginning of the year to now.
EDITORIALS
Dec 31, 2007

The falsity of 2007

The kanji for the Japanese word "nise," meaning fake or false, has been chosen by the Kyoto-based Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation as the kanji that most appropriately defines domestic events in 2007. Unveiled at Kiyomizu Temple in the ancient capital, the choice underscores flawed ways of thinking...
JAPAN
Dec 30, 2007

Mid-January reshuffle of Cabinet eyed

Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda hinted Saturday that he may reshuffle the Cabinet in mid-January in an effort to shore up his administration's falling approval ratings.

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