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JAPAN
Sep 30, 2006

Abe looks to compel schools to push 'patriotism'

As the extraordinary Diet session began Friday, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe laid out his legislative agenda and left political observers speculating over the government's apparent tilt to the right and its push for "patriotism."
BUSINESS
Sep 30, 2006

Honda to increase U.K. auto production

LONDON (Kyodo) Honda Motor Co. said Thursday it will create 700 new jobs and step up production at one of its British plants.
BUSINESS
Sep 30, 2006

Microsoft won't market Zune player in Japan

NEW YORK (Kyodo) Microsoft does not currently have plans to release its new Zune digital music player in Japan, Darren Huston, president and chief executive officer of Microsoft Co., the Japan unit of Microsoft Corp., told Kyodo News on Thursday.
JAPAN
Sep 29, 2006

Imperial Guard, 19, kills self with pistol

A Cambodian security guard committed suicide inside the Japanese Embassy in Phnom Penh, police officials told Kyodo News on Thursday. Ty Bunleng, 48, was found dead at 7 a.m. by his colleagues during a shift change.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CABINET INTERVIEW
Sep 29, 2006

Abe hopes shrine coyness won't miff China: Aso

A Japan-China summit could be in the works, but Tokyo is waiting for Beijing to move forward on negotiations, reappointed Foreign Minister Taro Aso said Wednesday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Sep 28, 2006

Fumio Nanjo to replace David Elliott

The Mori Art Museum's director, David Elliott, will leave his post at the end of October to take a position as the new director of the Istanbul Museum of Modern Art in Turkey. The news was announced Wednesday at a press conference at Roppongi Hills, where Elliott spoke of his five years in Tokyo working...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 28, 2006

Celebrating civilizations

The Islamic world is home to one of the richest and most important musical traditions on Earth. It doesn't hurt that it also spans an incredibly vast area, stretching west to Morocco and east as far as Indonesia, and that it contains an intricate tapestry of races, languages and cultures, or that it...
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 28, 2006

'New Europe' has plenty of old problems

GENEVA -- The riots in Budapest, incited by leaked tapes that show Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany openly admitting that his government had lied for over a year about the country's dire finances, are but the latest evidence that things are going seriously wrong across Eastern Europe.
JAPAN
Sep 27, 2006

Hawkishness is watchword for Abe team

The Cabinet and special advisers named Tuesday by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe share one dominant trait: conservatism.
JAPAN
Sep 26, 2006

Abe's LDP exec picks told to gear up for '07 Diet poll

joins other LDP leaders in a show of unity after appointing Hidenao Nakagawa (third from left) as secretary general, Yuya Niwa (second from left) as chairman of the Executive Council and Shoichi Nakagawa (third from right) as chairman of the Policy Research Council. KYODO PHOTO
BUSINESS
Sep 26, 2006

Nissan to sell off stake in truck maker to Volvo

AB Volvo said Monday it will acquire 34.5 billion yen of Nissan Diesel Motor Co.'s preferred stock and purchase 6 percent of Nissan Diesel's outstanding shares from Nissan Motor Co. -- a move that will push Volvo's stake in the truck manufacturer closer to 50 percent by April 2014.
JAPAN
Sep 26, 2006

Success elusive so far in China summit talks

Japan and China took a break from sub-Cabinet-level talks Monday in Tokyo apparently without having agreed on an early resumption of summits after Shinzo Abe becomes prime minister.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Sep 26, 2006

Barouche appliances, R Chair, DoCoMo N702iS, NEKKO flower vase, M+K Design's Sweet Icicle light

Be it for the home, while you're on the go, or even during some far away travels, this month's column has you covered with a selection of choice items that should satisfy all your stylish needs.
JAPAN
Sep 23, 2006

Foreigners to need 'skills' to live in Japan

A Justice Ministry panel discussing long-term policies for accepting overseas workers said Friday the government should seek out those with special skills and expertise to cope with the shrinking labor force in Japan.
BUSINESS
Sep 23, 2006

Lawmaker vows cross-party agreement to revise lending bill

Masazumi Gotoda, former parliamentary secretary in charge of financial services, said Friday he will work to revamp a consumer lending bill to get the ceiling on interest charges lowered and the higher rate on small loans scrapped.
EDITORIALS
Sep 22, 2006

A nuclear-free Central Asia

Five former republics of the Soviet Union in Central Asia have created a nuclear-free zone. The agreement is an important step forward for the global nonproliferation regime at a time when that order is under assault on multiple fronts.
BUSINESS
Sep 22, 2006

Thai coup puts FTA, investment in doubt

Tuesday's bloodless coup in Thailand has left a free-trade agreement negotiated between Tokyo and Bangkok up in the air, a senior Japanese official said Thursday as businesses waited for the dust to settle.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 22, 2006

Tokyo teachers win anthem fight

The Tokyo District Court on Thursday ordered the Tokyo Metropolitan Government to pay 12.03 million yen, or 30,000 yen each, in compensation to 401 teachers who objected to a city directive obliging them to stand and sing the national anthem at school ceremonies.

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