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BUSINESS
Jul 4, 2006

July rate hike seen amid rosy 'tankan'

Business confidence among major manufacturers improved in the April-June quarter and fiscal 2006 corporate capital spending is expected to post double-digit growth, the Bank of Japan's "tankan" survey showed Monday, increasing the likelihood that the central bank will raise the key short-term interest...
COMMENTARY
Jul 3, 2006

Regaining the spirit to build

I had thought that Japan's Internet mogul Takafumi Horie, arrested Jan. 23 by public prosecutors for allegedly violating the securities and exchange law, was likely to be the last person to "pay the price" for the excesses associated with the nation's bubble economy from 1987 to 1990.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jul 2, 2006

Consternation characterizes response to Zico's World Cup flops

Though it may not be any consolation to local soccer fans, the Japanese team won the Humanoid Division in the RoboCup soccer competition that took place in Bremen on June 14-20.
JAPAN
Jul 1, 2006

Group plans rallies against Yasukuni visits

Citizens have banded together to arrange five days of demonstrations and forums in Tokyo in August to oppose Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's contentious visits to Tokyo's war-linked Yasukuni Shrine.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Jul 1, 2006

A mite louder than mice: city gaijin vs. country gaijin

OK, so it's not the greatest conflict of all time. It's not Pepsi vs. Coke, Tom vs. Jerry or even Freddy vs. Jason. Plus it's not Japan-specific. The following swords of debate can be crossed in any nation at any time by anyone.
BUSINESS
Jul 1, 2006

BOJ execs shouldn't invest in private funds: panel head

A Bank of Japan advisory panel will recommend that the central bank ban its executives from investing in privately placed funds, including the scandal-tainted Murakami fund, the panel chairman said Friday.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 29, 2006

A friend of African dictators?

LONDON -- Who would have thought that the Chinese Communist Party would become sensitive to world opinion? Strange as it may seem, Western criticism of China's growing involvement in Africa has triggered outpourings of justificatory articles in CCP-controlled media as well as trips this year by Chinese...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 29, 2006

Koizumi-Bush friendship one for the ages

What has been touted as the best Japan-U.S. relationship in the postwar era started with a cowboy movie and will end with an Elvis Presley museum.
BUSINESS
Jun 28, 2006

Ghosn asks shareholders to be patient

YOKOHAMA -- Nissan Motor Co. President and CEO Carlos Ghosn asked shareholders for patience Tuesday, promising to overcome "head winds" in the domestic market and produce better results in 2006.
BUSINESS
Jun 28, 2006

Steelmakers warned to look out for cross-border M&As

Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Toshihiro Nikai told steelmakers Tuesday to be aware of the global reorganization taking place in the industry after Sunday's decision by Arcelor SA of Luxembourg to accept a takeover bid from Mittal Steel Co. of the Netherlands.
BUSINESS
Jun 28, 2006

Sompo Japan punishes 584 after suspension

Sompo Japan Insurance Inc. has punished 584 people in the wake of a business suspension order it received for misconduct related to thousands of cases of unpaid insurance benefits, the company said.
SOCCER / World cup
Jun 27, 2006

Beckham's illness news to Eriksson

MUNICH -- Sven Goran Eriksson admitted England captain David Beckham kept him in the dark about the illness that caused him to vomit on the pitch after scoring his match-winning free-kick against Ecuador on Sunday.
SOCCER / World cup
Jun 27, 2006

Becks bends Ecuadorians

STUTTGART, Germany -- England played poorly once again and won, but Sven Goran Eriksson's men are unlikely to get away with anymore woeful performances such as this one if they are to reach the World Cup final.
SOCCER / World cup
Jun 27, 2006

Zico's farewell anything but a party

Zico wanted to say goodbye.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 27, 2006

Warner Japan taking greater interest in local movie scene

Warner Entertainment Japan Inc., a subsidiary of U.S. media giant Time Warner Inc., plans to acquire more Japanese films and increase local production of movies in response to the growing popularity of domestic films, said William Ireton, who was named president of the company in May.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WORDS TO LIVE BY
Jun 27, 2006

Tadanobu Tsunoda

Tadanobu Tsunoda, MD, 79, is the author of "The Japanese Brain" (now in its 38th Japanese edition), and the inventor of the Tsunoda Key Tapping Machine. He developed this simple analog system in the 1960s, and claims it is still the most accurate machine in the world for measuring the brainstem's switch...
COMMENTARY
Jun 26, 2006

End of the oil age in sight?

LONDON -- First there was wood. Then it was replaced by coal. Then coal was replaced by oil. Is it now the turn of oil -- which currently accounts for some two-thirds of the world's primary energy -- to be pushed aside by other energy sources and devices?
COMMENTARY
Jun 26, 2006

U.S.-dependent to what end?

At a Cabinet meeting May 30, the government finalized its basic policy on the realignment of U.S. forces in Japan. The action followed a final Japan-U.S. agreement May 1 on realignment aimed at strengthening deterrents and reducing Japan's burden of hosting U.S. military installations.
JAPAN
Jun 25, 2006

Science bureau chief to head FCCJ

Dennis Normile, Japan bureau chief for the U.S. weekly journal Science, beat Pio d'Emilia of Italy's Il Manifesto to become president of the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan.
SOCCER / World cup
Jun 25, 2006

JFA offers Osim job as Zico's replacement

Japan Football Association President Saburo Kawabuchi said Saturday the JFA is in talks with JEF United Chiba and former Yugoslavia coach Ivica Osim for the national team job, taking over from outgoing Brazilian coach Zico.
BUSINESS
Jun 24, 2006

Investors get more vocal on management decisions

Over the past several weeks, company executives have been beating a path to Pension Fund Association's door, trying to get the investment manager to agree with proposals they plan to submit at their shareholder meetings.
BUSINESS
Jun 23, 2006

TSE chief gives system update to shareholders

The chief of the Tokyo Stock Exchange briefed TSE shareholders Thursday on a recent upgrade to the transaction data processing capacity of its computerized trading system following a string of system problems since November.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jun 22, 2006

Anime, J-indie equals 'Woodstock for geeks'

'Agrand collision of two Japanese subcultures -- anime and Japanese indie music," was one blogger's take on FanimeCon 2006, the biggest anime convention in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jun 22, 2006

Public uncertainty, wobbly provocations

'I feel I have lost the ability to have a definite opinion, in terms of people, and about myself," says the Japanese installation artist Tabaimo. It is a surprising admission from someone who first received international acclaim for what were seen as perceptive and cutting social commentaries on modern...
BUSINESS
Jun 21, 2006

Nippon Oil, Japan Energy join forces

Nippon Oil Corp., the nation's biggest oil wholesaler, and Japan Energy Corp., the sixth largest, jointly said Tuesday they have agreed to enter into a broad-based tieup that includes joint operation of neighboring refineries and development of fuel cell technology.

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