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JAPAN
Dec 3, 2005

New panel to take aim at crimes by foreigners

The government plans to set up a panel to discuss measures to prevent crimes by foreigners in the wake of the recent arrest of a Peruvian man on suspicion of killing a 7-year-old girl in Hiroshima, Justice Minister Seiken Sugiura said Friday.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Dec 3, 2005

Giants raise Abe's salary

Yomiuri Giants catcher Shinnosuke Abe re-signed Friday with the Central League club for an estimated yearly salary of 140 million yen. Abe, who batted .300 with 26 homers and a career-high 86 RBIs, will get a 20 million yen pay raise after renewing his contract in his sixth year next season. Yomiuri...
COMMENTARY
Dec 2, 2005

Influence of French violence

PARIS -- No use telling Japan Times' readers about Beaujolais. Most of them surely have had the opportunity of tasting this refreshing, though somewhat acidic, wine from France. The day in November when new production went on sale used to be celebrated in many places by popular feasts, as a tribute to...
BUSINESS
Dec 2, 2005

LDP bill ups ante in China gas dispute

A Liberal Democratic Party panel compiled a bill Thursday to protect the vessels used by marine resource explorers and fishermen in Japan's 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone.
JAPAN
Dec 1, 2005

Condo repairs to cost at least 14 billion yen

The cost of repairing hotels, condominium complexes and other structures built with false quake-resistance data has so far been tallied at over 14 billion yen, the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry said Wednesday.
EDITORIALS
Nov 30, 2005

China's environmental challenge

Achemical spill on China's Songhua River is a grim reminder of the costs attendant to China's breakneck economic development. The release of toxic chemicals underscores three sets of challenges that China faces as it modernizes: environmental practices of its businesses, government's response to the...
JAPAN
Nov 30, 2005

Aso wants Rice focused on Asia

Foreign Minister Taro Aso said Tuesday he will make a three-day trip to the United States starting Friday to talk with his U.S. counterpart, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, on security and other issues.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT
Nov 30, 2005

'Secret' dolphin slaughter defies protests

Japan's annual slaughter of thousands of dolphins began Oct. 8 in the traditional whaling town of Taiji on the Kii Peninsula of Honshu's Wakayama Prefecture. These "drive fisheries" triggered demonstrations, held under the "Japan Dolphin Day" banner, in 28 countries. The protests went almost entirely...
BUSINESS
Nov 30, 2005

Unemployment rises to 4.5%

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate jumped to 4.5 percent in October from 4.2 percent in September, the government said Tuesday, adding that the rise in the jobless figure is temporary and reflects workers seeking better jobs amid the economic recovery.
JAPAN
Nov 30, 2005

EHomes chief ties Japan ERI to coverup of faked quake data

EHomes Inc. President Togo Fujita on Tuesday told a Diet committee that Japan ERI Co., which certified construction applications with faked quake-resistance data by architect Hidetsugu Aneha, was involved in hiding the falsifications after discovering them about a year ago.
BUSINESS
Nov 30, 2005

State lenders to be whittled to one

The government and ruling Liberal Democratic Party agreed on a plan Tuesday to create a single public lender by scrapping one, privatizing two and integrating the remaining five.
JAPAN
Nov 30, 2005

France boasts benefits in bid to boost foreign investment

French industry minister Francois Loos is calling on Japanese businesses to invest more in France despite recent rioting that spread across the country.
JAPAN
Nov 29, 2005

Talks with N. Korea expected soon

Japan and North Korea are highly likely to meet before the expected January resumption of six-party talks on the North Korean nuclear issue, Vice Foreign Minister Shotaro Yachi said Monday.
BUSINESS
Nov 29, 2005

METI eyes cutoff of funding for Shoko Chukin Bank

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, which oversees Shoko Chukin Bank, a public financier specializing in loans to small businesses, plans to phase out government funding of the institution and to privatize it, METI Vice Minister Hideji Sugiyama said Monday.
BUSINESS
Nov 29, 2005

Mitsubishi Fuso to slim operations

Scandal-tainted Mitsubishi Fuso Truck & Bus Corp. said Monday it will streamline its domestic sales network and group firms to slash costs and increase efficiency as it struggles to cope with dwindling domestic sales.
BUSINESS
Nov 29, 2005

TBS getting ready to reject Rakuten

A team from Tokyo Broadcasting System Inc. completed its final report on Rakuten Inc.'s merger proposal Monday, and the offer is expected to be formally rejected by management, a senior TBS official said.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Nov 27, 2005

Animals proved superheroes in TV Tokyo's "Sekai Bikkuri Daihakken" and more

Animals are cute and all, but on TV Tokyo's special documentary program, "Sekai Bikkuri Daihakken: Dobutsutachi no Kiseki no Power (World Surprising Discoveries: The Miracle Power of Animals)" (Monday, 8 p.m.), animals prove they are also superheroes.
BUSINESS
Nov 26, 2005

State severs talks with localities on subsidy cutbacks

The central government broke off talks Friday with local government representatives on ways to decentralize fiscal authority, brushing off local-level opposition to proposed cuts in welfare subsidies.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 25, 2005

Female monarchs get green light

A government panel on Imperial succession concluded Thursday that females and their descendants should be allowed to ascend to the Chrysanthemum Throne.
EDITORIALS
Nov 25, 2005

Press on with territories issue

Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Tokyo this week for the first time in five years for a summit meeting with Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. They and their ministers signed 12 documents, ranging from joint efforts to counter international terrorism to economic cooperation, including a Russian...
JAPAN
Nov 25, 2005

Abe backs Defense Agency upgrade

Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe on Thursday supported the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's recent decision to try to turn the Defense Agency into a ministry.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 25, 2005

Russia releases seized fishing boat

A Japanese fishing boat and its five-member crew seized by Russia in disputed waters earlier this month returned to Japan early Thursday, according to a Japan Coast Guard official.

Longform

Japan's growing ranks of centenarians are redefining what it means to live in a super-aging society.
What comes after 100?