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BUSINESS
Apr 4, 2006

Larger vehicle sales down; minicars strong

Domestic new vehicle sales excluding minicars edged down 0.7 percent from the previous year to total 3.9 million units in fiscal 2005 -- which ended Friday -- due to weak passenger car sales, the Japan Automobile Dealers Association said Monday.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Apr 4, 2006

Gonna make you sweat

The Japanese love bath-time, whether it be in a hot spring (onsen), a public bathhouse (sento), or a soak in the tub at home (o-furo). Bathing in Japan really is something of an art that verges on an obsession. Of course, the Japanese didn't invent it (the ancient Romans take credit for that), but they...
EDITORIALS
Apr 3, 2006

Checkered moves of land prices

Land price statistics as of Jan. 1, announced by the Land, Infrastructure and Land Ministry, show that at least three of the nation's major urban areas plus some other areas have emerged from a long tunnel of real-estate price deflation. The trend is supported by increased demand for office space and...
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Apr 2, 2006

Isiah has to go for Knicks to be fixed

NEW YORK -- When I'm not being accused by first-grade readers of being excessively negative about the 19-52 Knicks -- who would have a hard time against the dead or alive 1952 Knicks -- and charged with having something personal against Isiah Thomas, Larry Brown and Stephon Marbury, I'm dared to holster...
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Apr 1, 2006

Play of young Guns illustrates Wenger's eye for talent

LONDON -- We should have known better than to question Arsene Wenger's judgment.
BUSINESS
Apr 1, 2006

TV programs go mobile as One Seg services begin

Starting Saturday, many cell phone users may find their beloved handsets even more indispensable. In addition to tapping out messages to their friends and surfing the Net, people will be able to see digital broadcasts of their favorite TV shows wherever they go, on their mobiles.
JAPAN
Mar 31, 2006

CPAs for Kanebo plead guilty

Three accountants who worked at auditing giant ChuoAoyama Pricewaterhouse Coopers pleaded guilty Thursday before the Tokyo District Court to charges of falsifying Kanebo Ltd.'s earnings in fiscal 2001 and 2002 and hiding over 160 billion yen in liabilities.
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Mar 31, 2006

Concert harpist plays by invitation

Award-winning 26-year-old harpist Keziah Thomas has been invited by the family-run harp manufacturers, Aoyama Harps, to give three recitals in Tokyo, Fukui and Osaka, after impressing at the Ninth World Harp Congress in Dublin last year.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 31, 2006

Spring in their steps

As a crash course in the current state of African-American pop music, this weekend's Springroove festival being held on consecutive days in Osaka and Chiba Prefecture showcases an impressive range of artists. The headliners all represent major labels, and thus the mainstream: Since hip-hop and R&B are...
BUSINESS
Mar 30, 2006

TV broadcasters to get OK for holding firms to add stations

The Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry plans to authorize private TV broadcasters to set up holding firms that would then control a number of broadcasters via equity stakes, ministry officials said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Mar 29, 2006

Iraq to get first reconstruction loans

The government announced Tuesday that it will extend yen loans totaling 76.5 billion yen for reconstruction in Iraq -- its first such assistance to the conflict-ravaged country in 20 years.
BUSINESS
Mar 29, 2006

New recruits seek trust, poll shows

For new employees who will start working this spring, trust is the most important thing they look for in a company, an Internet survey found Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Mar 29, 2006

Usen, Livedoor link Web portals

Cable broadcaster Usen Corp. and Internet services firm Livedoor Co. linked their Web portals Tuesday in the first step toward an alliance between the two companies, the firms said.
JAPAN
Mar 29, 2006

Double-killer's death sentence upheld

The Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld a 71-year-old man's death sentence for a 1998 double-murder in Yokohama.
JAPAN
Mar 29, 2006

Harvard students meet lawmakers

becomes the next prime minister, there would be no improvement in Japan's relations with South Korea and China," the student said on condition of anonymity. However, the student also said Maehara was an engaging politician who gave "clear comments" on the party's stance against acts of worship at the...
BUSINESS
Mar 28, 2006

CCC, Aioi Insurance set to tie up

Aioi Insurance Co. and Culture Convenience Club Co., the operator of Japan's largest video rental chain, Tsutaya, said Monday they have agreed to begin preparations to set up a joint casualty insurance firm with an eye to cashing in on Tsutaya's large customer base.
JAPAN
Mar 28, 2006

Okinawa base issue not cut and dried with locals

NAGO, Okinawa Pref. -- It's a chilly, rainy evening in late January, but more than 1,000 people pack the center of town to hear a speech by Yoshikazu Shimabukuro, the head of the Nago Municipal Assembly.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Mar 28, 2006

Cheese, eBye and reiki

Say cheese AP asks: "Where can I get a wide range of foreign cheeses in Japan? They are so expensive in supermarkets, and often not in good shape."
JAPAN
Mar 28, 2006

Kanebo's book-cooking execs avoid prison time

The Tokyo District Court handed suspended prison terms Monday to former Kanebo Ltd. President Takashi Hoashi and ex-Vice President Takashi Miyahara for colluding with auditors to cover up over 160 billion yen in capital deficits in fiscal 2001 and 2002.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Mar 28, 2006

Times get tough for teachers

English teaching in Japan is not what it used to be. Conditions are changing; the work is harder to come by, wages are falling, and staff are increasingly taking their employers to court.
BUSINESS
Mar 28, 2006

Overseas production ratio hit record high 16.2% in '04

The overseas production ratio of Japanese manufacturers rose 0.6 percentage point from the previous year to a record high of 16.2 percent in fiscal 2004, up for the fifth straight year, according to an annual government survey released Monday.
EDITORIALS
Mar 27, 2006

China and Russia ready to deal

Russian President Vladimir Putin visited China last week to kick off "the Year of Russia in China." The festivities, which Russia will reciprocate next year with "the Year of China," are sure to trigger the usual excited speculation about ties between the two continental giants.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Mar 27, 2006

Which management strategies raise corporate value?

Window-dressing and other fraudulent acts aimed at boosting share prices have led many Japanese to doubt whether it is really all that important to "maximize corporate value."
EDITORIALS
Mar 26, 2006

A fair ruling in Britain

In most legal rulings, even a casual observer can see reasonable arguments on both sides. This is not surprising. If both sides didn't have reasonable arguments, there wouldn't be a dispute to begin with, or any need for a ruling. But a decision handed down by Britain's Law Lords last week backing a...

Longform

Koichi Tagawa’s diary entry from Aug. 9, 1945, describes the day of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki.
The horrors of Nagasaki, in first person