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Japan Times
LIFE
Jun 11, 2006

Preparing for 'people's courts'

For more than 60 years since its last form of a jury system was suspended, Japan's courts have been the preserve of a largely unseen elite. Now, though, regular citizens are set to take part again too, and 'mock trials' like those popular in America may play a key role in preparing for this momentous...
COMMENTARY
Jun 10, 2006

China's buildup is no wonder

LOS ANGELES -- There has been an unsettling discordance about U.S. policy toward China that was brought home anew by Donald Rumsfeld, recently at the annual IISS Asia Security Summit in Singapore. Why this discredited man with his failed Iraqi policies remains U.S. secretary of defense is a profound...
BUSINESS
Jun 9, 2006

Skylark to carry out largest MBO in Japan history

Family-style restaurant chain Skylark Co. announced Thursday its management will buy all outstanding company shares to become private, making it the largest management buyout bid in Japanese history.
BUSINESS
Jun 9, 2006

New budget plan eyes surplus by 2011

The government has come up with a new budget reform proposal aimed at achieving a primary budget surplus by fiscal 2011 by cutting spending and raising taxes, government sources said Thursday.
SOCCER / World cup
Jun 8, 2006

Eyes on Germany as show time nears for soccer's greatest

BONN -- Finally, the finals.
EDITORIALS
Jun 8, 2006

The act of a professional?

Mr. Yoshiaki Murakami, who has drawn intense public attention as Japan's most controversial investment fund manager, was arrested Monday by the Tokyo Public Prosecutor's Office on suspicion of violating the Securities and Exchange Law. He is suspected of having engaged in insider stock trading when his...
JAPAN
Jun 8, 2006

Elevator firm raided over deadly lift malfunction

Police raided locations Wednesday linked to Tokyo-based elevator maker Schindler Elevator K.K. and a housing corporation, suspecting that professional negligence or poor maintenance caused the fatal crushing of a teenager on a lift last weekend.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 8, 2006

Planting seeds of hope in Japan's youth

The bright laughter of children is the true measure of a society's health. Ten years ago, I was in San Jose, Costa Rica, for the opening of an exhibition on the reality and threat of nuclear weapons. Even as participants began a dignified rendition of the national anthem, through the wall that separated...
BUSINESS
Jun 7, 2006

Sony has high hopes for its first digital SLR

Sony Corp. on Tuesday unveiled its first digital single lens reflex camera, the Alpha DSLR-A100, in its first product rollout since acquiring the Konica Minolta Group's digital SLR division earlier this year.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Jun 6, 2006

Design doyenne still sets aesthetic agenda

Standing well over 180 cm in her two-tone Chanel pumps, Andree Putman, the Grand Dame of modernist design, is at once icon, icon-maker and iconoclast. Born in Paris in 1925, her illustrious career traverses friendships and collaborations with many of the last century's revered avant-gardist creators,...
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Jun 5, 2006

A sleuth's Marple-lous take on takeover bids

In the novel "A Caribbean Mystery," Miss Marple asks Mr. Rafiel about takeover bids. She sounds like someone who is talking about a word in a foreign language.
BUSINESS
Jun 4, 2006

Murakami fund reportedly ready to sell Hanshin shares to Hankyu

Hankyu Holdings Inc.'s bid to acquire Hanshin Electric Railway Co. through a public tender offer is expected to be successfully concluded because the Murakami fund, Hanshin's biggest shareholder, now intends to sell its stake, Hankyu sources said Saturday.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Jun 4, 2006

Will ghostwriters face 'treachery' from post-Koizumi Japan?

A recent news item in The Japan Times really shocked me. It concerned what a former political heavyweight once said in private.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 3, 2006

Nissan and Suzuki seal mutual car-supply deal

Nissan Motor Co. and Suzuki Motor Corp. announced Friday they will expand their existing partnership by supplying minicars, minivans and pickup trucks to each other both at home and abroad.
BUSINESS
Jun 3, 2006

Sompo Japan chief resigns; 6.5 million yen error revealed

The president of Sompo Japan Insurance Inc. resigned Friday to take responsibility for the firm's misconduct that resulted in a business suspension order, while the insurer announced it mistakenly collected 6.5 million yen in premiums due to a clerical error.
BUSINESS
Jun 3, 2006

Narita South Wing open

The refurbished South Wing at Narita International Airport's Terminal 1 opened Friday amid high hopes from the airport's operator and All Nippon Airways Co., the terminal's main tenant, that the improvements will attract more passengers.
BUSINESS
Jun 2, 2006

Recovery raises tax revenues to 49 trillion yen

Tax revenues could reach 49 trillion yen in fiscal 2005, about 2 trillion yen more than previously forecast, thanks to the continuing economic recovery, Finance Ministry sources said Thursday.
EDITORIALS
Jun 1, 2006

From recovery to resilience

A devastating earthquake hit Indonesia over the weekend, even as the country is still struggling to recover from the magnitude-9 earthquake and tsunami off Sumatra Island that killed about 168,000 people in the country in December 2004.
BUSINESS
May 31, 2006

Unemployment marks third straight month at 4.1%

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate stayed at 4.1 percent in April, marking its third month in a row at that level, the government said Tuesday.
JAPAN
May 31, 2006

Japanese ability eyed as visa requirement

A Justice Ministry panel discussing long-term policies for accepting foreigners in Japan proposed Tuesday that the government in principle require that foreign workers have a certain level of Japanese proficiency.
BASEBALL / MLB
May 30, 2006

Carp need 12 innings to finish Rakuten

SENDAI -- The Hiroshima Carp racked up 16 hits, but their 4-3 win over the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles still came down to a prayer in the 12th inning.
JAPAN
May 30, 2006

McDonald's gets labor union

for the first time in the 35 years since the Japanese unit of the U.S. fast-food giant started operations, the nation's largest labor union group said Monday. The union, with about 200 initial members including outlet managers, notified the management of its establishment, said the Japanese Trade Union...
BUSINESS
May 30, 2006

NEC close to tieup with TI, Matsushita

Developing or procuring key components for mobile phone handsets are major reasons NEC Corp. will collaborate with Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. and Texas Instruments Inc. in the mobile phone business, NEC President Kaoru Yano said Monday.
BUSINESS
May 30, 2006

World Bank chief Wolfowitz urges African trade, investment

World Bank Group President Paul Wolfowitz said Monday in Tokyo that Japan should play a larger role in promoting trade and investment in Africa, saying they were "more critical" to the continent than development aid.

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