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BUSINESS
Apr 21, 2006

McDonald's to boost 24-hour shops

McDonald's Co. (Japan) plans to open more 24-hour outlets and raise the price of its main products, according to its business plan for fiscal 2006.
JAPAN
Apr 19, 2006

Shipping ban in Japan zone mistake: China

side says it's a technical mistake, well, we believe that's what it was." The Chinese Maritime Safety Administration posted a notice on its Web site that Beijing was prohibiting unauthorized ship traffic around the Pinghu gas field in the East China Sea from March 1 to Sept. 30 so that pipelines and...
BUSINESS
Apr 19, 2006

Rising long-term rates irk government

The government expressed concern Tuesday that long-term interest rates were rising "too fast," and urged the Bank of Japan to dispel market concerns about a further credit-tightening.
BUSINESS
Apr 19, 2006

Business impact of oil prices rings alarm bells at METI

The government will conduct an urgent survey on the impact of soaring crude oil prices on Japanese companies, bringing forward the regular survey schedule, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said Tuesday.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 18, 2006

No wonder Chavez makes Bush uneasy

NEW YORK -- When the hated despots of nations like Saudi Arabia and Kazakhstan loot their countries' treasuries, transfer their oil wealth to personal Swiss bank accounts and use the rest to finance (in the House of Saud's case) terrorist extremists, American politicians praise them as trusted friends...
JAPAN
Apr 18, 2006

China shipping ban may breach U.N. treaty: Abe

A reported Chinese ban on ship traffic around disputed gas fields in the East China Sea could violate the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea, Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe said Monday.
EDITORIALS
Apr 17, 2006

Prayer: not the best medicine

In a study that has made a splash this month, an American cardiologist concludes that praying for sick people has no effect one way or the other on their recovery. In fact, if they know they are being prayed for, it makes them worse. Non-believers naturally find the first result predictable and the second...
JAPAN
Apr 17, 2006

China bans vessels near gas field: report

Liberal Democratic Party Secretary General Tsutomu Takebe criticized Beijing on Sunday over a news report that Chinese maritime authorities have banned ship traffic in the East China Sea near the median line with Japan while it expands the Pinghu gas field.
JAPAN
Apr 15, 2006

Hospitals want terminal care guidelines: survey

More than 85 percent of public hospitals think legislation or guidelines are needed for the treatment of terminal patients, according to a recent Kyodo News survey.
JAPAN
Apr 15, 2006

U.S. realignment talks drag on

Japan and the United States failed to produce a final agreement on the U.S. military realignment in their latest round of talks that ended Friday in Tokyo.
COMMENTARY
Apr 15, 2006

2006 is all about democracy

HONOLULU -- The 2006 National Security Strategy (NSS) document has just been released. News coverage has focused on one word: preemption. Largely overlooked has been the much greater emphasis on the promotion of democracy as the primary objective of American foreign policy in the second administration...
BUSINESS
Apr 15, 2006

FSA orders suspension at Aiful

The Financial Services Agency said Friday it has ordered consumer finance firm Aiful Corp. to suspend most operations at its 1,700 outlets for three to 25 days over the use of strong-arm collection tactics.
BUSINESS
Apr 14, 2006

Livedoor stockholders to sue for compensation

About 1,000 Livedoor Co. shareholders will launch a damages suit in late May against the Internet firm and its former executives to recover their losses from the sharp fall in its stock price following allegations of accounting fraud, their lawyers said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Apr 14, 2006

Wage gap getting wider

Income disparities have widened among people in their 20s in Japan and will likely get wider despite Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's denial of such a trend, according to an annual government report now under compilation.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / THE SECOND ROOM
Apr 14, 2006

Psychedelic radar 04.14

Saturday, April 15
JAPAN
Apr 13, 2006

Japan raps Iran over enrichment

The government said Wednesday it would be "extremely deplorable" if Iran has successfully enriched uranium and joined the club of nuclear powers, as Tehran claimed the day before.
BUSINESS
Apr 13, 2006

Convenience stores outshined stale supermarkets in 2005

Japan's major convenience stores on Wednesday posted rosy figures for the 2005 business year, while supermarket chains lagged despite signs that personal consumption is recovering.
EDITORIALS
Apr 12, 2006

A hazard named Winny

It seems not a day passes without news on leakage of confidential information from governmental and other entities onto the Internet. The types of information leaked are vast and the content is critical -- Self-Defense Forces-related documents, quake-resistance data for nuclear-power plants, access codes...
BUSINESS
Apr 11, 2006

BOJ talks unlikely to yield interest rate hike

The Bank of Japan's decision-making panel opened a two-day meeting Monday as analysts widely expect the central bank to maintain its zero-interest rate policy by holding the overnight call money rate near zero.
JAPAN
Apr 11, 2006

Abe ahead for top job but Fukuda gains ground

A majority of respondents to a recent Kyodo News survey say they want Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe to replace Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi when the ruling Liberal Democratic Party elects a new leader in September.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Apr 11, 2006

Cheese, yoga and knitting

We're well aware that Tokyo is not the be all and end all of the country, but it's hard to get information useful to the foreign community when we are all so scattered. This is why the following two mails are so welcome. Thanks guys.
COMMENTARY
Apr 8, 2006

Pack journalism can be lethal

Some call it pack journalism. It is also lazy journalism.

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