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LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jan 10, 2006

Men retreat from 'hassle' of loving relationships

We're told that the nation's economy is in its best shape in a decade. While this is "roho (good news)," other things are happening in this country that are not so hot. Literally.
JAPAN
Jan 9, 2006

Media blackout set after kidnapping

Media organizations agreed Saturday not to report on the kidnapping of a newborn baby from a Sendai hospital, a day after the incident was widely covered.
EDITORIALS
Jan 9, 2006

Obstinacy vs. national interest

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's statement at his New Year news conference has added stress to Japan's already strained relations with China and South Korea. He defiantly criticized the two neighboring countries for refusing summit talks with Japan because of his repeated visits to Yasukuni Shrine....
JAPAN
Jan 8, 2006

GSDF troops are called in to help dig out

NAGANO (Kyodo) A Ground Self-Defense Force unit in Nagano Prefecture was dispatched Saturday to help deal with heavy snowfall as the Meteorological Agency warned that snow will continue blanketing northern and western Japan.
BUSINESS
Jan 7, 2006

Yosano sees light at tunnel's end

Economic and fiscal policy minister Kaoru Yosano spoke confidently about the course of the economy Friday, saying it was about to emerge from "a dark tunnel" and show sustainable growth from now on.
BUSINESS
Jan 7, 2006

Tanigaki heads to U.S. for range of talks

Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki said Friday he will leave this weekend for a seven-day visit to the United States for talks with U.S. policymakers as well as the heads of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
JAPAN
Jan 6, 2006

25 prefectures aid quake checks

Twenty-five prefectural governments are providing subsidies, technical assistance or both to owners of houses and buildings for earthquake-resistance checks, according to figures compiled by Kyodo News on Wednesday.
EDITORIALS
Jan 6, 2006

Japan's economic upturn

Last year saw a gradual upswing in the Japanese economy. The stock market revived and many Japanese corporations earned record profits. The average stock price at the Tokyo Stock Exchange has risen by about 40 percent in the past year. Toward the end of 2005, it topped 16,000 for the first time in more...
BUSINESS
Jan 6, 2006

Top execs upbeat about 2006

Hopes were high for Japan's economic resurgence at a New Year's party for corporate executives Thursday at a time when profits are rebounding, consumers are spending and stock prices are at five-year highs.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 6, 2006

Jakarta can't spend a way to prosperity

UBUD, Indonesia -- Indonesia's chief economic minister, Boediono, along with Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati and Bank Indonesia Gov. Burhanuddin Abdullah are credible and competent bureaucrats. They put forth an action agenda of economic reforms designed to reinvigorate the local investment climate...
BUSINESS
Jan 6, 2006

Bic Camera to turn Sofmap into subsidiary for 2 billion yen

Bic Camera Co. will acquire an absolute majority of outstanding voting shares in Sofmap Co., an electric appliance retailer with strength in purchasing and selling used personal computers, for 2 billion yen next month, the two firms said Thursday.
JAPAN
Jan 4, 2006

Big firms predict uptrend to set record

More than 80 major domestic firms out of 100 expect economic expansion to continue at least until the second half of 2006, according to a Kyodo News survey released Tuesday.
JAPAN
Jan 3, 2006

Ratings bring good news to NHK

The audience ratings for NHK's annual New Year's Eve music show, "Kohaku Utagassen" ("Red vs. White Song Contest"), improved last year, Video Research Ltd. said Monday, giving some encouragement to the scandal-hit public broadcaster.
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jan 3, 2006

Lawsuit-free land a myth

Japan is not renowned for its courtroom dramas. But occasionally a landmark ruling does make the front pages.
JAPAN
Dec 31, 2005

Most dwellers of Aneha-tainted sites yet to vacate

More than half of the 288 households told to evacuate 10 condominium complexes built with falsified quake-resistance data were still living in the defective buildings as of Thursday, the government said Friday.
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
Dec 31, 2005

Asada's triumphs have ISU officials skating on thin ice

What if you had a Winter Olympics and the best figure skater in the world wasn't allowed to participate?
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Dec 31, 2005

The year of the dog -- bow-wouch!

It's the year of the dog! Wow! Bow-wow! According to the Koyomi calendar, if you were born in the year of the dog (1922, 1934, 1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994 or 2006), you possess a sense of duty and obligation. You are fastidious, diligent and make a peaceful, harmonious atmosphere. That's the good part....
BUSINESS
Dec 31, 2005

BOJ faces dilemma over ending its supereasy money stance

As the nation prepares to usher in a new year, policymakers at the Bank of Japan are grappling with an unprecedented dilemma: how to end the bank's "quantitative easing" monetary policy.
BUSINESS
Dec 31, 2005

High hopes harbored for mobile phone television broadcasts

Digital TV broadcasts to mobile phones are scheduled to begin in April, and expectations are high the new service will create a portable fusion of broadcasting and the Internet.
JAPAN
Dec 29, 2005

11 who lost health insurance weren't treated, died

At least 11 people have died over the past six years because they were apparently unable to receive prompt medical attention after having surrendered their national health insurance cards for nonpayment of fees, according to a Kyodo News survey compiled Wednesday.

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